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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Student Understanding Of Kinematics: A Qualitative Assessment, Andrew Cashman, Tom O'Mahony May 2022

Student Understanding Of Kinematics: A Qualitative Assessment, Andrew Cashman, Tom O'Mahony

Publications

In engineering, kinematics is widely regarded as a fundamental topic with the literature agreeing that students possess a wide range in understanding of the topic. This study aims to take a second-order approach by understanding and exploring the qualitatively different ways in which students approach solving kinematics problems. Phenomenography was used to collect data through ten semi-structured interviews with early-stage mechanical engineering students. Following data analysis, four distinct categories of students’ approaches were identified; unstructured, framing the problem, strategic, and conceptual. It was found that these categories could be arranged in a hierarchy and were also supported by secondary epistemic …


A Qualitative Single-Case Exploring The Impact Of A Mentor And Cohort On Students’ Academic And Career Decisions., Kevin Adkins, Samantha Bowyer, Jorge L. D. Albelo Ph.D. Jan 2022

A Qualitative Single-Case Exploring The Impact Of A Mentor And Cohort On Students’ Academic And Career Decisions., Kevin Adkins, Samantha Bowyer, Jorge L. D. Albelo Ph.D.

Publications

Exposure to research is known to play a positive role in undergraduate education. However, robust research responsibilities are oftentimes not formally incorporated into a student’s academic experience until master level studies. Further, a variety of intimidation factors often inhibit many undergraduate students from participating on a research team. In this case study, the research team evaluated a unique group of undergraduate researchers who matriculated to the same university after beginning to participate in research as concurrently enrolled students. Following matriculation, each student continued to participate in research throughout the entirety of their undergraduate studies. All of the study’s students were …