Engineering Education Commons^™

Egg Drop Challenge, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Resources

This interactive activity plan challenges students to build a container using limited materials that will protect a raw egg from a 4-6 foot drop.

How Students Investigate: Understanding Students’ Use Of Scientific Schemas In Open-Ended Labs, J. Alexander Wall

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Schema provides a theoretical framework for understanding the nature of science, inquiry, and open-ended labs. These topics have been emphasized in the state standards, especially in high school sciences. In this study the researcher took field notes, collected lab write ups, and conducted focus group interviews to understand students’ use of schema related to open-ended labs. These data were analyzed with the constant comparative method to generate themes. The author describes the major findings with parallel narratives, one focused on a student’s confusion and the other focused on a student’s understanding. The author concludes by advocating for science teachers to …

Using Self-Efficacy Theory To Design Arduino Instruction For Novices: A Replication Study, Donald M. Johnson, Michael Pate, Christopher M. Estepp, George Wardlow

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

A replication study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of an instructional treatment based on self-efficacy theory when used with novice Arduino microcontroller users. Students (n = 32) in an introductory university agricultural systems technology course participated in a lesson on Arduino microcontrollers, circuit breadboarding, and Arduino programming which included four hands-on practice tasks, designed to provide students with positive mastery, vicarious and social persuasion experiences. Next, students completed a laboratory activity and were provided additional opportunities for mastery, vicarious, and social persuasion experiences. The one-group pretest-posttest design indicated the instructional treatment had significant (p < .001) and large effects in increasing students’ interest in Arduino, breadboarding self-efficacy, programming self-efficacy, and Arduino knowledge. These findings were consistent with the original study and provided additional evidence for self-efficacy theory as an effective model for developing instruction for novice Arduino users. Students’ written comments provided additional insight concerning the instructional treatment.

Promoting Skills In Children And Teens With Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Play And Steam, Meaghan Mcleod Mozingo, Krzysztof J. Rechowicz

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a low employment rate. This is caused by a lack of support from employment resources and the negative stigma associated with common characteristics associated with ASD. With limited career-building activities and events, it is difficult for individuals with ASD to identify their skills, strengths, and career opportunities. Parental support is crucial when seeking employment opportunities for their children. Through the use of play, children with ASD engaged and explored their skills with science, technology, engineering, arts, and math-centered activities. This paper highlights the events and shows the proposed redesign for an additional workshop.

Simulating Function Generators And Oscilloscopes In A Virtual Laboratory Environment, Yiyang Li, Yuzhong Shen, Charles I. Sukenik

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

This paper discusses the development of a virtual laboratory for simulating electronic instruments commonly used in science and engineering courses, such as function generators and digital storage oscilloscopes. Mathematical equations are used to represent continuous signals and ensure signal integrity, while C# delegates are adopted to enable communication between simulated devices. The approach allows for loose coupling between software components and high cohesion of individual components, and can be applied to other virtual laboratory developments. The virtual laboratory provides a means for students to gain hands-on experience with electronic instruments and improve their understanding of theoretical concepts.

Multiple Case Study Of Science And Engineering Integration In Secondary School Across Six School Districts, Elizabeth Hasseler, Elizabeth B. Lewis

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

A multiple case study was conducted to investigate six districts’ approaches to integrating science and engineering curricula in their secondary education programs. Data collected included classroom observations, interviews with teachers and administrators, college transcripts, professional development, and curriculum, as well as how, and how district personnel supported, and teachers enacted classroom instruction to align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Six districts were chosen due to their ranges in their size, urban or rural context, and demographics. There were 25 participants in the study who were either district personnel or secondary teachers. All school districts in the study incorporated …

Earthquake Resistant Buildings, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students learn about earthquakes and engineering by building a structure that can survive an earthquake.

Farmer's Tower, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students are challenged to help a famer build a tower to monitor their crops using only wood planks and pumpkins.

Balloon Tower Activity, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

This activity challenges students to build a safe and sound tower using only balloons and tape.

Pumpkin Tower Activity, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

In this activity, students are challenged to build a tower to help a farmer watch his crops using only pumpkins and wood planks. Attached is a lesson plan and a teacher reflection on the activity

Bridge Building, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students learn about different bridge styles and designs in this activity that challenges them to build their own successful bridge.

Marble Run Maze Challenge, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students are asked to use provided materials to design and build a successful marble run. Attached is the activity worksheet for students and the teacher reflection on the activity.

Bubble Wand Activity, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

Students use this activity to practice their engineering skills by building a bubble wand.

Activity Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=wx0-NrAnE6c&feature=emb_logo

The Intersection Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy And Engineering Design In Secondary Stem, Mariam Manuel, Jessica Gottlieb, Gina Svarovsky, Rebecca Hite

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

The instructional practices of the engineering design process and culturally responsive pedagogy have each garnered national attention and multiple decades of research. Findings from the respective literature bases call for educators and policymakers to integrate these two pedagogical approaches into K-12 classroom instruction. Scholars have argued that this integration would improve student engagement and academic achievement. There is a significant amount of research that supports the positive student outcomes associated with each approach, yet there remains a dearth of literature that addresses the integration of these two practices into the science and mathematics content areas. The movement around educational reform …

Extracting A Body Of Knowledge As A First Step Towards Defining A United Software Engineering Curriculum Guideline, Anton Kiselev

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In general, the computing field is a rapidly changing environment, and as such, software engineering education must be able to adjust quickly to new needs. Industry adapts to technologies as fast as it can, but the critical issue is a need for recent graduates with the necessary expertise and knowledge of new trends, technologies, and practical experience. The industries that employ graduates of computing degree programs aim to hire those who are familiar with the latest technical traits, tools, and methodologies to meet these needs, and the software engineering curriculum needs to respond quickly to these needs. Still, unfortunately, software …

Sea-Phages Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience For Creating A Biotechnology Workforce Development Pipeline, Daphne Fauber, Kari Clase, Carol Weaver

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

Purdue University has been a member of the SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program since 2011. This program, created in conjunction with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), facilitates undergraduate curriculum for the authentic discovery of novel bacteriophages within the classroom. Since joining the program, undergraduates at Purdue have harnessed wet lab and bioinformatics principles to contribute over 200 previously uncharacterized bacteriophages and 25 novel genomes to the wider scientific literature. The SEA-PHAGES classes at Purdue have resulted in tangible professional deliverables for students through conference presentations and publications. Student outcomes also include transferable skills …

Recognition Of Design Failure By Fourth-Grade Students During An Engineering Design Challenge, Ron K. Skinner, Danielle B. Harlow

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

The practice of persisting and learning from design failures is essential to engineering design and offers unique ways of knowing and learning for K-12 students. To understand how students engage in the practice of persisting and learning from design failures, we must first understand how, if at all, they recognize that a design failure has occurred. We studied a classroom of fourth-grade students engaged in an engineering design challenge and examined the ways in which design failure occurred and how students recognized, neglected to recognize, or misinterpreted design failure. We found that, in addition to anticipating failure, conducting fair tests, …

Approach To Problem Solving And Use Of Intuition By Engineering Technology Students, Meher R. Taleyarkhan, Anne M. Lucietto, Natalie L. F. Hobson, Therese M. Azevedo

Journal of Global Education and Research

Engineering technology students often forgo a methodical approach of solving or answering questions on assignments or exams in favor of an intuition-based approach, emphasizing educated guessing (Broberg et al., 2008). Faculty observations have noted these student solutions often provide explanations, usually sans calculations, to support answers the students believe to be reasonable when in reality deviated from the correct answer. An extensive study was developed to assess several distinctions between student intuition and use of cognition in problem solving, as related to a generalized student population. The study was comprised of a survey and interview. The survey utilized two instruments, …

School Personnel Lived Experiences Related To High School Engineering Education And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Justina R. Jackson, Katherine L. Boice, Stephen Cochran, Brooke Skelton, Jeffrey Rosen, Marion Usselman

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

This study investigated the teaching experiences of three school personnel at a public high school during the 2020–2021 school year as they implemented a unique science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) unit with in-person and virtual students in their engineering classes during the Covid-19 pandemic. A research team interviewed two teachers and one administrator at the school to better understand the nuances of pre-college engineering during a pandemic year and how changes in school and district policy affected the instructional delivery of STEAM projects. Narrative analytic methods were utilized to understand each participant’s experience and an inductive content thematic …

Fy2022 Annual Report Of The Graduate School Of Engineering And Management, Air Force Institute Of Technology, Office Of The Dean Of The Graduate School Of Engineering And Management, Air Force Institute Of Technology, Adedeji B. Badiru

AFIT Documents

The annual report is published each year by AFIT’s Office of the Dean, Graduate School of Engineering and Management at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. It shares information about the activities of the Graduate School with the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF), Department of Defense (DoD), and wider public.

"I Haven’T Really Made Those Connections That Maybe Most Would Their First Year": A Qualitative Study Of The Covid-19 Pandemic And Student Social Capital Among 3 Cohorts Of First-Year Engineering Majors, Patricia Wonch Hill, Lance C. Pérez, Sohrab Asgarpoor, David Jones, Zachary George Short, Jennifer N. Rutt

UNL Office of Research and Innovation, Social/Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the education of students of all ages and challenged teachers and academic support services to make major adaptations to continue to support student learning while also limiting the spread of the virus. Our team received an NSF grant in the Fall of 2018 to broaden participation in engineering by recruiting and retaining students who have been historically marginalized in engineering. We focused our research on first-year students who participated in pathway programs which provided peer and formal mentoring, success coaching, shared classes, and social activities, that would provide a sense of community and shared engineering identity …

Graduate School Academic Catalog 2023-2024, Graduate School Of Engineering And Management, Air Force Institute Of Technology

AFIT Documents

The Graduate Catalog represents the offerings, programs, and requirements in effect at the time of publication.

Informal Learning As Opportunity For Competency Development And Broadened Engagement In Engineering, Madeline Polmear, Shannon Chance, Roger Hadgraft, Corrinne Shaw

Books/Book chapters

Informal learning is increasingly being recognized as a way to complement the formal curriculum within engineering and provide additional opportunities for competency development while engaging diverse students. Learning about engineering occurs throughout life, via experiential and spontaneous opportunities that inform our understandings of the world. Learning is not confined to the engineering curriculum and class time but, rather, continues informally and implicitly throughout the daily lives and activities of university students. Often framed in contrast to formal learning, informal learning is more as it represents a significant portion of students’ time and effort and contributes to their persistence, competence development, …

Identifying Potential Consequences Of Use Of A Measure Through Stakeholder Interviews, Melissa G. Kuhn, Joanna K. Garner, Shanan L. Chappell, Linda Bol

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The advent of Messick’s Contemporary Validity Theory (1994) led researchers in survey and measure design to develop and standardize qualitative and quantitative methods of collecting evidence for the validity of psychological instruments. However, one aspect of this theory, consequential validity, has few agreed-upon evidence-gathering methods (Furr & Bachrach, 2014). This study added a blueprint-driven interview method of collecting forecasted consequences of use of an instrument into the overall process of developing a measure of outreach impact on undergraduate engineering students (Authors, in press). The method, which included a purposeful sampling of end-users, is illustrated with thematically presented results. Potential implications …

Enhancing Student Veterans' Self-Efficacy And Sense Of Belonging In A Targeted Learning Community: Four Years Of Qualitative Results, Anthony W. Dean, Cynthia Tomovic, Vukica Jovanovic, Kim E. Bullington

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Eight semesters of qualitative data, collected over four academic years, are presented from a project that resulted in the development of a student professional learning community of high-achieving, low-income engineering and engineering technology student veterans. In the context of this project, student veterans received academic, professional, and financial support that helped them to be successful in school and to prepare them for a career in the STEM workforce. As adult learners, students in this learning community were a vital part of the curriculum development which resulted in increasing the students’ interest and buy-in. Typically, adult learners have lower levels of …

The Impact Of A Multidisciplinary Service-Learning Project On Engineering Knowledge And Professional Skills In Engineering In Engineering And Education Students, Stacie I. Ringleb, Pilar Pazos, Francisco Cima, Isaac Koduah Kumi, Orlando M. Ayala, Krishnanand Kaipa, Jennifer Jill Kidd, Kristie Gutierrez, Min Jung Lee

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

A multidisciplinary service-learning project that involved teaching engineering to fourth and fifth graders was implemented in three sets of engineering and education classes to determine if there was an impact on engineering knowledge and teamwork skills in both the engineering and education students as well as persistence in the engineering students. Collaboration 1 paired a 100-level engineering Information Literacy class in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with a 300-level Educational Foundation class. Collaboration 2 combined a 300-level Electromechanical Systems class in Mechanical Engineering with a 400-level Educational Technology class. Collaboration 3 paired a 300-level Fluid Mechanics class in Mechanical Engineering Technology …

How Does Working On An Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Project Vs. A Disciplinary Design Project Affect Peer Evaluators' Teamwork Skills, Isaac Koduah Kumi, Stacie I. Ringleb, Orlando M. Ayala, Pilar Pazos, Francisco Cima, Krishnanand Kaipa, Min Jung Lee, Kristie Gutierrez, Jennifer Jill Kidd

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Over the course of several semesters, two different project-based learning approaches were used in two undergraduate engineering courses–a 100-level introductory course that covered a general education requirement on information literacy and a 300-level fluid mechanics course. One project (treatment) was an interdisciplinary service-learning project, implemented with undergraduate engineering and education students who collaborated to develop and deliver engineering lessons to fourth and fifth-grade students in a field trip model. The other projects (comparison) involved a team-based design project contained within each class. In the 100-level course, students selected their project based on personal interests and followed the engineering design process …

Development Of A Data Science Curriculum For An Engineering Technology Program, Salih Sarp, Murat Kuzlu, Otilia Popescu, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Zafer Acar

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Data science has gained the attention of various industries, educators, parents, and students thinking about their future careers. Statistics departments have traditionally offered data science courses for a long time. The main objective of these courses is to examine the fundamental concepts and theories. However, teaching data science courses has also expanded to other disciplines due to the vast amount of data being collected by numerous modern applications. Also, someone needs to learn how to collect and process data, especially from industrial devices, because of the recent development of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Hence, integrating data science into the …

Integration Of Omnet++ Into A Networking Course In An Electrical Engineering Technology Program, Murat Kuzlu, Brian Emmanuel Tamayo, Salih Sarp, Otilia Popescu, Vukica M. Jovanovic

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Networking courses are an integral part of electrical engineering technology programs as the majority of electronics in the modern day are required to communicate with each other. They are also getting more attention in manufacturing engineering technology programs because of the development of emerging technologies in Industry 4.0 arena. From laptops, computers, cellphones, modern day vehicles and smart refrigerators, these devices require a certain level of networking in order to communicate with other devices, whether it be locally, or even across the other side of the world. The objective of networking courses in an electrical engineering program is to demonstrate …

Growing In Stem: Hands-On Education Via Tower Gardening, Jeffrey A. Nowak, Shelby Johnston-Werling

Indiana STEM Education Conference

Sole use of a textbook as the primary source of learning in the middle school setting has been linked to potentially limit students’ conceptual understanding of complex content (Driscoll et al., 1994), while the positive impact of hands-on learning has been well documented (Ekwueme et al., 2015; Satterthwait, 2010). Ideally, when a textbook is used in conjunction with content applied in a hands-on manner, student engagement and understanding of standards-based content are increased. In a grant funded collaboration between the Northeast Indiana STEM Education Resource Center housed at Purdue University Fort Wayne and an East Allen Community Schools middle school …