Student led curriculum development and instruction of introduction to engineering leadership course

Identifying and tapping into what is intrinsically motivating has been touted as a key to true learning. Educators, therefore, are attempting to focus on instructional tools that tap into intrinsic motivation in order to excite students about learning and encourage them to become self-taught, lifelong learners. Finding the optimal tools to produce intrinsic motivation, however, can be challenging. Since what is intrinsically motivating is individualistic and can be challenging to identify for instructors, a course at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has been redesigned in an attempt to better align with what motivates students in the program. In order to create a paradigm shift in engineering education and focus on what students find motivating, Engineering Leadership (E-Lead) students at UTEP stepped up to help take ownership of, not only their own education, but also the education of future students. Under the assumption that students understand what motivates their peers best, the current Introduction to Engineering Leadership course has been developed and taught by second year Engineering Leadership students. Held once a week for three hours, this zero credit course is required for all students interested in the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Leadership at UTEP.