Integrated learning: engineering science, English, and orientation

Summary form only given. Participating in the NSF sponsored BetaCoalition, faculty members in Engineering Science and in English at Broome College during the 1997-8 academic year implemented an undergraduate learning model for some Engineering Science students. Two projects were conceived. The first was concerned with manufacturing quality control and the second explored the exigencies of world population growth. The crucial coordinates of the projects were a teamwork paradigm and design/problem-solving projects. Plotted along the coordinates were traditional course content and activities, such as computer programming and essay writing, that were turned toward the successful completion of the projects. Special attention was given to the ethical issues implicated in design. Two faculty led each class; the other two faculty were class participants. In addition, orientation topics and events both informed and were informed by the content and activities of the two courses. The aim was to prepare the students well for the rigors of their academic and professional lives and to enhance them as persons and as members of a civic and global community.