Engineering Education Commons^™

Speed's Role In Community Service And Its Initiative Towards Speed Indiana Forum, Dhinesh Balaji Radhakrishnan, Avneet Hira

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

SPEED Indiana Forum will host engineering students from Universities in Indiana for a 3 day workshop session on solving community problems through engineering. The outcome of the event will be Action Plans developed by student participants that will be implemented locally to address the community problems.

Enhancing Students Learning And Assessment Through Positive Reinforcement, Philip Appiah-Kubi

Engineering Management and Systems Faculty Publications

Students’ understanding of class material, and knowledge retention are assessed through homework, exams, and a host of other methods. None of these forms of assessment is intrinsically paramount to the others; however, the benefits depend on how well they are used. A good assessment depends on the purpose and learning objectives, and one way of maximizing the benefits of assessment is to involve students in the assessment methodology. This paper evaluates the benefits of having students prepare some of the questions for their final exams. Generally, students put in more effort when they understand that they are in charge. Each …

A Second Language Acquisition Approach To Learning Programming Languages, Rachel Cunningham, Paula Sanjuan Espejo, Christina Frederick, Lulu Sun, Li Ding

Publications

The instructional design for modules in the study was based on the evidence that learning a programming language is analogous to students acquiring a second language, and utilized tools from Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory. A programming language has vocabulary, syntax, grammar and communicative outcomes that must be sufficiently developed for the learner to function successfully in the environment that utilizes the language. This proposed study utilized an SLA approach to programming language in a blended learning environment. Modifications to the course pedagogy included breaking the course topics into video lessons focusing on basic programming vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. These …

Use Of Galvanic Skin Responses, Salivary Biomarkers, And Self-Reports To Assess Undergraduate Student Performance During A Laboratory Exam Activity, Idalis Villanueva, Maria Valladares, Wade H. Goodridge

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Typically, self-reports are used in educational research to assess student response and performance to a classroom activity. Yet, addition of biological and physiological measures such as salivary biomarkers and galvanic skin responses are rarely included, limiting the wealth of information that can be obtained to better understand student performance. A laboratory protocol to study undergraduate students' responses to classroom events (e.g., exams) is presented. Participants were asked to complete a representative exam for their degree. Before and after the laboratory exam session, students completed an academic achievement emotions self-report and an interview that paralleled these questions when participants wore a …

Identifying Pertinent Elements Of Critical Thinking And Mathematical Thinking Used In Civil Engineering Practice In Relation To Engineering Education, Sharifah Osman, Mohd Salleh Bin Abu, Shahrin Bin Mohammad, Mahani Binti Mokhtar

The Qualitative Report

Engaging critical thinking and mathematical thinking in solving engineering problems is a way of approaching the engineering criteria of Engineering Accreditation Council, Board of Engineers Malaysia. Thus, it is timely and crucial to inculcate the critical thinking and mathematical thinking into the current engineering education. Unfortunately, information about these two modes of thinking in real-world engineering practice is found lacking in the literature. Therefore, this paper focuses on explaining an analytic process in identifying pertinent elements of critical thinking and mathematical thinking used in real-world civil engineering practice. The analytic process, namely open coding is a part of coding process …

Thinking Like A Pro: How Experts And Novices Solve Problems Differently | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Jan. 7, 2016 – Engineering education experts at Utah State University are narrowing in on new insights into why young engineering students drop out of their programs or change majors.

It’s an increasingly important conversation as government and industry leaders push for more college graduates in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields. And yet nationwide, only about half of all engineering students complete their degrees.

A Research Experiences For Undergraduates (Reu) Site Program On Engineering Education Research, Ning Fang, Oenardi Lawanto, Wade H. Goodridge, Idalis Villanueva, Kurt Becker

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This paper describes a U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program that aims to provide undergraduate students with experiences in engineering education research (i.e., education research in the context of engineering). This paper provides an overview of the program and briefly describes the common intellectual focus of this REU Site program. Over the past two years, a total of 16 undergraduate students, seven graduate mentors, and five faculty mentors have actively participated in the program. Four important components of the program are described in this paper, including student recruitment and selection, REU seminars, weekly reflections, and …

Does Performance-Based Assessment In An Introductory Circuits Laboratory Improve Student Learning?, Benjamin D. Mcpheron, Mallory Zerena Mcpheron, Charles R. Thomas

Engineering, Computing & Construction Management Faculty Publications

Undergraduate engineering students regularly participate in laboratory experiences in introductory circuit theory courses. Based on instructor experience, it can be observed that students often struggle to remember how to use test and measurement equipment or important software from week to week, making long term retention of necessary skills inadequate. The facilitators of this study searched for strategies to improve student retention of important skills, and drew inspiration from performance-based assessment strategies used in the healthcare profession. In particular, physical therapy students are often subject to skills checks, where they must demonstrate competency in standard techniques for physical therapy practice. This …

Listening And Negotiation, Janet Callahan, Mary E. Besterfield-Sacre, Jenna P. Carpenter, Kim Lascola Needy, Cheryl B. Schrader

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Negotiation is an important skill for faculty at all stages of their career, but one that research suggests is often uncomfortable for women faculty to employ. This paper focuses on the topic of negotiation, with an emphasis on providing practical ideas and strategies relevant to academic professionals at both entry-level and mid-career who find that they need to negotiate a career opportunity. The paper will review negotiation basics, as well as discuss what can be negotiated, how one might proceed to discuss these, and how listening is critical to negotiation. By viewing negotiation as a "wise agreement"¹ that seeks …

Support Model For Transfer Students Utilizing The Stem Scholarship Program, Lynn Olson, Amy J. Moll, Doug Bullock, Amit Jain, Janet Callahan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes how the College of Engineering at Boise State University utilized a National Science Foundation S-STEM award from 2011 to 2016 to support transfer students in their path toward graduation. The need for this support was a result of both Boise State University College of Engineering’s transition from a 2-year pre-engineering program to the establishment of Bachelors of Science in Engineering Degree programs in 1997 as well as the establishment of the College of Western Idaho as a regional community college in 2007. Both of these factors led to an increase in the numbers of incoming engineering students …

Developing Critical Collaboration Skills In Engineering Students: Results From An Empirical Study, Pilar Pazos, Nina Magpili, Zikai Zhou, Luis J. Rodriguez

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In highly technical organizations, work is becoming increasingly distributed; requiring practicing engineers to master virtual collaboration skills while acquiring expertise in a range of collaboration technologies. Although there has been great emphasis on developing collaboration competencies in the engineering curriculum, empirical evidence of successful strategies for distributed team settings is scarce. As an attempt to fill this gap this study investigates the impact of a scalable intervention in developing virtual collaboration skills. The intervention, based on instructional scaffolds embedded with collaboration technologies, is aimed at supporting specific processes including planning, goal setting, clarifying goals and expectations, communication, coordination and progress …

A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Role Of Web-Based Collaboration Tools And Instructional Scaffolds In The Facilitation Of Team Processes, Nina Magpili, Pilar Pazos, Preetham S. Ullal

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Learning has expanded beyond take-home assignments and lectures. Team-based learning, for instance, supports the extended development of students by offering further education through collaborating with others. This type of learning develops teamwork skills that have become essential skills for students in today’s complex work environment. Furthermore, the use of online collaboration tools in virtual teams adds complexity to the collaboration process. This trend calls for valuable insights related to enhancing online team-based collaboration to ensure team success and learning. Scaffolds provide a promising approach because they support team processes online by providing guidance through the use of tools, activities and …

Pre-College Engineering Activities With Electronic Circuits (Work-In-Progress), Steve Eugene Watkins

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Projects involving engineering experimentation, design, and measurement can be effective content for pre-college STEM outreach. Such applications-oriented activities can promote literacy and interest in technical topics and careers and have the added benefit of showing the relevance of science and mathematics. Exposure to electrical engineering concepts is discussed using the 555 timer integrated circuit. This low-cost device can be used for modular activities involving the production of light, sound, and motion. Specific projects are presented that are appropriate for pre-college students from 9th-grade through 12th-grade.

Sems Says: Finding The Real Problem Is The Key, Curricula Should Teach, Patrick Hester, Pilar Pazos

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The article offers the authors' insight on problem formulation and teamwork in engineering managers. Topics discussed include the importance of problem structuring in problem solution and decision making, the importance of competencies with teamwork to the success of a project, and the professional skill development of engineering students.

Revealing Student Misconceptions And Instructor Blind Spots With Muddiest Point Formative Feedback, Cindy Waters, Stephen J. Krause, Janet Callahan, Barry Dupen, Mary B. Vollaro, Peggie Weeks

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Of interest to all engineering disciplines, well-designed formative feedback has the potential to enhance both instructor teaching and student learning. Delivering fundamental courses year after year, can ultimately lead faculty to use stale notes or slides from past years. This approach may save time, but does not meet the shifting needs of our students who have high expectations from their instructors. One simple method to improve teaching is to employ muddiest point reflections. Muddiest point reflections involve simply asking students to anonymously reflect on what was “muddy”, i.e. confusing, during class and to rank their level of confusion which not …

Exploring The Role Of Spatial Cognition In Problem Solving, Gavin Duffy, Sheryl Sorby, Steven Nozaki, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

While spatial aptitude is acknowledged as a key cognitive ability that accompanies success in STEM education, less is reported about the qualitative differences between weak and strong visualisers in how they approach and engage with assessments in STEM education. In this paper, we study one particular aspect of the STEM curriculum - solving convergent ‘word’ problems in mathematics - in an attempt to discern quantitative and qualitative differences between the approaches weak and strong visualisers adopt when solving these problems. The paper is a work-in-progress that started with a search for suitable convergent mathematics problems which were then presented to …

Impacts Of Music On Sectional View Drawing Ability For Engineering Technology Students As Measured Through Technical Drawings, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Mildred Jones, Vukica Jovanovic

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Results from a number of studies indicate that the use of different types of music can influence cognition and behavior; however, research provides inconsistent results. Considering this, a quasi-experimental study was conducted to identify the existence of statistically significant effects on sectional view drawing ability due to the impacts of music. In particular, the study compared the use of three different types of music; classical, rock, heavy metal and whether a significant difference exists towards sectional view drawing ability, among engineering technology students. According to the results of this study it is suggested that the impact of music provides no …

Web Tools: Keeping Learners On Pace, Mickey Kosloski

STEMPS Faculty Publications

One of the greatest challenges in teaching technology and engineering is pacing. Some students grasp new technological concepts quickly, while others need repetition and may struggle to keep pace. This poses an obstacle for the technology and engineering teacher, and is particularly true when teaching students to build a website. However, there are a plethora of online tools available that can assist learners in building a website. This article identifies some of the tools that may be used in the classroom and for classroom-oriented, teacher-hosted websites. While specific examples are provided, Web search terms are denoted at the end of …

Investigating First-Year Engineering Students' Educational Technology Use And Academic Achievement: Development And Validation Of An Assessment Tool, Leroy L. Long Iii

Publications

Increasing the number of Americans who graduate with a degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is of compelling national interest as the world is becoming more technologically-dependent. As society changes there is a continual need for new devices, tools, and services. Therefore, what is represented as “technology” constantly changes. The underlying meaning of technology is fairly stable, but the term is employed differently across context and application. In society, a variety of technologies are used to provide people with things like food, healthcare, shelter, transportation, and entertainment. In educational settings, computers and other information technologies help individuals learn, …

Effects Of Computer Program Visualization Tools On Student Populations, Meghan Jayne Peterson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examined how program visualization tools affect Advanced Placement Computer Science students' understanding of abstract programming concepts. A literature review was conducted to determine if program visualization is effective and which students benefit from it the most. The findings were used to design a causal comparative study in which students would experience instruction with and without program visualization. The study took place in an AP Computer Science course during the first challenging unit about an abstract concept: loops. Participants (n = 24) were selected using convenience sampling and were assessed before, during, and after the study took place. While …