ABOUT

Project Overview

This website is a collaborative, multi-university effort focused on helping faculty intentionally embed character formation, cross-disciplinary skills, and professional dispositions into coursework. The project builds on related work supported through the Educating Character Initiative and NSF grants, where faculty and instructional design partners have explored how students develop not only technical knowledge, but also the habits of thinking, acting, and relating that shape responsible professional practice.

The goal of this website is to provide open educational resources (OER) that faculty can adapt to use in their own courses, programs, and institutional contexts. These resources are designed to help instructors move character formation and the development of non-technical competencies from broad aspirations into concrete learning experiences, assignments, reflection prompts, behavioral indicators, rubrics, and assessment strategies.

What do we promote?

• Character Education, which helps students develop the ability to deal with complex ethical dilemmas. Students can practice courage when making ethical design decisions, humility when receiving peer feedback, compassion when considering user needs, honesty when documenting limitations, and accountability when contributing to team projects. 
• Cross-Disciplinary Skill Development, which prepares students for crucial non-technical skills such as communication, teamwork, and digital literacy.
• Professional Disposition Development, which helps students develop  

Why is this important?

Research has shown that when new skills and habits of mind are taught in isolation, they may not transfer to other courses or to the real world. Therefore, rather than treating character, cross-disciplinary skills, and dispositions as separate from disciplinary learning, our goal is integration. 

Who is this site for?

This website is intended for faculty, instructional designers, program leaders, and educational researchers who want practical ways to support student growth across technical, professional, and human dimensions of learning. The resources are especially relevant for computing, engineering, and engineering technology programs  but many can be adapted across STEM disciplines and beyond.