EML Spines at University of St. Thomas
This expanded list of 3Cs learning outcomes adds two more outcomes under each of the 3Cs.
University of St. Thomas has developed an expanded list of 3Cs learning outcomes for itself, incorporating the original KEEN mindset learning outcomes for Curiosity, Connections, and Creating Value and adding two additional outcomes under each of the 3Cs.
Additional
Curiosity outcomes:
- “Empathetically understand others’ views.”
- “Embrace ambiguity as a resource.”
Additional
Connections outcomes:
- “Participate in networks to build solutions collaboratively.”
- “Engage diverse stakeholders.”
Additional
Creating Value outcomes:
- “Leverage the voice of the customer.”
- “Contribute positively to society.”
During a School of Engineering faculty retreat in summer 2017, participants identified in-class, extracurricular, and cocurricular EML activities they were currently delivering, matching them up with the corresponding learning outcomes. The faculty then drafted a map of connections between the activities to help the group visualize which activities had dependencies on others, and which could provide groundwork for others.
The results of this combined effort were captured in our first “Kumu map,” an interactive, data-based graphical representation of our EML activities and the connections between them:
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cloud.kumu.io/accounts/20085/102292/42bbe717-3be6-42cb-bec8-89ec39d94225.png)
Over the next months, we initiated a series of one-on-one conversations with faculty offering the EML activities, looking for gaps and opportunities in the continuity of EM development over the four-year curriculum.
In response, we identified a sequence of 3-4 courses in each major that can function as “EML Spines,” able to establish a common EML vocabulary and provide graduated, increasingly diverse exposure to the 3Cs for all undergraduate engineers. The EML activities delivered outside of the EML Spine course are now able to refer to the discussions and experiences students have in common in the EML Spine courses, and together, the spine courses and ongoing and developing activities that build on them provide our program-wide, curriculum-long EML Scaffolding.
The second-generation Kumu map (“EML Spines” shown statically below and linked in interactive form in the Resource section of this card) is an interactive visualization of the EML Spine courses, other EML activities directly associated with semester-long courses, and connections between them:
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cloud.kumu.io/accounts/20085/102292/fb0eab2d-3768-41b3-8d37-8a9cd105530c.png)
Over the coming months, this version of the map will be further populated with links to engineeringunleashed.com cards, Assessment Working Group (AWG) templates illustrating assessment approaches for individual activities, and details of connections between individual activities. The elements and connections in the map are all clickable/explorable, and we will be using the map as a visual explanatory tool (e.g. “Why spines?”), a prompt for question formulation (e.g. “Where can we best incorporate our collaborative solution-building learning outcome?”), and an invitation for ongoing faculty contribution.
The EML Spines Kumu Map and the 3Cs Expanded Outcomes List are tools for visualizing and exploring connections between EML elements in the curriculum. This is not a lesson plan with learning objectives.