Disruptions in the Process of Engineering Education - A Curriculum Design Perspective

摘要

Engineering Education, today, is on the crossroads of uncertainty mainly due to the over flooding of information through the digital media leading to reduced demand for Engineering. Institutions find it very challenging to attract students and this is the right time to identify the right approach to improve the quality of education imparted by them. Technical institutions in our country are evaluated by accrediting bodies like the NBA and NAAC and Engineering aspirants select a college based on the accreditation status. Each accrediting body has its own methodology and it is difficult to face all of them simultaneously.Today, engineering education is losing its charm mainly because the youngsters are no longer attracted to pursue Engineering. This leads to a lot of vacant seats in many colleges forcing them to either close the institution. However, the demand for quality Engineer is very high and industries are in need of talented and versatile professionals. This forces the colleges to adapt various innovative schemes and procedures with the support of the following accrediting bodies like NBA, NAAC and NIRF. Outcome based approach is adapted by the accrediting agencies and hence irrespective of the accrediting agency, institutions should develop innovative approaches to the system with the main focus toward learning outcomes.Learning is categorized into knowledge, skills and attitude as Bloom’s Taxonomy. These learning outcomes are attained by designing various courses for students. All courses are designed with measurable course outcomes. Courses can have sub-outcomes for detailed tasks designed for the students. All course outcomes can be mapped to knowledge (Cognitive domain), skills (Psychomotor domain) and attitude (Affective domain). The courses and their outcomes are designed to attain program outcomes.Engineering education is made up of various formats of courses like lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, laboratory, elective courses, self-learning courses, projects, discussions, personality development courses, soft skill courses, social science courses, extra-curricular activities and sports activities. Outcomes of these courses focus on the knowledge, skills and attitude required for employability.The proposed work analyses the various types of courses that can be included in the curriculum design engineering education. We identify the disruptions for each type of course and its impact on the three domains. Courses designed without effective learning outcomes that cannot be precisely measured will not contribute to the attainment of the course and the program outcomes. It can be concluded that all activities and courses conducted for the engineering education should be designed with a precise measurable outcome and its assessment metrics should be clearly defined.