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Page 1: iFoundry: Organizational Change for the Transformation of Engineering Education

iFoundry: Organizational Change for Transformation of Engineering

EducationDavid E. Goldberg

Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, IL 61801 [email protected]

Page 2: iFoundry: Organizational Change for the Transformation of Engineering Education

Motivation & Roadmap

• Good thinking & doing in engineering education.

• Need engineers as category creators

• Why can’t we change more broadly & quickly?

• Roadmap– The institutional problem of change: An

academic NIMBY problem.– Promoting respectful change.– iFoundry: Six elements for change.

© David E. Goldberg 2008

Page 3: iFoundry: Organizational Change for the Transformation of Engineering Education

An Academic NIMBY Problem

• NIMBY = Not in my backyard.• “It is OK to change the

curriculum…”• “….as long as you leave my

course alone.”• Politics of logrolling: You

support my not changing. I support your not changing.

• Even though agreement for change is widespread, specific changes are resisted.

© David E. Goldberg 2008

Page 4: iFoundry: Organizational Change for the Transformation of Engineering Education

Can We Promote Respectful Change?

• Have two problems:

– Need locus for change.

– Need respect for academic governance.

• Three elements of solution:

– Suggests pilot unit, where change is mission.

– Need federalist governance.

– Ultimate curriculum decision stays home.

• Illinois established iFoundry: Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education.

© David E. Goldberg 2008

Page 5: iFoundry: Organizational Change for the Transformation of Engineering Education

Six Elements of iFoundry

• Collaborative, interdepartmental pilot unit. Permit change.

• Volunteers. Enthusiasm for change among faculty & student participants.

• Existing authority. Use signatory authority for modification of curricula for immediate pilot.

• Respect faculty governance. Permanent changes go through usual channels.

• Scalability. 300 @ teaching U vs. 5300 at research U.

• Open-source curriculum change. Do it in the open.

© David E. Goldberg 2008

Page 6: iFoundry: Organizational Change for the Transformation of Engineering Education

Bottom Line

• From cold war engineers to category creators.

• Institution thwarts change.

• iFoundry: A new pilot programs across departmental boundaries to promote change.

• Organizational innovation is crucial to educational innovation.

• Also need to consider nature of engineering and content of engineering education.

© David E. Goldberg 2008

http://www.illigal.uiuc.edu/web/ifoundry

Page 7: iFoundry: Organizational Change for the Transformation of Engineering Education

iFoundry: Organizational Change for Transformation of Engineering

EducationDavid E. Goldberg

Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, IL 61801 [email protected]


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