Engineering Education Commons^™

A Qualitative Study Of Emotions Experienced By First-Year Engineering Students During Programming Tasks, Zahra Atiq, Michael C. Loui

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

In introductory computer programming courses, students experience a range of emotions. Students often experience anxiety and frustration when they encounter difficulties in writing programs. Continued frustration can discourage students from pursuing engineering and computing careers. Although prior research has shown how emotions affect students’ motivation and learning, little is known about students’ emotions in programming courses. In this qualitative study of first-year engineering students taking an introductory programming course, we examined the emotions that these students experienced during programming tasks and the reasons for experiencing those emotions. Our study was grounded in the control-value theory of achievement emotions. Each research …

Climate Justice In Engineering Education, Tyler J. Morgan, Donna Riley, Caroline M. Camfield

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

The goal of this research is to design a learning module for Purdue first-year engineering (FYE) students to learn climate fundamentals, and the role of engineers in responding to climate justice challenges. There is a lack of climate material within these classes currently, leading to a lack of climate conscious engineers in the future. The project entailed reviewing and synthesizing a wide variety of previous research on climate change education in engineering, including key learning objectives and their assessment. Because one of the key foci of the first-year engineering sequence relates to data analysis and management, we focused our work …

Assessing Intuition Used Among Undergraduate Engineering Technology And Engineering Students, Melissa Cai Shi, Therese M. Azevedo, Anne M. Lucietto

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Intuition plays an essential role in decision-making and is independent of an analytical way of thinking that is considered a gut feeling. Individuals can shape their intuition, and each field of study develops a variety of skills and trains students for a way of thinking needed for that specific area. A focus on undergraduate engineering technology students and comparing them to undergraduate engineering students allows this study to examine the types of intuition used by these two groups. The Types of Intuition Scale (TIntS), an established, validated instrument, which categorizes intuition into inferential, affective, holistic abstract, and holistic big picture …

Making Makers: Tracing Stem Identity In Rural Communities, Jessie Nixon, Andy Stoiber, Erica Halverson, Michael Dando

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

In this article, we describe efforts to reduce barriers of entry to pre-college engineering in a rural community by training local teens to become maker-mentors and staff a mobile makerspace in their community. We bring a communities of practice frame to our inquiry, focusing on inbound and peripheral learning and identity trajectories as a mechanism for representing the maker-mentor experience. Through a longitudinal case study, we traced the individual trajectories of five maker-mentors over two years. We found a collection of interrelated factors present in those students who maintained inbound trajectories and those who remained on the periphery. Our research …

Research Experiences Instrument Scoring Guide, Eric Holloway, Kerrie Anna Douglas, William Charles Oakes, David Radcliffe

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This document is a scoring guide to assist higher-education administrators, faculty, and researchers who wish to use the Research Experiences Instrument (REI). There are five aspects, or factors, that the REI is intended to measure relative to engineering Ph.D. students’ opportunities to practice being a professional in their research experiences, and an overall REI score. Detailed scoring instructions are provided. The REI was developed to assess how the research experiences of engineering Ph.D. students are preparing them for practice. Utilizing a rigorous instrument development process, the REI was shown to be a tool that can reliably and validly be used …

Integrating Online Discussions Into Engineering Curriculum To Endorse Interdisciplinary Viewpoints, Promote Authentic Learning, And Improve Information Literacy, Lisa Bosman, Kurt Paterson, Margaret Phillips

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Engineering is very much an applied discipline where math and science concepts, skills, and tools can be used to design products or processes with new and/or increased value. Research suggests active learning is an effective method for teaching and learning in the engineering classroom. Moreover, students continue to express increased satisfaction when taught using this experiential pedagogical approach. One approach to active learning gaining traction in the engineering classroom is the use of online discussions. The purpose of this paper is to offer a structured approach for engineering educators to develop online discussion prompts aimed to prepare engineering students for …

Integrating The Entrepreneurial Mindset Into The Engineering Classroom, Lisa Bosman, Margaret Phillips

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

CONTRIBUTION: This paper highlights one approach to fostering the entrepreneurial mindset in the engineering classroom. BACKGROUND: Entrepreneurship and innovation are currently trending topics in engineering education and will continue developing for the foreseeable future. INTENDED OUTCOMES: The guiding research question is: How can an entrepreneurial mindset focused learning experience improve student self-regulation, seeing value, and lifelong learning through metacognitive reflections? APPLICATION DESIGN: The study is implemented within a five-week module focused on developing the entrepreneurial mindset as part of a required course on supply chain management technology. The supporting pedagogical interventions include authentic learning, information literacy, a mix of low …

Retrospective Analysis Of Participatory Decision-Making In A Park's Construction In Lafayette, Indiana, Joshua Randall

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The Creative Park project has been an ongoing collaboration between Purdue Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS), Faith Community Development Corporation, and the residents of Lincoln Neighborhood in Lafayette, Indiana. It was initiated by Faith in 2017 as an open-ended attempt to increase local children’s interactions with creative and complex thinking as well as decreasing time spent indoors at the Hartford Hub. Through several iterations of designs, an interdisciplinary team with one consistent member has developed a plan to build a treehouse-themed park to be constructed in spring 2020. Throughout this time two major themes have arisen: that the collaboration …

A Case Study Of Engineering Students’ Experiences With The Co-Op Application Process, Laura F. Long, Xinrui Xu, Joyce B. Main

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Engineering faculty and advisors emphasize the importance of obtaining industry experience in addition to academic learning. One way universities encourage their students to obtain hands-on work experiences is through cooperative education (co-op) programs. Previous studies have examined the advantages and disadvantages of co-op participation, but the application process for students has not been closely examined. Studying this process will show how academic institutions and companies can potentially enhance the student experience of applying for a co-op position. This study examines student experiences with the co-op application process based on interviews with engineering students at a research-intensive university in the Midwestern …

Engineering Education Research, Michael C. Loui, Maura Borrego

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This chapter describes several aspects of engineering education research with an emphasis on how they might relate to computing education research. We briefly summarize the history of engineering education as a scholarly field, and we describe the current structures that support engineering education research: academic departments, scholarly journals, annual conferences, and professional societies. We identify the theories that often inform engineering education research studies, including theories of cognition, motivation, and identity. We explain how quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods have been used. We summarize the results of an illustrative selection of empirical studies across a broad range of topics, including …

Gender And Participation In An Engineering Problem-Based Learning Environment, Laura Hirshfield, Milo D. Koretsky

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

The use of problem-based learning (PBL) is gaining attention in the engineering classroom as a way to help students synthesize foundational knowledge and to better prepare students for practice. In this work, we study the discourse interactions between 27 student teams and two instructors in an engineering PBL environment to analyze how participation is distributed among team members, paying particular attention to the differences between male and female students. There were no statistically significant differences between the amount that male and female students spoke; however, stereotypical gender roles and traditional gendered behavior did manifest in the discussion. Also, regardless of …

Approaches To Integrating Engineering In Stem Units And Student Achievement Gains, Elizabeth A. Crotty, Selcen S. Guzey, Gillian H. Roehrig, Aran W. Glancy, Elizabeth A. Ring-Whalen, Tamara J. Moore

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

This study examined different approaches to integrating engineering practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum units. These various approaches were correlated with student outcomes on engineering assessment items. There are numerous reform documents in the USA and around the world that emphasize the need to incorporate engineering into science education. The authors of this study contend that different approaches to integrating engineering in STEM units correlate to larger student achievement gains in engineering, based on assessment items developed from the Framework for Quality K–12 Engineering Education (Moore, Glancy, Tank, Kersten, & Smith, 2014). The goal of this work …

‘‘Can I Drop It This Time?’’ Gender And Collaborative Group Dynamics In An Engineering Design-Based Afterschool Program, Jessica Schnittka, Christine Schnittka

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

The 21st century has brought an increasing demand for expertise in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Although strides have been made towards increasing gender diversity in several of these disciplines, engineering remains primarily male dominated. In response, the U.S. educational system has attempted to make engineering curriculum more engaging, informative, and welcoming to girls. Specifically, project-based and design-based learning pedagogies promise to make engineering interesting and accessible for girls while enculturating them into the world of engineering and scientific inquiry. Outcomes for girls learning in these contexts have been mixed. The purpose of this study was to explore how …

Professional Development For The Integration Of Engineering In High School Stem Classrooms, Jonathan E. Singer, Julia M. Ross, Yvette Jackson-Lee

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

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. is in transition. The recently published A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas as well as the Next Generation Science Standards are responsive to this call and clearly articulate a vision that includes engineering practices as key components. This shift presents significant challenges to school districts owing to a stark lack of research-based engineering-focused instructional materials and corresponding teacher professional development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a professional development program on high school STEM teachers’ ability to enact design-based …

Examining How International Experiences Promote Global Competency Among Engineering Graduate Students, Lauren B. Denney, Joyce B. Main, Matilde Sanchez-Pena

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Employers across the globe are seeking engineers that possess more “soft skills”: leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. In addition to these characteristics as well as the traditional engineering problem solving skills, engineers are required to have attributes of global competency which would help them thrive in the global workforce. A plethora of information and studies exist on undergraduate students and their global competency development. Despite these efforts, there is little information on engineering doctoral students and methods for increasing their levels of global competency. Doctoral students are at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation and discoveries, so it is …

Engineering / Faculty / Sapp Nelson / Purdue University / 2015, Megan R. Sapp Nelson

Data Information Literacy Case Study Directory

These materials were developed to assist a cohort of early career engineering education faculty to critically consider aspects of data management that they may implement in their developing research groups. These materials were used in the context of a two hour workshop and one hour brownbag. In the brownbag, the results of the Data Information Literacy research grant were discussed as they may be relevant to the early career faculty. The faculty then completed a self-assessment to identify their weak areas of data management and their personal priorities for data management. The two hour workshop was then conducted to assist …

Teaching Engineering, Second Edition, Phillip C. Wankat, Frank S. Oreovicz

Purdue University Press Books

The majority of professors have never had a formal course in education, and the most common method for learning how to teach is on-the-job training. This represents a challenge for disciplines with ever more complex subject matter, and a lost opportunity when new active learning approaches to education are yielding dramatic improvements in student learning and retention.

This book aims to cover all aspects of teaching engineering and other technical subjects. It presents both practical matters and educational theories in a format useful for both new and experienced teachers. It is organized to start with specific, practical teaching applications and …

Gender Differences In The Consistency Of Middle School Students’ Interest In Engineering And Science Careers, Marsha Ing, Pamela R. Aschbacher, Sherry M. Tsai

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

This longitudinal study analyzes survey responses in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade from diverse public school students (n = 482) to explore gender differences in engineering and science career preferences. Females were far more likely to express interest in a science career (31%) than an engineering career (13%), while the reverse was true for males (58% in engineering, 39% in science). After controlling for student and school demographic characteristics, females were as consistent as males in their science career interests during the three years of the study but less consistent in their engineering career interests. Knowing an engineer significantly …

Educating For Evidence Based Decisions In Engineering: The View As Librarian And Instructor, Amy S. Van Epps

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The First Year Engineering program at Purdue University is regularly reviewed and revised to adapt to the needs of the students, feedback from teaching faculty, and the changing needs of the university curriculum. In the last year, a unifying theme was added to the class to help tie all the different activities together. That theme was “evidence based decision making in engineering”, a perfect fit for introducing and discussing information literacy many times throughout the semester, rather than in a single, isolated session.

As instructor for one section of the class, the author identifies benefits to including this message throughout …

Cleerhub.Org Adoption By Eafit University Engineering Faculty Members: A Longitudinal Study, Diego M. Mendez Mena

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

The main purpose of this study is to identify and comprehend faculty members’ perception of attributes of the diffusion of the technological innovation CLEERhub.org at EAFIT University, College of Engineering, in Medellin, Colombia. Moreover, this work attempts to understand causes and motivators that might lead to innovation adoption or rejection. The Diffusion of Innovations Theory serves as the framework to develop an appropriate assessing instrument that allows accurate measuring of user opinions towards the practice of CLEERhub.org in their educational research work in Engineering. In order to correctly assess user perception of the embracement process of such technological/cyberinfrastructure innovation, the …

Statistical Analysis When The Data Is An Image: Eliciting Student Thinking About Sampling And Variability., Margaret A. Hjalmarson, Tamara J. Moore, Robert Delmas

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Results of analysis of responses to a first-year undergraduate engineering activity are presented. Teams of students were asked to develop a procedure for quantifying the roughness of a surface at the nanoscale, which is typical of problems in Materials Engineering where qualities of a material need to be quantified. Thirty-five teams were selected from a large engineering course for analysis of their responses. The results indicate that engagement in the task naturally led teams to design a sampling plan, use or design measures of center and variability, and integrate those measures into a model to solve the stated problem. Team …