While the Internet classes can open up an opportunity for faculty to use a new medium for delivery of education, the benefits are primarily for the students. It allows non-traditional students to take classes at their convenience. It not only allows them to retain their full-time jobs but also gives them the flexibility to maintain their commitments to family and community. In a time when many of the students are not able to attend classes physically, they have the opportunity to take the on-line courses from anywhere in the world. In the area of construction management the faculty should re-evaluate how they teach and present class materials and how they incorporate on-line teaching methodologies in their coursework to enhance student learning. This paper reports the results of an investigation of offering an on-line construction management course. The major components of this paper include courses that are suitable to be offered online, the computer hardware and software programs required to develop an on-line course, the method of delivery, course content, and communications between the instructor and students. A sample of the on-line construction management course homepage is also included in the paper.
There is a high rate of turnover of new faculty members at colleges and universities. Many new faculty members elect to leave their current institutions and join new ones only after a year or two of service. Research shows a lack of support and mentoring as major causes of turnover of new faculty members at institutions of higher education. Turnover of new faculty is costly to institutions due to costs associated with the recruitment processes, and other investments made by the institutions in professional training and development of new faculty. The initial faculty support system offered to new faculty through skillful mentoring proves beneficial to both the new faculty and the institution. Mentoring involves a mosaic of services of several experienced faculty and the department chair. This paper addresses the important steps in establishing a structured mentoring program for new faculty; it keys in on the needs of new faculty and highlights the contributions that the senior faculty and the department chair can make to create mentoring relationships that foster collegiality among the junior and senior faculty and enhance retention rates of new faculty members. This paper is also based on the authors' own experiences, experiences of several others, and student expectations of new faculty members. A set of recommendations are made on what to include, and what pitfalls to avoid for instituting a successful and effective mentoring program for new faculty members at institutions of higher education.
In the schools of engineering and technology, it is a common practice to hire adjunct faculty from industry to deliver instruction in select areas of design and construction, such as bridge design, construction contracting, special problems, etc. The reasons are two-fold: One, to avoid hiring full-time tenure-track faculty to comply with the budgetary constraints, and Two, to utilize the expertise of practitioners in specialized courses. Practitioners utilize engineering codes, standards, and specifications on a routine basis, and are well-equipped to transmit this knowledge to the students in an interesting and challenging manner. Practitioners face a variety of problems in their day-to-day practice and are open to sharing them with the students. Students enjoy exposure to real-world problems and feel connected to the profession through the experiences of these practitioners. The author has had the privilege of working with and utilizing adjunct clinical professors from industry in the areas of mechanical and electrical systems of buildings, materials testing, structural design, construction management and project scheduling. This paper cites select case histories, describes areas in which senior level courses in design and construction can be delivered more effectively by adjunct clinical professors. Practitioners, as adjunct clinical professors, bring technical relevance and currency to engineering curriculums, and students benefit from their experiences. In addition, participation of adjunct clinical professors opens up opportunities for students in gaining internships, field trips to projects, and professional networking. This paper also raises issues related to remuneration of adjunct faculty to insure a balanced approach to hiring of adjunct faculty.
There is an urgency for reform in engineering education. The new accreditation criteria EC2000, and TC2K of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) for accrediting engineering and technology programs respectively, encourage innovations in curriculum design. The criteria are outcomes-based, and non-prescriptive. However, there are constraints in what educational institutions can and can not do, as for example, there are limits to the number of hours that institutions can require for a baccalaureate degree. Additionally, the accredited programs must comply with accrediting agency's criteria. The TC2K criteria, for instance, states, "……the technical content is limited to no more than 2/3 the total credit hours for the program." This puts a tremendous strain on the program faculty to devise curriculums that are state-of-the-art, current in content, and relevant in terms of technological advancements in their particular field. Since a new course for every new advancement cannot be realistically created, it almost becomes mandatory to design a current topics course under a broad umbrella of that particular field. Such a course design is discussed in this paper. The name of the course is Current Topics in Construction, and the description of the course has been deliberately kept loose and flexible to accommodate new developments occurring in the construction field. Issues such as advancements in materials, construction methods and techniques, project delivery systems, performance-based specifications, certain court decisions, etc. have been given coverage in the past in this course. Some questions faced by engineers and contractors in the day-to-day problem-ridden practice are routinely discussed in the class to keep students up-to-date and current to form a strong fundamental body of knowledge. The students enjoy the format of the course which in essence, is that of a Senior Seminar course. The students are immersed in the research aspect of the course, and are actively involved in learning. This course has not stopped evolving since its inception because it is designed to evolve and change with time. In that sense alone, the course is a success.
Nano-scale science and engineering most likely will produce the strategic technology breakthroughs of tomorrow," says David Swain, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technology at Boeing. The development of micro-scale engineering in the area of electronics and computer technology demonstrates low cost and high efficiency technology advancements in miniaturization. These efforts have led to the emergence of nanotechnology dealing with a wide range of engineering applications at the nano scale. Nanotechnology has future impacts in the application markets such as medicine, healthcare, biotechnology, communications, and electronics. Due to rapid development and broad impact of nanotechnology, education and training of a new generation of workforce skilled in this field will play an important role in the development and applications of nanotechnology. It is a challenge for educators, especially for engineering technology educators, to provide an appropriate curriculum and effective learning environment including state-of-the-art laboratories for students who want to enter the nano field after their graduation. This paper will discuss the objectives of nano-technology education in the field of engineering technology at the baccalaureate level and point to the key issue of the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology. An analysis is made of the demands for laboratory facilities, faculty, and functions of other service departments to deliver an engineering technology curriculum in nanotechnology. Guidelines are provided for an innovative curriculum that draws upon collaborations among faculty, departments, and laboratories. The suggested guidelines can be modified to address the evolving needs of nano-technology education without loss of focus on engineering technology education.
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