Collaborative Research: Advancing the Dissemination of the Creative Art of Structural/Civil Engineering

美国总统办公室和美国国家工程院(NAE)最近发布的报告敦促美国增加科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)专业的留学生人数，并培养具有STEM素养的民众(即对非STEM专业的STEM学生进行STEM教育)。缺乏启发性的入门课程、糟糕的教学以及缺乏最佳做法的有效传播是阻碍实现这些目标的主要障碍。来自普林斯顿大学、弗吉尼亚理工大学和马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的教职员工正在合作一项名为“推进结构/土木工程创造性艺术的传播”的项目，目的是通过支持土木工程入门课程的传播和实施来克服这些障碍，该课程将通过研究型教学法得到加强。这一建议的主要目的是：(1)改革工程学入门课程，大大提高非STEM学生的互动性和可及性；(2)确保课程形式易于被许多类型的高等教育机构(如本科院校、研究型大学等)采用；以及(3)促进课程的传播、采用和不断改进，使其超越已有的受众。将通过实施四项战略来实现这些目标，其中包括进行客户发展访谈，以确定在不同文化和课程的机构中采用的挑战和需求；创建由不同科目(例如吊桥、塔楼、大坝等)组成的课程单元。和一个讲座和主动学习活动的图书馆；开发一个网站和中央信息库，用于教授这门课程；举办年度讲习班，指导希望采用这门课程的教员。提出一项评估和评价计划，以衡量通过积极的学习教学和传播到其他机构来加强课程的有效性。将要传播的课程将强调工程师的创造力以及技术内容。一个需要检验的论点是，传播工程学作为一门创造性的艺术是否会改变人们的看法，并增加人们对工程学在社会中作用的欣赏。该项目的成果有可能促进以下方面的知识：错误地认为工程师是“技术人员”而不是创造性的艺术家对STEM的自然减员和吸引力的影响；在不同文化和课程的机构教授工程学入门课程方面的挑战和成功；以及支持不同机构成功采用创新课程的战略。

Recent reports from the Office of the President of the United States and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) urge the nation to increase student retention in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and to educate a STEM-literate populace (i.e., STEM education for non-STEM majors). Uninspiring introductory courses, poor teaching, and lack of effective dissemination of best-practices are major obstacles that stand in the way of achieving these goals. Faculty members from Princeton University, Virginia Tech and the University of Massachusetts Amherst are partnering on a project entitled "Advancing the Dissemination of the Creative Art of Structural/Civil Engineering" with the aim of overcoming these obstacles through supporting the dissemination and implementation of an introductory civil engineering course that is to be enhanced with research-based pedagogy. The target populations are both STEM and non-STEM majors.The main objectives of this proposal are to: (1) transform an introductory engineering course with dramatically improved interactivity and accessibility for non-STEM students; (2) ensure that the course takes a form that can be readily adopted into the engineering and general education curricula of many types of institutions of higher education (e.g., undergraduate institutions, research universities, etc.); and (3) facilitate dissemination, adoption, and continuous improvement of the courses beyond the audience already being reached. The objectives will be met by implementing four strategies, which include conducting customer development interviews that identify the challenges and needs for adoption in institutions of various cultures and curricula; creating course modules, comprised of different subjects (e.g. suspension bridges, towers, dams, etc.) and a library of lectures and active-learning activities; developing a website and central repository of information for teaching the course; and hosting annual workshops to mentor faculty who want to adopt the course.An assessment and evaluation plan is proposed to measure the effectiveness of the course enhancements with active learning pedagogies and dissemination into other institutions. The course to be disseminated will emphasize the creativity of the engineer along with the technical content. One thesis to be tested is if disseminating engineering as a creative art changes perceptions and increases the appreciation of engineering's role in society. The outcomes of the project hold potential to advance knowledge regarding the effect that false perceptions of engineers being "technicians" as opposed to creative artists has on STEM attrition and attraction; challenges and successes in teaching introductory engineering courses in institutions of different cultures and curricula; and strategies for supporting the successful adoption of an innovative course across diverse institutions.