The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has recently adopted an expanded set of fifteen program outcomes identified in the American Society of Civil Engineers Body of Knowledge and conducted work leading to development of common course goals with appropriate levels of cognitive achievement based on Bloom's taxonomy. In addition, the department has adopted a holistic process for investigating and analyzing the linkage of individual course goals in various discipline-specific areas of concentration within the curriculum. Sequential course outcome maps or "threads" have been developed, or are under development, for each of the department's major discipline tracts (structural, environmental, site development, and transportation engineering). A major objective in developing this framework for assessment was to evaluate the effectiveness of how well course goals are linked within the undergraduate curriculum and provide a basis for incremental improvement. Creation of course goals, outcomes, and cognitive level linkages yielded additional curriculum assessment benefits including:

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This chapter examines the results from ongoing research of an authentic, problem-based learning (PBL) project. Embedded in an instructional technology course, the project was designed to help preservice teachers develop technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) necessary to successfully incorporate digital tools and applications in elementary classrooms (Harris, Mishra, & Koelher, 2009). The project partnered the preservice teachers with local elementary school classrooms where they served as instructional designers to develop digital media in support of a flipped classroom initiative. Results indicate that the semester-long PBL-based assignment significantly impacted the preservice teachers' TPACK development in several critical areas and can serve as a model for advancing next generation teacher education. Overarching themes that emerged and recommendations for future research are offered as well.

This chapter examines the results from ongoing research of an authentic, problem-based learning (PBL) project. Embedded in an instructional technology course, the project was designed to help preservice teachers develop technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) necessary to successfully incorporate digital tools and applications in elementary classrooms (Harris, Mishra, & Koelher, 2009). The project partnered the preservice teachers with local elementary school classrooms where they served as instructional designers to develop digital media in support of a flipped classroom initiative. Results indicate that the semester-long PBL-based assignment significantly impacted the preservice teachers' TPACK development in several critical areas and can serve as a model for advancing next generation teacher education. Overarching themes that emerged and recommendations for future research are offered as well.