MSU's 2009 STEM Symposium NEW!

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Co-sponsored by the Center for Engineering Education Research (COE),
the Center for Research on College Science Teaching and Learning (CNS),
F&OD and Undergraduate Education—Office of the Provost.

October 1, 2009, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. MSU Union, Gold Room (includes lunch)

(Open to faculty, academic administrators, staff, graduate students, and non-MSU faculty)

Morning Session: Outcomes-based Education

8:30 a.m. - 8:35 a.m.
Welcome

8:35 a.m. - Noon
Outcomes-based Education

Facilitated by Richard Felder, Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus, Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, and Rebecca Brent, President of Educational Designs, Inc., Cary, North Carolina

The traditional way of evaluating instructional programs is by counting credit-hours offered—how many in science, mathematics, languages, general education, and curriculum-specific topics such as (in engineering) design. If appropriate numbers of credits are being taught in each specified category, the program is judged to be satisfactory. An alternative and increasingly prevalent approach to program evaluation is outcomes-based education. In this approach, a program predefines a set of learning outcomes—knowledge, skills, and values the students in the program should acquire by the time they graduate. The program is then evaluated on the basis of how well the graduates are achieving those outcomes and the effectiveness of measures the program has in place to assess the outcomes and improve their level of attainment. Since 2001, all engineering instructional programs in the United States seeking accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) must satisfy the outcomes-based ABET Engineering Criteria.

This workshop outlines the basic concepts of outcomes-based education and offers ideas for designing program-level and course-level assessment and course instruction to address a broad spectrum of technical and professional learning outcomes. Examples will be drawn primarily from engineering, but the methods will be transferable directly to all STEM areas and will be broadly applicable to all areas of higher education.

Visit http://www.fod.msu.edu/FacDevOpportunities/stem/presenters.asp for additional information about Richard Felder and Rebecca Brent.

Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Lunch

Afternoon Session: Advances in STEM Education

1:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.:
Formal Welcome

• Associate Dean Wolff, College of Engineering
• Dean Udpa, College of Engineering
• Dean Kirkpatrick, College of Natural Sciences
• Associate Provost Estry, Undergraduate Education and Dean of Students

1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.:
Front Line Reflections: The First Ten Years of The Ohio State University First Year Engineering Program

Facilitated by Robert J. Gustafson, Director, Engineering Education Innovation Center, Honda Professor for Engineering Education, Professor, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Ohio State University

Over the last decade, The Ohio State University has pursued a focused development plan for their first year engineering program. The OSU First Year Program includes both a standard two-quarter experience and an honors engineering path extending over three quarters. In this session, Prof. Gustafson will discuss lessons learned over the past decade, resultant best practices, and the evolving state of early engineering education. This session will also offer time for participant questions.

2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.:
Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (STEM) Education in Five Years or Sooner

Facilitated by Richard Felder, Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus, Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University

Higher education in technical disciplines is currently in a turbulent period. Chronic industry complaints about skill deficiencies in recent graduates, government commission reports supporting those complaints, and in engineering outcomes-based accreditation systems in America (ABET), Europe (Bologna), and elsewhere in the world (the Washington Accord) all call for major transformations in the ways curricula are structured, delivered, and assessed. High student attrition rates in recent years and a growing ability of on-line universities to compete successfully for college applicants heightens the impetus for reform. As might be expected, many faculty members and administrators are less than enthusiastic about proposed changes, arguing that the existing system functions well and needs no radical revision.

The ongoing debate involves four focal issues:

1. How should STEM curricula be structured?
2. How should STEM courses be taught and assessed (and what role will technology play)?
3. Who should teach?
4. How should the teachers be prepared?

This talk outlines the opposing positions on each of these issues—the traditional position, which has been the predominant approach of the past five decades, and the alternative position—and offers predictions about the probable outcomes. It also establishes the need for solid research to confirm the effectiveness of alternative instructional methods and materials.

3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.:
Creating a Culture for Scholarly and Systematic Innovation in Engineering Education

Facilitated by Jack R. Lohmann, Vice Provost and Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, Editor, Journal of Engineering Education

At a plenary session at the 2009 Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Prof. Lohmann and Dean Leah Jamieson (Purdue Dean of Engineering) presented a commissioned report entitled, “Creating a Culture for Scholarly and Systematic Innovation in Engineering Education.” This report prompted a vigorous, ongoing discussion in the engineering community. In this session, Prof. Lohmann will discuss the report, its recommendations, and invite questions from session participants.

This event is organized by the Center for Engineering Education Research (CEER@MSU) in the College of Engineering and the Center for Research on College Science Teaching and Learning (CRCSTL) in the College of Natural Science.

To register, please visit:
http://fod.msu.edu/FacDevOpportunities/stem/registeronline.asp