This activity is typically implemented in a 60-person first year engineering (FYE) seminar class, but should be usable with minimal changes in smaller groups or with minor to moderate changes for larger sections. The in-class activities are typically about 45 minutes in length and the after-class reflections should take most students less than an hour. No special equipment or supplies are required for the in-class activities. To implement peer-assessed reflections appropriate online services such as Peerceptiv would be recommended.

Pre-prepared discussion points / slides (sample provided in attachments)

Optional polls - not necessary but helpful for Step 2 in Detailed Sequence of Activities. Alternatively, students can raise their hands for low-tech polling. Questions for use in Poll Everywhere or similar software:

• To what extent does what you know right now determine the course of your engineering career?
  • Response Options: 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%
• To what extent does what you learn in engineering school determine the course of your engineering career?
  • Response Options: 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%

Pre-prepared reflection questions (sample provided in attachments)

Overview

This card outlines an activity to bring students to the realization (consistent with ABET criterion 7) that engineers will need to acquire and apply new knowledge throughout their careers. It is a roughly 45-minute activity ideally delivered in-class/synchronously but that could be adapted to other environments with an expectation of diminished impact. This activity has previously been implemented in a first-year seminar course but could be adapted for use in other courses. It is intended to spark their curiosity: What did technology look like when the engineers who are about to retire started in the field? How have they adapted and kept up with the times? It is also intended to help them make connections: What will technology look like during my engineering career? How will I make sure I am keeping up with these changes?

Summary of Activities

A set of discussion questions and targeted content brings students to a broader perspective of the potential length of the engineering career and the high probability of technological and social change during that time by looking backwards and considering the length of one (long) engineering career. Students consider the certainty of immense technological change across their career. Methods to engage with lifelong learning in school and later in industry are reviewed. After the discussions students write and peer-evaluate reflections on their realizations and understandings derived from this activity and how they have updated their academic and career plans.

Detailed Sequence of Activities

1. Students are asked two starter questions "To what extent does what you know right now determine the course of your engineering career?" and "To what extent does what you learn in engineering school determine the course of your engineering career?" These questions spark their curiosity and prime them for the discussions ahead. Students respond to these questions via an online polling software on a scale of 0-100% by 10% increments or by raising their hand in response to each increment for a low-tech, in-class option.
2. Poll results are made available/viewable to the class and briefly summarized with the class. Polling software, like Poll Everywhere, makes this easy; if students are raising their hands, the instructor, TA, or student volunteer should record a rough estimate of student responses to share.
   
   • In our experience, students give answers ranging from 10-40% for the first question and 30-100% for the second.
3. Students are then asked "What year do you plan to retire?", which often gets results of incredulity and "I've never thought about that." Discussion follows establishing a date in the future that seems like a class average (it is in the instructor's interest to make this date far off).
4. Pre-prepared slides discussing the state of technology an appropriate distance (~40-50 years into the past considering students graduate at ~22) are presented to illustrate the amount of change that can be expected in their career. These connections help them to put their careers, and the need for lifelong learning, into focus. Current undergraduates could reasonably expect their careers to include greater change due to acceleration of technological change and more working years as medical technology advances.
5. Additional discussions and materials relating to how engineers engage with lifelong learning in industry and how to begin using similar techniques during their academic careers are reviewed. Examples of professional development and certifications are presented.
6. Students reflect out of class on this discussion through essays and consider how to engage in lifelong learning in school and in industry to be prepared for a changing world.
7. For greater engagement and impact, students peer review each other's reflective essays to see other opinions and consider other perspectives. We suggest using anonymous peer review software like Peerceptiv and asking students to review two other reflections.
   • In this class, students write a reflective essay nearly every week and subsequently review two peer reflections. While the peer reflection component is helpful, it may be difficult to add it in as a one-off experience.