Work in progress - assessing the engineering curriculum through Bloom’s Taxonomy

This research project examines using a taxonomy-based survey to permit engineering programs to self-assess whether students are given a broad spectrum of learning opportunities. An engineering taxonomy, designed to be compact and simple, identifies seven key engineering ldquoskillsrdquo one conceptual, one factual, and five process oriented skills based on the engineering design cycle. Four levels of mastery are defined, compared to the six originally defined by Bloom. The taxonomy survey has been piloted in an electrical engineering program at a land-grant research university. This paper discusses the validation process and initial results.