Creative Curricula for Changemaking Engineers

Board 118: Developing Changemaking Engineers – Year Four

“…ENGR 103 -User-Centered Design (UCD) UCD is a required course for engineering majors taken during the second or third semester. In addition to the design principles that are often covered in most first-year design classes, UCD introduces students to the idea that engineering is not just a technical field but rather a sociotechnical and sociopolitical endeavor, by introducing strategies for developing designs that emphasize how users interact with the final product [1]. For example, when evaluating the efficacy of a design, students reflect on questions such as: Could this design create controversy?…”

“…The first module, entitled "Conflict Minerals", makes students aware that materials commonly used in electrical devices (such as Tantalum in capacitors) often come from countries where wars are fought over the resources [1,2,3]. Students are then encouraged to consider how they could minimize the use of conflict minerals as engineers and conduct research to learn about measures actually taken by companies to reduce the use of these materials.…”

“…In Engineering and Social Justice, students analyze the historical, social, political, and economic impacts of engineering in marginalized communities. Students consider the contemporary contexts and impacts of the designs, systems, processes and products surrounding and involving engineering and engineers [1]. Some of the activities used to achieve the goals of the course include critical reflection essays on topics of feminism and microaggressions; an analysis of the intersecting axes of privilege, domination, and oppression; and a community engagement project analyzed through the lens of Critical Race theory.…”

“…ENGR 494 -Engineering Peace An engineering faculty member and a faculty member from a school of Peace Studies have developed this course that focuses both on the design and use of drones while cultivating empathy across disciplinary boundaries. [1,13,14,15]. The class is taken as an elective by engineers (usually seniors) and graduate students in Peace Studies.…”

Trash Teachings: How a Materials Science Module Series about Waste can Empower Engineering Students to be More Sociotechnically Responsible

“…This integration is one that has been underway at the University of San Diego Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering for several years. Supported by an NSF-funded Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) grant, the larger goal of this work is to empower student engineering changemakers and develop sociotechnical content that faculty can incorporate into their classrooms [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”