INDUSTRY-BASED PROJECTS AND PREPARING ENGINEERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE

摘要

At the October 2005 National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education (NSF-ATE) Annual Meeting, Dr. Renee S. Lerche, an executive at The Ford Motor Company and a national authority on global leadership and workforce development, said that, "employers need workers with deep experience with scientific inquiry, design and problem solving solutions." Students must be able to apply what they learn to real world problems that are relevant and meaningful. In particular, research has documented that contextual learning, hands-on or problem based learning that engages learners, is significantly more effective than traditional lecturing, especially for women and minority populations. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Board presented an extensive report during their 2007 meeting that addressed the key challenges necessary to change and transform engineering and technology education. Basic engineering skills and experience provided by engineers in emerging countries at a significantly lower cost due to lower wages, put U.S. companies at a significant competitive disadvantage. To tackle this growing problem, U.S. engineering and technology education should focus on improving interrelationships including not only traditional engineering and technology, but also human and environmental factors. The main challenge is to educate engineers with strong entrepreneurial, leadership and innovative skills within a social and business context. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional approach that challenges students to "learn how to learn" through collaborative real world problem solving. PBL is based on the constructivist model of learning, whose major tenets are: (1) learning and understanding are directly related to the environment or context in which learning occurs, (2) cognitive conflict or "puzzlement" is the stimulus for learning and determines the organization and nature of what is learned, and (3) social learning environments stimulate alternative views and generate additional information against which the viability of comprehension can be tested. Research demonstrates that when compared to traditional lecture-based instruction, PBL improves student understanding and retention of ideas, critical thinking, interpersonal and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to adapt their learning to new situations and skills deemed critical to lifelong learning. PBL teaches students the process of solving real-world, open-ended problems with multiple solutions.