Engineers of the world unite: An integrated course on embedded systems and social movements

This paper presents the design, implementation, and reflections of students and faculty of an innovative integrated course (taught in Spring 2012) that combined seemingly disparate topics from engineering and the humanities. The primary goal of the course was to promote the growth of intrinsically motivated students who internalize the value of their technical work, connect their technical work to societal contexts, and cognitively engage in their own learning process. The faculty designed a high-level framework for the new integrated course on embedded systems and social movements by implementing an autonomy-supportive, context-rich engineering educational experience. This framework focused on several elements of course design: (1) identification of broad, competency-based learning goals for the integrated course block, (2) development of learning activities that supported broad goals such as communication, contextual awareness, and self-directed learning, and (3) selection of assessment methods aligned with broad competency goals and supportive of cross-disciplinary collaboration. Students were attracted to the self-direction designed into the course and reported greater awareness and understanding of the societal impacts of technology.