Transforming engineering service courses

Engineering science core courses represent the initial exposure to engineering for many students and form the foundation for degree requirements for each undergraduate engineering major. This paper examines our strategies, progress and findings related to an important subset of the engineering science core courses, namely, engineering service courses. We are investigating strategies for augmenting these courses with innovative instructional approaches, including cross-disciplinary experiences in teamwork, design and the use of balanced teaching technologies such as the web. Project goals include (1) improving the quality of the undergraduate student experience, (2) encouraging faculty use of innovative techniques and (3) systemic change by institutionalizing these reforms in the curricula. Evaluation activities focus on student outcomes, faculty development and issues related to the systemic reform of these courses.