Results from implementation and assessment of case studies in the engineering curriculum

Abstract

Lessons learned from case studies have had a significant impact on both education and practice of engineering and related disciplines. The history of practice in many engineering disciplines is, in large part, the story of failures, both imminent and actual, and ensuing changes to designs, standards and procedures made as the result of timely interventions or forensic analyses. In addition to technical issues, professional and ethical responsibilities are highlighted by the relevant cases. Pilot studies had assessed the use of failure case studies in civil engineering and engineering mechanics courses at Cleveland State University under an earlier NSF sponsored project. Over the past few years, the project has extended the work of implementing and assessing case studies from Cleveland State University to other university partners, and has broadened the scope to cover other engineering disciplines, as well as the NSF Materials Digital Library. This paper reports the results of case studies in various courses at a diverse data set from seven universities. The results strongly suggest that failure case studies support a subset of ABET outcomes that may be referred to as the "Professional Component" of the curriculum. The Professional Component outcomes include understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities, understanding the impact of engineering solutions, life-long learning, and knowledge of contemporary issues. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2013.