Roles of Civil Engineering Faculty

The education of civil engineers who will continue to fulfill the societal demands of the 21st century has been the subject of a number of workshops and conferences in recent years. The writers believe that the role of civil engineering faculty in the education of future engineers is extremely important. Faculty will be required to teach new topics in different ways and with different tools. Yet in a research university, teaching is often only one of four or five activities a faculty member must perform. In a typical faculty reward system for research universities, teaching is not considered as important as paper publication or research marketing. In this paper, faculty needs are outlined, the roles of faculty members are discussed, and the current faculty reward systems are critically reviewed.     

Training Faculty to Teach Civil Engineering

Adoption of ASCE’s Policy Statement 465 and subsequent discussion of the what, how, and who of teaching the body of knowledge (BOK) that will be required for professional civil engineering practice has heightened the need for continued improvement in civil engineering education. ASCE has explicitly said the role of educators and practitioners in teaching the body of knowledge is critical and has listed faculty-related success factors for teaching the BOK. A key success factor is statement 465’s call for faculty and practitioners to properly prepare to “effectively engage students in the learning process.” This paper considers this challenge and discusses an instructor training program that effectively prepares faculty and practitioners to actively engage students in the learning process as envisioned by Policy Statement 465. We will show quantifiable evidence of the positive results gained by using this instructor training program through student and instructor feedback. Additionally, alternative shorter courses based on this program of preparation are highlighted that may be attended by the faculty of multiple engineering programs and by practitioners.     

Language Professionals in Engineering Faculty: Cross-Cultural Experience

Communication courses are often given low priority by engineering students and faculty alike. This is mainly because they are perceived to be, and often are, divorced from the realities of the engineering world. Credible and relevant communication courses demand the integration of language and engineering content so that the tasks reflect the sort of problem solving that students will face in real-life engineering contexts. One problem that language specialists face in designing such courses arises from the fact that they hail from a discipline very different from engineering in purpose, subject matter, and pedagogical approach. To work effectively in the different “subculture” of engineering, they need to assimilate and attain the cultural literacy of the discipline. In our institution, the “acculturation” process of language specialists has been helped along by the fact that they are based in the engineering school. This provides greater opportunities for assimilation into the discipline and allows the interfacing of communication skills and civil engineering to take place more effectively. This paper describes how this setup has been instrumental in providing a communication course that students perceive to be relevant and therefore an integral part of their engineering studies.     

工科专业课课堂教学改革浅析

通过分析工科专业课课堂教学的特点,结合作者的执教经验,提出了专业课课堂教学改革的思路,包括增强学生的学习兴趣和信心,有效利用多媒体教学,采用专题讨论式教学法,改革学生考试成绩评定方式,理论联系实际。     

Professional Program Criteria for Civil Engineering Curriculums

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has adopted a revised set of accreditation criteria that is designed to ensure that graduates of accredited programs are prepared to enter the practice of engineering. The proposal also specifies that engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have an understanding of professional practice issues in addition to proficiency in specific subject areas that are tabulated in the civil engineering program criteria. The findings of this study indicate that engineering undergraduate and graduate students as well as practitioners perceive that four subject areas are of great importance for civil engineers. They include structural engineering, hydraulics∕hydrology∕water resources, engineering design, and mathematics through calculus and differential equations. In contrast, one area, chemistry, received lower ratings. The data suggest that the majority of subjects included in the civil engineering program criteria are considered by students and practitioners to have generally the same level of importance and should be included in the curriculum at an above average level. In particular, 81% of the subject areas included in the ABET civil engineering program criteria are rated by both students and practitioners with a composite score ≥3.1. This may be interpreted as strong support for the Engineering Criteria 2000 program requirements.     

Professional Design Component for Civil Engineering Curriculums

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology has adopted a revised set of accreditation criteria that is designed to assure that graduates of accredited programs are prepared to enter the practice of engineering. The proposal also specifies that engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have an understanding of professional practice issues in addition to the ability to design civil engineering projects by taking various realistic constraints under consideration. The findings of this study indicate that engineering undergraduate and graduate students as well as practitioners perceive that three constraints that represent the traditional technical aspect of engineering are of great importance for design projects. They include engineering codes and standards, economic factors, and manufacturability (constructability). In contrast, two constraints received lower ratings. They include social ramifications and political factors. Overall, 60% of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology recommended design constraints are rated by students and practitioners with a composite score ? 3.0. This may be interpreted as strong support for the Engineering Criteria 2000 design requirements.     

基于工程教育专业认证的应用型高校专业综合实验教学改革

专业综合实验课程引入工程教育专业认证理念,面向产出,突出体现企业典型产品背景,构建了包括教学目标、教学内容、定量化教学评价及持续改进体系,提升学生的专业工程实践应用能力。     

Introducing Students to Professional Practice in Civil Engineering

This paper describes a module that was introduced into a civil engineering degree program with the help of professional engineers. The aim was to develop a bridge between the world of learning and professional practice by putting students in the role of consulting engineers working with industry to produce a feasible solution to a real inquiry from a client. The module is placed in context by comparing the goals of accredited civil engineering programs in the United Kingdom and America, by describing how it is linked to the degree program and by explaining the matrix developed to identify the skills the students needed to demonstrate their ability to practice as professional engineers. Details of the module are given with examples of student work and feedback.     

冶金工程品牌专业建设的目标

介绍了我校建设冶金工程品牌专业的现实意义，冶金工程专业现有的基础条件，冶金工程品牌专业建设目标。指出对新建本科院校进行品牌专业的建设是十分重要和必要的。     

Improving the Professional Engineering Licensure Process for Construction Engineers

Professional engineering licensure is important in the career development of engineers who undertake work critical to protecting public health, safety, and welfare. The knowledge and experience of construction engineers has not previously been well represented in professional engineering licensure evaluation. The ASCE-CI Construction Engineering Education Committee identified recognition of construction engineering in the professional engineering licensure process as one of its missions when it was organized in 1995. With the support of the states and the receptiveness of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), improvements were gradually achieved in recognition of construction engineering experience by changes in NCEES Model Rules. In 2003, the NCEES Board decided to evaluate modification of the Civil Engineering PE exam to include a Construction Engineering module. The evaluation included a Professional Activities and Knowledge Study (PAKS) of the skills appropriate for construction engineers. Following approval of the NCEES Board in 2005, exam development has been underway with implementation planned for April 2008. An additional benefit of the PAKS is the improved understanding of knowledge needed by construction engineers in completing their work activities. These results should be valuable to construction engineering education and industry in identifying critical subject matter for inclusion in courses, curriculums, and continuing education.     

冶金工程应用型本科专业实习教学体系构建

专业实习是冶金工程应用型本科专业实践教学的重要一环。直接关系到教学质量和培养目标。结合当前冶金工程专业实习现状,从冶金工程专业学生技能培养目标的定位;实习计划与教学大纲的制定与完善、先进实用的实习指导书的总结编写;专业理论课堂教学的拓展;专业实习现场指导教学方法的探究;实训、实习特色基地的建立;全面素质教育等方面,探讨冶金工程应用型本科专业实践教学体系的构建,强化工程技术应用能力的培养。     

“新工科”背景下专业课程思政建设

采用BOPPPS专业课程教学方法,线上线下混合教学模式,利用翻转课堂等教学手段开展专业课程教学,从多方面、多角度探索专业课课程思政建设模式,并将其用于教学实践,取得了较好的教学效果。