An International Exploration of Electrical and Computer Engineering Education Practices

This research paper describes results from an international survey of electrical and computer (ECE) educators and stakeholders about the current state and future directions of ECE education. Technological, economic, and social pressures are reshaping higher education, but there is little consensus about the future. IEEE created a Curricula and Pedagogy Committee (CPC) and charged it with forecasting the future of ECE education and to make recommendations regarding roles that IEEE will play in preparing for and crafting that future. To gather more information from members of the engineering education community, the committee conducted a global survey. Surveys were deployed in 2014 to those who (1) teach undergraduate students, (2) administer a degree program (i.e., Department Chairs), (3) serve as a top-level administrator over all engineering degree programs (i.e., Deans), and (4) work professionally in engineering. Survey items address areas including instructional strategies, instructional technologies, assessment strategies, curricula, evaluation of teaching, and preparation of graduates. With over 2100 respondents, these survey results can inform conversations about the future of ECE education. This paper focuses on responses from the over 600 academic respondents. When asked about teaching and assessing problem solving, moral/ethical reasoning, and design, respondents were most likely to teach problem solving and design. This suggests that ethics may not be getting the attention that is needed. Lecture was the most popular teaching practice employed for these three topics. Locally developed tests and instruments were used most often for assessing problem solving, design, and moral/ethical reasoning. Emphases on co-op, industry partnership, and internships tended to be relatively uniform in ranging from significant to almost none. Almost all engineering programs are presently accredited or expected to be accredited within five years. Evaluating teaching was done primarily using student evaluations but peer evaluations, self-evaluations, and administrator evaluations were also commonly used.