A Colloquy On Learning Objectives For Engineering Education Laboratories
Lyle D. Feisel, George D. Peterson
Abstract
As distance learning programs become more prevalent and as we begin to offer undergraduate engineering programs in a distance format, the question of laboratories and their role in engineering education becomes increasingly important. There is an ongoing debate about whether a remote laboratory experience can really accomplish the goals of educational laboratories. This leads, then, to the question of what are the true goals of a laboratory experience. This question has been addressed before, but not extensively in the context of distance education or with regard to the massive computing power that now enables highly sophisticated simulations. In January 2002, ABET, with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, held a colloquy to explore this issue. This paper reports the preliminary conclusions of that colloquy.