Engineering Commons^™

Utility Of Reading Assignments In Environmental Engineering Education For Effective Learning And Greater Student Engagement In An Era Of Innovative Pedagogy And Emerging Technologies, Sanjay Tewari

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Making teaching more effective has been a never-ending pursuit since the dawn of education. Engineering education is no exception to this. There have been numerous pedagogical advances making engineering education more effective. Most engineering majors, some more than others, have dedicated laboratories for hands-on learning of specific concepts and techniques. However, a major portion of teaching still takes places in classroom settings. Educators adopt various pedagogical practices, teaching-aids, and technologies to engage students in the controlled environment of classrooms. In ideal class settings, an instructor should be able to reach out to all students regardless of their learning styles. Introductory …

Problem-Based Learning As A Pedagogy For Individual Students -- Quantifying The Long-Term Effects Of Land Subsidence And Rising Sea Levels In Coastal Areas For Greater Student Engagement, Sanjay Tewari

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Course-based class discussions usually are limited to course syllabus and topics of lectures. If a discussion goes beyond course syllabus and the topics, usually there is a time constraint of class/lab periods, keeping educators and students from going deeper. Even without time constraints of class/lab settings, some students get engaged in the overall learning process more when they are challenged or tasked to solve a problem. This paper focuses on the pedagogical aspect of problem-based learning and its application for greater engagement of these students in quantifying the long term effects of land subsidence and rising sea levels in coastal …

Generating Interest Among Undergraduates Toward Research In Environmental Engineering By Incorporating Novel Desalination Technology-Based Hands-On Laboratory Assignments, Sanjay Tewari, Md Ashique Ahmed, Chandra Mouli Tummala

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Undergraduate students were exposed to hands-on novel desalination laboratory experiments in an attempt to generate interest towards research in the broad field of environmental engineering and specifically in the field of water desalination. The laboratory exercises were designed to introduce desalination techniques, enhance their learning experiences, generate interest among them, and prepare them as potential researchers in laboratory settings. The hands-on experience of capacitive deionization (CDI) based laboratory experiments provided foundational and working knowledge of the CDI concept and allowed students to learn basic methodology followed in environmental laboratories to arrive at technical conclusions.

Students were given opportunity to desalinate …

Leveraging The Nam's 'Getting Nurses On Boards Coalition' To Promote Nae's 'Changing The Conversation' Campaign, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As described in reports by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), engineers and the profession of engineering lack visibility, relevance, and influence with the public. One approach to address this situation is the, "Changing the Conversation," campaign that uses market research techniques to improve the public image of the engineering profession. In related efforts, scientists have developed the, "March for Science," campaign to advocate for the role of science in evidence-based public policy at the local, state, and international levels. In contrast to marketing materials and advocacy campaigns, this article argues that the approach adopted by nurses and the profession …

Environmental Engineering Laboratory Development To Promote Active And Hands-On Learning, Sanjay Tewari

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This extended abstract details one instructor’s experience in incorporating hands-on laboratory portion in a junior level civil engineering class, Environmental Engineering. The objective of the change was to help students become more involved and aware of their own learning through active participation so that they can relate to course contents in a better way. The author sought to achieve this through a laboratory structure that 1) required students to reflect on certain topics and device a do-it-yourself experiment to measure certain parameters and 2) provided a level of autonomy by allowing them to choose to work alone or in small …

Traffic Study Using A Video Camera And An Image Processing Software Lessons Learned, Sanjay Tewari, Nazimuddin Wasiuddin, Marissa K. Orr

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Highway Engineering I – CVEN332, is a junior-level course in civil engineering that covers primarily traffic engineering and transportation planning. Traffic engineering topics include isolated intersection signal timing design, intersection capacity analysis and freeway capacity analysis. In fall 2015, students collected real life and local field data in two design modules and used a traffic camera compatible with the video processing software in one design module. The objective of this study is to assess if the usage of local, real life field data and introduction of a traffic camera have any impact on increasing learning, increasing feeling of preparedness and …

Work In Progress -- Does A Technology-Rich Transportation Engineering Experiences Increase Interest In Civil Engineering, Marissa K. Orr, Sanjay Tewari, David E. Hall, Norman D. Pumphrey

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper examines whether a technology-rich transportation engineering experience generates interest among college freshman students towards transportation related degrees and careers, specifically, whether it increases interest in civil engineering. Louisiana Tech’s first-year engineering experience provides relevant, project-focused education for over 500 students each year and an opportunity to introduce transportation-related projects. The six semester-hour, three-course sequence, called “Living with the Lab,” boosts experiential learning through student ownership of inexpensive laboratory equipment. In one section of the Living with the Lab course, a transportation engineer visited the class and the students were led through a technology-rich transportation engineering activity. They used …

An Inverted Teaching Model For A Mechanics Of Materials Course, Jeffery S. Thomas, Timothy A. Philpot

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Instructors at Missouri University of Science and Technology have been offering certain sections of a mechanics of materials course in an inverted format for the past two years. In this format, students learn the concepts outside of class, using a textbook, animations and videos developed by the authors, and work on homework either individually or in groups during the optional class time. Students take eight multiple-choice exams and a final exam that is common to both the inverted sections and the more traditional lecture-based sections. Homework in the inverted sections is assigned but not graded. The in-class exams are given …

The Effect Of On-Line Videos On Learner Outcomes In A Mechanics Of Materials Course, Jeffery S. Thomas, Richard H. Hall, Timothy A. Philpot, Douglas R. Carroll

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Mechanics of Materials course is one of the core engineering courses included in the curriculum of mechanical, civil, mining, petroleum, marine, aeronautical, and several other engineering disciplines. As a core course, the Mechanics of Materials course typically has large enrollment. Initiatives aimed at improving the effectiveness of the engineering core courses can have a major impact on engineering education by virtue of the large number of students affected.

Computers afford opportunities for creative instructional activities that are not possible in the traditional lecture-and-textbook class format. The study described in this paper examines the effectiveness of asynchronous online video that …