ABSTRACT
When the editors of this volume contacted potential contributors, they asked us to document, if at all possible, an example of a successful innovation. Given what we know about how difficult it is to make change happen (see Waters, 2009), I am loath to make any overblown claims of success with respect to the innovation I analyze in this chapter (an ESP course on energy systems for Italian undergraduate engineering students that I designed and (co)taught at an American university from 2006 to 2008). However, based on the results of three evaluations over three years of students that indicate high levels of satisfaction with the course, I pronounce this innovation to have been successful, at least for the moment. This tactic is actually an artful ploy for subsequently problematizing this claim in the Reflections and Conclusions section of this chapter.
