ENGINEERING BEYOND BOUNDARIES - ALIGNING ENGINEERING ACADEMIC EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES IN RESPONSE TO A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD

Steven CramerWendy CroneMoira LafayetteDan Klingenberg Paul Peercy Jeffrey RussellDarryl ThelenAmy Wendt (and with acknowledgement to Greg Moses)

University of Wisconsin-Madison – Teaching and Learning Symposium

May 19, 2010, Pyle Center

Engineering Beyond Boundaries

The College of Engineering will provide a contemporary engineering education that is strong in the fundamentals of the discipline and also fosters an understanding of the societal context of engineering and a passion for life-long learning. This will be achieved by guiding students through new educational opportunities to:

  build disciplinary excellence with multidisciplinary perspective, nurture critical thinking, develop multicultural competence, cultivate collaboration and leadership skills, and promote an ethic of service to the profession and the

community.

Engineering Beyond Boundaries Roundtable - 2008

Comprehensive Organizational Change

What does it mean? pervasive, affecting numerous

offices and units across the institution; deep, touching upon values, beliefs and structures, is intentional, and occurs over time

Eckel, P., Hill, B., & Green, M. (1998). On change: Enroute to transformation. Occasional Paper, No. 1. Washington DC: American Council on Education

Comprehensive Organizational Change

Kezar and Eckel, 2002 The Effect of Institutional Culture on

Change Strategies in Higher Education Universal Principles or Culturally Responsive Concepts?

The changes many institutions face have accelerated beyond tinkering; more campuses each year attempt to create comprehensive (or transformational) change. Yet, change strategies have not been exceedingly helpful in their capacity to guide institutions, and we know even less about how to facilitate major, institution-wide change.

Comprehensive Organizational Change

Froyd, Penberthy and Watson, 2000 Good Educational Experiments are not

Necessarily Good Change Processes Fournier-Bonilla, S., Watson, K., Malave, C.

and Froyd, J. 2001 Managing Curricula Change in Engineering

at Texas A&M University. Massy, W. Anker Publishing Co, Inc., 2003,

376 pgs Honoring the Trust – Quality and Cost

Containment in Higher Education: describes problems facing academia, offers a vision of solution, provides practical guidance to drivers of change

Challenges

How to build buy-in that change is actually needed? “We are highly ranked now.” Arguments that

change will degrade educational quality (therefore it is better to do nothing).

The rigor of my education (20 or more years ago) defines what is needed today

How to impact and change existing disciplinary curricula? Controlled by individual units

How to impact and change existing course delivery techniques? Controlled by individual faculty?

Declining

Instructional

Budget

The Massy Approach

Massy, W. Honoring the Trust, Anker Publishing Co, Inc., 2003, 376 pgs.

1. Build awareness and commitment2. Commission pilot projects3. Create venues for ongoing discussion and

development4. Organize skill development and consultation

services5. Broaden the rewards, recognition, and

incentives environment6. Adopt performance-based resource allocation7. Develop an internal oversight and review

capacity

Our CoE Experience Implementation Steps 1 and 3: Building

Awareness and Commitment through Venues for Ongoing Discussion Build core team

Engineering Beyond Boundaries Task Force – 7 faculty

Engineering Education Leadership Institute (sponsored by NAE and the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education) - 2005

“Developing Engineering Faculty as Leaders of Academic Change” – NAE Workshop 2009

Expand the engagement Listening sessions - 2005 Creation of EBB Roundtable - 2006

Listening Sessions in 2005

Environment Leadership, incentives, and flexibility must exist for students,

faculty, and staff to participate in experimentation, change, and choice.

Faculty and staff must provide an education that prepares our students to enter the world as it will be, not as it was.

Faculty, staff and students need to be able to work effectively in an environment where diversity is the norm rather than the exception. 

Interaction Cross-disciplinary research and education will be the norm, but only

if the support infrastructure exists. Interaction across groups (faculty, staff, students, departments,

etc.) will help build community and encourage further cross-disciplinary collaborations.

People Professional development for faculty and staff will enable them to

keep pace with changes in the college, the profession, and the world, and thus serve students well.

EBB Roundtable - 2006 Group of 25 – faculty, staff, students

People who understand the need for change and a strong interest in the undergraduate experience

Identify obstacles to change Helping to design and communicate the change

The College of Engineering will provide a contemporary engineering education that fosters an understanding of the societal context of engineering and a passion for life-long learning. build disciplinary excellence with multidisciplinary

perspective, nurture critical thinking develop multicultural competence, cultivate collaboration and leadership, and promote an ethic of service to the profession and the

community.

EB2

Task Force7 Faculty

EB2 Round Table25 College

Change Leaders

College of EngineeringAll faculty and staff

Implementation Step 2

Commission Pilot Projects Incentives enabling experimentation 26 projects funded in 2007, 2008, 2009 Mostly faculty, staff and student salary

support

Pilot Projects

InterEGR 102 – Introduction to Society’s Engineering Grand Challenges PI: Prof. Susan Hagness and others Based on NAE report identifying Grand Challenges Access to clean water Make solar energy economical Restore/improve urban infrastructure etc

Appeal to nontraditional engineering student Freshmen introduction to engineering Fall 2009 enrollment: 151 (capacity plus 1)

Grand Challenges

Pilot Projects

Statics – EMA 201 PI: Prof. Mike Plesha Created animations to allow visualization of problem solving

Required course in many majors Fall 2009 enrollment: 223 (at capacity)

Statics

Pilot Projects

Certificate programs Energy Sustainability Risk, Uncertainty and Decision Analysis Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering

and Society

Pilot Projects

Zhejiang University Summer Program PI: Marianne Bird Bear (now Amanda Hammatt)

Created summer program for engineering student at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China

• 8 weeks (1 engineering course and 1 course in technical communications) taught by UW instructors

• Weekend excursions

- Summer 2010 enrollment: 15 (third offering)

Status of other implementation steps

4) organize skill development and consultation services,

5) broaden the rewards, recognition, and incentives environment,

6) adopt performance-based resource allocation,

7) develop an internal oversight and review capacity.

Next Steps

Expand the knowledge base of our change agents, particularly in the areas of pedagogy and consensus building.  We are increasingly bringing educational experts into the

college for special seminars and presentations. We seek to better leverage the educational innovation activities that occur broadly across our campus.

Engage colleagues in manner that is pre-emptive in managing conflict and change reluctance.

Re-communicate the vision of the EB2 initiative.  Recommit to working toward better measurement,

documentation and communication of progress. With the long-term in mind, continue to move

forward with consistent goals and messages. persistence is key

Individual Exercise

Identify an organizational change that you experienced. Was it successful or unsuccessful? Why?

Brainstorming (small group)

What are the barriers to change in your unit?

Barriers to Change1. Learning different systems2. Worries about failure3. Larger the unit the harder the change 4. Loyalty and relationships based on

existing structures5. Constraints caused by physical space6. Short term costs versus long term gains7. Leaders who are not committed or lack

the vision for change8. Time limits to engage in change

Brainstorming (small group)

Choose one of the barriers identified and develop a set of strategies that could be employed to overcome it.

Strategies for Overcoming

Barriers to Change Getting people on board for change: Competence in Participants shape the process

Early successes/pilot projects Provide reasons for change

4. Loyalties Listening to participants Start small group (local allies) and

expand

Strategies for Overcoming

Barriers to Change Buyin to change Convincing people things are not

working as well as they could 4 Loyalty…

First understanding existing structures Institutional barriers in rules

Wrap Up

Thinking back to the organizational change you identified earlier, are their commonalities with our brainstorming and group discussion? Similar barriers to change? Strategies that were employed? Strategies that may have been more

successful?

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING TODAY!