Page 89 - Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century

Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11338.html

72 EDUCATING THE ENGINEER OF 2020

support the learning process? The answer reflects the Greenfield
Coalition’s values and beliefs about learning:

• Learning is a responsibility shared by learner and teacher.
• Faculty plays a key role in guiding students in the learning
process.
• Learning is made real if it is integrated with real-world
experience.
• Learners must prepare to engage in classroom experiences.
• Learning is a social process that requires interaction with men-
tors and peers.
• By actively participating in learning, students can reach a deeper
understanding and enhance their skills.

IT must be leveraged not for its own sake, but in support of a vision of
the transformed classroom. There are many issues we might consider,
but I illustrate two here.

Case Studies: Engaging Learners in Decision Making Framed in
Real-World Environments

In the future, improved hardware and software will
enhance simulated virtual environments in which learners
can become immersed in the problem-solving and
decision making experience.

Case studies have revolutionized teaching in the business and medi-
cal communities. The case-study methodology is a framework for em-
bedding learning in an environment as close to the real world as pos-
sible, challenging learners to explore resources, make assumptions, and
construct solutions. Case studies are also ideal for illustrating complex
concepts, which are especially common in engineering. Horton (2000)
suggests that case studies are an excellent way for learners to practice
judgment skills necessary in real-life situations, which are not as simple
as textbook problems. Stimulating critical thinking through case studies
is a recommended instructional strategy (Bonk and Reynolds, 1997).
In the current educational environment, computer-based resources
allow learners to access real data and participate in case-based learning
(Falkenburg and Schuch Miller, 2003). For example, students can

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