Speaker: Jennifer Rudolph | Humanities and Arts | Worcester Polytechnic Institute
This talk examines the value and challenges of using case studies based on material drawn from China to globalize the STEM curriculum at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts. WPI has a long history of project-based learning and of sending students to work on projects overseas. However, the on-campus curriculum, like that of many STEM schools, is very much centered on engineering and science in the US. With the help of a US Department Education Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language grant, a small team at WPI has worked over the last two years with individual STEM professors (only 1 with any China background) to develop China-related content that advances the technical objectives of an engineering or science course while situating that material in the specific socio-political context of China. The goal is for students on campus, through the use of the modules, to develop broader perspective on their STEM material and engage in comparative analysis that involves the critical analysis associated with humanist or social science inquiry. So far, 5 China modules have been developed for 4 engineering classes and 1 science class. Four of these modules were developed by undergraduate STEM students in humanities courses under the simultaneous guidance of a China specialist (the speaker) and a STEM professor. The talk will cover the advantages and disadvantages of student collaboration in module development as well as the obstacles encountered in acquiring buy-in from STEM colleagues, as well as the use of the modules themselves. China modules at WPI are part of a larger initiative to create a China area studies program for STEM students and as a university-wide initiative to globalize undergraduate education at WPI.