Transformation: From Teacher‐Centered to Student‐Centered Engineering Education

We compare and contrast teacher‐centered and student‐centered paradigms of engineering education. We identify the following seven roles for teachers wishing to adopt a student‐centered paradigm: 1) model thinking/processing skills, 2) identify students' cognitive development, 3) develop questions that facilitate exploration/growth, 4) introduce visual tools to aid establishing connections, 5) provide group learning settings, 6) use analogies and metaphors, and 7) provide a “no‐risk” student feedback channel for information. Several case studies for different subjects and from different institutions are presented. Our results indicate a student‐centered model is most effective when coupled with academic depth and experience in the subject matter.