ECUE MEETING

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E-CUE MEETING

• Tuesday, September 30, 2003

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E-CUE Meeting Agenda September 30, 2003

• Review AY 2002-03 achievements/ recommendations
  for engineering and the first year
• Update on Summer 2003 follow-up activities
• Freshman survey results
• GIR Task Force
• SoE Website
• SoE Curriculum Innovation Grants
• Discuss/ determine AY 2003-04 themes and
  activities

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E-CUE ACHIEVEMENTS AY 2003

• E-CUE goal to facilitate and coordinate education
  innovation process in SoE
• In AY 2002-03, careful, data-driven, examination
  of engineering and the freshman year
• Reviewed freshman needs and enrollment data with
  regard to engineering
• Examined relationship between upper level
  engineering study and GIRs
• Identified key issues and strategies for solution
• Results
• Provided input to GIR Task Force
• Coordinated dArbeloff proposal process for
  engineering faculty several proposals funded in
  freshman engineering
• Provided input for SoE Curriculum Innovation
  funding on SoE education needs 760K in funding
  provided for 5 projects including cross-school
  introduction to engineering subject
• Facilitated department review of pilot subject
  survey instrument

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FRESHMAN ENGINEERING SURVEY 2002-03

• Goal of survey
• Examine impact of engineering-related activity on
  freshman perception of design related abilities
• Examine interest in engineering at beginning and
  end of freshman year
• Nearly 50 of freshman class surveyed in
  beginning and end of freshman year 220 students
  or 27 of freshman responded.
• Results
• 47 participated in some subject/ activity
  related to engineering.
• 29.1 of freshmen requested more subjects or
  experiences that permitted freshmen to more
  directly explore engineering as a major.
• Students who participated in an engineering
  activity perceived improvements in engineering
  design-related abilities (problem solving,
  practical knowledge of mechanical and electronic
  systems, connection between engineering theory
  and design)

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Student suggestions for exploring engineering in
first year

• Offering a broad, not-in-depth, introductory
  class that presents all of the possible
  engineering majors science majors are
  represented in freshman year, but not
  engineering.
• Offer more fun hands-on engineering design
  subjects that freshmen can take.
• Learning about EECS in a class that is more low
  key than 6.001!
• Offer well-published series of engineering
  workshops, seminars, design projects that excite
  student interest.
• Sampler 6 unit engineering subjects that
  introduce the various engineering majors.
• Grades in second term limit exploration.
• Put a little more engineering applications into
  core science subjects taken by most freshmen
  relate engineering to core classes better.
• Publish opportunities for exploring engineering.
• Students are too overloaded with GIRS to explore
  anything Allow more academic time for exploring
  majors.

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SOE ENGINEERING EDUCATION WEBSITE

• E-CUE goal to examine SoE engineering education
  and share SoE best-practice in engineering
  education
• Website established to support this goal
• E-CUE related reports freshman engineering
  design study and engineering enrollment study
• E-CUE supported projects in engineering education
• Best-practice tools for program and subject-level
  assessment
• Organized repository for department alumni and
  senior data, 1999-2003
• http//mit.edu/engineering/ecue/MIT_HomePage.htm

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SUGGESTED THEMES FOR AY 2003-04 (1)

• Continue focus on GIR and engineering study
  Provide additional detailed input to the
  Presidential committee for GIR review.
• Focus on best methods for learning in
  undergraduate engineering Full examination of
  best practice teaching/ learning models that
  would be appropriate for engineering study.
• Focus on upper level engineering education rather
  than engineering and the first year An
  alternative angle on GIR-engineering connection
  might be to examine what every engineer should
  know. This study could be used to inform the
  creation of an engineering core.
• Focus on education assessment There are
  alternative ways to assess student learning
  rather than grades to promote learning.
• (1) E-CUE member survey, June 2003

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E-CUE ACTION ITEMS

• Discuss/ determine AY 2003-04 theme
• Determine E-CUE process for action on theme
• Organization forming subgroups?
• Proposed plan for action?
• Timeline and topics for meetings
• Invited participants from MIT and other
  institutions?
• Identify resources