Training Faculty to Teach Civil Engineering

Adoption of ASCE’s Policy Statement 465 and subsequent discussion of the what, how, and who of teaching the body of knowledge (BOK) that will be required for professional civil engineering practice has heightened the need for continued improvement in civil engineering education. ASCE has explicitly said the role of educators and practitioners in teaching the body of knowledge is critical and has listed faculty-related success factors for teaching the BOK. A key success factor is statement 465’s call for faculty and practitioners to properly prepare to “effectively engage students in the learning process.” This paper considers this challenge and discusses an instructor training program that effectively prepares faculty and practitioners to actively engage students in the learning process as envisioned by Policy Statement 465. We will show quantifiable evidence of the positive results gained by using this instructor training program through student and instructor feedback. Additionally, alternative shorter courses based on this program of preparation are highlighted that may be attended by the faculty of multiple engineering programs and by practitioners.     

Real-World Projects Reinforce Fundamentals in the Classroom

In academia, achieving a balance between teaching fundamental principles and the application of those principles continues to be a challenge. One of the purposes of education is to teach fundamental principles and the thought process. Graduating engineers, however, also need experience and competence in real-world engineering problems. All engineering courses should be based on fundamental principles, but some courses should also demonstrate how to apply engineering concepts to practical engineering problems. This paper is directed primarily at courses that are more applied in nature. One of the factors complicating the implementation of applied courses is the lack of practical engineering by some faculty. If the faculty member goes from graduate student to assistant professor without experience in the profession, it may be difficult for the faculty member to generate meaningful classroom examples. Quality, real-world design problems can often be gleaned from research projects, consulting projects, or supplied by engineering firms. Another challenge is finding appropriate textbooks that address practical problems encountered in real-world engineering. Engineering students should be exposed to projects that require a meaningful analysis, allowing the students to exhibit creativity in their design and analysis without getting bogged down with too many details. The problems should be closely coordinated with the course material so the student has the proper background information. This paper discusses one such project used by the authors in teaching hydraulic design at a senior∕graduate student level and some general suggestions for developing design projects.     

Practical Summer Training in Civil and Construction Engineering for Cultivation of Professional Ability

The cultivation of professional ability for undergraduate civil and construction engineering students is very important to help them meet the challenges that await them in the fast changing world. This paper presents a thorough study of practical training in the field of civil and construction engineering. Based upon an extensive literature review of the practical training curriculum worldwide, questionnaires were provided to contractors, educators and students in Taiwan to assess problems in traditional summer practical training courses for civil and construction engineering in Taiwan. At the outset of the study, it was thought that the lack of available jobs for students might be related solely to the economy but the findings indicated that the reasons were more complex ranging from concerns about liability for students working in construction sites to traditional cultural concerns about whether apprentices should be paid. The Delphi method was used to study the problems that were identified, relating to planning, execution, evaluation, and development of the existing practical training programs. A refined and improved summer practical training curriculum is proposed for civil and construction engineering education in Taiwan based upon the findings. Although the survey related to practical training programs for engineering students was conducted in Taiwan, the results might vary in other countries. The procedures used, and results obtained may be valuable resources and have a potential use for other countries. What is certain is that practical training can play an important role in readying engineering students for the work place in any location and making the practical training as effective and as safe as possible should be a universal goal.     

Science and government: A federal agency perspective.

Discusses support of university-based research and training by the National Institutes of Health in terms of issues such as reimbursement for indirect costs, mechanisms of faculty support, and attacks on the peer review system. The need to assure that institutions and their faculties are not diverted from their commitments to teaching and research is stressed. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Job versus Graduate School Training of Forensic Engineers—An Instructor and Professional Engineer’s View

This paper provides insights from a graduate forensic engineering course for civil engineers and analyses its success from the instructor and student perspectives. The objective of the study was to evaluate teaching methods and settings for training of forensic engineers in light of new body of knowledge needs for the profession. The assessment methodology used student feedback before, during, and after the semester-long course and the instructor’s observations and prior forensic engineering consulting experience. The course was structured around student learning objectives that paralleled actual engineer training in professional consulting firms. The students used hands-on learning, field investigations, library-based research, and report writing. Focus was placed on learning basic research skills and applying scientific method which were at low levels among students. This is of concern to the profession as these skills, along with analytical ability, form part of the basic tool set of most engineers. By the end of the course, writing and review skills had improved significantly and student perceptions of the specialized skills turned more favorable. The students overwhelmingly appreciated inclusion of guest lectures by forensic engineers to demonstrate the relevance of this field. It was concluded that inadequate technical writing and reading skills, symptomatic of students in many engineering programs can be corrected through a forensic engineering course.     

The quality assurance process as a management method for psychology training programs.

Describes a psychology training program in a community-based psychological service center managed by a system of quality assurance. Professional psychology doctoral candidates practice in the center and participate in the quality assurance management process as part of their training. Trainees participate in the practice and serve on peer review panels. It is concluded that the peer review system appears well received, functional, useful, and worth continuing. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Charles W. Bray II (1904–1982).

Presents an obituary for Charles William Bray, II. Bray received the master's degree in psychology in 1926, and the PhD in 1928; his doctoral thesis on "Vitamin A Deficiency and Its Relation to Hearing" was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology in 1941. He was appointed instructor in psychology in the Princeton department in 1928, and then continued to rise through the academic ranks, becoming assistant professor in 1931, associate professor in 1941, and full professor in 1945. In his academic teaching, Bray was mainly concerned with experimental methodology, working with other members of the departmental staff in laboratory training courses for undergraduate students and was also deeply involved in the training of graduate students and especially their guidance in connection with their doctoral theses. He taught courses in differential psychology and educational psychology, as well as the laboratory training course in experimental psychology. Personally, Chuck was a man of warmth, grace, forthrightness, and sound judgment; he was the perfect friend to all who knew him well. As a scientist he was perceptive, painstaking, and thoroughgoing, with an unhurried objectivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quality management in medical specialties: the use of channels and dikes in improving health care in The Netherlands

BACKGROUND: In 1989 a Dutch national policy was instituted to ensure that quality management is the responsibility of both health care professionals and management, with input from insurers and patients. In turn, quality management of medical specialists remained to a large extent self-regulatory, with accountability toward third-party payers and patients. Three programs for quality management-peer review, guidelines, and visitation-have sufficiently persuaded patient organizations and care insurers about medical specialists' ability to ensure the quality of the care they provide. PEER REVIEW: Operational since 1976, the national program for peer review in hospitals has stressed the need for explicit evaluative mechanisms. This program led to the foundation of the National Organization for Quality Assurance in Hospitals (CBO), which conducts peer review activities but also support efforts aimed at quality assurance in hospitals. Once it is linked with the other two quality management programs, peer review will realize its full potential as a profession-based method for standardizing and rationalizing medical specialty practice. PRACTICE GUIDELINES: Since 1982, more than 60 consensus guidelines have been developed for and by medical professionals, with input from patient organizations and third-party payers. Medical specialty associations have also created their own guidelines. Although the guidelines' impact has not been evaluated systematically, studies have shown effects on behavioral change and health outcomes. Solid, credible guidelines continue to be developed, although the successful implementation of these guidelines needs to be studied. VISITATION PROGRAM: Visitation, or onsite assessment of specialty practice sites (in training and non-training hospitals), has been a hot issue in Dutch medical quality assurance. All 28 scientific societies have visitation programs, focusing on areas for improvement such as process management, use of guidelines, and evaluation of patient satisfaction and treatment outcomes. Closely linked to other medical quality assurance activities, visitation programs also incorporate clinical guidelines into evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: Profession-driven peer review, practice guidelines, and visitation programs have been effective support tools for quality management in The Netherlands. Future challenges involve creating more synergy among these programs and between the profession-based quality management approaches and recently introduced hospital-based quality systems and maintaining the trust between third-party payers and patients.     

Differences between Experts and Novices in the Review of Engineering Journal Papers

This paper reports on a controlled experiment carried out to investigate the differences between novices and experts during the review of papers for engineering journals. A total of 17 young faculty members with PhD degrees were given instruction on the peer review process, and then had to review a short paper, for which the actual reviews were available. The quality of the reviews was assessed using criteria developed by editors of medical journals. The evidence obtained from this study helps to identify the critical areas in which reviewers fail to perform a good review, and then to develop strategies to overcome such limitations.     

Iatrogenic Effects of Group Treatment for Antisocial Youths.

It has been argued that group treatment of antisocial adolescents may increase rather than decrease conduct problems. One mechanism that has been suggested to underlie this effect is "deviancy training," wherein during group sessions deviant peers reinforce each other's antisocial actions and words. These 2 hypotheses have important implications and warrant close review at conceptual and empirical levels. In this article, the authors present such a review. Conceptually, deviancy training potential of treatment sessions appears less significant than the more extensive peer influences outside treatment. Empirical findings previously cited in support of iatrogenic effects appear on close examination to provide little support. Finally, 17 of 18 new meta-analytic tests produced results not supportive of iatrogenic or deviancy training effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research on quality assurance.

Psychology has not been sufficiently attentive to the need to demonstrate the effectiveness of mechanisms intended to ensure the quality of psychological services. The mechanisms are numerous, but peer review has been among the most prominent. Research is needed to justify reliance on peer review. Specifically, peer review must be demonstrated to be reliable in the decisions it produces, and those decisions must be valid in furthering more nearly optimal treatment outcomes. A peer review system must also be credible in the profession. Research can help to improve criteria for peer review, improve the processes by which it operates, and determine its effects on treatment outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workplace substance abuse prevention and help seeking: Comparing team-oriented and informational training.

Employees fail to seek help for alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse because of unhealthy work climates, stigma, and distrust in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). To address such problems, the authors randomly assigned groups of municipal employees (N?=?260) to 2 types of training: a 4-hr informational review of EAPs and policy and an 8-hr training that embedded messages about AOD reduction in the context of team building and stress management. Pre- and posttraining and 6-mos follow-up surveys assessed change. Group privacy regulation, EAP trust, help seeking, and peer encouragement increased for team training. Stigma of substance users decreased for information training. EAP/policy knowledge increased for both groups. A control group showed little change. Help seeking and peer encouragement also predicted EAP utilization. Integrating both team and informational training may be the most effective for improving help seeking and EAP utilization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When reviews attack: Ethics, free speech, and the peer review process.

The peer review process, whether formally applied in publication and grant review, or informally, such as exchange of ideas in scientific and professional newsgroups, has sparked controversy. Writers in this area agree that scholarly reviews that are inappropriate in tone are not uncommon. Indeed commentators have suggested rules and guidelines that can be used to improve the review process and to make reviewers more accountable. In this paper, the authors examine the relevance and impact of ethical codes on the conduct of peer review. They contend that the peer review process can be improved, not by a new set of rules, but through closer attention to the ethical principles to which psychologists already subscribe. The discussion considers the four principles of the Canadian Psychological Association in relation to peer review and to the six principles presented in the code of the American Psychological Association. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A piece of good news": Teaching as a creative process.

Presents what the author believes are the essential principles which provide the foundation of her career as a professor of psychology. It is noted that teaching, clinical supervision, and thesis direction all involve a creative process. This process is the foundation which provides the student with the conceptual framework required for the development of a mature identity as a psychologist. The theories of Piaget, Erikson, Freud, P. N. Mailloux, and F. F. Barron, among others, underlie the process the author has developed over the years. A well-conceptualized structure enables the student to become actively responsible for making that learning a formative, stimulating experience. As the process unfolds, the student becomes aware of the potential for a creative approach in all aspects of the development of an identity, regardless of the academic or professional orientation which has been chosen. The role of the teacher and the student varies over time as the student exercises an ever greater degree of professional and scientific autonomy. If the process is truly creative, the completion of the doctorate is significantly enhanced. The philosophical principles and values of this approach for teaching and training, along with examples of the impact on students' personal and professional development, form the substance of the author's presentation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate training for community clinical psychology.

"In this paper we will review some of the basic principles which seem to underlie the training of psychologists for professional careers in the field of mental health, examine these principles in relation to the developments that have occurred in this field since World War II, explore the implications of these factors for graduate training in psychology in general and clinical psychology in particular, and describe a training program in which we are attempting to apply these principles." The program at the University of Nebraska "has developed over the last 13 years." In it there has been a shift from "teaching psychological tests to teaching the use of psychologist tests as an aid to understanding people's problems." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Competency-based orientation for clinical nurse educators

The orientation process highlights entry into new roles and responsibilities. The attainment of competence in this process can be enhanced through the appropriate identification of requisite knowledge and skills and the use of creative tools to establish an organized process and documentation of progress. Clinical educators in acute care settings require an orientation program that incorporates both clinical and educational components. Formal communication between a new hire and preceptor and subsequent documentation for both administrative and peer review provide increased accountability. Therefore, a variety of strategies, often melding the clinical and teaching roles, becomes crucial to a successful orientation program.     

The impact of peer review on professional practice.

Discusses the history and impact of peer review as an in-house quality control process. It is described as similar to previous steps in that it is developed and administered by psychologists but different because it goes beyond qualifying criteria for engaging in practice to deal with performance after an individual has become a qualified provider. The effects of peer review on several aspects of professional practice are discussed. Vehicles for obtaining information for review judgments are examined in terms of criteria, theoretical orientation, and benefit decisions. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)