Considered is the importance of teaching creativity in the field of chemical engineering. Lists major concepts in teaching creativity. Suggests ways of bringing creativity into chemistry instruction. (MVL)

Suggests that engineering curricula should be designed on the basis that engineering is a vocation. Outlines how curricula might be developed by identifying engineering jobs and proceeding from job specification through engineering capability profiles to subjects of instruction. (YP)

A computer-based replacement for an electronics laboratory experiment was created and tested on second-year undergraduate students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southampton (England). Responses, assessed by questionnaire, showed that computer-assisted learning techniques provide a viable means for teaching…

Discussion of how to teach decision-making skills to undergraduate engineering design students highlights a computer-based decision support tool, WOMBAT (Weighted Objectives Method by Arguing with the Tutor). Changes in WOMBAT from an earlier version are described, and an example of dialog between a user and the system is included. (Contains 24…

A study of problems encountered by British engineering tutors in assessing core skills required for General National Vocational Qualifications revealed the following: tutors had to assume responsibility for students' skill development; better communication of expectations was needed; and students welcomed a more active approach to learning and the…

A discussion of academic advising provides general advice for faculty advisors and looks at distinctive elements in academic advising for technical subjects, particularly those encountered with transfer students who have technical credits to transfer. Use of computer-based information systems in this context is also examined briefly. (Author/MSE)

Describes the successful aspects of a three-day workshop on teaching effectiveness for engineering professors. Discusses participants' comments and suggestions about administrative support, communication of fresh insights and perspectives, establishment of a participatory structure, and teaching/learning mismatches. (JJK)

Discusses the use of computer-assisted programs that allow chemical engineering students to study textbook thermodynamics problems from different perspectives, including the classical graphical method, while utilizing more than one property correlation and/or operation model so that comparisons can be made and sensitivities determined more…

Discusses several options for the incorporation of minimal coursework involving engineering ethics into an already tightly packed curriculum. Topics include integration versus the stand-alone approach; timeliness of course addition; outline of course content and instructional format; students' reflections and instructor's musings; and an annotated…

The creative solutions found by four colleges and universities to specific student recruitment dilemmas are described. Two dilemmas involved clarification of the campus' geographic location, one addressed recruitment of minority group engineering students, and the fourth concerned recruitment of exceptionally gifted 13- to 16-year-old girls to an…

Urges the internationalization of the engineering curriculum to prepare students for the rigors of global competition in the international marketplace. Lists accreditation pressures and market incentives as barriers to needed diversity. Discusses engineering programs at several schools. Concludes that interdisciplinary inquiry is needed to provide…

The development of a computer program, called UC SIGNAL, that permits a student to develop a diagram of a control system configuration using an IBM AT or a PS/2 computer is described. The features of UC SIGNAL and its contribution to process control instruction are discussed. (KR)

An activity in which students obtain a growth curve for algae, identify the exponential and linear growth phases, and calculate the parameters which characterize both phases is described. The procedure, a list of required materials, experimental conditions, analytical technique, and a discussion of the interpretations of individual results are…

Describes reform of a Chinese vocational teaching program. Emphasizes a teaching structure combining theoretical and practical teaching. Lists prerequisites for an independent teaching system as suitable instructors (usually engineers), equipment for practice, and a transformation of the students' views toward study. Urges revision of teaching…

Addresses the impact of computing on engineering education and the gradual infusion of computing work into the engineering curriculum since the early 1960s. This lecture discusses the academic computing environment in terms of initial developments, what students should know, how to build a network infrastructure, the "first" computing course, the…