The transformation will impact nearly every aspect of the college:
- Curricula
- Learning and teaching methods
- Learning spaces
- How students are assessed
- Use-inspired research
- Industry and community engagement
The economy has changed. Students have changed. Higher education needs to change.
Employers are asking for a different set of skills from college graduates: the ability to apply technical expertise, yes, but also to work with new information, collaborate, innovate and solve open-ended problems.
The changes to our curricula and culture to meet these challenges have been so profound that a name change is warranted.
The Purdue Polytechnic Institute:
- employs an expansive active learning approach
- provides a more student-centered experience using groundbreaking teaching techniques, faculty mentoring and competency-based learning approaches that offer greater flexibility.
- Integrates the humanities intentionally and repeatedly throughout a student’s four years using a team-based teaching approach.
- ties research and global engagement more closely with the needs of industry and communities, infusing critical thinking, innovation, and entrepreneurship into the learning environment.
Background information
Three books are seminal in understanding the full scope, significance, and underlying reasons for the transformational changes being undertaken by the College of Technology through the Purdue Polytechnic Institute:
• Generation on a Tightrope, by Art Levine and Diane R. Dean
• Creating Innovators, by Tony Wagner
• A Whole New Engineer, by David E. Goldberg and Mark Somerville
Additionally, as part of the foundation of the transformation, we have written four papers that can help one fully understand the theoretical basis and practical reasons behind the transformation. These publications not only capture the tangible and visible inputs and outputs of the transformation, but also convey the underlying essence and deeper cultural elements involved.
* Purdue Polytechnic Institute, A Transformational Plan for the College of Technology, Oct 8, 2013
* Polymeter: Criteria and Guidelines for the Polytechnic Curricula in the College of Technology at Purdue University
* Purdue Polytechnic Educational Research and Development, Education for the Thinking Economy, Education for the Millennials
* Purdue Polytechnic Institute Innovation White Paper: Strategic Research Opportunities at Technology Readiness Level 4‐7 for Purdue