A Teaching And Learning Initiative At The United States Military Academy

In the spring of 1999, the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the United States Military Academy began a joint three-year Teaching and Learning Initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to improve cadet development by promoting active learning, by evolving a curriculum development process that enhances learning and growth across an integrated cadet academic experience, and to invigorate faculty teaching and scholarship by continuous development. This paper addresses the philosophy of this initiative along with visions and desired outcomes from the effort. Initial goals, objectives, performance criteria, and data collection efforts are presented. The organizational structure for the initiative is outlined to include work groups. Preliminary feedback, assessment, and results from the first year of the initiative are presented.