Influence of Collaborative Curriculum Design on Educational Beliefs, Communities of Practitioners, and Classroom Practice in Transportation Engineering Education

Abstract

The development and widespread implementation of best practices in transportation engineering classrooms is important in attracting and retaining the next generation of transportation engineers. Engineering education professionals have uncovered many best practices in the field; however, the process of effectively disseminating and ultimately achieving the widespread adoption of these best practices by others is not yet well understood. Sixty participants, including faculty members, Ph.D. students, and public-sector employees, attended a transportation engineering education workshop convened in Seattle to promote the collaborative development and adoption of active learning and conceptual exercises in the introduction to transportation engineering class. Participant assessments were conducted in the form of presurvey, postsurvey, and follow-up survey. Results showed immediately positive shifts in participant beliefs about the importance of active learning and conceptual exercises, with declines during the follow-up period, an increased density and connectivity of curriculum-development networks, and extensive reports of valuable experiences and influences from the workshop.