Using Entry Level Engineering Courses As A Method Of Promoting Industry Awareness

In today’s service-based culture, certain industrial and manufacturing jobs have gained a reputation for being dirty, boring, and outdated. Even more, due to the ingrained nature of this reputation, many students have learned very little to nothing about these jobs and industries. Due to negative stereotypes, students may dismiss possible employment in these areas before they can even learn about the industries. This research describes a method aimed primarily at integrating information about industrial establishments, particularly those in iron and steel making, into first-year materials engineering curricula in order to acquaint students with a major national and international industry. A second goal is to educate students about the close relationship between steel and their engineering studies. Through these unique integration measures—which involve using aspects of industry as examples, and providing samples of manufactured products to add a tangible quality to classroom learning—not only would students have a wider array of information leading to more informed career decisions, but steel companies and others would be aided in recruiting a new foundation of employees. The effectiveness of the implementation of this approach has yet to be determined, as it has only recently been put into place, but a survey gauging students’ knowledge and interest in the steel industry was given at the beginning of the course and was followed by a second survey, both aimed to help measure the success of the new teaching tools. Through accumulation of these surveys over a span of time, the success of these methods will be determined. P ge 14321.2 Introduction First year students in modern engineering programs are constantly inundated with buzzword research topics. They come into college with notions about technology and engineering that do not measure up to reality 1 . Anything with the prefix “nano-“ or “bio“ has a reputation for being exciting and interesting while other, more thoroughly studied subjects are looked upon as stagnant. In fact, in most studies, students in materials science seem to prefer studying so-called advanced materials as opposed to those materials that are most widely used and produced in today’s world 2 . One such industry that has been unfairly pegged as “old-fashioned” is the steel industry. Due to reports in news media of job-losses or accidents at factories, events that will always garner media attention, students are less likely to see that the industry can offer an exciting career opportunity 1 . Therefore the challenge facing the steel industry (and similar industries) in recruiting their next generation of engineers is overcoming this stereotype and presenting a true image of industry in the modern world. These representations may best be overcome with education that provides students with an accurate view of the modern industry. Were steel companies to partner with universities to present information to freshmen engineering students, many of the negative stereotypes of the industry could be dispelled. Indeed, with a fresh work force, new achievements in the industry are sure to follow 3 . Another issue, which became apparent during the course of this study, is a complete lack of knowledge about the steel industry. Many students had no prior knowledge of the processes or science occurring in the steel industry. Many knew only enough to broadly state that many items in our society were made of steel. Therefore, not P ge 14321.3 only would a partnership between industry and university require attention to the industry’s reputation, but also to basic education pertaining to iron and steel. One such partnership idea is for materials science and engineering programs to include basic aspects of steel in their introductory materials science classes. At most universities, engineering students take introductory classes for specific majors. Integrated into an entry-level materials science course, information on ferrous metallurgy would provide a foundation for basic materials science and steel-making concepts and would be beneficial for both the university and industry 1 . In order to achieve this goal without completely revamping their lesson plans, instructors could instead continue teaching existing fundamental content, and use examples in the area of ferrous metal technology to reinforce the information. For example, when teaching the difference between various crystal structures an instructor could use the transition of steel from one crystal structure to another as an example to illustrate this. Using examples that tie into some of the most essential concepts of materials would help introduce students to important content and dismiss any negative precepts the students had about the steel industry in general. Students would understand as well that the iron and steel field, as the largest metalsbased market in the world, still has a wealth of exciting discoveries to be made 4 . Through integration with an existing curriculum, the steel industry and engineering students would be greatly aided by this new material. The specific structure of the lesson given at the University of Kentucky in 2008 is described below in detail. Background and Structure of Plan In their first semester at the University of Kentucky, all engineering freshmen take introductory major-related courses. These introductory courses are designed mainly P ge 14321.4 as an overview to engage new students and to introduce them to not only collegiate learning, but to a variety of the subjects they will study during their university degree program. The students who enroll in these classes typically have little to no practical knowledge of the subjects contained within their new program of study, so the class also serves as their first impression of any particular degree. The specific curriculum used in the class is generally at a lower level, and one or two hypothetical examples per point are shown in order to help reinforce the explanation. By altering the presentation of these examples, they can be molded to present practical information about the science, as well as promote industrial ties. If, in these examples, the instructor were to forgo the general examples of the textbook and instead use photographs, samples, and material from industry—ideally provided by a company but alternately drawn from the internet—the students would learn about industrially relevant materials and their real world applications. Additionally, students would glean information about the industry used in the example, gaining exposure to different fields, which could aid in making informed decisions about internships, co-ops, and future careers. The curriculum implemented in the Fall 2008 semester at the University of Kentucky was tailored for a materials science and engineering (MSE) 101 course. There were 52 PowerPoint slides in the presentation with nearly half detailing either a scientific principle or steel manufacturing process. When a slide with general MSE information was shown, it was immediately followed by a specific example slide relating to the steel industry. The initial presentation lasted about 40 minutes, almost the length of a regular class period. The purpose of this new material was to educate the MSE freshmen about the steel industry. The thought behind each section of the lesson was to present an aspect P ge 14321.5 of materials science and then illustrate this with a practical example from the iron and steel making industry. Fig. 1a shows an example slide and Fig 1b shows its complement. What should become clear to the students is that the basic tenets of materials science are not only important to the further study of the degree, but are fresh, applicable, and important in industry. The goal of the approach is to make presentations in the early engineering curriculum doubly effective. In addition to learning the basics of science, students will also learn about an industry in which this science is used on a daily basis. The expectation is to be able to take the existing lectures, and give them more practical information relative to industry while maintaining their accessibility to beginning students. Implementation of System The newly developed lecture was first given in the Fall of 2008. Touching briefly on subjects ranging from crystal bonding and structure to metals processing to basic steel production, the presentation covered a wide variety of subjects. Each slide of the presentation, with the exception of those pertaining solely to steel production, helped give students fundamental knowledge. The presentation began with atomic bonding and crystal structure, then moved to defects, specifically dislocations and grain boundaries, briefly covered stress-strain curves and phase diagrams, and introduced the subject of mechanical testing. The slideshow then lightly touched on the steel industry, including examples of specific steel alloys and processing methods. Although samples were not obtained in time for the initial presentation, the lecture would greatly benefit from relevant product samples. For as many topics as possible, there should be steel samples that illustrate the particular microstructure or processing technique. Previous educational P ge 14321.6 research has shown conclusively that hands-on learning is a very effective tool for students on any level, and one that the students prefer 5 . As a comprehensive approach, several additions to the lecture could be made. First of all, the presentation could be changed from just a presentation of information to a more interactive format, asking the students for input on quantitative and theoretical problems. 6 For example, during the presentation the students could be asked simple materials based questions such as “How do you make a material hard?” After being given time to consider the question and offer answers, the principle could be illustrated using steel. Having a piece of “