The Efficacy of Case Studies for Teaching Policy in Engineering and Technology Courses
Project Members
Rylan Chong, Dr. Melissa Dark, Dr. Ida Ngambeki, and Dr. Dennis Depew
Rylan Chong, Dr. Melissa Dark, Dr. Ida Ngambeki, and Dr. Dennis Depew
Abstract
Public policy is an increasingly important topic in the engineering and technology curriculum as it has been recognized by a community of experts, National Research Council of the National Academies (NRCNA), Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). The purpose of this study was to extend the work of Chong, Depew, Ngambeki, and Dark “Teaching social topics in engineering: The case of energy policy and social goals” by exploring a method to introduce public policy using a case study approach to undergraduate engineering technology students in the engineering economics course in the College of Technology at Purdue University. The substantive contribution of this study addressed the following questions: 1) did the students understand and identify the policy context, 2) how effective was the use of case studies to introduce the students to policy, and 3) areas of improvement to enhance efficacy of the case studies to introduce students to policy?