Comprehensive Curriculum Reform : Adapting and Implementing the Enhanced Education Experience for Engineers ( E4)

费城社区学院正在开发新的一年级和二年级工程核心课程，通过调整和实施由德雷克塞尔大学首创的工程师强化教育体验(E4)和工程测试、设计和仿真实验室(ETDSL)。E4和ETDSL为学生在教育早期提供真实的工程工作体验。学生在该项目中学习工程实践和保留所需的材料。在传统的课程中，学生们通过死记硬背学习这些材料，而不是将其付诸实践。该项目还增强了全国招收更多少数民族学生进入SMET的需求。作为一所大型的综合性城市社区学院，该项目的成功改编将成为其他社区大学的典范。E4呼吁设计、开发和测试工程学核心课程，强调跨学科的科学基础：实验的关键作用；计算机的超凡作用；卓越的沟通技能；团队合作的重要性和积极终身学习的习惯；以及设计作为专业实践的决定性因素的作用。E4和ETDSL将通过：(1)使用E4教学法和模拟实验室开发两门新课程；(2)修订现有的四门课程，以利用ETSDL方法；(3)提供E4和ETSDL的师资培养；(4)通过向招收或对工程学感兴趣的学生提供积极的教育体验，留住80%的工程学专业的弱势学生；以及(5)与提供工程学学士学位的四年制学校签订两项额外的衔接协议。

The Community College of Philadelphia is developing a new freshman and sophomore engineering core curriculum by adapting and implementing the Enhacement Educational experience for Engineers (E4) and The engineering Test, Design, and Simulation Laboratory (ETDSL) pioneered by Drexel University.E4 and ETDSL give students an experience of real engineering work early in their education. Students learn the materials needed for engineering practice and retention in the program. In the traditional curriculum, students learn much of this material by rote memorization without putting it into practice. This project also enhaces the national need to recruit more minority students into SMET. As a large, comprehensive urban community college, successful adaption of this program will serve as a model for other community colleges.E4 calls for the design, development and testing of an engineering core curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary sicentific foundations: the pivotal role of experimentation; the transcendent role of the computer; the imperative for superior communication skills; the importance of teamwork and the habit of vigorous life-long learning; and the role of design as the defining element of professional practice. This proposal addresses the DUE themes of faculty development, diversity, and integration of technology into education.E4 and ETDSL will be adapted to an urban, community college seytting through: (1) the development of two new courses using the E4 aproach and the simulation laboratory; (2) the revision of four existing courses to utilize the the ETSDL approach; (3) a provision of faculty development on E4 and ETSDL; (4) retention of 80% of disadvantaged students in the engineering major by providing a positive educational experience to the students enrolled or interested in engineering; and (5) initiation of two addtional articulation agreements with four years schools offering a baccalaureate in engineering.