Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Defining, Teaching, And Assessing Engineering Design Skills, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

The paper discusses a systematic approach for defining, teaching, and assessing engineering design skills. Although the examples presented in the paper are from the field of aerospace engineering, the principles apply to engineering design in general. What makes the teaching of engineering design particularly challenging is that the necessary skills and attributes are both technical and non-technical and come from the cognitive as well as the affective domains. Each set of skills requires a different approach to teach and assess. Implementing a variety of approaches for a number of years at SJSU has shown that it is just as necessary …

Challenges Students Face When Solving Open - Ended Problems, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

No abstract provided.

A Sustainable, Systematic Process For Continuous Program Improvement, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

The USA Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) adopted recently a new set of criteria for evaluating engineering programmes. One of these (criterion 3) refers to programme outcomes and assessment. In this article, the author describes the design and implementation of a sustainable, systematic process for defining and assessing programme outcomes. This process involves analysing each outcome into elements, defining a set of attributes for each element, selecting outcome indicators and performance targets, and developing special rubrics for an accurate assessment of student skills. The author also describes a systematic way of addressing specific programme outcomes through course and …

Incorporating The Impact Of Engineering Solutions On Society Into Technical Engineering Courses, N. Dejong-Okamoto, J. Rhee, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

In the era of market and workforce globalisation, engineers need a solid understanding of the impact that their products have locally, as well as globally. This is why the US Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) recently put a new spin on this requirement in engineering education. Specifically, outcome 3h of Engineering Criteria 2000 states that engineering graduates must have the broad education to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global/ societal context. This outcome may be one of the most difficult to achieve, since it requires not only a strong technical understanding, but also an informed …

Open-Ended Problem-Solving Skills In Thermal-Fluids Engineering, Nikos J. Mourtos, N. Dejong-Okamoto, J. Rhee

Nikos J. Mourtos

Problem-solving skills have always been important in many professions. However, ABET EC 2000 recently placed a new focus on these skills in engineering education with outcome 3e, which states that engineering graduates must have an ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems. Problem-solving is defined as a process used to obtain a best answer to an unknown or a decision that is subject to some constraints. Problem-solving is not the same as textbook exercise solving, which is very common in engineering curricula. In the article, the authors first define engineering problem-solving and, in particular, what it means to identify …

From Learning To Talk To Learning Engineering; Drawing Connections Across The Disciplines, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

No abstract provided.

Introducing Cooperative Learning Through A Faculty Instructional Development Program, Nikos J. Mourtos, E. L. Allen

Nikos J. Mourtos

Cooperative Learning was officially introduced in the College of Engineering at San Jose State University in 1995 with a two-day workshop. The Faculty Instructional Development Program in the college maintains interest in the subjsect and provides support for instructors who use Cooperative Learning, through workshops and informal discussions (Conversations on Teaching). This paper discusses the effectiveness of the program in introducing, promoting, and implementing Cooperative Learning among the faculty and students in the college of engineering. A variety of performance criteria have been used in this assessment, some faculty-centered and some student-centered. The results indicate that although a relatively small …

Portfolio Assessment In Aerodynamics, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

A new way of assessing student learning in an aerodynamics course through the use of portfolios is presented. The approach is portable to any engineering course, with a few modifications depending on content.

The main idea is to allow students more responsibility for their own learning. Instead of having everyone in the class perform identical activities (homework, experiments, projects, tests, etc.), a cadre of assignments is made available to them. Students choose and perform (within reason) the ones that suit them better in terms of their own strengths and learning styles. The ultimate goal is for each student to demonstrate …

The Nuts & Bolts Of Cooperative Learning In Engineering, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

A great number of engineering students work alone most of the time. This is in sharp contrast with industry where most of the work is performed in teams. The ability to work in a team effectively is not acquired automatically. It takes interpersonal and social skills which need to be developed and practiced. In addition, research shows that the student-student interaction, often neglected in traditional ways of teaching, is a most effective way of learning. Thus, it is imperative that we encourage our students to work with each other in their efforts to achieve their educational goals. In this paper …

Control Of Vortical Separation On A Circular Cone, Nikos J. Mourtos

Nikos J. Mourtos

No abstract provided.