Instrumentation For a Vertically-Integrated Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory Sequence

科罗拉多矿业学院工程部的使命宣言规定了以下具体目标：为我们的学生提供工程原理的坚实基础和适应快速变化的行业和先进技术的技能；提高学生的终身学习能力。本提案寻求资金来实施多学科工程实验室（MEL）序列来实现这些目标。我们将创建一个垂直整合的、以实验室为中心的教育教学法，并将这些实验室与一套核心工程科学课程联系起来，将实验室与课程横向整合。学生将运用基于探究的方法来探索和发现关键的工程概念和理论。拟议的实验室序列在哲学、教学法和传统实验室的内容上有所不同。在MEL中，学生会得到一套设备、一套参考资料和一套问题。恰当地提出问题至关重要；这些问题必须引导学生进入更高层次的思考。学生们探索他们设计的各种程序和设备设置来回答问题。基本的工程原理，如守恒和平衡，强调。在垂直整合的实验室序列中，我们可以在思维、实验设计、实验方法、仪器、数据分析、团队合作、沟通和建模等层面上依次增加知识。在ILI的支持下，我们将能够对设备进行现代化改造，以适应这些实验室教学方法的现代化。

The mission statement of the Engineering Division at the Colorado School of Mines prescribes the following specific goals: to provide our students with a solid foundation in engineering principles and the skills to adapt to rapidly changing industries and advanced technologies; and, to enhance the life-long learning ability of our students. This proposal seeks funding to implement a Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory (MEL) sequence to achieve these goals. We will create a vertically-integrated, laboratory-centered educational pedagogy and link these laboratories to a suite of core engineering science classes, horizontally integrating labs with courses. Students will apply inquiry based methods to explore and discover critical engineering concepts and theory. The proposed laboratory sequence differs in philosophy, pedagogy, and content from traditional labs. In MEL, students are given a set of equipment, a set of reference materials, and a set of questions. Posing the questions properly is critical; the questions must lead the students into higher levels of thinking. The students explore various procedures and equipment set-ups - which they design - to answer the questions. Fundamental engineering principles, such as conservation and equilibrium, are stressed. In a vertically integrated laboratory sequence, we can increase knowledge sequentially in levels of thinking, experimental design, experimental methods, instrumentation, data analysis, teamwork, communications and modeling. With support from the ILI, we will be able to modernize the equipment to suit the modernization of the teaching/learning approach of these labs.