NSF Award
1042030
The project is using the Imen-Delphi procedure to capture and categorize expected outcomes and assessment methods in first-year engineering courses and then using these results to define a classification schemes or set of models for these courses. This methodology for developing a consensus follows a proven technique designed to allow a large panel of experts to develop shared images of schemes based on a limited number of rounds of survey data. It has been proven to be successful in the development of a consensus for groups striving to specify characteristics leading to definitions of vaguely defined industries or programs This process is being followed by a workshop to investigate the defined models with their associated outcomes and assessment strategies in order to identify assessment gaps. These classifications would guide the engineering community in the development of first-year courses that have some coherency across institutions and facilitate transfer credit, encourage joint course development, and more effectively connect the first-year course to the rest of the curriculum. Results are being widely disseminated through conference papers, workshops, and journal articles.
