Engineering Expertise Exchange: Connecting Classrooms to Enhance Engineering Education (Virtual Exchane)
Session Fr1: Nov 12, 10:40 AM
Abrstract:
In this interactive session, we share the development of a CLICK virtual exchange module that combined a Master’s-level engineering course from Polytech Paris-Saclay in France with an introductory engineering course from Middlesex Community College in Connecticut, USA. Through this example, we present how courses taught in different languages and at different levels can work together to provide key benefits to students. By collaborating in international teams on a shared project, students learn to communicate effectively using technology, develop intercultural negotiation and teamwork skills, and become better prepared for the 21st century global workforce. In addition to these benefits, we share additional student learning goals that the teaching partners developed for their virtual exchange module, which was titled “E^3: Engineering Expertise Exchange.”
To assess how well the goals were met, students completed pre- and post-CLICK surveys administered by Gazelle International, and they also wrote reflection papers for their teachers. We share the results of these assessments and brainstorm with the session participants on what the results mean for workforce preparedness and intercultural learning in engineering education. After reviewing the case sample, we invite participants to consider the ways in which a similar project could help meet the goals of their department or campus and complement their curriculum. We then briefly summarize two interdisciplinary CLICK virtual exchange projects that combine the humanities and engineering.
Gazelle International is a registered educational nonprofit organization that focuses on international education, specifically virtual exchange. Our system is called CLICK: Collaborative Learning for International Capabilities and Knowledge. Through a partnership with the Connecticut College of Technology, the two engineering teachers completed our virtual exchange training program. At the end of the session, we will share how the overall program and this CLICK module operated during the COVID-19 pandemic while both schools engaged in fully-remote learning.
In this session, participants will:
-Develop a sense of what a virtual exchange module entails
-Engage with the goals of virtual exchange, including intercultural competence and 21st century workforce skills
-Understand how virtual exchange fits into and complements engineering education
-Brainstorm ways of implementing virtual exchange on their own campus
-Consider how training and assessment can lead to strong individual projects or larger institutional programs