Engineering Commons^™

Implementing Ngss Engineering Disciplinary Core Ideas In Middle School Science Classrooms: Results From The Field, Jessica Gale, Jayma Koval, Mike Ryan, Marion Usselman, Stefanie Wind

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

With the inclusion of engineering disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) position engineering as a new priority in K–12 science classrooms. This paper reports findings from the implementation of SLIDER, a problem-based learning 8th grade physical science curriculum that integrates engineering and physical science core ideas. As a culminating engineering design challenge, the SLIDER curriculum asks students to apply their understanding of energy, motion, and forces to design an automatic braking system for a robotic truck. The paper describes the curriculum and synthesizes findings from an array of data sources including student design interviews, written design …

Accelerated Creative Problem Solving And Product Improvement Applied To Experimental Devices In A Bloodstain Pattern Interpretation Class--Improving The Role Of Insight Development Tools As A Generator Of New Ideas In Novel Situations, Douglas Ridolfi

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project uses an action research centered study protocol to examine the effects of a problem-based learning exercise related to bloodstain pattern interpretation in a crime scene processing and general criminalistics class taught as part of an upper division forensic chemistry major in a four year college. The goal is to apply design principles and creative problem solving methods directly adapted to a project involving interpreting a set of crime scene photographs depicting blood spatter and with the aid of guided exercises in ideation and design, lead students into the development of alternate theories of how the bloodstains were created …

A Model For Spurring Organizational Change Based On Faculty Experiences Working Together To Implement Problem-Based Learning, Shannon Chance, Gavin Duffy

Conference papers

This research paper provides a case study of experiences of engineering faculty members at a large public university in Ireland working together to transform their teaching methods. We investigate eight teachers’ experiences of a faculty-led learning community designed to help individuals transform their courses. This small collection of faculty met regularly to discuss ways to facilitate and assess students working in groups. Outside the group’s meetings, participants brought important issues to the forefront of formal and informal discussion with colleagues. Participation in the learning group encouraged, supported, and helped sustain change. This case study seeks to provide insight and a …

A Comparison Of Traditional And Adaptive Comparative Judgment Assessment Techniques For Freshmen Engineering Design Projects, Scott R. Bartholomew, Greg J. Strimel, Andrew Jackson

Faculty Publications

This article examines the use of an alternative form of assessment for engineering design projects called adaptive comparative judgment (ACJ). The researchers employed an ACJ tool to evaluate undergraduate engineering student design projects in an effort to examine its’ reliability, validity, and utility in comparison with traditional assessment techniques. The ACJ process employed multiple judges to compare the design artifacts of 16 first-year engineering majors. The authors conducted an analysis of the reliability and validity of the ACJ method compared to the traditional rubric used to evaluate the project and the performance data of each student’s design prototype. For these …

How To Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning, Mirjam Brassler, Jan Dettmers

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Interdisciplinary competence is important in academia for both employability and sustainable development. However, to date, there are no specific interdisciplinary education models and, naturally, no empirical studies to assess them. Since problem-based learning (PBL) and project-based learning (PjBL) are learning approaches that emphasize students’ collaboration, both pedagogies seem suitable to enhance students’ interdisciplinary competence. Based on the principle of constructive alignment and four instructional principles on interdisciplinary learning, this paper proposes that students profit more from interdisciplinary PBL (iPBL) than interdisciplinary PjBL (iPjBL). A pre-post study was conducted with a sample of 95 students participating in iPBL and 183 students …

Evaluating Intention To Use Remote Robotics Experimentation In Programming Courses, Pericles Leng Cheng

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Digital Agenda for Europe (2015) states that there will be 825,000 unfilled vacancies for Information and Communications Technology by 2020. This lack of IT professionals stems from the small number of students graduating in computer science. To retain more students in the field, teachers can use remote robotic experiments to explain difficult concepts. This correlational study used the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to examine if performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions can predict the intention of high school computer science teachers in Cyprus, to use remote robotic experiments in their classes. …

Development Of A Problem-Based Learning Matrix For Data Collection, Shannon M. Sipes

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Few of the papers published in journals and conference proceedings on problem-based learning (PBL) are empirical studies, and most of these use self-report as the measure of PBL (Beddoes, Jesiek, & Borrego, 2010). The current study provides a theoretically derived matrix for coding and classifying PBL that was objectively applied to official curriculum documentation in a content analysis. The results for the level of problem-based learning in two engineering program curricula are presented. By introducing such a matrix, this study offers a tool that can be applied by other scholars examining PBL, creating consistency in methodology, definitions, and language among …

The Association Between Tolerance For Ambiguity And Fear Of Negative Evaluation: A Study Of Engineering Technology Capstone Courses, Sergey I. Dubikovsky

Open Access Dissertations

For many students in engineering and engineering technology programs in the US, senior capstone design courses require students to form a team, define a problem, and find a feasible technical solution to address this problem. Students must integrate the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies at the college or university level. These truly integrative design activities do not have a single “correct” solution. Instead, there is an array of solutions, many of which could be used to achieve the final result. This ambiguity can cause students to experience anxiety during the projects.

This study examined the main topics: • …

Detangling The Interrelationships Between Self-Regulation And Ill-Structured Problem Solving In Problem-Based Learning, Xun Ge, Victor Law, Kun Huang

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

One of the goals for problem-based learning (PBL) is to promote self-regulation. Although self-regulation has been studied extensively, its interrelationships with ill-structured problem solving have been unclear. In order to clarify the interrelationships, this article proposes a conceptual framework illustrating the iterative processes among problem-solving stages (i.e., problem representation and solution generation) and self-regulation phases (i.e., planning, execution, and reflection). The dynamics of the interrelationships are further illustrated with three ill-structured problem-solving examples in different domains (i.e., information problem solving, historical inquiry, and science inquiry). The proposed framework contributes to research and practice by providing a new lens to examine …

Investigating Problem-Based Learning Tutorship In Medical And Engineering Programs In Malaysia, Virginie F. C. Servant, Eleanor F. A. Dewar

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Although Malaysia was the first country in Asia to adopt problem-based learning (PBL), the impact that this has had on its tutors remains largely unexplored. This paper details a qualitative study of the changing perceptions of teaching roles in two groups of problem-based learning tutors in two institutional contexts—one in medicine located in Kuala Lumpur and one in engineering located in Johor Bahru. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, the authors attempt to describe the way in which the two groups have experienced their changing professional world, and the mental processes through which they rationalize the transformation of Malaysia’s educational landscape. This …

Work In Progress - Peer Directed Learning In A Project Based Model, Andrew Mcnally

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Iron Range Engineering is a new, unique, undergraduate program using problem-based learning. One guiding principle is student responsibility for learning. In order to facilitate learning, faculty and students alike have come up with several learning methods. Learning modes may include self-directed learning, peer-directed learning, one-on-one faculty directed learning, or industry mentored learning. Peer directed learning often manifests in the form of learning groups (a group of students learning similar competencies), led by either a faculty member or a student who has previously excelled in that competency and has taken an interest in pursuing advanced credit. Recently, Iron Range Engineering has …

Learning From Learning Groups, Mike Murphy, S. M. Chance, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe

Articles

Collaborative learning is a key, and complementary, component of student-centred enquiry-based pedagogy. Today, many educators understand that students learn effectively when working together with their peers to construct new knowledge. Many teachers are working to help their students develop such ability. Teachers do this to help students better understand the relevance of new content, connect new ideas into existing frameworks of understanding, and construct new neurological pathways and connect synapses in their brains. In addition, group learning has been shown to increase students’ critical thinking skills, creativity, collaborative behaviours, understanding of ethics, and the like. In the literature, attention has …

A Framework To Develop Lifelong Learning And Transferable Skills In An Engineering Programme, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

Engineering programmes have a strong reputation in the delivery of technical knowledge and skills. Graduates need equally high levels of competence in personal and professional skills to not only meet the existing requirements of employers and professional bodies but to also help them manage the inevitable changes that society is facing in an increasingly populated world. The need to move from traditional to student-centred learning is discussed in the context of engineering education. The use of group-based, problem driven learning facilitates high integration of technical and non-technical knowledge and skills and requires more engagement with the programme from today’s student. …