Engineering Education Commons^™

Exploring The Barriers To Independent Study And Learning In First Year Undergraduate Engineering Students?, Robert Martin Morris

Conference papers

This mixed method case study was carried out in the Technological University Dublin, Ireland and was conducted with the co-operation of four experienced lecturers of engineering and three groups of first year undergraduate engineering students.

The main aim of the research was to identify factors which represent barriers to the independent study and learning of first year engineering students.

Many first year engineering students do not return to college for the second year of their programmes. Many reasons for this are identified in the research, including the failure of students to pass assessments and exams as a result of the …

A Comparison Study Of Project-Based-Learning In Upper-Division Engineering Education, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson, Rebecca Bates

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

A new model for engineering education was launched in January 2010 in northeastern Minnesota. The Iron Range Engineering (IRE) model is a project-based-learning (PBL) methodology that focuses on producing graduates with integrated technical and professional knowledge and competencies. A unique and important element of the IRE model has 100% of IRE student learning taking place in the context of industry projects. Students at IRE are upper-division engineering students who transferred from Minnesota community college lower-division engineering programs. To understand the impact that IRE methodology may have on preparing engineers with the competencies needed for the future workplace, a comparison study …

The Iron Range Engineering Pbl Curriculum: How Students Adapt To And Function Within Pbl, Rose M. Marra, Betsy Palmer, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Iron Range Engineering is a unique complete-PBL curriculum for upper division students. Rather than studying about engineering in traditional engineering courses, IRE students solve complex and ill-structured industry problems in mining, milling, and manufacturing industries. To support students’ transition to PBL and to facilitate deep approaches to learning technical and professional competencies required for the engineers of the future, faculty have created a variety of structures. This paper describes IRE’s PBL implementation and reports the results of a qualitative study of their students.

Analysis Of Engineering Content With Technology Education Programs, Todd D. Fantz, Petros J. Katsioloudis

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Case Methods In Civil Engineering Teaching, Timothy A. Newson, Norbert J. Delatte

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

English: There have been significant changes in undergraduate civil engineering curricula in the last two decades. Key issues for university curriculum committees are selection and transference of appropriate skills and attributes for students to succeed in the industry. Despite significant changes occurring in teaching theories, civil engineering education still relies heavily on deductive instruction. Case-based teaching is one of the most widespread forms of inductive learning and this paper describes the differences between two of the most familiar types: 'case-histories' and 'case-studies'. These methods are presented using the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkway collapse as an exemplar. The benefits of …

Formative Assessment Practices In Built Environment Higher Education Programmes And The Enhancement Of The Student Learning Experience, Lloyd Scott, Chrisopher Fortune

Conference papers

It is widely accepted across Higher Education (HE) that assessment has a strong link with learning and a key factor in this link is formative assessment. Formative assessment is generally defined as an activity taking place during a programme or unit of learning with the express purpose of improving and enhancing student learning. However, there is still considerable disagreement over the roles of lecturers and students in this process. It is therefore very important to understand how lecturers in built environment (BE) undergraduate education perceive their own roles and the role of their students in using assessment strategy to deliver …

Successful Engineering And Technology Student Mobility: Key Student Perspectives And Quality Determinants Before, During And After Student Exchange Under The Atlantis Programme, Mike Murphy, Donal Mchale, Michael Dyrenfurth

Conference papers

In this paper, we describe the lessons learned, and determinants of quality, from two Atlantis programmes. Additionally our two student authors will share key student perspectives relevant to student mobility: (1) before they visited the partner university, (2) while they were studying at the partner university and (3) after they returned to their home university. Purdue University and the Technological University Dublin, together with the Hochschule Darmstadt and Pennsylvania State University, were successful in securing an Atlantis mobility grant [1] for four years to support student and staff mobility between the United States and Europe. The programme has just completed …

Year Seven Annual Report: Activities, Findings And Evaluators' Reports, Ncete Faculty

Reports to NSF

The National Center for Engineering and Technology Education (NCETE) is a collaborative network of scholars with backgrounds in technology education, engineering, and related fields. Our mission is to build capacity in technology education and to improve the understanding of the learning and teaching of high school students and teachers as they apply engineering design processes to technological problems. This year’s accomplishments include: completion of doctoral dissertations and post-doctoral research; continuation of research program; exploration of a strategic alliance of engineering and technology education groups in major doctoral-degree-granting universities; development of a caucus on high school engineering design challenges; and ongoing …

Effect Of Freshman Chemistry On Student Performance In Sophomore Engineering Courses, Michael A. Collura, Shannon Ciston, Nancy Ortins Savage

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

The role of first year chemistry courses in engineering programs varies somewhat across programs and disciplines. Clearly most engineering majors will encounter chemistry topics of a general nature in some of their upper-level course work. The purpose of requiring chemistry in the first year, however, goes well beyond learning chemical concepts. As a quantitative science, chemistry requires the use of math, principally algebra, on a regular basis in solving various problems. Students should gain an appreciation of the importance of units in solving problems should come to understand the difference between implicit and explicit properties and should develop other quantitative …

Connecting Science With Engineering: Using Inquiry And Design In A Teacher Professional Development Course, Louis S. Nadelson, Patricia Pyke, Janet Callahan, Anne Hay, Joshua Pfiester, Mark A. Emmet

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The engineering design process has evolved over time to be the central and effective framework that engineers use to conduct their work. Logically, K-12 STEM professional development efforts have then attempted to incorporate the design process into their work. There has been little in the STEM literature, though, of the explicit measurement of the growth in design process knowledge. Our study presents findings of significant improvements in knowledge of the design process that resulted over the course of a recent summer STEM institute and professional development program among K-5 teachers.

As more emphasis is placed on integrating STEM into the …

Developing And Assessing Stem Curriculum With The Intent Of Promoting Technological Literacy, Scott Bartholomew, Geoff Wright, Ron Terry

Faculty Publications

Developing and Assessing STEM Curriculum with the Intent of Promoting Technological Literacy Technological literacy is a key component of President Barack Obama’s $260 Million STEM educational initiative (Office of the Press Secretary, 2009). Central to his plan is STEM teacher training and curriculum development. Both of these issues were addressed and are currently being measured by the research outlined in this paper. Spring2010 a collection of technology and engineering education graduate students developed with mentoring from two technology and engineering education professors 20 lesson unit and lesson plans promoting technological literacy. The lesson plans are currently being used and assessed …

Entrepreneurship In The Iron Range Engineering (Ire) Model, Dan Ewert, Ron Ulseth, Bart Johnson, Jeff Wandler, Andrew Lillesve

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

The aim of this paper is to describe a new model for engineering education that has entrepreneurship, in its many form, as a focus. Issues involved with integrating student-based entrepreneurship into the educational process are also described.

A New Model Of Project Based Learning, Ron Ulseth, Jefferey E. Froyd, Thomas A. Lotzinger, Dan Ewert, Bart Johnson

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

A new model for engineering education has been developed and funded. The model is 100% project based learning (PBL) where the students develop their own learning objectives. The projects are authentic needs contributed by collaborating industries. Students monitor the acquisition of 32 technical competencies and all of the design and professionalism competencies required of new practicing engineers. The reasons for the new model, description of the model, research supporting the model, methods for evaluating the model and its transportability are discussed.

Asynchronous Use Of Engineering (Materials) Education Videos, Craig Johnson, Arthur D. Morken

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Engineering education delivery is dynamic and increasingly asynchronous. An observation that students had very different levels of knowledge and skills as they progressed through our programs, led the authors to use audio/visual media as a leveling intervention. In this effort the authors collected data to determine if audio/visual media can be used to increase performance in the development of a program related task and guide students to higher levels of learning on Blooms Taxonomy through the development of student created learning aids.

One specific need was reflected in the disparate skills of our majority component of ‘transfer’ students in our …

Assessment Of First Year Experiences At Sjsu, Patricia Backer, Emily Allen, Janet Sundrud

Faculty Publications

With nearly 5,000 students, the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering (CoE) at San José State University (SJSU) is the largest provider of engineers to Silicon Valley companies and is ranked 12th among engineering programs for master’s-level institutions in the 2009 U.S. News &World Report's listing of "America’s Best Colleges. “Our overarching theoretical model for student retention is based on Tinto’s model. We adapted this model, based on additional research, to address the needs of students at SJSU. According to this model, effective and positive interactions in college should increase the student’s commitment and effort in college, and thereby, increase …

Service Learning In A Multi-Disciplinary Renewable Energy Engineering Course, Stacy Gleixner, Patricia Backer, Elena Klaw

Faculty Publications

One of the most significant challenges facing this coming generation of engineers is how to fight the complex issue of climate change. One aspect of this that is playing an increasingly important role is alternative and renewable energy technologies. Emerging applications such as solar cells, wind energy conversion devices, and fuel cells involve significant contributions across a range of traditional engineering disciplines. Therefore, for companies to be successful in researching, designing, and manufacturing these products, they must operate in a truly multi-disciplinary environment. To prepare graduates to be successful in this, engineering education must provide students with multi-disciplinary learning environments. …

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 …

Using Social Networking Game To Teach Operations Research And Management Science Fundamental Concepts, Ivan G. Guardiola, Susan L. Murray, Elizabeth A. Cudney

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents our experience using the popular game FarmVille by Zynga® to teach the fundamentals of linear programming and integer programming concepts to undergraduate students in an introductory operations research course. FarmVille is a popular game within the social networking website Facebook®. A month-long contest was introduced amongst the students with the goal to be the best individual farmer by striving to reach high levels of revenue, experience, and aesthetic appeal of their own unique farm. The contest is to demonstrate the concepts of problem formulation, solution methods, multiple and competing objectives, implementation of policy, and reformulation. The students …

Missouri S&T Engineering Management Capstone Senior Design: Lessons Learned And Challenges To Come, Stephen A. Raper

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A more traditional, capstone senior design course was recently added as a requirement for Engineering Management undergraduates in the Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Department at Missouri S&T. The case studies course that had served that purpose was deemed to be insufficient for ABET accreditation purposes by department faculty. The most recent 2008 accreditation visit for the department verified this belief and caused the department to launch the new class earlier than anticipated to prove the class would be taught and that it would meet required standards. Thus, no weaknesses or concerns were noted in this area in the final …

The Path Of Innovation: From Traditional Classroom To Hybrid Experience, Lulu Sun, Matthew Kindy, Caroline Liron

Publications

“Introduction to Computing for Engineers” is a programming course emphasizing problem solving. However, the lack of time for practice and the algorithm-centric nature of programming results in inadequate comprehension of this course material. Through course evaluations, faculty experience, and discussions, we feel that students in a programming course should have more time for “hands-on” learning, rather than trying to absorb content through lectures. We believe that by getting students involved and excited about engineering from the beginning of their first year, we will markedly improve comprehension of the course content. To that end, a hybrid course is implemented that involves …

Person-Thing Orientation As A Predictor Of Engineering Persistence And Success, Ida Ngambeki, Demetra Evangelou Dr, William Graziano, Diana N Bairaktarova, Sara E Branch, Anna Woodcock

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Interest, especially in the United States, is an important motivation for students in choosing a major and the strength of their commitment to remaining in that major. In the examination of engineering students’ reasons for persistence and success, interest has not received an in-depth treatment. Interest as a motivational factor can be characterized and operationalized in several ways. Engineering is often typified as a discipline that primarily deals with the creation and manipulation of man-made artefacts as opposed to a discipline centered on interpersonal interaction. For this study interest has been characterized along the Person-Thing dimension.This has been operationalized as …

Returning Students In Engineering Education: Making A Case For “Experience Capital”, Michele L. Strutz, James E. Cawthorne Jr, Daniel M. Ferguson, Mark T. Carnes, Matthew Ohland

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Students returning to college are not generally studied, where most of the research on non-traditional students is focused on individuals returning to earn their undergraduate degree. There are, however, many students returning to receive graduate degrees as they pursue new directions in life by interest or economic necessity. Undergraduate students with experience have clear educational related goals, practical approaches to problem-solving, and high learning motivation.Returning graduate students are expected to model similar behaviors. These individuals bring a lifetime of personal and professional expertise, which we identify as “experience capital.”A review of the literature reveals that capital has been pondered since …

Three Deadly Venoms: Phenomenology, Existentialism, And Philosophical Constructs To Expand Engineering Education Research Methodologies And Philosophy, George Dante Ricco

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

The Engineer through a Multidisciplinary Lens Our work invokes multiple theoretical approaches to the question of the engineer’s perception of his/her place in the field of engineering through lenses within social psychology and modern philosophy. We aim to help augment current conversations on and further dialogue as to what engineering is from ethnomethodological (or existential phenomenological) and symbolic interactionism points of view. The foundation of our work is the current state of engineering and how to address the engineer’s negotiation of his/her state of affairs. We believe this work has strong implications amidst recent publications invoking epistemologies based upon modern …

Engineering Children's Literature: Development Of An Engineering Storybook For Young Children, Brianna L. Dorie, Monica Cardella

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

While the notions of doctor, teacher and firefighter are ubiquitous in young literature,there is a lack of engagement about engineering (Holbrook et al., 2008). Picture books are a compelling medium for introducing concepts to children at a young age. Story books have the ability to present new information, increase stimulation of the imagination, and deliver messages both moral and social. In a school setting, story books have been shown to impact kindergartener’s mathematical achievement when produced in tandem with a mathematics unit (Keat & Wilburne, 2009). However, there have been little to no studies regarding the impact of engineering literature …

Integrating Children’S Literature Into Occupational Learning About Engineers, Brianna L. Dorie, Monica Cardella

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

At a very young age, a child has the ability to formulate ideas regarding the occupation of a lawyer, a nurse or even a doctor. However, studies have shown that most children have limited information regarding engineers, and the lack of knowledge can often perpetuate into adulthood(Cunningham et al., 2005; NAE, 2002). Augur et al. (2005) found that “occupational aspirations and expectations of children undergo dramatic development changes during the elementary years, as well as resisting change in other respects.” This means prior to school education,children have already formed their perception of occupations and that stereotypical attributes have already been …

Techniques From Workshops On Teaching: Implementing The Concepts And Evaluating Our Approaches, Michael R. Foster, Justin R. Vander Werff

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

The challenges for new engineering educators abound and there are never enough hours in a day or days in a week. Young educators may lack confidence in course subject material given that they have never taught (the topic and/or in a classroom) before. In addition, their knowledge of teaching pedagogy and classroom management strategies often lacks refinement since their education is almost exclusively in a field of engineering rather than education. Teaching workshops have been developed to expose instructors in higher education to practical teaching pedagogy and effective classroom management. These workshops often emphasize research-based methods including use of clearly …

Lifelong Learning And Information Literacy Skills And The First Year Engineering Undergraduate: Report Of A Self-Assessment, Meagan Ross, Michael Fosmire, Ruth Eh Wertz, Monica Cardella, Senay Purzer

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

ABET accreditation requires engineering students to attain ‘a recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in lifelong learning.” (Outcome 3.i) However, there are few standard tools that attempt to assess the skills and techniques students need in order to achieve those outcomes. Focusing on the problem articulation and information literacy skills embedded in lifelong learning competencies, the authors constructed a standardized assessment to measure student self-perceptions of how often they employ those skills. The criteria for these competencies were based on the Information Search Process of Carol Kuhlthau, engineering design process characteristics, and the authors’ own analysis …

Doctoral Students As Course Instructors: Three Engineering Teaching Assistants' Socialization Experiences, Irene Mena, Heidi Diefes-Dux, Brenda Capobianco

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the types of socialization experiences that result from engineering graduate teaching assistants‟ (TAs) roles as course instructors. Socialization refers to an individual‟s process of becoming a part of a group. In the context of doctoral education, socialization can be a complex area to study, largely because there are many roles and groups for which graduate students can be socialized.

Using situated learning, more specifically the communities of practice literature, as the theoretical framework, this study looked at how three doctoral engineering TAs, with experience as course instructors, become members of …

Motivations And Benefits For College Students Serving As Mentors In A High School Robotics Competition, Noah Salzman, Johannes Strobel

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

Many universities provide space for student organizations in which undergraduate students are learning leadership skills, mentor other students and bring their engineering skills to practice.Purdue FIRST Programs (PFP) is a service-learning program where university students mentor predominantly high school student teams participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). Whereas most FRC teams are mentored by professional engineers, PFP is unique in both the extent which it relies on student mentors and the overall scope of the organization. Existing models of mentorship do not adequately describe the specific relationship between the college and high schools students: (1) Due to the proximity …

A Catholic And Marianist Engineering Education, Kevin P. Hallinan, Margaret Pinnell

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD), a Catholic and Marianist University, boasts large enrollments of 1,300 undergraduate and 350 graduate students out of a total of 7,000 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students. It also boasts a faculty very active in research, which, under the umbrella of the University of Dayton Research Institute, is funded at a level of $100 million per year.

In the past decade, the University of Dayton has sought to better articulate the impact of its Catholic and Marianist traditions, and faculty have been challenged to embody these traditions. University mission statements and …