Incorporating in the curriculum active learning and project-based teaching, assuming minimal prior knowledge and emphasizing the real-world relevance of the covered topics result in better learning outcomes and help engage a more diverse group of students. In this Viewpoint, five educators who have been involved in reimagining undergraduate teaching in materials science and engineering share their insights and perspective.
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Related links
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology: https://www.abet.org/about-abet/
Canadian Engineering Grand Challenges: https://engineeringdeans.ca/en/project/cegc/
Core curriculum courses at Sabanci University: https://scienceofnature.sabanciuniv.edu/universitycourses.html
Engineering IDEAs Clinic: https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering-ideas-clinic/
ETH Zurich Bachelor of Science curriculum: https://mat.ethz.ch/studies/bachelor.html
GoCodeGirl – Ontario Network of Women in Engineering: https://www.onwie.ca/programs/go-code-girl/
GoEngGirl – Ontario Network of Women in Engineering: https://www.onwie.ca/programs/go-eng-girl/
Hopkins Engineering Applications & Research Tutorials: https://engineering.jhu.edu/education/undergraduate-studies/heart-courses/
Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology PhD Project: https://ibetphd.ca/
Nicola Spaldin’s blog: https://occamstypewriter.org/nicolaspaldin/
REU programme of the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology: https://inbt.jhu.edu/nanobio-reu/
The Coding School: https://the-cs.org/
The contributors
Joseph Choy is a Materials Science and Engineering PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University, where his research focuses on in vivo biomaterials cellular engineering. He leads course development for new graduate and post-doctoral instructors in the Whiting School of Engineering, is the graduate student representative for the Johns Hopkins Teaching Academy Advisory Council, and facilitates sessions for JHU’s Teaching Institute — a multi-day intensive teaching workshop that annually attracts 150+ participants across North America. Joseph has been recognized by the Society for Biomaterials’ education special interest group for his work in investigating biomaterials pedagogy.
Kiera Peltz is the Founder and CEO of The Coding School, an international nonprofit organization focused on emerging technology education and workforce development. To date, The Coding School has trained over 50,000 individuals — including students from kindergarten to university, educators and members of the workforce — from 125+ countries in subjects such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and data science. Kiera is a graduate of Brown University and holds master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge and Tsinghua University, and was included in the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for the Social Impact category.
Zehra Sayers is Professor Emeritus at Sabancı University, where she was the Director of Foundations Development (Core Curriculum) Program between 2010 and 2019 and the interim President in 2018. During this time, she developed an interdisciplinary curriculum for science teaching. From 2002 to 2018, she also co-chaired the Scientific Advisory Committee of Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME). Among other recognitions, Zehra shared the AAAS’s 2019 award for Science Diplomacy and was included in the BBC list of 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019.
Nicola A. Spaldin is the Professor of Materials Theory at ETH Zurich. She is best known for her development of the class of materials known as multiferroics, which combine simultaneous ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. She is a passionate science educator, coordinator of her department’s curriculum revision programme, “The Materials Scientist 2030, Who is She?”, and holder of the ETH Golden Owl Award for excellence in teaching. When not trying to make a room-temperature superconductor, Nicola can be found playing her clarinet, or skiing or climbing in the Alps.
Mary A. Wells is Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. On top of her career as professor of materials engineering, she served as the Associate Dean of Outreach for Waterloo Engineering between 2008 and 2017 and chaired its Women in Engineering committee and the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering for many years, leading initiatives to improve gender diversity in engineering. Among other recognitions, Mary is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Engineers Canada and was chosen as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners for 2023.
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Choy, J., Peltz, K., Sayers, Z. et al. Reimagining undergraduate teaching in materials science and engineering. Nat Rev Mater 9, 95–99 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-023-00621-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-023-00621-6
