AN INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING CURRICULUM AT JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY: TRANSCENDING DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES THROUGH INNOVATIVE PROBLEM BASED LEARNING PRACTICES

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to present a new multidimensional classification model of PBL that is integral to the innovative curriculum of JMU's engineering program. This effort is grounded on a new vision for undergraduate engineering education, which has been called upon by a number of national reports, such as The Engineer of 2020, Educating the Engineer of 2020, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, and popular literature like The World is Flat. These reports have urged universities to produce engineers that not only offer technical ingenuity, but are also capable of adapting to a continuously evolving environment, operating outside the narrow limits of one discipline, interfacing between different fields, and also be ethically grounded global citizens who can become leaders in business and public service.