Changing the core-changing the culture

The Gateway Coalition was founded by a set of schools willing to work together for engineering education change and funded through the NSF. The Coalition projects are divided into Curriculum and Instructional Development (CID) Educational Technology and Methodology Evaluation and Quality Assurance (EQA), and Human Potential Development (HPD). A portion of the project has dealt with improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the engineering core and, thus, retention. Drexel's E/sup 4/ (An Enhanced Educational Experience for Engineering Students) program was the model for changing the core and the other schools are adapting E/sup 4/ for their campuses and their cultures. The E/sup 4/ approach puts an emphasis on engineering early and includes design and hands-on laboratory experiences. This requires a change in the current culture and the current practice of engineering education and, as part ofthe Coalition, will provide the impetus for change. The Gateway Coalition activities at Ohio State are focused on improving engineering education through engineering education research and development. A portion of the faculty are now working together in ways that they have not done before. As a team of teachers developing and teaching in the pilot, they are working with a group of students. They are communicating across departmental and college boundaries and are discovering mutual interests among colleagues. The Coalition provides colleagues beyond the boundaries of Ohio State in the other Gateway schools and in engineering education in general.