Curricula reform strategy
In order to reach the learning goals, improvements must be made to the curricula. The challenge is to find innovative ways to make double duty of the teaching time so that students develop a deeper working knowledge of the technical fundamentals while simultaneously learning the CDIO skills. This requires changes in the curricula structure.
A new curriculum must be designed. This first requires benchmarking of the existing curriculum from the perspective of the CDIO Syllabus. To improve on the identified shortcomings, three innovative curricula structures are envisioned. The first is an introduction to MSET experiences that motivate students to be mathematicians, scientists, engineers and technologists, expose them to essential early skills and let them build something. This is called the cornerstone.
Conventional disciplinary subjects can be better co-ordinated and linked to demonstrated practice that mathematics, science, engineering and technology require interdisciplinary efforts. Finally, the capstone is revised to include a substantial experience in which students design, build and operate a product or system. With these new structures in place, a plan to overlay the CDIO Syllabus skills can be developed. Encouraging and facilitating extra-curricula learning in the form of student projects can significantly expand the time available for learning CDIO skills, and internships and co-ops can become more integrated designed extensions of the overall learning experience.