TLC Design: Integrating Team Learning, Computing, and Design in Undergraduate Engineering Education

对现有本科工程项目的评估不断指出三个弱点：毕业生缺乏技术素养；毕业生缺乏口头和书面沟通能力；毕业生缺乏设计经验。为了解决这些问题，俄克拉荷马大学土木工程与环境科学学院（CEES）提出了一项系统改革倡议，将单个设计项目整合到整个课程中。这个名为“更快的城市”的共同设计项目将在大一开始，并在整个课程中继续进行。设计任务范围从人口估计到供水系统。一个共同的设计方案可以统一课程，使早期课程的知识得以发扬光大。另一个好处是，学生将有一个专业的设计作品集，可以呈现给未来的雇主。设计项目将使用即时学习模式进行教学。通过预先关注现实世界的应用，学生将有兴趣和动力去学习。所涉及的课程将会重组，纳入团队学习和小组报告，以提高学生的人际交往和沟通技巧。此外，从1997年秋季开始，所有入学的工科新生都将配备一台具有无线通信技术的笔记本电脑，这样每个教室都将成为一个联网的计算机实验室。该项目的主要目标是培养自律、负责、懂电脑、能与工程师同行、管理层和公众有效沟通的毕业生。预计改革后的课程将成为全国工程课程的典范。互动设计模块和超文本教程将通过光盘、万维网以及会议和期刊文章等传统渠道分发给其他机构。

Evaluations of existing undergraduate engineering programs continually cite three weaknesses: graduates lack technical literacy; graduates lack oral and written communication skills; and graduates lack design experience. To address these weaknesses, the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science (CEES) at the University of Oklahoma, is proposing a systemic reform initiative that will incorporate a single design project integrated throughout the curriculum. The common design project, entitled "Sooner City," will be introduced during the freshman year and continue for the entire curriculum. Design tasks range from population estimates to the water supply system. A common design project can unify the curriculum and allow material learned in early courses to carry forward. Another advantage is that the students will have a professional design portfolio that can be presented to perspective employers. The design project will be taught using the just- in-time learning paradigm. By focusing on real-world applications up front, students will be interested and motivated to learn. The involved courses will be restructured to incorporate team learning and group presentations, which enhances the students' interpersonal and communication skills. In addition, starting in fall of 1997, all incoming engineering freshman will have a laptop computer with wireless communication technology so that each classroom becomes a networked computer lab. A primary goal of the project is to produce graduates who are self-disciplined, responsible, computer literate, and who can communicate effectively with fellow engineers, management, and the public. It is anticipated that the reformed curriculum can serve as a paradigm for engineering programs throughout the country. Interactive design modules and hypertext tutorials will be disseminated to other institutions through a CD ROM, the world wide web and through traditional outlets such as conferences and journal articles.