Many Americans lack even a rudimentary understanding of the principles underlying the technology essential for daily life. Engineering concepts are pervasive in decision making within industry, government, education, and health care; yet most decisions in these sectors are made by people with little or no formal engineering education. This research is taking first steps to develop a template for a Minor in Engineering Studies as an approach to developing technological competence in non-engineers. It is a collaboration involving Iowa State University, Ohio State University, Hope College, and Rice University that is building on promising but small-scale results achieved in the Minor in Engineering Studies Program at Iowa State University and building on engineering courses for nonmajors that are in place at the partner institutions. The Minor in Engineering Studies at Iowa State has attracted students majoring in business, communications, journalism, and design. A key question being investigated is whether a minor can be defined in terms of technological literacy skills rather than a set of common courses. The ultimate goal is to develop a set of technological literacy objectives and outcomes for a Minor in Engineering Studies. These outcomes would be similar to the ABET a-k outcomes that are used for engineering degrees, but focused on developing technologically literate citizens rather than design engineers. The use of a standard set of outcomes rather than a standard series of courses would allow greater flexibility for each institution to develop a Minor in Engineering Studies that is best suited to its local conditions and existing courses (similar to the way engineering departments meet the ABET a-k requirements for engineering degrees). First steps entail establishing more clearly the value of an engineering minor, by determining student skills that result from current activities, and determining current students' and employers' perceived values of a minor in engineering. This project will also develop and test a set of common assessment methods for desired technological literacy outcomes. Developing the technological literacy outcomes and assessment methods simultaneously helps to insure that the outcomes are measurable and centered on student learning. Available assessment methods would facilitate the adoption of the outcomes by other engineering educators. Built-in assessment will also keep participants focused on course design that reflects best practices in engineering teaching and learning.
