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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Exploratory Learning Activities In The Physics Classroom: Contrasting Cases Versus A Rich Dataset., Campbell Rightmyer Bego Dec 2019

Exploratory Learning Activities In The Physics Classroom: Contrasting Cases Versus A Rich Dataset., Campbell Rightmyer Bego

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In exploratory learning, students engage in an exploration activity on a new topic prior to instruction. This inversion of the traditional tell-then-practice order has been shown to benefit learning outcomes, especially conceptual knowledge and preparation for future learning, but not always. In three studies, the current work examines whether the type of exploration activity impacts learning mechanisms and outcomes, on the topic of gravitational field in undergraduate physics classrooms. Activities using either contrasting cases (CC) or a rich dataset (RD) are compared in two instructional orders, explore-first (EF) and instruct-first (IF). Learning outcomes measured procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and performance …


The Eco-Smart Can V2.0, Darack B. Nanto May 2019

The Eco-Smart Can V2.0, Darack B. Nanto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On a scorching summer day in 2015, a campus maintenance worker was observed emptying a trash bin. Upon closer observation, it was noted that the bin was not full; in fact, it was less than one third full. There were other bins that were full and needed to be emptied urgently. It was confusing and problematic to see that bins that needed more attention were not prioritized. After extended research, it was found that maintenance operates on daily routes to pick up trash at designated times, regardless of the level of trash in the bins. Therefore, to tackle this issue, …


Student Perceptions And Persistence : Taking A Person-Centered Approach To Understand Undergraduate Engineering Retention., Brittany Flanery Crawford May 2019

Student Perceptions And Persistence : Taking A Person-Centered Approach To Understand Undergraduate Engineering Retention., Brittany Flanery Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many students are leaving their engineering programs as early as the first semester of their undergraduate studies. Although some of the factors related to engineering retention are largely academic, others are tied closely to students’ beliefs or perceptions. Student perceptions data are useful, but often overlooked by researchers who wish to take a person-centered approach to uncover profiles of student beliefs, both adaptive and maladaptive, when it comes to understanding engineering retention. The sample consisted of full-time undergraduate engineering students (N = 834) in the first semester of their undergraduate engineering programs. I used latent transition analysis (LTA) to …


Successful Factors For Native And Community College Transfer Students In Engineering Technology At A Four-Year University, Leendert Craig May 2019

Successful Factors For Native And Community College Transfer Students In Engineering Technology At A Four-Year University, Leendert Craig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students who attend community colleges often transfer to 4-year universities seeking to earn a degree typically not offered at the community college level. Tennessee has 2 programs: the Tennessee Promise and the Tennessee Reconnect programs that offer students tuition-free access to the state’s community college system. Previous studies have been conducted to compare transfer students’ performances to that of native students and typically compared the students in all disciplines. This study seeks to compare transfer students (students who enter the participating university with 40 or more credit hours) to native students (students who initially enrolled or transferred into the 4-year …