Fall 2004/ Winter 2005
What caused the space shuttle Challenger disaster? How could engineers investigate and reconstruct the explosion? What are the "ethics of failure," and how do corporations make and reflect on complex decisions? These are some of the issues that University of New Mexico (UNM) freshmen study in a Ford PAS-inspired engineering course that aims to pique their interest in the field as well as build their “real life” skills.
This introductory class has become a “bridge” between high school and college for the many students who arrive at UNM enthusiastic about an engineering career but ill-prepared for college-level courses, says Elaine R. Borrelli, director of Engineering Student Programs and UNM’s Women in Science and Engineering Program. “Many students coming into the college are three or more classes away from taking a college engineering math class,” she says. “Often they are discouraged or frightened to push themselves. Ford PAS has provided a bridge for many of these students—building their confidence and interest in engineering.”
Borelli and others have adapted Ford PAS, with its focus on real-world applications, to blend into several of their standard introductory courses. In the Freshman Learning and Living course, UNM uses Ford PAS lessons on “reverse engineering” (i.e., analyzing a product’s design and how it meets the needs of intended users) to introduce students to both engineering concepts and organizational and communication skills. In small groups, students might investigate an everyday device, such as a can opener. Why are can openers constructed in so many styles and with so many different materials? Which ones work the best? Is there a way to make an even better can opener? Students hone their organizational and observational skills, record and maintain a daily log of their class activities, write meeting notes, work in small groups, develop their skills in communication, and practice problem solving, all while learning the basics of engineering.
“We are very excited about Ford PAS, because it’s enabling us to do something a little bit outside the box,” says Borrelli.
In another class, UNM integrates the Ford PAS content on business practices and technology and their impact on society with the university’s own materials on student success skills. “Using the Ford PAS materials, we help [students] develop real-life skills associated with living on their own and taking responsibility for their academics,” says Borrelli. “Ford PAS gives students an understanding of the economy and how the world turns, their roles in society, and corporate responsibility. That’s the glue that helps them situate themselves in terms of the college experience.”
The instructors use several Ford PAS modules in their three classes, including one that prepares students to meet people who have careers in engineering. “The students really enjoy the real-life experience and getting to interview someone who is in their field. The Ford PAS approach helps the students overcome their trepidation and make a cold call to someone to interview,” says instructor Beth Isbell Tapley.
With the Ford PAS curriculum, the school hopes to attract more students to the school of engineering who will be excited and motivated and will stay and graduate, says Borelli. Even if they don’t stay in engineering and computer science, she adds, “with Ford PAS, I think we’ll be able to retain them in some program at the university.”