Global learning and the transformation of the 21^st century science and engineering curriculum

Consistent advocacy for the preparation of globally competent science and engineering students has not resulted in a universal commitment to this work. Notwithstanding, this imperative could not be greater given the rapid transformations being wrought by globalization, and the major global problems currently facing humankind. This paper uses two examples to demonstrate how compliance with ABET standards relative to global education can guide the adoption of a vision for global learning by science and engineering disciplines. This vision, defined in terms of three fundamental themes including environmental sustainability, diversity and global engagement can be used as a strategy to infuse global learning in the curriculum and offer students multiple and substantive encounters with global perspectives. The paper insists that this work must be owned and driven by faculty in each discipline and that the themes of global learning should be infused in the curriculum through the lens of that particular discipline. Developing global learning outcomes, strategies to realize these outcomes, and assessment strategies to establish that the learning outcomes adopted are being realized are key tasks of faculty who wish to infuse global learning in the major. Tweaking existing assessment practices can save significant time and resources.