Board 9: Engineering Technology Division: Creating a New Engineering Technology Program Using the UbD Approach

Abstract

Our small group learned and implemented the Understanding by Design (UbD) pedagogy in our courses. The principles of UbD were then adapted to the task of developing a new program in engineering technology. This approach gave direction and, in many cases, solid solutions to numerous hurdles, including curriculum development, selection of textbooks, the development of online labs, and novel approaches to linking program content to courses. Informal feedback from industry indicates students know what they need to know to be successful. The adaptation of the UbD pedagogy was crucial to the development of the program and we believe it could be used successfully by others.