Engineering Education Commons^™

A Study Of Software Development Methodologies, Kendra Risener

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Software development methodologies are often overlooked by software engineers as aspects of development that are handled by project managers alone. However, if every member of the team better understood the development methodology being used, it increases the likelihood that the method is properly implemented and ultimately used to complete the project more efficiently. Thus, this paper seeks to explore six common methodologies: the Waterfall Model, the Spiral Model, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming. These are discussed in two main sections in the paper. In the first section, the frameworks are isolated and viewed by themselves. The histories, unique features, …

Virtual Reality As An Education Tool In Biomedical Engineering, Megan Wilkerson

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Virtual Reality (VR) has become more accessible in recent years, both to experience and to create. Various studies have shown that incorporating VR in an educational setting can yield positive results. Virtual reality videos created using course-specific content could prove to be a beneficial educational tool. VR videos were implemented in a remote biomolecular engineering laboratory course. 180° VR videos of lab procedures were recorded and viewed by students using a Google Cardboard headset and their smartphones. After viewing all the VR lab videos, students were given a survey to report their experiences. The survey contained questions used to measure …

Integrating Fire Responses To Combat Wildfires, Jonathan Leonard Badal

Electrical Engineering

Each year wildfires cause significant loss of property, worsen people’s health, and destroy multiple ecosystems. On average, a wildfire season costs anywhere from 7.6-62.8 billion dollars due to fire containment, repair, and restoration [1]. It can take decades to recover from the crippling loss of land and take even longer to fully restore it. However, with the implementation of a robust early detection system, these losses can be significantly reduced. The current process for identifying wildfires involves visual identification, phone call alerts, and media tools primarily driven by park rangers and public reporting. Unfortunately, this system is not preventative and …

Self-Efficacy Development In Elementary-Aged Learners Through Dance As An Algorithmic Thinking Tool, Niva Shrestha

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a transdisciplinary approach in teaching computational thinking through dance to elementary-aged learners, with primary attention to females. With limited literature available on how pre-adolescents begin to construct conceptions of computer science and other engineering domains, including potential career pathways, the incentive of this project was to leverage a day camp for about 20 rising 3rd - 5th-grade learners to assess their identity development in computer science. Modules that teach computational thinking through dance paired with Unruly splats (block-based programmable electronic gadgets) were implemented. By conducting pre-and post-surveys and a …

The Water We Were Swimming In: Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Students' Lived Experiences In Engineering., Natalie Saroff Oliner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies address the lived experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) students in engineering. Grounded in critical trans politics (Spade, 2015), this dissertation contributes to the literature on TGNC students in engineering by examining their experiences negotiating their identities while navigating interrelated systems of oppression in a field dominated by White, heterosexual, cisgender men. Using a critical constructivism framework, I conducted a narrative inquiry to explore the lived experiences of five TGNC students in engineering programs. Participants experienced TGNC oppression at their universities, built LGBTQ+ and TGNC communities, and described more welcoming climates in non-engineering contexts compared to engineering. …

3 Stem Projects By Fares Soliman, Fares Soliman

STEM Month

My name is Fares Soliman. I am a fourth grade student from John Hill School Boonton NJ. I created a 3 STEM project. The first project that I made was a doll. I used pink yarn for the dress and brown yarn for the hair. I also used a round wooden ball for the face. The second project that I created was a diorama of a farm. I put some grass, trees, a barn, hay sticks, some animals, a bridge, a fence, some plastic food and corn for the crop. My third project was a diorama of a park. It …

Introducing Normal Forms To Students: A Comparison Of Theory-First Vs. Project-First Educational Approaches, Dakota C. Cookenmaster, Jacob A. Bahn

Campus Research Month

One of the primary challenges instructors face when educating scientists and engineers is the introduction of important theory, both to show its essential nature in research as well as its practicality. This paper analyzes two pedagogical methods for the instruction of database normal forms. The first of these methods is a theory-based approach that relies on written works and practices to introduce the concept. The second of these focuses on a project-based approach which aligns with normal form standards as students implement a database schema. This paper compares these in a small study and advises an appropriate method for educators.

Bridging The Research-Practice Gap: Development Of A Theoretically Grounded Workshop For Graduate Students Aimed At Challenging Microaggressions In Science And Engineering, Amy C. Moors, Lindsay Mayott, Benjamin Hadden

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Efforts to promote diversity and inclusion often lack a theoretical basis, which can unintentionally exacerbate issues. In this paper, we describe the development and evaluation results of a theoretically grounded workshop aimed at reducing microaggressions and promoting ally engagement among graduate students in science and engineering. In Study 1, using a Delphi method, eight science and engineering faculty members with backgrounds in diversity efforts provided feedback on workshop development. In Study 2, 107 graduate and advanced undergraduate students engaged in the 90-minute interactive workshop. Results indicate that attendees found the workshop valuable, developed new skills for ally engagement, and planned …

Deapsecure Computational Training For Cybersecurity: Third-Year Improvements And Impacts, Bahador Dodge, Jacob Strother, Rosby Asiamah, Karina Arcaute, Wirawan Purwanto, Masha Sosonkina, Hongyi Wu

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

The Data-Enabled Advanced Training Program for Cybersecurity Research and Education (DeapSECURE) was introduced in 2018 as a non-degree training consisting of six modules covering a broad range of cyberinfrastructure techniques, including high performance computing, big data, machine learning and advanced cryptography, aimed at reducing the gap between current cybersecurity curricula and requirements needed for advanced research and industrial projects. By its third year, DeapSECURE, like many other educational endeavors, experienced abrupt changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The training had to be retooled to adapt to fully online delivery. Hands-on activities were reformatted to accommodate self-paced learning. In this paper, …

Rapid Development Of Advanced Virtual Labs For In-Person And Online Education, Yiyang Li, Pauline Delacruz, Yuzhong Shen

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

This abstract discusses methodologies and preliminary findings on rapid development of advanced virtual labs using modeling and simulation for in-person and online education, including rapid generation of virtual environment, integration of state-of-the-art industry leading software tools, advanced software design techniques that enables large scale software reuse, and innovative user interface design that facilitate the configuration and use of virtual labs by instructors and students. The latest design and development of the virtual lab for electronic circuits is presented.

Investigating Factors That Predict Progress High Achieving Engineering Students Make Towards Desired Outcomes Of College, Ibukun Osunbunmi

Student Research Symposium

In an effort to increase the retention and progress undergraduate engineering students are making towards the desired outcome of college, researchers have been investigating what factors influence the academic achievement of students. The desired outcomes of college in this study include intellectual and scholarly development, workforce preparedness, advance in general knowledge, personal development, and scientific and technological skill development. While some studies have shown evidence that students’ engagement and learning skills are important predictors, others have suggested that educational policies, background, and demography of students are significantly associated with students’ academic achievement. In this study, predictive modeling of parents’ educational …

Name-Matching Techniques For Disambiguating Interaction Data, Adam Weaver

Student Research Symposium

Fuzzy name matching methods are helpful because names are often misspelled, sound similar, or reside in similar circumstances. A fuzzy name matching process assigns two names a similarity score between 0 and 1 using name-matching techniques (with 1 meaning identical and 0 meaning entirely unique). Fuzzy name matching is used for optimizing customer databases, creating more accurate medical records, or in Social Network Analysis (SNA). To observe the links between students’ social practices and academic performance, our research group is performing a large-scale (1000+ student) SNA through open-response name-generator surveys. Accordingly, the survey responses contain ambiguous names—many of which are …

Assessing Learning Processes Rather Than Outcomes: Using Critical Incidents To Explore Student Learning Abroad, Kirsten A. Davis, David B. Knight

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

There is an increasing emphasis on assessing student learning outcomes from study abroad experiences, but this assessment often focuses on a limited range of outcomes and assessment methods. We argue for shifting to assessing student learning processes in study abroad and present the critical incident technique as one approach to achieve this goal. We demonstrate this approach in interviews with 79 students across a range of global engineering programs, through which we identified 173 incidents which were analyzed to identify common themes. This analysis revealed that students described a wide range of experiences and outcomes from their time abroad. Students’ …

Inventing The Baby Saver: An Activity Systems Analysis Of Applied Engineering At The High School Level, Jessica Gale

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

Extant research and engineering education frameworks call for students to engage in personally meaningful engineering projects; however, there are few case studies documenting the work of young engineers working to design solutions to real-world problems that matter to them. This qualitative case study describes the work of a purposively selected group of high school engineering students (the InvenTeam) (n = 15) as they devote a school year to a particularly ambitious invention project: designing and prototyping a device to mitigate deaths occurring when children are left unattended in hot cars. Utilizing cultural historical activity theory as a theoretical and …

To Critically Review The Use Of Screencasts For Teaching Land Surveying, Eugen Niculae, Alain Chenaux

Conference papers

Screencasting tools allow for a screen capture of the actions on a computer screen with accompanying audio. This research initially reviews through the literature how screencasting has been used pedagogically and, through this primary research, the application of an existing screencast called Screencast-O-Matic and feedback from students from both Construction Management and Geospatial Surveying Undergraduate Programmes of TU Dublin, where and how it could be deployed for the surveying classes and fieldwork during the pandemic situation. This research occurred when all Irish third-level institutions lectures and tutorials moved online, and access to survey equipment for fieldwork was severely reduced. The …

Interpreting Multi-Stage Teaching And Learning Initiatives For Mechanical Engineering Students - A Knowledge Management Perspective For Students, Kevin Delaney, Ger Nagle, Mingzhu Chen

Conference papers

Encouraging students to “think differently”, to “think like an engineer”, to “just solve the problem” is challenging and depends upon many factors such as the prior learning and experiences of the particular students involved. Sometimes it is difficult to convince students to really engage with activities outside their own comfort zones if they cannot see the potential benefits that might accrue through such engagement.

This paper describes a paradigm, inspired by knowledge management, which the authors have used to explain the importance of engaging with teaching and learning activities to undergraduate students. More importantly it helps these students to understand …

Developing A Methodology For Analyzing Educational Offerings Using Competency Descriptors, Andrew G. Lowe

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force needs to ensure its Airmen are receiving the best possible education so that they can perform their jobs as effectively as possible. One way to improve the evaluation and development of its Airmen is to incorporate the use of competencies to develop standards for performance and use competency-based education principles to improve the quality of education delivered to the Airmen. One of the educational centers of the United States Air Force is The Civil Engineer School. However, The Civil Engineer School needs a way to evaluate its current coursework on how well it develops competencies …

Development Of The Human Scale Twelve-Node Model, Tebrez W. Khan

Architectural Engineering

The attempted creation of a full-scale twelve-node model made of PVC pipe and golf balls. Intended use of the structure was for students to tactically learn from the model.

Impact Of Teaching Practices And Communication Climates On Participation In Computer Science Education, Jackie Krone

Master's Theses

One way to understand teaching is to view it as a people process rather than a presentation of knowledge. It follows that the role of an educator often extends beyond the primary subject matter and into the realm of classroom management. With this in mind, our research aimed to capture the various teaching practices, participation patterns, and communication climates that occur in virtual computer science classrooms. We sought to answer the following research questions related to virtual computer science classrooms at our institution: Who participates in virtual computer science classrooms, and is participation proportional to student demographics? Is there any …

Flipping The Digital Switch: Affective Responses Of Stem Undergraduates To Emergency Remote Teaching During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Angela Minichiello, Oenardi Lawanto, Wade Goodridge, Assad Iqbal, Muhammad Asghar

Engineering Education Student Research

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) catalyzed a global shift to distance education known as an emergency transition to remote teaching (ERT). While prior research investigates students' experiences during traditional online learning, fewer studies examine students' affective responses (i.e., feelings, emotions) to those experiences, particularly when remote learning is unexpected and unplanned. To understand how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduates responded affectively to the COVID-19 ERT, researchers generated open-ended survey data with 1340 undergraduates (253 female) in 27 courses across seven U.S. institutions. Using an inductive qualitative approach, researchers developed a three-tier thematic model to synthesize the self-reported reasons …