In this paper, a critical analysis is presented of aspects of contemporary legal systems, from the perspective of engineers who desire to perform their profession in an ethical or socially responsible way, or who wish to contribute positively, through their professional work, to human well-being. It is argued that such aspirations are at present…

This article presents an interview with Dr. Charles Nolan, the former Dean of Admission at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, in Needham, Massachusetts. Chartered in 1997, Olin College has taken a new approach to undergraduate engineering education by providing its students with both a solid engineering background and knowledge in the…

The CDIO initiative began as a joint endeavour involving four engineering schools in Sweden and the USA. The number of schools joining the project is increasing constantly. CDIO focuses on four activities--curriculum development, teaching and learning, workshops, and assessment projects--with a view to improving engineering education programmes by…

There has been a growing awareness among educators of the increasing diversity in college classrooms. Currently, institutions are seeing an increase in students of color who are pursuing advanced degrees. An understanding of how individuals or groups of individuals learn is essential to designing and implementing the shift in teaching practice so…

This report reviews the need for teaming skills in the engineering workplace and discusses why these same skills can contribute to improving the educational process. It also includes a team training workbook and a facilitator's guide that contain exercises and ideas to help develop effective teams. The report examines the evolution of teams in…

From 1992 through 2003 the Chemical Engineering program at Arizona State offered an integrated series of core courses that taught students how conservation and accounting principles can be applied to describe engineering phenomena across disciplines. A brine-water mixing tank experiment was introduced in the third course in the series (ECE 394C:…

The goals of the MentorLinks: Advancing Technological Education program, supported by the National Science Foundation and administered by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), are to provide technical assistance and networking opportunities for the purpose of improving community college programs that prepare technicians in the…

Using the pipeline metaphor as the conceptual framework, the current paper presents gender differences in computer science (CS) and computer engineering (CE) students' study aspirations in elementary and high schools, the extent to which they hold a study-related job while in college and their career aspirations after graduating from college. It…

The implementation of pre-engineering, standard curricula in K-12 schools is growing at a rapid pace. One such curriculum model, Project Lead the Way, consists of six standardized courses requiring significant training for teachers, specified laboratory equipment, standard topics, exams, etc. Schools implementing Project Lead the Way implement an…

The Atlanta University Center (AUC) comprises five historically black colleges and a centralized library. All are separate institutions, each having its own board of directors, president, infrastructure, students, faculty, staff, and traditions. To encourage coordination of effort and resources, the AUC was formed and the first formal cooperative…

Economic pressures on universities and the emergence of new technologies have spurred the creation of new systems for delivering engineering laboratories in education, in particular simulations and remote-access laboratory systems. Advocates of simulation argue that physical labs needlessly consume university space and students' time. However,…

In this paper, a methodological educational proposal based on constructivism and collaborative learning theories is described. The suggested approach has been successfully applied to a subject entitled "Computer Architecture and Engineering" in a Computer Science degree in the University of La Laguna in Spain. This methodology is…

This literature review presents the research evidence that exists for ten intervention strategies commonly adopted by programmatic efforts striving to increase diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Also presented is empirical support for three model intervention programs: The Meyerhoff Program, Minority…

This paper reports on evaluation of a scheme to improve University teaching through action research over a five-year period in the science, engineering, and technology division of a large Australian dual sector University. Between 2002 to 2006 this scheme directly committed approximately A$210,000 in grants and involved over 130 teaching and other…

For the last three decades, the engineering higher education and professional environments have been completely transformed by the "electronic/digital information revolution" that has included the introduction of personal computer, the development of email and world wide web, and broadband Internet connections at home. Herein the writer compares…