Engineering Commons^™

Fifth Graders’ Creativity In Inventions With And Without Creative Articulation Instruction, Darcie K. Kress, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Industry and authors of 21^st Century Skill Frameworks are calling for student proficiency in creativity, problem-solving, innovation, collaboration, and communication skills. This project involved 13 fifth grade gifted students in inventing products for a specified audience with a set of given materials, time limit, and topic constraints. The complex, challenging project supports Next Generation Science Engineering Process Standard 3-5-ETS1-2 and applies concepts of plant and animal adaptations. The study had a counterbalanced, repeated measures design in which student made an initial invention during the pretest, then participated in two trials with one in the control condition and the other …

Challenging Elementary Learners With Programmable Robots During Free Play And Direct Instruction, Kimberly S. Mccoy-Parker, Lindsey N. Paull, Audrey C. Rule, Sarah E. Montgomery

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Computer programming skills are important to many current careers; teaching robot coding to elementary students can start a positive foundation for technological careers, develop problem-solving skills, and growth mindsets. This study, through a repeated measures design involving students in two classrooms at two widelyseparated grade levels (first graders aged 6-7 years and fifth graders aged 10-11 years), determined if allowing students to challenge themselves with coding exercises in the experimental condition resulted in greater learning and more positive attitudes than a more structured set of exercises provided by the teacher in the control condition. Background instruction in coding and using …

Reading Nonfiction Science Literature With And Without Arts Integration Activities, Elizabeth Mccartney, Catherine Mochal, Victoria Boyd, Audrey C. Rule, Sarah E. Montgomery

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This study explores the integration of the arts into the teaching of science nonfiction texts during literacy instruction. Sixty-one elementary students (15 second graders, 25 third graders, and 21 fifth graders) attending schools of differing socio-economic levels participated in this study. The study examined the effects of artsintegration on student content knowledge, engagement level, and attitudes toward learning regarding science nonfiction texts. Throughout the eight-week study, students experienced both the traditional no-arts control condition and the experimental arts-integration condition in two-week segments for different science topics. Both conditions employed literacy strategies to teach comprehension of science nonfiction texts. The resulting …

Examining Natural Selection By Sketching And Making Models Of The Finches Of The Galapagos Islands, Phoebe J. Z. Pittman, Jolene K. Teske

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This practical lesson describes how students in six eighth grade science classes participated in a lesson combining the National Core Arts Standards with the Next Generation Science Standards. The goal of the lesson was to provide visual representations of finch beak form and function so students could better understand genetic variation and how environmental pressures influence natural selection. Students sketched a finch with a large, medium, or small beak, corresponding to an experiment they had conducted with picking up different sizes of seeds with different sizes of binder clips. Using modeling with a variety of media, students created bird beaks …

Cinematherapy In Gifted Education Identity Development: Integrating The Arts Through Stem-Themed Movies, Timothy C. Kangas, Michelle Cook, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Gifted students, because of their advanced development compared to peers, have emotional needs that require differentiated education programs. Asynchronous social and emotional development of gifted students often leads to identity issues. Cinematherapy can be used to help gifted students explore their identities through analysis of the actions of gifted characters in films. This practical article suggests STEM-themed movies with characters facing challenges useful for gifted student identity development. The Autonomous Learners Model is used to classify gifted learners in the movies to assist teachers in matching movies to the needs of gifted learners. Tables of STEM-themed movies with gifted characters …

How The Arts Standards Support Stem Concepts: A Journey From Stem To Steam, Ksenia S. Zhbanova

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This issue of the Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions is focused on the effects of integrating arts with STEM areas, an important and widely-considered topic in education today. This editorial provides an overview of the current state of the arts and STEM areas integration paradigm, an analysis of the benefits of the arts integration with the STEM subjects, and an overview of the history of the arts anchor standards. Comparison and connections between the National Arts Core anchor arts standards, the scientific method, engineering design process, and the 5E learning cycle are also illuminated. Summaries of the practical …

Ssetgami: Secure Software Education Through Gamification, Hector Suarez, Hooper Kincannon, Li Yang

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Since web browsers have become essential to accomplishing everyday tasks, developing secure web applications has become a priority in order to protect user data, corporate databases and critical infrastructure against cyber-crimes . This research presents a game-like (gamification) approach to teach key concepts and skills on how to develop secure web applications. Gamification draws on motivational models, one of psychological theories. Gamification design has great potential over traditional education where we often find students demotivated and lecturers failing to engage them in learning activities. This research created game-like learning modules to teach top vulnerabilities and countermeasures for these top vulnerabilities …

Approaches To Integrating Engineering In Stem Units And Student Achievement Gains, Elizabeth A. Crotty, Selcen S. Guzey, Gillian H. Roehrig, Aran W. Glancy, Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen, Tamara J. Moore

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

This study examined different approaches to integrating engineering practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum units. These various approaches were correlated with student outcomes on engineering assessment items. There are numerous reform documents in the USA and around the world that emphasize the need to incorporate engineering into science education. The authors of this study contend that different approaches to integrating engineering in STEM units correlate to larger student achievement gains in engineering, based on assessment items developed from the Framework for Quality K–12 Engineering Education (Moore, Glancy, Tank, Kersten, & Smith, 2014). The goal of this work …

The Effect Of A Computing-Focused Linked-Courses Learning Community On Minority And Female Students, Amber Settle, James Doyle, Theresa Steinbach

Amber Settle

Adaptive Learning Pedagogy In Udl And Multi-Modal Training, Ziho Kang, Mattlyn R. Dragoo, Randa L. Shehab, Han Yuan, Lei Ding, Stephen G. West

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Currently, most learning methods are based on classroom teaching through unidirectional communication using boards or slides. However, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) asserts that the students can increase their performance if the instructors can provide the students with diversified information representation, expression, and engagement means. Although UDL minimizes the mismatch between the teaching and learning styles, we lack the detailed methods to implement the UDL and its associated multi-modal training methods in the context of air traffic control candidates and/or technical operators. We propose an approach that adapts the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) based on four categories: perception, …

Impact Of Mastering Engineering On Student Learning And Perceptions In A Strength Of Materials Course, Harry G. Cooke, Md Abdullah Al Faruque

Presentations and other scholarship

The impact of Mastering Engineering on student learning of key concepts in strength of materials has been assessed in this study by comparing homework and examination grades received by students who used Mastering to those from prior years when it was not used. Student perceptions of the effectiveness of Mastering for helping promote learning were obtained through weekly surveys that students completed about their use of the tutorials and videos. In addition, student ratings of teaching effectiveness and the accomplishment of course learning outcomes were evaluated to see if there were any impacts on student perceptions of the course. From …

Teachers’ Incorporation Of Argumentation To Support Engineering Learning In Stem Integration Curricula, Corey A. Mathis, Emilie A. Siverling, Aran W. Glancy, Tamara J. Moore

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

One of the fundamental practices identified in Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is argumentation, which has been researched in P-12 science education for the previous two decades but has yet to be studied within the context of P-12 engineering education. This research explores how elementary and middle school science teachers incorporated argumentation into engineering design-based STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) integration curricular units they developed during a professional development program. To gain a better understanding of how teachers included argumentation in their curricula, a multiple case study approach was conducted using four STEM integration units. While evidence of argumentation …

Flipping Stem Classrooms Collaboratively Across Campuses In California, Laura Sullivan-Green, Ravisha Mathur, Andrew Feinstein

Office of the Provost Scholarship

San José State University, in partnership with California State University-Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona, was awarded a prestigious 2015 First in the World grant, sponsored by the Department of Education. The multi-campus effort is focused on bringing the flipped classroom model to seven STEM gateway courses over three years that have high failure rates through collaborative efforts from faculty on the three partner campuses. SJSU, CSULA, and CPP are all designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Minority-Serving Institutions, though their demographics are very different. High impact practices like the flipped classroom approach have been shown to increase URM student success and …

Overview Of Game And Content Design For A Mobile Game That Will Prepare Students In Calculus And Physics Prerequisites To The Engineering Curriculum, Katherine Smith, John Shull, Patrick Sean Heaney, Yuzhong Shen, Anthony W. Dean, Jennifer G. Michaeli

VMASC Publications

As part of a research project which assists veterans as they exit the military, complete engineering degrees, and enter the workforce as engineering professionals, a range of serious games for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is under development. The current focus of this development is CAPTIVATE, a serious game to assist student veterans in mastering the calculus and physics skills that are necessary prerequisites to the main engineering curriculum. Building on the development and lessons learned from MAVEN, a game developed previously to help student veterans master precalculus skills, the design and initial implementation for CAPTIVATE involves careful …

Introducing Concentrations Into The Cal Poly Cm Program, Kevin L. Barry

Construction Management

This paper explores the introduction and integration of industry related concentrations into the Construction Management program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Specialization has been an integral part of not only the construction industry, but also throughout the industrialization of America. With these concentrations, students will be able to select either an industry sector or job function they are interested in pursuing and take additional classes that dive deeper into that specific facet of industry rather than only brushing the surface with general construction education classes. This program will better prepare students for industry and give those who have a …

Evolution Of An Introductory Electrical Engineering And Programming Course, Branimir Pejcinovic, Phillip Wong

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our first year electrical engineering sequence includes two courses that involve programming and hardware interfacing. ECE 102 deals with engineering problem solving and MATLAB, while ECE 103 introduces C programming. We use MATLAB both as a problem solving tool and as an introduction to programming. Students utilize MATLAB to control a data acquisition device, which enables more realistic team-based projects that combine problem-solving, programming, and interfacing. As is widely recognized, these types of courses are important and difficult to teach. We identified areas that needed improvement in ECE 102: a) outdated lecture format, b) not enough timely feedback, c) insufficient …

Sixth Graders Investigate Models And Designs Through Teacher-Directed And Student-Centered Inquiry Lessons: Effects On Performance And Attitudes, Benjamin D. Olsen, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Science inquiry has been found to be effective with students from diverse backgrounds and varied academic abilities. This study compared student learning, enjoyment, motivation, perceived understanding, and creativity during a science unit on Models and Designs for 38 sixth grade students (20 male, 18 female; 1 Black, 1 Hispanic and 36 White). The unit began with a very teacher-centered approach, then became increasingly student-centered, employing more inquiry with each lesson set to determine the effects of student-centered instruction on performance and attitudes. Pretest-posttest data with specific questions tied to each lesson set were collected, as well as repeated measures attitude …

Eighth Graders Explore Form And Function Of Modern And Fossil Organisms, Jolene K. Teske, Phoebe J. Z. Pittman

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Arts integration into science has been shown to motivate students and promote long-term retention of content. To add to the literature addressing arts integration, an experiment was conducted with middle school students studying the anatomical similarities and differences between modern and fossil marine invertebrates and different types of extant insects. Eighth grade students participated in a counterbalanced-design, quasi-experimental study to determine if the integration of art into the science curriculum would influence student retention of content, enjoyment, motivation, and perceived learning toward learning science concepts supporting the Next Generation Science Standards including engineering-related concepts. The lessons addressed Life Science standard …

Teaching Kindergarten Students About The Water Cycle Through Arts And Invention, Latisha L. Smith, Deepanee Samarakoon

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Research evidence for the benefits of arts integration is mounting. The purpose of this study was to determine if integration of the arts was an effective strategy for teaching the water cycle to kindergarten students. The study included lessons that supported both a science and an engineering standard of the Next Generation Science Standards and national arts standards. The phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of children as they learned and demonstrated understanding through drawings, watercolor paintings, dramatization of a water cycle poem, and the invention and testing of a waterproof boot. Participants were 12 kindergarten students (7 male, 5 …

Students Explore Fossil Creatures Of The Cambrian Period Burgess Shale Through Model-Making, Andrea Anderson, Ksenia Zhbanova, Phyllis Gray, Jolene K. Teske, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This practical article features an arts-integrated science unit on fossils of the Burgess Shale for fourteen elementary/ middle school students at a weeklong summer day camp. The day camp had a theme of recycling, reduction and reuse; all of the fossil models had substantial recycled components to support this theme. Next Generation Science Standards were supported by the course activities in which students examined fossil specimens, images, and comparative modern relatives to determine the anatomy and lifestyles of Burgess Shale Cambrian Period fossil animals (e.g., Olenoides trilobites, Anomalocaris, Canadaspis, Opabinia, Wiwaxia, Hallucigenia) through making scientific …

Ecosystem Food Web Lift-The-Flap Pages, Dana L. Atwood-Blaine, Audrey C. Rule, Hannah Morgan

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

In the lesson on which this practical article is based, third grade students constructed a “lift-the-flap” page to explore food webs on the prairie. The moveable papercraft focused student attention on prairie animals’ external structures and how the inferred functions of those structures could support further inferences about the animals’ diets. In general, most students made simple causal connections between an animal’s observable characteristics and the food it would probably eat. Some students were also able to make multi-agent connections to develop a more complex mental model of a food web. Ultimately, the lift-the flap project was engaging to students …

Flipping About The Sun And Its Pattern Of Apparent Motion, Crystal Betts, Allison Pattee

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Arts integration has shown to enhance student comprehension, retention, and engagement, while connecting to rich science content. The integration of the Next Generation Science Standards and the National Arts Standards into a first grade lesson illustrated how the arts enhanced the students’ understandings of the sun’s apparent motion during the day, an idea that is difficult for many young children to grasp. In this project students explored the sun outdoors throughout the school day to document changes by tracing their shadows in chalk and by making a shadow clock. Students also applied the information they learned to the creation of …

Editorial: The Journal Of Stem Arts, Crafts, And Constructions As An Ideal Venue For Showcasing Application Of The Next Generation Science Standards, Dana L. Atwood-Blaine

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

The Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions is an ideal venue for disseminating new ideas, lessons, and research developed in response to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This editorial explains how arts integration is well-suited to addressing the Science and Engineering Practices and the Cross-cutting Concepts. The research articles in this issue provide evidence that arts integration is also effective at improving student retention of disciplinary content over time. Using specific examples from the articles in this issue, this editorial elaborates on the three-dimensional nature of NGSS and how the integration of arts, crafts, and constructions into science …

An Evaluation Of The Relationships Between Collegiate Aviation Safety Management System Initiative, Self-Efficacy, Transformational Safety Leadership And Safety Behavior Mediated By Safety Motivation, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The study conceptualized Safety Management System (SMS) initiative, self-efficacy, and transformational safety leadership as constructs that relates to safety behavior (measured by safety compliance and safety participation) when mediated by safety motivation using a quantitative approach. Structural equation modeling techniques was used to derive a final measurement model that fit the empirical data and was used to test the study hypotheses. Utilizing a sample of 282 collegiate flight students and instructors from a large public university in the US, a 46-item survey was used to measure respondent’s perceptions on the study variables. The results indicate that perceptions of SMS policy …

An Evaluation Of The Relationships Between Collegiate Aviation Safety Management System Initiative, Self-Efficacy, Transformational Safety Leadership And Safety Behavior Mediated By Safety Motivation, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum

Aviation Faculty Publications

The study conceptualized Safety Management System (SMS) initiative, self-efficacy, and transformational safety leadership as constructs that relates to safety behavior (measured by safety compliance and safety participation) when mediated by safety motivation using a quantitative approach. Structural equation modeling techniques was used to derive a final measurement model that fit the empirical data and was used to test the study hypotheses. Utilizing a sample of 282 collegiate flight students and instructors from a large public university in the US, a 46-item survey was used to measure respondent’s perceptions on the study variables. The results indicate that perceptions of SMS policy …

Session D-3: Robotics Programming Using Java, Pat Patankar

Professional Learning Day

I will discuss how to program NXT kit with various sensors using Java programming language.

Professional Pilot Commercial Off-The-Shelf (Cots) Efb Usage, Policies And Reliability, Tyler A. Babb

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) have flooded the aviation industry. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) tablets are now commonly used by pilots as EFBs. Operators use EFBs for ease of use, faster access to information, to remove weight from the aircraft, and to increase pilots’ quality of life. Identifying trends in EFB usage among professional pilots could benefit operators and universities with flight training programs. EFB policies and procedures may vary among operators but achieve FAA compliance. This study identified these policies and procedures. The types of devices and software vary, and identifying these devices and software could be useful. This research used …

From Enrollment To Employment: A Dacum Approach To Information Systems And Information Security And Assurance Curriculum Design, Leila Halawi, Wendi M. Kappers, Aaron Glassman

Wendi M. Kappers, PhD

Issues associated with information security are numerous and diverse. Since the majority of organizational actions rely greatly on information and communication technologies, Information Systems (IS) security is now a main concern for firms, governments, institutes, and society as a whole. As a result, a plethora of graduate programs have been created, covering nearly every aspect of IS security. The authors review the current state of the IS industry presented in the literature, and identify a panel of IS experts in which to explore current job skill needs using a “Developing a Curriculum,” DACUM, process to support curriculum design for two …

University Of Nebraska At Omaha 2017-2018 Course Catalog, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Graduate Catalogs

The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a premier metropolitan university that combines the resources of a doctoral research institution with a thriving community in the heart of Omaha.

With a global reach and vision, UNO is large enough to provide opportunities students seek, yet personal enough to include the mentorship they need to achieve academic excellence, creativity, and engaged learningat competitive tuition rates.

UNO is committed to and engaged with the city surrounding it, allowing students unique hands-on opportunities, internships, service learning,applied research, and other collaborative activities that enhance time in the classroom.

This is the ”O” we want …

Transforming Lives At Sheridan : A Tribute To Dr. Mozammel Khan, Lorraine Fraser, Mozammel Khan, Iain Mcnab, Jack Urowitz, Soumitra Nandi, Srinivas Ganapathyraju, Kam Ho, Daniel Zrymiak

Books and Websites

The original 2017 edition of this title was published in recognition of Dr. Mozammel Khan’s career in quality assurance instruction and positive impact on graduates of Sheridan College’s Quality Assurance Manfacturing Management program (PQUAS), with proceeds from the book supporting the Mozammel Khan scholarship Foundation. Khan, originally from Bangladesh, taught in Singapore before immigrating to Canada in the 1990s, where he founded the first post-secondary QA program of its kind in Ontario at Sheridan College.

Editor Lorraine Fraser collects heartfelt letters of appreciation to Khan from alumni of the PQUAS program, who share memories, successes and challenges from their time …