Faculty Perspectives on Sustainability Integration in Undergraduate Civil and Environmental Engineering Curriculum

Burke, Rebekah; Dancz, Claire L. A.; Ketchman, Kevin J.; Bilec, Melissa M.; Boyer, Treavor H.; Davidson, Cliff I.; Landis, Amy E.; Parrish, Kristen

doi:10.1061/(asce)ei.1943-5541.0000373

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…As recommended in (Staniškis & Katiliūtė, 2016), the lecturer can include different activities (promoting different deep learning approaches), such as traditional frontal lectures, cases discussion (with the support of video), role-play, presentations, case studies analysis, etc. Case studies are particularly useful for teaching sustainability to engineers (Burke et al, 2018).…”

Section: Deep Learning and Constructivism Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching sustainable energy systems to engineering students

Locatelli¹

2022

IJISD

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This paper presents the learning outcomes, syllabus, delivery, and assessment strategy for a module of 'Sustainable energy systems' for master-level engineering students. The paper is based on three stages of 'action research.' The first stage is a critical reflection on the planning and the process, based on the experience in delivering the original module and literature review. The second stage is based on semi-structured interviews of 4 th -year students, focused on the collection of feedback to improve the module. The third stage is the redesign and peer-review of the module. The key outcome of this work is an approach which further enables students to move from 'surface learning' to a more profound 'deep learning'. Further steps forward toward a true 'constructivism' are also envisaged.Several enhancements are discussed, including an improved syllabus, new methods of delivery, finetuning of the learning outcomes, and finally revisiting the assessment strategy. The holistic teaching of 'Sustainable energy systems' is becoming commonplace in higher education engineering courses.Other lecturers planning or delivering a masters-level module on the topic of 'Sustainable energy systems' can gain practical and useful insights for their teaching from this paper.

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Section: Deep Learning and Constructivism Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching sustainable energy systems to engineering students

Locatelli¹

2022

IJISD

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“…There should also be more emphasis on training engineering faculty about climate science and providing resources for them to introduce the concept into existing courses. Engineering faculty integrating sustainability topics, such as climate change, into their curriculum still struggle with the best methods (Burke et al 2018). Topics related to sustainability, such as climate change, also generally are taught in the later years of undergraduate students' education (Burke et al 2018).…”

Section: Also May Helpmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Engineering faculty integrating sustainability topics, such as climate change, into their curriculum still struggle with the best methods (Burke et al 2018). Topics related to sustainability, such as climate change, also generally are taught in the later years of undergraduate students' education (Burke et al 2018). Incorporating climate science and the effects of climate change earlier into the education process may help address misconceptions before they become rooted within structurally sound mental models (Chen 2011).…”

Section: Also May Helpmentioning

confidence: 99%

Civil Engineering Students’ Beliefs about Global Warming and Misconceptions about Climate Science

et al. 2021

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Civil engineers will face increasing challenges in their careers due to climate change. The infrastructure they design and construct will directly contribute to or mitigate it. Action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change requires both a belief in human-caused global warming and a basic understanding of climate science. To understand which current engineering education efforts are successful or may need more consideration, a national sample of civil engineering students and students from other engineering disciplines was asked about their belief in global warming, understanding of greenhouse gases, the causes of global climate change, and ways to help reduce or slow it. The overwhelming majority of civil engineering students (83%) and students from other engineering disciplines (81%) acknowledged that global warming is happening. Nearly three of every four civil engineering students (73.5%) and other engineering students (71.3%) believed that global warming is caused by humans. However, only about half of civil engineering students (55.6%) and other engineering students (52.3%) felt that global warming is personally important. The majority of civil engineering students and other engineering students did not understand the causes and actions to reduce global warming. More than half of civil engineering students (60%) believed that nuclear power generation is a cause of global warming, which is significantly more than students from other engineering disciplines (52.6%). More than 8 of every 10 civil engineering students (83%) incorrectly believed or were unsure that the ozone hole in the upper atmosphere is a cause of global warming. A possible explanation for these misconceptions is that civil engineering students recognized general problems, such as nuclear waste and the ozone hole, but they did not link particular causes with particular consequences. Possible interventions were discussed for making climate change information personally relevant to engage students to think about cause and effect related to the climate.

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“…Program constituencies can include students, alumni, faculty, and employers, as defined by the program. In papers presented at recent American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conferences, authors have documented innovative ways to incorporate topic areas and assess students' understanding of sustainability [9] - [13], risk and uncertainty [14], and professional issues including business and public policy [15].…”

Section: Civil Engineering Programs and Program Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Civil Engineering Program Criteria: A Snapshot of How Programs Meet the Criteria

Hamilton

Saftner

Saviz³

2019 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Programs seeking accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET (EAC/ABET) must satisfy eight General Criteria plus any applicable Program Criteria that address curricular topics and faculty qualifications. Applicability of the Program Criteria generally is determined by the program name. As such, "Civil Engineering" and similarly named programs seeking accreditation by the EAC/ABET at the baccalaureate level must demonstrate that the program meets both the General Criteria for Baccalaureate Level Engineering Programs and the Civil Engineering Program Criteria (CEPC). A subset of curricular topics required by the CEPC includes the following [1], [2]: apply knowledge of mathematics through differential equations, calculus-based physics, chemistry, and at least one additional area of basic science; and  analyze and solve problems in at least four technical areas appropriate to civil engineering.This study was conducted to characterize current practices within EAC/ABET accredited civil engineering programs by examining: The minimum number of credit hours of mathematics and sciences, and engineering topics required;  The minimum number of credit hours required for graduation;  Required and designated elective courses and credit hours in mathematics and the sciences;  Courses used to satisfy the additional area of basic science; and  Technical areas of civil engineering required in the core curriculum.Data were gathered for 131 of the 252 EAC/ABET accredited civil engineering programs as follows: Curricula of the 47 programs scheduled for a comprehensive review in the 2018-19 accreditation cycle were analyzed.  A survey was sent directly to civil engineering department heads and chairs requesting the information also sought through review of materials posted online. Seventy unique responses were received and analyzed.  In addition, data for 14 other programs were also analyzed. These additional programs were selected because their faculty are included among the membership of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Committee on Education and the ASCE Department Heads Coordinating Council.Among the curricula of civil engineering programs analyzed for this study, a great diversity of approaches appears to be used to satisfy requirements including the additional science requirement, number of engineering credits, number of required courses in civil engineering technical areas, and number of civil engineering technical areas covered. This analysis shows that ABET requirements are sufficiently broad, allowing programs to use a variety of creative and innovative approaches to customize their curriculum to fulfill the mission of their institution and to meet the needs of their program constituencies. Analysis of results presented in this paper can assist civil engineering programs in identifying different pathways to satisfying accreditation criteria and can provide important information for the next review of the CEPC, scheduled to begin in October 2020.

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Faculty Perspectives on Sustainability Integration in Undergraduate Civil and Environmental Engineering Curriculum

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

Teaching sustainable energy systems to engineering students

Teaching sustainable energy systems to engineering students

Civil Engineering Students’ Beliefs about Global Warming and Misconceptions about Climate Science

Civil Engineering Program Criteria: A Snapshot of How Programs Meet the Criteria

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