Doing this writing doesn't make my job easier, but it makes it a lot more fun. It's easier to come up with a cut and dried project that has one answer. However, the students get enthused and push me hard, which makes it worth the work. We need to do more, for this isn't enough. We need to get writing into all classes, to increase it, not decrease it.
One stumbling block is that more writing will require team teaching. There will be a value in working together to connect ideas from class to class. We need to think about how to frame curriculum reform to make connections outside a discipline. The first level is the disciplines in AE: structure, propulsions, etc. But, we'll need better connections in our department and across other fields such as electronics, environment, and legal. A campus is the ideal place to do this.
Another step is to put together teaching and research in order to do more realistic projects. This will expand the connections students can make, and this will support ongoing departmental research.
Right now we're trying to find external projects that would require delivery to a customer so our students' work is closer to real professional practice. I am currently working with the KU entrepreneurship alliance on campus. This group will help us get together with other campus entities, such as legal specialists, who can interact on our student projects.
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