Leadership and Teamwork Education for Engineering and Technology Students An Experiential Learning and Community Service Approach

摘要

The history of technical education in the United States over the last two hundred years can be traced back to the American Revolution; it evolved from both military and craftsmanship needs. Over the years, the trends in technical education changed from teaching of craftsmanship and basic science, to assembly and design of sophisticated projects. The present trend in technical education focuses on complimenting the design skills of technologists and engineers with communicative interpersonal skills that encourage them to plan and lead complex technical projects. This paper discusses the course, "Leadership and Teamwork from Within" that uses a mix of experiential learning approach, community service, and problem based learning to teach basic concepts of leadership and teamwork. The course was created and coordinated by two faculty members, an engineer and a historian, and served Honors Students in Technology Programs at the College of Applied Science, University of Cincinnati. The paper provides a brief historical overview of applied or technical education in the U.S. Next it discusses the objectives of the course and the pedagogy that the faculty used to accomplish these objectives. Finally, the paper outlines the challenges and rewards experienced by the faculty involved in the course. The faculty members who taught this class strongly believed that this course followed not only the long established practices of applied learning at the College of Applied Science, but also felt it fit within the traditional frameworks of American applied engineering and engineering technology education.