Investigating Student Motivation and Performance in Electrical Engineering and Its Subdisciplines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley, Justin M.; Daly, Shanna; Lenaway, Catherine; Phillips, Jamie

2016-01-01

Factors influencing choice of major in electrical engineering and later curricular and professional choices are investigated. Studies include both quantitative and qualitative analyses via student transcripts, surveys, and focus groups. Student motivation for choosing an electrical engineering major and later subdiscipline in the field is…

Examining the Academic Success of Latino Students in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Darnell; Espinoza, Araceli

2008-01-01

Using a longitudinal sample of 146 Latino students' in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors, the purpose of the study was to examine factors that affect their academic performance. The main premise supporting this study suggested that Latino students perform better academically when they have cultural congruity within their…

Applicability of Online Education to Large Undergraduate Engineering Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bir, Devayan Debashis

With the increase in undergraduate engineering enrollment, many universities have chosen to teach introductory engineering courses such as Statics of Engineering and Mechanics of Materials in large classes due to budget limitations. With the overwhelming literature against traditionally taught large classes, this study aims to see the effects of the trending online pedagogy. Online courses are the latest trend in education due to the flexibility they provide to students in terms of schedule and pace of learning with the added advantage of being less expensive for the university over a period. In this research, the effects of online lectures on engineering students' course performances and students' attitudes towards online learning were examined. Specifically, the academic performances of students enrolled in a traditionally taught, lecture format Mechanics of Materials course with the performance of students in an online Mechanics of Materials course in summer 2016 were compared. To see the effect of the two different teaching approaches across student types, students were categorized by gender, enrollment status, nationality, and by the grades students obtained for Statics, one of the prerequisite courses for Mechanics of Materials. Student attitudes towards the online course will help to keep the process of continuously improving the online course, specifically, to provide quality education through the online medium in terms of course content and delivery. The findings of the study show that the online pedagogy negatively affects student academic performance when compared to the traditional face-to-face pedagogy across all categories, except for the high scoring students. Student attitudes reveal that while they enjoyed the flexibility schedule and control over their pace of studying, they faced issues with self-regulation and face-to-face interaction.

Engineering Students Designing a Statistical Procedure for Quantifying Variability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hjalmarson, Margret A.

2007-01-01

The study examined first-year engineering students' responses to a statistics task that asked them to generate a procedure for quantifying variability in a data set from an engineering context. Teams used technological tools to perform computations, and their final product was a ranking procedure. The students could use any statistical measures,…

Modeling student success in engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Qu

In order for the United States to maintain its global competitiveness, the long-term success of our engineering students in specific courses, programs, and colleges is now, more than ever, an extremely high priority. Numerous studies have focused on factors that impact student success, namely academic performance, retention, and/or graduation. However, there are only a limited number of works that have systematically developed models to investigate important factors and to predict student success in engineering. Therefore, this research presents three separate but highly connected investigations to address this gap. The first investigation involves explaining and predicting engineering students' success in Calculus I courses using statistical models. The participants were more than 4000 first-year engineering students (cohort years 2004 - 2008) who enrolled in Calculus I courses during the first semester in a large Midwestern university. Predictions from statistical models were proposed to be used to place engineering students into calculus courses. The success rates were improved by 12% in Calculus IA using predictions from models developed over traditional placement method. The results showed that these statistical models provided a more accurate calculus placement method than traditional placement methods and help improve success rates in those courses. In the second investigation, multi-outcome and single-outcome neural network models were designed to understand and to predict first-year retention and first-year GPA of engineering students. The participants were more than 3000 first year engineering students (cohort years 2004 - 2005) enrolled in a large Midwestern university. The independent variables include both high school academic performance factors and affective factors measured prior to entry. The prediction performances of the multi-outcome and single-outcome models were comparable. The ability to predict cumulative GPA at the end of an engineering student's first year of college was about a half of a grade point for both models. The predictors of retention and cumulative GPA while being similar differ in that high school academic metrics play a more important role in predicting cumulative GPA with the affective measures playing a more important role in predicting retention. In the last investigation, multi-outcome neural network models were used to understand and to predict engineering students' retention, GPA, and graduation from entry to departure. The participants were more than 4000 engineering students (cohort years 2004 - 2006) enrolled in a large Midwestern university. Different patterns of important predictors were identified for GPA, retention, and graduation. Overall, this research explores the feasibility of using modeling to enhance a student's educational experience in engineering. Student success modeling was used to identify the most important cognitive and affective predictors for a student's first calculus course retention, GPA, and graduation. The results suggest that the statistical modeling methods have great potential to assist decision making and help ensure student success in engineering education.

Affective strategies, attitudes, and a model of speaking performance development for engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijirahayu, S.; Dorand, P.

2018-01-01

Learning English as a Foreign language (EFL) as one of the challenges especially for students majoring in Telecommunication Engineering to develop their communication skill as a professional could be one of the chances for them to face a more global era. Yet, there are important factors that may influence the progress of the speaking performance and attitude is one of them. Therefore, a survey involving two main psychological variables in language learning namely attitude and affective strategies and the third variable is speaking performance was conducted and a model of affective strategies in language learning developing through the application of Content Language Integrated Learning and multimedia instruction was introduced. This study involved 71 sophomore students and two classes of university students majoring in Telecommunication Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The researchers used both survey and action research method with quantitative as well as qualitative in approach.

"I'm just a boy with girl parts": Understanding gender perception and negotiation in an undergraduate engineering program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dickinson Skaggs, Jennifer Anne

The number of women being enrolled and retained in engineering programs has steadily decreased since 1999, even with increased efforts and funding of initiatives to counteract this trend. Why are women not persisting or even choosing to pursue engineering? This qualitative research examines how undergraduate female engineering students perceive and negotiate their gender identities to successfully persist in engineering education. Narrative inquiry including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and data analysis was conducted at a Research I institution. Participants were recruited through purposeful network sampling. Criteria for inclusion include students who have been in the American K-12 educational pipeline at least eight years and are junior or senior level academic standing and academic eligibility. By including male students in the collection of data, perceptions of the issues for women could be seen in context when compared to the perceptions of men in the same engineering discipline. The study focuses on the individual, institutional, and cultural perceptions of gender performativity within a network and the strategies and negotiations employed by undergraduate female engineering students to achieve their educational goals regarding each of these perspectives. Findings reveal female students utilize strategies of camouflage and costume, as well as internal and external support to persist in engineering education. Also, female engineering students are being prepared to only become engineering-students-in-the-making and kept from the larger engineering network, while male students are becoming engineers-in-the-making automatically connected to the larger engineering network based on gender. This lack of association with the network influences female engineering students in their decisions to pursue a career in professional engineering, or to pursue more traditionally gendered careers after graduation. This research is significant in its use of feminist theory and methodology to study engineering education. It is also significant in its use of qualitative methods allowing students to articulate their experiences in their own words and voices thus allowing for nuanced of meaning and understanding to emerge. Butler's theory of gender performativity in conjunction with Nespor's actor-network theory provides the conceptual framework with inductive analysis used as the primary tool for data analysis.

Myths and Motives behind STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education and the STEM-Worker Shortage Narrartive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, Heidi J.

2014-01-01

The Business Roundtable (2013) website presents a common narrative in regard to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, "American students are falling behind in math and science. Fewer and fewer students are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and American students are performing at…

Responses to different types of inquiry prompts: college students' discourse, performance, and perceptions of group work in an engineering class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balgopal, Meena M.; Casper, Anne Marie A.; Atadero, Rebecca A.; Rambo-Hernandez, Karen E.

2017-08-01

Working in small groups to solve problems is an instructional strategy that allows university students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines the opportunity to practice interpersonal and professional skills while gaining and applying discipline-specific content knowledge. Previous research indicates that not all group work prompts result in the same experiences for students. In this study we posed two types of prompts (guided and open) to undergraduate engineering students in a statics course as they participated in group work projects. We measured student discourse, student performance, and perceptions of group work. We found that guided prompts were associated with higher-level discourse and higher performance (project scores) than open prompts. Students engaged in guided prompts were more likely to discuss distribution of labour and design/calculation details of their projects than when students responded to open prompts. We posit that guided prompts, which more clearly articulate expectations of students, help students determine how to divide tasks amongst themselves and, subsequently, jump to higher levels of discourse.

Application of Adjusted Canonical Correlation Analysis (ACCA) to study the association between mathematics in Level 1 and Level 2 and performance of engineering disciplines in Level 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peiris, T. S. G.; Nanayakkara, K. A. D. S. A.

2017-09-01

Mathematics plays a key role in engineering sciences as it assists to develop the intellectual maturity and analytical thinking of engineering students and exploring the student academic performance has received great attention recently. The lack of control over covariates motivates the need for their adjustment when measuring the degree of association between two sets of variables in Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). Thus to examine the individual effects of mathematics in Level 1 and Level 2 on engineering performance in Level 2, two adjusted analyses in CCA: Part CCA and Partial CCA were applied for the raw marks of engineering undergraduates for three different disciplines, at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. The joint influence of mathematics in Level 1 and Level 2 is significant on engineering performance in Level 2 irrespective of the engineering disciplines. The individual effect of mathematics in Level 2 is significantly higher compared to the individual effect of mathematics in Level 1 on engineering performance in Level 2. Furthermore, the individual effect of mathematics in Level 1 can be negligible. But, there would be a notable indirect effect of mathematics in Level 1 on engineering performance in Level 2. It can be concluded that the joint effect of mathematics in both Level 1 and Level 2 is immensely beneficial to improve the overall academic performance at the end of Level 2 of the engineering students. Furthermore, it was found that the impact mathematics varies among engineering disciplines. As partial CCA and partial CCA are not widely explored in applied work, it is recommended to use these techniques for various applications.

Engineering-Based Problem Solving Strategies in AP Calculus: An Investigation into High School Student Performance on Related Rate Free-Response Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thieken, John

2012-01-01

A sample of 127 high school Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus students from two schools was utilized to study the effects of an engineering design-based problem solving strategy on student performance with AP style Related Rate questions and changes in conceptions, beliefs, and influences. The research design followed a treatment-control multiple…

The role of gender on academic performance in STEM-related disciplines: Data from a tertiary institution.

PubMed

John, Temitope M; Badejo, Joke A; Popoola, Segun I; Omole, David O; Odukoya, Jonathan A; Ajayi, Priscilla O; Aboyade, Mary; Atayero, Aderemi A

2018-06-01

This data article presents data of academic performances of undergraduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines in Covenant University, Nigeria. The data shows academic performances of Male and Female students who graduated from 2010 to 2014. The total population of samples in the observation is 3046 undergraduates mined from Biochemistry (BCH), Building technology (BLD), Computer Engineering (CEN), Chemical Engineering (CHE), Industrial Chemistry (CHM), Computer Science (CIS), Civil Engineering (CVE), Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE), Information and Communication Engineering (ICE), Mathematics (MAT), Microbiology (MCB), Mechanical Engineering (MCE), Management and Information System (MIS), Petroleum Engineering (PET), Industrial Physics-Electronics and IT Applications (PHYE), Industrial Physics-Applied Geophysics (PHYG) and Industrial Physics-Renewable Energy (PHYR). The detailed dataset is made available in form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in the supplementary material of this article.

Selected Engagement Factors and Academic Learning Outcomes of Undergraduate Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Justice, Patricia J.

2009-01-01

The concept of student engagement and its relationship to successful student performance and learning outcomes has a long history in higher education (Kuh, 2007). Attention to faculty and student engagement has only recently become of interest to the engineering education community. This interest can be attributed to long-standing research by…

The Impact of Structured Writing and Developing Awareness of Learning Preferences on the Performance and Attitudes of Engineering Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahm, Kevin; Newell, James; Newell, Heidi; Harvey, Roberta

2009-01-01

This paper discusses efforts to develop metacognition in teams of engineering students by: first, exploring personal learning patterns, and second, ongoing biweekly journaling exercises. Thirty-three junior and senior engineering students (30 chemical engineer, one each from mechanical, civil and electrical) working on semester-long projects in…

The Relationship between Barrier Courses and Persistence in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suresh, Radhika

2007-01-01

Attrition in engineering programs continues to be an important issue for universities across the country. This study examined the connection between student performance in barrier courses and persistence in engineering. Quantitative results showed that high school academic experience, student behaviors (including study habits, work habits, coping…

High-Performance Composite Chocolate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dean, Julian; Thomson, Katrin; Hollands, Lisa; Bates, Joanna; Carter, Melvyn; Freeman, Colin; Kapranos, Plato; Goodall, Russell

2013-01-01

The performance of any engineering component depends on and is limited by the properties of the material from which it is fabricated. It is crucial for engineering students to understand these material properties, interpret them and select the right material for the right application. In this paper we present a new method to engage students with…

Lawn and Garden Equipment Repair.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardway, Jack; And Others

This publication is designed to supplement the Comprehensive Small Engine Rapair guide by covering in detail all aspects of lawn and garden equipment repair not included in general engine repair or the repair of other small engines. It consists of instructional materials for both teachers and students, written in terms of student performance using…

Empowering Engineering Students through Employability Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaushal, Urvashi

2016-01-01

A professional course program like engineering strives to get the maximum number of its students placed through campus interviews. While communication skills have been added in all the engineering courses with the aim to improve their performance in placement, the syllabus mostly concentrates on the development of four language skills. The…

Dragonfly: strengthening programming skills by building a game engine from scratch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claypool, Mark

2013-06-01

Computer game development has been shown to be an effective hook for motivating students to learn both introductory and advanced computer science topics. While games can be made from scratch, to simplify the programming required game development often uses game engines that handle complicated or frequently used components of the game. These game engines present the opportunity to strengthen programming skills and expose students to a range of fundamental computer science topics. While educational efforts have been effective in using game engines to improve computer science education, there have been no published papers describing and evaluating students building a game engine from scratch as part of their course work. This paper presents the Dragonfly-approach in which students build a fully functional game engine from scratch and make a game using their engine as part of a junior-level course. Details on the programming projects are presented, as well as an evaluation of the results from two offerings that used Dragonfly. Student performance on the projects as well as student assessments demonstrates the efficacy of having students build a game engine from scratch in strengthening their programming skills.

An Assessment of Different Educational Background of Students Performance in Engineering Mathematics and on the Class of Award Obtained at the Higher National Diploma (HND) Level at Cape Coast Polytechnic, Ghana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asirifi, Michael Kwabena; Mensah, Kweku Abeeku; Amoako, Joseph

2015-01-01

The purpose of this research article is to find out an assessment of different educational background of students performance in engineering mathematics and on the class of award obtained at the Higher National Diploma (HND) level at Cape Coast Polytechnic. A descriptive survey was conducted on students of the Electricals/Electronics Department…

What kind of students should be developed through aeronautical engineering education?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, R. B.

1975-01-01

The educational requirements for future aeronautical engineering students are postulated. The change in aeronautical engineering from increasing aircraft performance without regard to cost is compared with the cost effective aspects of future research. The capabilities of future engineers are discussed with respect to the following areas: (1) problem solving, (2) planning and organizing, (3) communication, and (4) professionalism.

Using Technology-Enhanced, Cooperative, Group-Project Learning for Student Comprehension and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tlhoaele, Malefyane; Suhre, Cor; Hofman, Adriaan

2016-01-01

Cooperative learning may improve students' motivation, understanding of course concepts, and academic performance. This study therefore enhanced a cooperative, group-project learning technique with technology resources to determine whether doing so improved students' deep learning and performance. A sample of 118 engineering students, randomly…

Innovative assessment paradigm to enhance student learning in engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Maaddawy, Tamer

2017-11-01

Incorporation of student self-assessment (SSA) in engineering education offers opportunities to support and encourage learner-led-learning. This paper presents an innovative assessment paradigm that integrates formative, summative, and SSA to enhance student learning. The assessment innovation was implemented in a senior-level civil engineering design course. Direct evidence of the impact of employing this innovation on student learning and achievement was derived by monitoring student academic performance in direct assessment tasks throughout the semester. Students' feedback demonstrated the effectiveness of this innovation to improve their understanding of course topics build their autonomy, independent judgement, and self-regulated learning skills.

Analysis of the Impact of Introductory Physics on Engineering Students at Texas A&M University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, Jonathan; Bassichis, William

Introductory physics forms a major part of the foundational knowledge of engineering majors, independent of discipline and institution. While the content of introductory physics courses is consistent from institution to institution, the manner in which it is taught can vary greatly due to professor, textbook, instructional method, and overall course design. This work attempts to examine variations in student success, as measured by overall academic performance in an engineering major, and matriculation rates, based on the type of introductory physics a student took while enrolled in an engineering degree at Texas A&M University. Specific options for introductory physics at Texas A&M University include two calculus based physics courses, one traditional (UP), and one more mathematically rigorous (DP), transfer credit, and high school (AP or dual) credit. In order to examine the impact of introductory physics on a student's degree progression, data mining analyses are performed on a data set of relatively comprehensive academic records for all students enrolled as an engineering major for a minimum of one academic term. Student data has been collected for years of entering freshman beginning in 1990 and ending in 2010. Correlations will be examined between freshman level courses, including introductory physics, and follow on engineering courses, matriculation rates, and time to graduation.

Students' Responses to Authentic Assessment Designed to Develop Commitment to Performing at Their Best

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guzzomi, Andrew L.; Male, Sally A.; Miller, Karol

2017-01-01

Engineering educators should motivate and support students in developing not only technical competence but also professional competence including commitment to excellence. We developed an authentic assessment to improve students' understanding of the importance of "perfection" in engineering--whereby 50% good enough will not be…

Vocabulary Development in Technology and Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klink, Pamela; Loveland, Thomas

2015-01-01

Some students have trouble performing well on summative tests in technology and engineering education. This is largely due to the students' inability to apply the terms to real-world scenarios (Baker, Simmons, & Kameenui, 1995). Exams often provide situational questions and, with these, critical-thinking skills are required. Students may lack…

Modeling Student Success in Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jin, Qu

2013-01-01

In order for the United States to maintain its global competitiveness, the long-term success of our engineering students in specific courses, programs, and colleges is now, more than ever, an extremely high priority. Numerous studies have focused on factors that impact student success, namely academic performance, retention, and/or graduation.…

Evaluation Program on the Implementation of Industrial Apprenticeship (Prakerin) in Electrical Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maulana, I.; Sumarto; Nurafiati, P.; Puspita, R. H.

2018-02-01

This research aims to find out the evaluation program of the Industrial apprenticeship (Prakerin) in electrical engineering. This research includes on four variables of CIPP. (1). Context (a). programme planning (b). design. (2). Input (a). readiness of students (b). performance of vocational education teachers (c). Facilities and infrastructure, (3). process (a). performance students (b). performance mentors, (4). Product (a). readiness of student work. This research is a type of program evaluation research with Stake model approach. Data collection methods used are questionnaires with closed questions and frequently asked questions.

Developing a Pre-Engineering Curriculum for 3D Printing Skills for High School Technology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chien, Yu-Hung

2017-01-01

This study developed an integrated-STEM CO[subscript 2] dragster design course using 3D printing technology. After developing a pre-engineering curriculum, we conducted a teaching experiment to assess students' differences in creativity, race forecast accuracy, and learning performance. We compared student performance in both 3D printing and…

Relating Engineering Technology Students' Experiences in Electromagnetics with Performance in Communications Coursework: A Mixed-Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Grant P.

2009-01-01

This study presents the results of a multi-year mixed-methods study of students' performance (n = 94) and experiences (n = 28) with electromagnetics in an elective Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology RF communications course. Data sources used in this study include academic transcripts, course exams, interviews, a learning styles…

Encouraging the learning of hydraulic engineering subjects in agricultural engineering schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez Sinobas, Leonor; Sánchez Calvo, Raúl

2014-09-01

Several methodological approaches to improve the understanding and motivation of students in Hydraulic Engineering courses have been adopted in the Agricultural Engineering School at Technical University of Madrid. During three years student's progress and satisfaction have been assessed by continuous monitoring and the use of 'online' and web tools in two undergraduate courses. Results from their application to encourage learning and communication skills in Hydraulic Engineering subjects are analysed and compared to the initial situation. Student's academic performance has improved since their application, but surveys made among students showed that not all the methodological proposals were perceived as beneficial. Their participation in the 'online', classroom and reading activities was low although they were well assessed.

Summer enrichment partnership (SEP) - society of hispanic professional engineers (SHPE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vela, C.E.

1994-12-31

SEP recruits talented Hispanic high school students in the Washington metropolitan area and seeks to increase the number of Hispanics who enter graduate programs in engineering and science. New students are exposed to engineering, experimental science and business, and visit R&D centers and corporations. Returning students take college level courses, such as Vector-Based Analytic Geometry and Probability and Statistics. Advanced students work on special projects. Hispanic engineers, scientists, and managers offer career guidance. Parental participation is actively encouraged. Students are selected based on: (a) commitment to succeed, (b) academic record, and (c) willingness to attend the program through graduation. Coursesmore » are taught by university faculty, with one teacher assistant per five students. Program evaluation encompasses: (1) student participation and performance, (2) school achievement, and (3) continuation to college. SEP is a partnership between the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, The Catholic University of America, NASA, school districts, parents and students, and Hispanic professionals.« less

How to Motivate US Students to Pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hossain, Md. Mokter; G. Robinson, Michael

2012-01-01

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) has been a powerful engine of prosperity in the US since World War II. Currently, American students' performances and enthusiasm in STEM education are inadequate for the US to maintain its leadership in STEM professions unless the government takes more actions to motivate a new generation of…

Engineering Ethics Education: A Comparative Study of Japan and Malaysia.

PubMed

Balakrishnan, Balamuralithara; Tochinai, Fumihiko; Kanemitsu, Hidekazu

2018-03-22

This paper reports the findings of a comparative study in which students' perceived attainment of the objectives of an engineering ethics education and their attitude towards engineering ethics were investigated and compared. The investigation was carried out in Japan and Malaysia, involving 163 and 108 engineering undergraduates respectively. The research method used was based on a survey in which respondents were sent a questionnaire to elicit relevant data. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed on the data. The results of the analyses showed that the attainment of the objectives of engineering ethics education and students' attitude towards socio-ethical issues in engineering were significantly higher and positive among Japanese engineering students compared to Malaysian engineering students. Such findings suggest that a well-structured, integrated, and innovative pedagogy for teaching ethics will have an impact on the students' attainment of ethics education objectives and their attitude towards engineering ethics. As such, the research findings serve as a cornerstone to which the current practice of teaching and learning of engineering ethics education can be examined more critically, such that further improvements can be made to the existing curriculum that can help produce engineers that have strong moral and ethical characters.

Enhancing Student International Awareness and Global Competency through Compact International Experience Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobitz, Frank; Schubert, Thomas

2013-11-01

Short-term, study-abroad, elective engineering courses were developed in order to raise the international awareness and global competency of engineering students. These Compact International Experience (CIE) courses were taught in response to a strong student desire for engineering study abroad courses and an effort by the home institution to internationalize its curriculum. An assessment of repeat offerings of two three-semester-unit courses on Topics in Fluid Mechanics and Advanced Electronic Circuit Design in a three-week time frame in France and Australia was performed. The goals of the two CIE courses are an effective teaching of their respective technical content as well as a student understanding of the cultural environment and the impact of engineering solutions from a global and societal viewpoint. In the repeat offerings, increased interaction with local industry was an additional goal. The CIE courses were assessed through surveys completed at the beginning and end of the courses, weekly student reflection papers, course evaluations, and formalized instructor observations. Based on the assessment performed, the two CIE courses have been found to be a valuable approach in the delivery of engineering technical electives combined with an international experience.

Effects of Cloud-Based m-Learning on Student Creative Performance in Engineering Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Yu-Shan; Chen, Si-Yi; Yu, Kuang-Chao; Chu, Yih-Hsien; Chien, Yu-Hung

2017-01-01

This study explored the effects of cloud-based m-learning on students' creative processes and products in engineering design. A nonequivalent pretest-posttest design was adopted, and 62 university students from Taipei City, Taiwan, were recruited as research participants in the study. The results showed that cloud-based m-learning had a positive…

Changing Middle-School Students' Attitudes and Performance regarding Engineering with Computer-Based Social Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plant, E. Ashby; Baylor, Amy L.; Doerr, Celeste E.; Rosenberg-Kima, Rinat B.

2009-01-01

Women's under-representation in fields such as engineering may result in part from female students' negative beliefs regarding these fields and their low self-efficacy for these fields. In this experiment, we investigated the use of animated interface agents as social models for changing male and female middle-school students' attitudes toward…

A Comparison of Delivery Formats to Encourage Student-Centered Learning in a Power Engineering Technology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Mathew J.; Webster, Rustin D.

2017-01-01

This paper describes a student-centered approach to a power engineering technology course using the flipped or inverted classroom as well as active learning in the form of group discussions and team problem solving. The study compares student performance and perceptions of a traditional, teaching-centered classroom to two different flipped…

Self-Regulated Learning Strategies of Engineering College Students While Learning Electric Circuit Concepts with Enhanced Guided Notes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawanto, Oenardi; Santoso, Harry

2013-01-01

The current study evaluated engineering college students' self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies while learning electric circuit concepts using enhanced guided notes (EGN). Our goal was to describe how students exercise SRL strategies and how their grade performance changes after using EGN. Two research questions guided the study: (1) To what…

Time pressure in scenario-based online construction safety quizzes and its effect on students' performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeger, Martin; Adair, Desmond

2017-05-01

Online quizzes have been shown to be effective learning and assessment approaches. However, if scenario-based online construction safety quizzes do not include time pressure similar to real-world situations, they reflect situations too ideally. The purpose of this paper is to compare engineering students' performance when carrying out an online construction safety quiz with time pressure versus an online construction safety quiz without time pressure. Two versions of an online construction safety quiz are developed and administered to randomly assigned engineering students based on a quasi-experimental post-test design. The findings contribute to scenario-based learning and assessment of construction safety in four ways. First, the results confirm earlier findings that 'intrinsic stress' does not seem to impair students' performance. Second, students who carry out the online construction safety quiz with time pressure are less likely to 'learn by trial and error'. Third, students exposed to time pressure appreciate that they become better prepared for real life. Finally, preparing students to work under time pressure is an important industry requirement. The results of this study should encourage engineering educators to explore and implement ways to include time pressure in scenario-based online quizzes and learning.

Examining the relationship of ethnicity, gender and social cognitive factors with the academic achievement of first-year engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, Bruce Henry

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships of social cognitive factors and their influence on the academic performance of first-year engineering students. The nine social cognitive variables identified were under the groupings of personal support, occupational self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, vocational interests, coping, encouragement, discouragement, outcome expectations, and perceived stress. The primary student participants in this study were first-year engineering students from underrepresented groups which include African American, Hispanic American students and women. With this in mind, the researcher sought to examine the interactive influence of race/ethnicity and gender based on the aforementioned social cognitive factors. Differences in academic performance (university GPA of first-year undergraduate engineering students) were analyzed by ethnicity and gender. There was a main effect for ethnicity only. Gender was found not to be significant. Hispanics were not found to be significantly different in their GPAs than Whites but Blacks were found to have lower GPAs than Whites. Also, Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the relationship between and among the nine identified social cognitive variables. The data from the analysis uncovered ten significant correlations which were as follows: occupational self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy, occupational self-efficacy and vocational interest, occupational self-efficacy and perceived stress, academic self-efficacy and encouragement, academic self-efficacy and outcome expectations, academic self-efficacy and perceived stress, vocational interest and outcome expectations, discouragement and encouragement, coping and perceived stress, outcome expectations and perceived stress. Next, a Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to examine the relationship between academic performance (college GPA) of first-year undergraduate engineering students and the nine identified social cognitive variables. The data analysis revealed three significant correlations which were as follows academic performance and occupational self-efficacy, academic performance and academic self-efficacy, and academic performance and encouragement. Finally, a Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between high school GPA and the nine identified social cognitive variables. The Pearson correlational coefficient indicated that there was one statistically significant correlation which was high school GPA and academic self-efficacy. Recommendations for further study included (a) future research involving investigations that compare a variety of institutions in different regions of the country; (b) further investigations utilizing open-ended responses from engineering students based on interviews; (c) a replicated study in 5 to 10 years to evaluate whether differences emerged relating to ethnicity and gender due to possible societal or cultural changes; and (d) a study involving a pretest and posttest of students' self-efficacy beliefs. Finally, the researcher recommends a qualitative study specifically involving interview questions aimed at students with moderate level grades and SAT scores who exhibited above average academic performance. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Interests and attitudes of engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rutherford, Brian

2007-12-01

Engineering programs have been less successful than other professions in achieving gender equity. Analyses of gender differences in the attitudes and interests of engineering students may help illuminate ways to combat the underrepresentation of women in engineering. This study examined data collected from 863 engineering students who attended 15 American universities from fall 2005 through spring 2006 using an online survey. The survey was designed to understand the backgrounds, academic preparation, motivation, interests, and attitudes of engineering students. To determine whether males and females received different academic preparation prior to entering engineering, the survey examined participants' mathematics, science, and technical coursework taken in high school. The questions probed students' comfort and interest level in mathematics, science, and technology/engineering and investigated student interest in the three fundamental engineering activities by asking 49 design, build, and analyze questions on topics covering a variety of engineering disciplines. A combination of question formats was used including pre-categorized demographic information, 5-point Likert scales, and open-ended responses. Gender similarities and differences were identified and their implications were considered for the recruitment and retention of engineers. Female engineering students in this study were equally or better prepared than males to major in engineering based on the number and types of science and mathematics classes taken in high school. However, statistically significant gender differences were found in the attitudes and interests of engineering students. The difference in the comfort level, interest in learning, being able to demonstrate, or in performing stem skills depended on the question topic rather than gender. The areas with the highest comfort and interest level were often different for females and males. Several topics and curriculum areas of high interest to both genders related to engineering education in several engineering disciplines were identified. It appears that females and males were motivated to choose engineering as a career for different reasons. Analysis revealed that female engineering students are generally more altruistic and less interested in "things" than male engineering students. This study also found that females were comfortable in mathematics or science, but were less comfortable using computers, tools, and machines---all essential engineering skills.

Project-Based Learning Courses: The Relationship Between Faculty-Intended Course Implementation and Students' Perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonovich, Jennifer A.; Towers, Emily; Zastavker, Yevgeniya V.

2012-02-01

Project-based learning (PjBL) has been shown to improve students' performance and satisfaction with their coursework, particularly in science and engineering courses. Specific aspects of PjBL that contribute to this improvement are student autonomy, course scaffolding, and instructor support. This study investigates two PjBL courses required for engineering majors at a small technical school, Introductory Mechanics Laboratory and Introductory Engineering Design. The three data sources used in this work are classroom observations (one laboratory and four design sessions) and semi-structured in-depth interviews with twelve students and six faculty. Grounded theory approach is used in a two-step fashion by (1) analyzing each data set individually and (2) performing full triangulation of all three data sets. In this talk, we demonstrate the relationship between faculty intentions and student perceptions regarding the three PjBL aspects -- student autonomy, course scaffolding, and instructor support -- within the context of these two courses. We further discuss implications for the course design and professional development of faculty.

Development of K-12 Engineering Outreach Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jordan, William

2003-01-01

Six modules were created that can be used in K-12 classes to introduce students to what engineers can do at NASA.The purpose of this project was to create outreach materials for the classroom. To make it appealing to students, many color NASA photographs are used to illustrate NASA applications.Student experiments are described that can be performed to illustrate topics.

A Comparative Analysis of Preferred Learning and Teaching Styles for Engineering, Industrial, and Technology Education Students and Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros; Fantz, Todd D.

2012-01-01

In the spring semester of 2010, a materials process course was selected as a means to perform a preferred learning style research study. This course was selected because it contained three groups of students: technology education, engineering technology, and industrial technology. The researchers believed that the differences in the students'…

Developing creativity and problem-solving skills of engineering students: a comparison of web- and pen-and-paper-based approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valentine, Andrew; Belski, Iouri; Hamilton, Margaret

2017-11-01

Problem-solving is a key engineering skill, yet is an area in which engineering graduates underperform. This paper investigates the potential of using web-based tools to teach students problem-solving techniques without the need to make use of class time. An idea generation experiment involving 90 students was designed. Students were surveyed about their study habits and reported they use electronic-based materials more than paper-based materials while studying, suggesting students may engage with web-based tools. Students then generated solutions to a problem task using either a paper-based template or an equivalent web interface. Students who used the web-based approach performed as well as students who used the paper-based approach, suggesting the technique can be successfully adopted and taught online. Web-based tools may therefore be adopted as supplementary material in a range of engineering courses as a way to increase students' options for enhancing problem-solving skills.

Developing Systems Engineering Skills Through NASA Summer Intern Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, Kul; Barritt, Brian; Golden, Bert; Knoblock, Eric; Matthews, Seth; Warner, Joe

2010-01-01

During the Formulation phases of the NASA Project Life Cycle, communication systems engineers are responsible for designing space communication links and analyzing their performance to ensure that the proposed communication architecture is capable of satisfying high-level mission requirements. Senior engineers with extensive experience in communications systems perform these activities. However, the increasing complexity of space systems coupled with the current shortage of communications systems engineers has led to an urgent need for expedited training of new systems engineers. A pilot program, in which college-bound high school and undergraduate students studying various engineering disciplines are immersed in NASA s systems engineering practices, was conceived out of this need. This rapid summerlong training approach is feasible because of the availability of advanced software and technology tools and the students inherent ability to operate such tools. During this pilot internship program, a team of college-level and recently-hired engineers configured and utilized various software applications in the design and analysis of communication links for a plausible lunar sortie mission. The approach taken was to first design the direct-to-Earth communication links for the lunar mission elements, then to design the links between lunar surface and lunar orbital elements. Based on the data obtained from these software applications, an integrated communication system design was realized and the students gained valuable systems engineering knowledge. This paper describes this approach to rapidly training college-bound high school and undergraduate engineering students from various disciplines in NASA s systems engineering practices and tools. A summary of the potential use of NASA s emerging systems engineering internship program in broader applications is also described.

Student Self-Efficacy in Introductory Project-Based Learning Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pleiss, Geoffrey; Zastavker, Yevgeniya V.

2012-02-01

This study investigates first-year engineering students' self-efficacy in two introductory Project-Based Learning (PjBL) courses -- Physics (Mechanics) Laboratory and Engineering Design -- taught at a small technical institution. Twelve students participated in semi-structured open-ended interviews about their experiences in both courses. Analysis was performed using grounded theory. Results indicate that students had lower self-efficacy in Physics Lab than in Engineering Design. In Physics Lab, students reported high levels of faculty-supported scaffolding related to final project deliverables, which in turn established perceptions of an outcome-based course emphasis. Conversely, in Engineering Design, students observed high levels of scaffolding related to the intermediate project deliverables, highlighting process-centered aspects of the course. Our analyses indicate that this difference in student perceptions of course emphases -- resulting from the differences in scaffolding -- is a primary factor for the discrepancy in self-efficacy between Physics Lab and Engineering Design. Future work will examine how other variables (e.g., academic background, perception of community, gender) affect students' self-efficacy and perception of scaffolding in these PjBL courses.

High-performance composite chocolate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dean, Julian; Thomson, Katrin; Hollands, Lisa; Bates, Joanna; Carter, Melvyn; Freeman, Colin; Kapranos, Plato; Goodall, Russell

2013-07-01

The performance of any engineering component depends on and is limited by the properties of the material from which it is fabricated. It is crucial for engineering students to understand these material properties, interpret them and select the right material for the right application. In this paper we present a new method to engage students with the material selection process. In a competition-based practical, first-year undergraduate students design, cost and cast composite chocolate samples to maximize a particular performance criterion. The same activity could be adapted for any level of education to introduce the subject of materials properties and their effects on the material chosen for specific applications.

Engineering, technology and science disciplines and gender difference: a case study among Indian students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheruvalath, Reena

2018-01-01

It is proposed to examine the argument that females cannot perform better in engineering and science fields because of their poor mathematical or logical reasoning. The major reason for the reduced number of females in the above fields in India is the socio-cultural aversion towards females choosing the field and restriction in providing higher education for them by their parents. The present study shows that the females who get the opportunity to study engineering and science perform equal to or better than their male counterparts. An analysis of CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 2631 students who have completed their engineering or science programme in one of the top engineering colleges in India for five years shows that female academic performance is equal to or better than that of males. Mathematical, logical, verbal and mechanical reasoning are tested while calculating CGPA.

Predicting Academic Performance of Master's Students in Engineering Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calisir, Fethi; Basak, Ecem; Comertoglu, Sevinc

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting academic achievement of the master's students who are enrolling in the executive engineering management master's programs in Turkey. These factors include admission requirements (entrance examination, undergraduate grade point average, English proficiency) and demographic attributes…

Among friends: the role of academic-preparedness diversity in individual performance within a small-group STEM learning environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micari, Marina; Van Winkle, Zachary; Pazos, Pilar

2016-08-01

In this study, we investigate the relationship between academic-preparedness diversity within small learning groups and individual academic performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) university courses. We further examine whether academic-preparedness diversity impacts academically more- and less-prepared students differently. We use data from 5367 university students nested within 1141 science, engineering, and mathematics learning groups and use a regression analysis to estimate the effect of group diversity, measured in two ways, on course performance. Our results indicate that academic-preparedness diversity is generally associated with positive learning outcomes, that academically less-prepared students derive greater benefit, and that less-prepared students fare best when they are not alone in a group of highly prepared students. Implications for teaching and small-group facilitation are addressed.

Pedagogical Evaluation of Remote Laboratories in eMerge Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lang, Daniela; Mengelkamp, Christoph; Jaeger, Reinhold S.; Geoffroy, Didier; Billaud, Michel; Zimmer, Thomas

2007-01-01

This study investigates opportunities for conducting electrical engineering experiments via the Internet rather than in an actual laboratory. Eighty-four French students of electrical engineering (semester 1, 2004) at Bordeaux University 1 participated in practical courses. Half of the students performed experiments in a laboratory while the other…

TEACHING ENGINEERING DESIGN, A STUDY OF JOBSHOP.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ENTWISLE, DORIS R.; HUGGINS, W.H.

THE USE OF A COMPUTER PROGRAM BY ENGINEERING STUDENTS TO SIMULATE A JOB SHOP THAT MANUFACTURES ELECTRONIC DEVICES HAS INDICATED THAT SIMULATION METHODS OFFER REALISTIC ASSISTANCE IN TEACHING. EACH STUDENT IN THE STUDY SUBMITTED SPECIFICATIONS FOR A CIRCUIT DESIGN AND, FROM THE COMPUTER, RECEIVED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS OF THE CIRCUIT WHICH…

High School Student Information Access and Engineering Design Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mentzer, Nathan

2014-01-01

Developing solutions to engineering design problems requires access to information. Research has shown that appropriately accessing and using information in the design process improves solution quality. This quasi-experimental study provides two groups of high school students with a design problem in a three hour design experience. One group has…

Efficiency Assessment of a Blended-Learning Educational Methodology in Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogado, Ana Belén González; Conde, Ma José Rodríguez; Migueláñez, Susana Olmos; Riaza, Blanca García; Peñalvo, Francisco José García

The content of this presentation highlights the importance of an active learning methodology in engineering university degrees in Spain. We present of some of the outcomes from an experimental study carried out during the academic years 2007/08 and 2008/09 with engineering students (Technical Industrial Engineering: Mechanics, Civical Design Engineering: Civical building, Technical Architecture and Technical Engineering on Computer Management.) at the University of Salamanca. In this research we select a subject which is common for the four degrees: Computer Science. This study has the aim of contributing to the improvement of education and teaching methods for a better performance of students in Engineering.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kevin Young

In this paper, the author describes how engineers can increase the number of future engineers by volunteering as guest speakers in the elementary school classroom. The paper is divided into three main subjects. First, the importance of engineers speaking directly with young students is discussed. Next, several best practice techniques for speaking with young students are described. Finally, information on getting started as a guest speaker is presented, and a list of resources available to guest speakers is provided. The guest engineer speaking to an elementary school audience (ages 6-11) performs a critical role in encouraging young students to pursuemore » a career in engineering. Often, he or she is the first engineer these students meet in person, providing a crucial first impression of the engineering career field and a positive visual image of what an engineer really looks like. A dynamic speaker presenting a well-delivered talk creates a lasting, positive impression on students, influencing their future decisions to pursue careers in engineering. By reaching these students early in life, the guest speaker will help dispel the many prevailing stereotypes about engineers which discourage so many students, especially young women, from considering this career. The guest speaker can ensure young students gain a positive first impression of engineers and the engineering career field by following some best practice techniques in preparing for and delivering their presentation. The author, an electrical engineer, developed these best practice techniques over the past 10 years while presenting over 350 talks on engineering subjects to elementary school students as a volunteer speaker with the U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho National Laboratory’s Speakers Bureau. Every engineer can make a meaningful contribution toward reversing the predicted shortfall of future engineers by volunteering to speak with young students at the elementary school level. Elementary school teachers typically have a limited education in engineering and are eager to have career engineers speak with their students. As an engineer, there are many opportunities to get involved with guest speaking at the elementary school level. If you have a young child, start by meeting with her or his teacher and volunteering to give a presentation on engineering to the class. Many organizations have formal speakers bureaus. If your organization does not have one, consider starting one. There are several excellent resources on the Internet, such as the IEEE Center for Pre-University Engineering Education’s TryEngineering.org Web site. This site is designed for young students, teachers and parents, giving information on engineering careers and engineering activities the guest speaker can use to prepare a dynamic and informative presentation. Young students who have experienced a positive interaction with an engineer are more likely to pursue a career in engineering. Effective guest speaking by engineers in elementary school classrooms today will increase the likelihood these young students will become the desperately needed engineers of our future.« less

An Investigation Into the Performance of a Miniature Diesel Engine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, P. W.

1970-01-01

Reports the procedures and results of a student investigation of the performance of a miniature diesel engine. The experiments include (1) torque measurement, (2) power measurement, and (3) variation of power output with applied load. Bibliography. (LC)

Differences in short-term memory span of social sciences, science and engineering, and business majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Naeem Ullah

This study investigated the difference in the short-term memory span of students of three major groups, namely Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, and Business. This study was designed to answer the following two questions: (1) Is there a difference between short-term memory span, measured by digit span, among the students in or intended for Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, and Business majors? (2) Is there a difference of short-term memory span, measured by word span, among students in or intended for Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, and Business majors? For answering these two questions, inferential and descriptive statistics were used. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means of the scores of digit span and word span among the three major groups. The means of digit span and word span among the three groups were compared to find out if a statistically significant difference existed among them or not. The observations were recorded at the level of significance at alpha = .05, and highly significant at alpha = .01. The answer to the first question is yes. The results of this study showed a statistically significant difference in the means of the digit span of the three major groups of students in or intended for Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, and Business. The mean scaled score for digit span was 12.88 for Social Sciences, 14.27 for Science and Engineering, and 15.33 for Business majors, respectively. The means of the free recalls word span of the three groups was 7.23 for Social Sciences, 7.89 for Science and Engineering, and 7.12 for Business majors, respectively. No significant difference was observed in the means of the word span of the three groups. In general observations, it is noted that students want to stay in the subjects or majors in which they can perform well or feel comfortable. In addition to this, students are screened in the school system due to levels of performance or selection pressure. Students' academic performances are dependent on their academic environment and on their inherited construct of short-term and long-term memory span. The use of the memory in certain majors, such as Science and Engineering and Business, are more demanding as compared to Social Science majors. For example, for Science and Engineering majors, students need to memorize complex structures and also need to keep larger information at a stretch in their short-term memory to incorporate it into incoming and outgoing information. Of the other memory related constructs, the present study examined only the short-term memory of the students of different majors, and it was found that the students of the Social Sciences had a shorter digit span as compared to the Science and Engineering and Business majors. Business major students had the largest digit span as compared to the Social Sciences and Science and Engineering majors. This supports the idea that memory construct plays a role in the selection of student majors.

Active learning in the space engineering education at Technical University of Madrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez, Jacobo; Laverón-Simavilla, Ana; Lapuerta, Victoria; Ezquerro Navarro, Jose Miguel; Cordero-Gracia, Marta

This work describes the innovative activities performed in the field of space education at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), in collaboration with the center engaged by the European Space Agency (ESA) in Spain to support the operations for scientific experiments on board the International Space Station (E-USOC). These activities have been integrated along the last academic year of the Aerospatiale Engineering degree. A laboratory has been created, where the students have to validate and integrate the subsystems of a microsatellite by using demonstrator satellites. With the acquired skills, the students participate in a training process centered on Project Based Learning, where the students work in groups to perform the conceptual design of a space mission, being each student responsible for the design of a subsystem of the satellite and another one responsible of the mission design. In parallel, the students perform a training using a ground station, installed at the E-USOC building, which allow them to learn how to communicate with satellites, how to download telemetry and how to process the data. This also allows students to learn how the E-USOC works. Two surveys have been conducted to evaluate the impact of these techniques in the student engineering skills and to know the degree of satisfaction of students with respect to the use of these learning methodologies.

High-Performance Liquid Chromatography in the Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frey, Douglas D.; Guo, Hui; Karnik, Nikhila

2013-01-01

This article describes the assembly of a simple, low-cost, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system and its use in the undergraduate chemical engineering laboratory course to perform simple experiments. By interpreting the results from these experiments students are able to gain significant experience in the general method of…

A single instrument: engineering and engineering technology students demonstrating competence in ethics and professional standards.

PubMed

Feldhaus, Charles R; Wolter, Robert M; Hundley, Stephen P; Diemer, Tim

2006-04-01

This paper details efforts by the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to create a single instrument for honors science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students wishing to demonstrate competence in the IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning (PUL's) and Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Engineering Accreditation Criterion (EAC) and Technology Accreditation Criterion (TAC) 2, a through k. Honors courses in Human Behavior, Ethical Decision-Making, Applied Leadership, International Issues and Leadership Theories and Processes were created along with a specific menu of activities and an assessment rubric based on PUL's and ABET criteria to evaluate student performance in the aforementioned courses. Students who complete the series of 18 Honors Credit hours are eligible for an Honors Certificate in Leadership Studies from the Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision. Finally, an accounting of how various university assessment criteria, in this case the IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning, can be linked to ABET outcomes and prove student competence in both, using the aforementioned courses, menu of items, and assessment rubrics; these will be analyzed and discussed.

Using technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning for student comprehension and academic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tlhoaele, Malefyane; Suhre, Cor; Hofman, Adriaan

2016-05-01

Cooperative learning may improve students' motivation, understanding of course concepts, and academic performance. This study therefore enhanced a cooperative, group-project learning technique with technology resources to determine whether doing so improved students' deep learning and performance. A sample of 118 engineering students, randomly divided into two groups, participated in this study and provided data through questionnaires issued before and after the experiment. The results, obtained through analyses of variance and structural equation modelling, reveal that technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning improves students' comprehension and academic performance.

Self-Regulated Learning Skills and Online Activities between Higher and Lower Performers on a Web-Intensive Undergraduate Engineering Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawanto, Oenardi; Santoso, Harry B.; Lawanto, Kevin N.; Goodridge, Wade

2017-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate students' self-regulated learning (SRL) skills used in a Web-intensive learning environment. The research question guiding the study was: How did the use of student SRL skills and student engagement in online activities compare between higher- and lower-performing students participating in a…

Selected engagement factors and academic learning outcomes of undergraduate engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Justice, Patricia J.

The concept of student engagement and its relationship to successful student performance and learning outcomes has a long history in higher education (Kuh, 2007). Attention to faculty and student engagement has only recently become of interest to the engineering education community. This interest can be attributed to long-standing research by George Kuh's, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. In addition, research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Academic Pathway Study (APS) at the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) and the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE), Measuring Student and Faculty Engagement in Engineering Education, at the National Academy of Engineering. These research studies utilized the framework and data from the Engineering Change study by the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State, that evaluated the impact of the new Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) EC2000 "3a through k" criteria identify 11 learning outcomes expected of engineering graduates. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent selected engagement factors of 1. institution, 2. social, 3. cognitive, 4. finance, and 5. technology influence undergraduate engineering students and quality student learning outcomes. Through the descriptive statistical analysis indicates that there maybe problems in the engineering program. This researcher would have expected at least 50% of the students to fall in the Strongly Agree and Agree categories. The data indicated that the there maybe problems in the engineering program problems in the data. The problems found ranked in this order: 1). Dissatisfaction with faculty instruction methods and quality of instruction and not a clear understanding of engineering majors , 2). inadequate Engineering faculty and advisors availability especially applicable to career paths, 4) engineering program objectives not aligned with student learning outcomes, 5. lack of encouragement to join engineering association for professional development. This study determined statistically that the factors having the most significant influence on undergraduate engineering student and learning outcome is the role that faculty plays inside and outside the classroom. The satisfaction of students regarding faculty on availability and feedback was negative. Engineering programs appear to have issues with alignment of ABET learning outcomes from a student perspective on knowledge, ability of engineering skills and ability acquired at the time of this study. The researcher believes that the findings are valid viewing the maturity of the majority of responses were from upper-class juniors and seniors. In addition, gender and racial/ethnicity disparity were found with low number of females compared to males. The racial/ ethnicity disparity was especially noted for Hispanic and Native American students.

Using Self-Determination Theory to build communities of support to aid in the retention of women in engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dell, Elizabeth M.; Verhoeven, Yen; Christman, Jeanne W.; Garrick, Robert D.

2018-05-01

Diverse perspectives are required to address the technological problems facing our world. Although women perform as well as their male counterparts in math and science prior to entering college, the numbers of women students entering and completing engineering programmes are far below their representation in the workforce. This paper reports on a qualitative, multiyear study of the experiences of women students in an Engineering Technology programme. The project addressed some of the unique, fundamental challenges that female students face within their programmes, and the authors describe a programmatic framework based on Self-Determination Theory as an intervention for the recruitment and retention of female engineering students. Data from focus groups and interviews show how students were supported in their undergraduate experiences and how inclusive learning environments are needed to further improve outcomes. Conceptual issues and methodological considerations of our outcomes are presented.

Comparative research on response stereotypes for daily operation tasks of Chinese and American engineering students.

PubMed

Yu, Rui-Feng; Chan, Alan H S

2004-02-01

A group of Mainland Chinese engineering students were asked to respond to 12 questions by indicating their design conventions and expectations about operations, directions-of-motion, and descriptions of movement for items such as doors, keys, taps, and knobs. Chi-square tests demonstrated strong response stereotypes for tasks of all 12 questions. A comparison of the stereotype strengths found here with that of Hong Kong Chinese and American engineering students reported earlier indicated that stereotype strengths of engineering students from the three regions were generally different. For some cases stereotype characteristics of two regions were more alike than the other, and also for some subjects in the three regions performed similarly. The Mainland and Hong Kong Chinese were more alike in making their choices on questions of conceptual compatibility, while more consistent preferences on movement compatibility and spatial compatibility were noted between the Mainland Chinese and American students than Hong Kong Chinese.

Promoting Innovative Methods in Technology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Nasra, Moayyad M.

2012-01-01

The engineering profession is very sensitive to the new changes in the engineering job market demand. The engineering job market is changing in a much faster rate than the engineering/engineering technology education. A 13-year study will be presented. The study focuses on the factors affecting the survival rate, student academic performance,…

What Engineering Sophomores Know and Would Like to Know about Engineering Information Sources and Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ercegovac, Zorana

2009-01-01

This exploratory study reports on what engineering undergraduate students know and would like to learn about engineering information sources and access. Responses were obtained on selected performance measures within the framework of "Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology" (ACRL/ALA/STS 2006). The results are based…

Effectiveness of a Low-Cost, Graduate Student-Led Intervention on Study Habits and Performance in Introductory Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoskins, Tyler D.; Gantz, J. D.; Chaffee, Blake R.; Arlinghaus, Kel; Wiebler, James; Hughes, Michael; Fernandes, Joyce J.

2017-01-01

Institutions have developed diverse approaches that vary in effectiveness and cost to improve student performance in introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. We developed a low-cost, graduate student-led, metacognition-based study skills course taught in conjunction with the introductory biology series at Miami…

The women in science and engineering scholars program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Falconer, Etta Z.; Guy, Lori Ann

1989-01-01

The Women in Science and Engineering Scholars Program provides scientifically talented women students, including those from groups underrepresented in the scientific and technical work force, with the opportunity to pursue undergraduate studies in science and engineering in the highly motivating and supportive environment of Spelman College. It also exposes students to research training at NASA Centers during the summer. The program provides an opportunity for students to increase their knowledge of career opportunities at NASA and to strengthen their motivation through exposure to NASA women scientists and engineers as role models. An extensive counseling and academic support component to maximize academic performance supplements the instructional and research components. The program is designed to increase the number of women scientists and engineers with graduate degrees, particularly those with an interest in a career with NASA.

Charting the pipeline: Identifying the critical elements in the development of successful African American scientists, engineers, and mathematicians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Brian Anthony

Many educational researchers are concerned with the apparent poor performance of different racial and ethnic groups in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics in the United States. Despite improvements in the performance of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans in these areas over the past decade, these groups are still less likely to enroll in advanced math and science courses or score at or above the proficient level in mathematics. Furthermore, these groups continue to be underrepresented in the nation's technical and scientific workforce. The purpose of this study was to identify the critical elements related to the success of African Americans in science, engineering, and mathematics. Specifically, this study was designed to answer the following questions as they pertained to African American graduate students: What factors were perceived to have contributed to the students' initial interest in science, engineering, or mathematics? What factors were perceived to have contributed to the students' decisions to continue their studies in their specific areas of interest? What factors, associated with the K--12 schooling experience, were perceived to have contributed to the students' success in science, engineering, or mathematics? The data for the study were acquired from interviews with 32 African American students (16 males and 16 females) who were engaged in graduate work in science, engineering, or mathematics. Four major themes emerged from the analysis of the interview data. The first was that all students were involved in experiences that allowed a significant level of participation in science, engineering, and mathematics. Second, all of the students experienced some form of positive personal intervention by another person. Third, all students possessed perceptions of these fields that involved some sort of positive outcome. Finally, all of the of the students believed they possessed intrinsic qualities that qualified and prepared them for their involvement with science, engineering, and mathematics. These four themes exhibited themselves in different ways during the course of the students' lives. As a result, the discussion of the results of the study was divided among the three developmental periods: the interest-building phase, the knowledge-acquisition phase, and the careerbuilding phase. The study's findings provide valuable information to schools, educators, policy makers, and researchers on how to prepare effectively all children for a science and technology driven society, and for some, induction into tomorrow's scientific community.

Predictors of Academic Performance among Indian Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ganguly, Sohinee; Kulkarni, Mrinmoyi; Gupta, Meenakshi

2017-01-01

There are two dominant strains in the literature on academic performance, the attribution studies and the self-efficacy studies. The present study attempted to incorporate these two strains while examining the academic performance of engineering undergraduate students in India. Time management and perceived stress were included in the model to…

The Significance of Including an Entrepreneurship Course in Engineering Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosly, Ibrahim

2017-01-01

This paper studied the significance of entrepreneurship education in engineering programs. It looked into its influence on engineering students' perception and willingness to change their future job direction. The study was performed at the College of Engineering-Rabigh Branch, of King Abdulaiziz University in Saudi Arabia. Entrepreneurship…

Perfectionism and Performance among STEM Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Kenneth G.; Lopez, Frederick G.; Richardson, Clarissa M. E.

2013-01-01

We examined perfectionistic personality characteristics and their association with science self-efficacy beliefs and academic performance among college students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We were especially interested in gender differences in effects given that women remain significantly underrepresented in…

Toward Teaching Methods that Develop Learning and Enhance Problem Solving Skills in Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loji, K.

2012-01-01

Problem solving skills and abilities are critical in life and more specifically in the engineering field. Unfortunately, significant numbers of South African students who are accessing higher education lack problem solving skills and this results in poor academic performance jeopardizing their progress especially from first to second year. On the…

Elementary Students' Learning of Materials Science Practices through Instruction Based on Engineering Design Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wendell, Kristen Bethke; Lee, Hee-Sun

2010-01-01

Materials science, which entails the practices of selecting, testing, and characterizing materials, is an important discipline within the study of matter. This paper examines how third grade students' materials science performance changes over the course of instruction based on an engineering design challenge. We conducted a case study of nine…

Testing Foreign Language Impact on Engineering Students' Scientific Problem-Solving Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatzl, Dietmar; Messnarz, Bernd

2013-01-01

This article investigates the influence of English as the examination language on the solution of physics and science problems by non-native speakers in tertiary engineering education. For that purpose, a statistically significant total number of 96 students in four year groups from freshman to senior level participated in a testing experiment in…

Problem Based Learning in School of Engineering Science, Osaka University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Kosuke; Kosakada, Kozo; Kuboi, Ryoichi

Problem Based Leaning in School of Engineering Science, Osaka University is being achieved mainly focusing on the spontaneous setting of the project theme. The PBL program aims to promote students' wide variety of abilities ; communication skill, group discussion, presentation skill, mutual assessment of the students, and also especially research skill 3P (Plan-Perform-Publish) .

Responses to Different Types of Inquiry Prompts: College Students' Discourse, Performance, and Perceptions of Group Work in an Engineering Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balgopal, Meena M.; Casper, Anne Marie A.; Atadero, Rebecca A.; Rambo-Hernandez, Karen E.

2017-01-01

Working in small groups to solve problems is an instructional strategy that allows university students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines the opportunity to practice interpersonal and professional skills while gaining and applying discipline-specific content knowledge. Previous research indicates that not all group…

Diesel Engine Mechanics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foutes, William A.

Written in student performance terms, this curriculum guide on diesel engine repair is divided into the following eight sections: an orientation to the occupational field and instructional program; instruction in operating principles; instruction in engine components; instruction in auxiliary systems; instruction in fuel systems; instruction in…

Optical and system engineering in the development of a high-quality student telescope kit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pompea, Stephen M.; Pfisterer, Richard N.; Ellis, Scott; Arion, Douglas N.; Fienberg, Richard Tresch; Smith, Thomas C.

2010-07-01

The Galileoscope student telescope kit was developed by a volunteer team of astronomers, science education experts, and optical engineers in conjunction with the International Year of Astronomy 2009. This refracting telescope is in production with over 180,000 units produced and distributed with 25,000 units in production. The telescope was designed to be able to resolve the rings of Saturn and to be used in urban areas. The telescope system requirements, performance metrics, and architecture were established after an analysis of current inexpensive telescopes and student telescope kits. The optical design approaches used in the various prototypes and the optical system engineering tradeoffs will be described. Risk analysis, risk management, and change management were critical as was cost management since the final product was to cost around 15 (but had to perform as well as 100 telescopes). In the system engineering of the Galileoscope a variety of analysis and testing approaches were used, including stray light design and analysis using the powerful optical analysis program FRED.

A Qatari perspective on women in the engineering pipeline: an exploratory study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fauziah Sulaiman, Noor; AlMuftah, Hend

2010-10-01

Under-representation of women in engineering has received a great deal of attention, but remained limited largely to a Western context. Thus, this article aims to unveil the barriers to progress, tracking the performance and the emerging trend of success at the undergraduate level of women in engineering in a different cultural dimension. Secondary research, particularly statistical data of female undergraduate engineering students at Qatar University (QU), is used in this study. Findings show that the booming economic development and access to modern education are the key drivers that change the position of women in Qatari society. A shift away from a masculine-dominated society to a more balance masculine/feminine society was identified as the impetus for better enrolment and achievement of female engineering students in Qatar. Similar to the trend in the USA, recruitment and not retention was the reason behind the under-representation of female undergraduate engineering students at QU.

Creative Thinking of Practical Engineering Students During a Design Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waks, Shlomo; Merdler, Moti

2003-01-01

Creativity in engineering design had become an economic necessity and not merely the privilege of unique individuals. The search for new, innovative and effective ideas in engineering design stands in center of daily creative performance. This search requires sensitivity to gaps of knowledge and information, and the ability to evoke numerous, different and unique ideas about engineering problems. The source of such information or knowledge can be either extrinsic-such as provided by an instructor or expert or intrinsic, which might involve transformation from one field or context to another. Furthermore, interaction with an exterior source as well as developing an inherent drive, have an impact on the motivation to perform creatively. This article, which is based on a study conducted among Israeli practical engineering students, deals with the variations in creative thinking during various stages of a design project and the relation between creative thinking and motivation factors.

Multicultural and multilingual approach: Mathematics, science, and engineering education for junior high school minority students and high school administrators. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crumbly, I.J.; Hodges, J.

1994-09-01

During the 1993 school year, LLNL and the US Department of Energy`s San Francisco Field Office provided funds through grant {number_sign}DE-FG03-93SF20045/A000 to assist Cooperative Developmental Energy Program (CDEP) with its network coalition of high school counselors from 19 states and with its outreach and early intervention program in mathematics, science and engineering for minority junior high school students. The program for high school counselors is called the National Educators Orientation Program (NEOP) and the outreach program for minority junior high school students is called the Mathematics, Science and Engineering Academy (MSEA). A total of 35 minority and female rising eighthmore » grade students participated in the Second Annual Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Academy sponsored by the Cooperative Developmental Energy Program of Fort Valley State College (FVSC). There were 24 students from the middle Georgia area, 4 students from Oakland, California, and 7 students from Portland, Oregon. Each student was selected by counselor in his or her respective school. The selection criteria were based on the students` academic performance in science and mathematics courses.« less

Automotive Engines; Automotive Mechanics I: 9043.03.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL.

This automotive engines course studies and demonstrates the theory and principles of operation of the automotive four stroke cycle engine. The student will develop an understanding of the systems necessary to make the engine perform as designed, such as cooling, fuel, ignition and lubrication. This is a one or two quinmester credit course of 45…

Summer graduate research program for interns in science and engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Clinton B.

1992-01-01

The goal of the 10 week graduate intern program was to increase the source of candidates for positions in science and engineering at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Students participating in this program submitted papers on the work they performed over the 10 week period and also filled out questionnaires on the program's effectiveness, their own performance, and suggestions on improvements. The topics covered by the student's papers include: microsoft excel applications; fast aurora zone analysis; injection seeding of a Q-switched alexandrite laser; use of high temperature superconductors; modifications on a communication interface board; modeling of space network activities; prediction of atmospheric ozone content; and applications of industrial engineering.

Summer graduate research program for interns in science and engineering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, C.B.

1992-03-01

The goal of the 10 week graduate intern program was to increase the source of candidates for positions in science and engineering at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Students participating in this program submitted papers on the work they performed over the 10 week period and also filled out questionnaires on the program's effectiveness, their own performance, and suggestions on improvements. The topics covered by the student's papers include: microsoft excel applications; fast aurora zone analysis; injection seeding of a Q-switched alexandrite laser; use of high temperature superconductors; modifications on a communication interface board; modeling of space network activities; predictionmore » of atmospheric ozone content; and applications of industrial engineering.« less

Enhancing the Mathematics Skills of Students Enrolled in Introductory Engineering Courses: Eliminating the Gap in Incoming Academic Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolley, Patricia A.; Blat, Catherine; McDaniel, Christopher; Blackmon, Donald; Royster, David

2012-01-01

Several studies strongly support the relationship between mathematics performance and retention of engineering students. There is also substantial evidence that nationally almost half of college freshmen could benefit from some mathematics remediation. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of WeBWorK as an instructional technology…

Integrating Environmental Management in Chemical Engineering Education by Introducing an Environmental Management System in the Student's Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montanes, Maria T.; Palomares, Antonio E.

2008-01-01

In this work we show how specific challenges related to sustainable development can be integrated into chemical engineering education by introducing an environmental management system in the laboratory where the students perform their experimental lessons. It is shown how the system has been developed and implemented in the laboratory, what role…

Measuring the Silver Composition of Nanocolloids by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy: A Laboratory Experiment for Chemistry and Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brittle, Seth W.; Baker, Joshua D.; Dorney, Kevin M.; Dagher, Jessica M.; Ebrahimian, Tala; Higgins, Steven R.; Pavel Sizemore, Ioana E.

2015-01-01

The increased worldwide exploitation of nanomaterials has reinforced the importance of introducing nanoscale aspects into the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. To meet this need, a novel nano-laboratory module was developed and successfully performed by science and engineering students. The main goal of the experiment was to accurately…

A study of the relationship between learning styles and cognitive abilities in engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hames, E.; Baker, M.

2015-03-01

Learning preferences have been indirectly linked to student success in engineering programmes, without a significant body of research to connect learning preferences with cognitive abilities. A better understanding of the relationship between learning styles and cognitive abilities will allow educators to optimise the classroom experience for students. The goal of this study was to determine whether relationships exist between student learning styles, as determined by the Felder-Soloman Inventory of Learning Styles (FSILS), and their cognitive performance. Three tests were used to assess student's cognitive abilities: a matrix reasoning task, a Tower of London task, and a mental rotation task. Statistical t-tests and correlation coefficients were used to quantify the results. Results indicated that the global-sequential, active-referential, and visual-verbal FSILS learning styles scales are related to performance on cognitive tasks. Most of these relationships were found in response times, not accuracy. Differences in task performance between gender groups (male and female) were more notable than differences between learning styles groups.

A Dynamic Action in the Engineering Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pegollo, Carlos Alberto Goebel; Shiga, Alberto Akio

The main proposal of this paper is to present research performed during a practical subject in the last year of the electrical engineer undergraduate course, emphasis in electrotechnics, at the Universidade Sao Judas Tadeu. Several activities are developed to provide the students variable and continued information about their performance in many…

Computational studies of an intake manifold for restricted engine application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasetyo, Bagus Dwi; Ubaidillah, Maharani, Elliza Tri; Setyohandoko, Gabriel; Idris, Muhammad Idzdihar

2018-02-01

The Formula Society of Automotive Engineer (FSAE) student competition is an international contest for a vehicle that entirely designed and built by students from various universities. The engine design in the Formula SAE competition has to comply a tight regulation. Concerning the engine intake line, an air restrictor of circular cross-section less than 20 mm must be fitted between the throttle valve and the engine inlet. The throat is aimed to limit the engine air flow rate as it strongly influences the volumetric efficiency and then the maximum power. This article focuses on the design of the engine intake system of the Bengawan FSAE team vehicle to optimize the engine power output and its stability. The performance of engine intake system is studied through computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The objective of CFD is to know the pressure, velocity, and airflow of the air intake manifold for the best performance of the engine. The three-dimensional drawing of the intake manifold was made, and CFD simulation was conducted using ANSYS FLUENT. Two models were studied. The result shows that the different design produces a different value of the velocity of airflow and the kind of flow type.

Practical Techniques for Modeling Gas Turbine Engine Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, Jeffryes W.; Lavelle, Thomas M.; Litt, Jonathan S.

2016-01-01

The cost and risk associated with the design and operation of gas turbine engine systems has led to an increasing dependence on mathematical models. In this paper, the fundamentals of engine simulation will be reviewed, an example performance analysis will be performed, and relationships useful for engine control system development will be highlighted. The focus will be on thermodynamic modeling utilizing techniques common in industry, such as: the Brayton cycle, component performance maps, map scaling, and design point criteria generation. In general, these topics will be viewed from the standpoint of an example turbojet engine model; however, demonstrated concepts may be adapted to other gas turbine systems, such as gas generators, marine engines, or high bypass aircraft engines. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example of gas turbine model generation and system performance analysis for educational uses, such as curriculum creation or student reference.

Case study: use of problem-based learning to develop students' technical and professional skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warnock, James N.; Mohammadi-Aragh, M. Jean

2016-03-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogy that has attracted attention for many biomedical engineering curricula. The aim of the current study was to address the research question, 'Does PBL enable students to develop desirable professional engineering skills?' The desirable skills identified were communication, teamwork, problem solving and self-directed learning. Forty-seven students enrolled in a biomedical materials course participated in the case study. Students worked in teams to complete a series of problems throughout the semester. The results showed that students made significant improvements in their problem-solving skills, written communication and self-directed learning. Students also demonstrated an ability to work in teams and communicate orally. In conclusion, this case study provides empirical evidence of the efficacy of PBL on student learning. We discuss findings from our study and provide observations of student performance and perceptions that could be useful for faculty and researchers interested in PBL for biomedical engineering education.

The Potential of Supplemental Instruction in Engineering Education--Helping New Students to Adjust to and Succeed in University Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malm, Joakim; Bryngfors, Leif; Mörner, Lise-Lotte

2015-01-01

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a programme that is attached to difficult courses with the objective of increasing student performance and retention. However, an SI programme also has the potential to increase overall student performance and retention during the first critical year if applied to introductory courses. In this study the latter…

A study of competence in mathematics and mechanics in an engineering curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munns, Andrew

2017-11-01

Professional bodies expect engineers to show competence in both mathematics and engineering topics such as mechanics, using their abilities in both of these to solve problems. Yet within engineering programmes there is a phenomenon known as 'The Mathematics Problem', with students not demonstrating understanding of the subject. This paper will suggest that students are constructing different concept images in engineering and mathematics, based on their perception of either the use or exchange-value for the topics. Using a mixed methods approach, the paper compares 10 different types of concept image constructed by students, which suggests that familiar procedural images are preferred in mathematics. In contrast strategic and conceptual images develop for mechanics throughout the years of the programme, implying that different forms of competence are being constructed by students between the two subjects. The paper argues that this difference is attributed to the perceived use-value of mechanics in the career of the engineer, compared to the exchange-value associated with mathematics. Questions are raised about the relevance of current definitions of competence given that some routine mathematical operations previously performed by engineers are now being replaced by technology, in the new world of work.

The Impact of Interactive Engagement Methods on Students' Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tlhoaele, Malefyane; Hofman, Adriaan; Winnips, Koos; Beetsma, Yta

2014-01-01

Interactive engagement (IE) is a process that promotes students' conceptual understanding through activities, combined with immediate feedback from peers and/or instructors. The present study investigates the impact of IE on students' academic performance, using the comprehensive model of educational effectiveness. Engineering students (n?=?158),…

MTF Database: A Repository of Students' Academic Performance Measurements for the Development of Techniques for Evaluating Team Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiung, Chin-Min; Zheng, Xiang-Xiang

2015-01-01

The Measurements for Team Functioning (MTF) database contains a series of student academic performance measurements obtained at a national university in Taiwan. The measurements are acquired from unit tests and homework tests performed during a core mechanical engineering course, and provide an objective means of assessing the functioning of…

Teaching introductory game development with unreal engine: Challenges, strategies, and experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Head, Nicholas A.

From the days of Pong to 100 million dollar projects such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise, video games have evolved significantly over the years. This evolution has also changed the way game development is viewed as a career. Today, video games are one of the most profitable forms of entertainment, and game development courses are appearing at universities around the world. Even with this growth, a degree from a university has yet to be an important factor in finding a job in game development (Owen, 2013). This thesis examines a method of creating and implementing an introductory gaming course and recommends ways to improve the curriculum. The main focus of the course was to introduce game development to the students. Each week, they were given an exercise that covered a different topic. Students also took part in a team project in which they were tasked with creating a complete game. The goal of the team projects was to expand the student's basic knowledge given to them from the exercises. Data was gathered on the students' subjective experiences with the class. This data and the class's overall performance were compared with past iterations of the course. New to the course was the Unreal Engine. Students used the latest version of the engine, Unreal Engine 4, to complete exercises. Not all students chose to use this engine for the team project. Instructor and students experiences with the engine were also recorded. While there were some problems implementing the engine within our lab environment, we were still able to execute the overall lesson plan. Even with the engine issues, the course had overall good performance. CGT 241, Introduction to 3D Animation, was shown to help the students to complete the course while CGT 215, Computer Graphics Programming I, did not provide enough information on game programming. Exercises were found to be helpful but students wanted a better understanding of how these skills can be applied to game development. Team projects also went well with most teams creating a functional project. Students wanted more time to complete projects along with a structured approach to the project. Confidence in game development and the Unreal Engine were not high but students were enthusiastic in continuing in the field of game development. Recommendations were made to the curriculum in order to fix some of the issues with the introductory course and help students find a career. In order to fix the gap between the programming course and the introductory game course, a video game programming course was recommended that focused on teaching students how code works with video game engines. An option to specialize was also recommended in order to see a higher level of understanding on game concepts and a higher level of quality of game projects. Changes to the higher courses were also made for a yearlong course where students would focus on a single project to publish. This would expand on the introductory course while also replicating the game development process.

Performance of student software development teams: the influence of personality and identifying as team members

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monaghan, Conal; Bizumic, Boris; Reynolds, Katherine; Smithson, Michael; Johns-Boast, Lynette; van Rooy, Dirk

2015-01-01

One prominent approach in the exploration of the variations in project team performance has been to study two components of the aggregate personalities of the team members: conscientiousness and agreeableness. A second line of research, known as self-categorisation theory, argues that identifying as team members and the team's performance norms should substantially influence the team's performance. This paper explores the influence of both these perspectives in university software engineering project teams. Eighty students worked to complete a piece of software in small project teams during 2007 or 2008. To reduce limitations in statistical analysis, Monte Carlo simulation techniques were employed to extrapolate from the results of the original sample to a larger simulated sample (2043 cases, within 319 teams). The results emphasise the importance of taking into account personality (particularly conscientiousness), and both team identification and the team's norm of performance, in order to cultivate higher levels of performance in student software engineering project teams.

Designing Transferable Skills Inventory for Assessing Students Using Group Discussion: A Case Study of First Year Electrical and Electronics Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tejaswani, K.; Madhuri, G. V.

2015-01-01

Employability skills among engineering graduates have been a concern due to their inability to perform on a professional platform to the employer's expected level. As they are higher cognitive skills, they are to be nurtured during the graduation period. Keeping this in view, group discussions are identified as one of the methods to elicit…

Tech Reading/Small Engines: Performance Package, Minnesota Profile of Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota State Dept. of Children, Families, and Learning, St. Paul.

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to technical reading regarding small engines. It begins with reference to the…

Engine Performance Specialist. Instructor's Manual. Automotive Service Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This curriculum guide is one of a series automotive service specialty publications that continues students' training in the automotive service trade by providing instruction in the engine performance specialty. It is based on the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence task lists. Each of the 16 units includes some or all of the basic…

Blog-Integrated Writing with Blog-Buddies: EAP Learners' Writing Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asoodar, Maryam; Atai, Mahmood Reza; Vaezi, Shahin

2016-01-01

This article reports a mixed-method research probing the effect of utilizing a blog-buddy system on English for academic purposes learners' writing performance. Sixty Iranian undergraduate engineering students at Iran University of Science and Technology Virtual Campus participated in this study. Our analysis of the students' writings indicated…

Gender Contentedness in Aspirations to Become Engineers or Medical Doctors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koul, Ravinder; Lerdpornkulrat, Thanita; Poondej, Chanut

2017-01-01

Medical doctor and engineer are highly esteemed STEM professions. This study investigates academic and motivational characteristics of a sample of high school students in Thailand who aspire to become medical doctors or engineers. We used logistic regression to compare maths performance, gender typicality, gender contentedness, and maths and…

Engineering and the Liberal Arts: Strangers No Longer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chronicle of Higher Education, 2008

2008-01-01

Colleges and universities increasingly view engineering as an important part of a liberal-arts education. Rather than segregate engineering from the arts and humanities, they are integrating the disciplines, in hopes of educating students to perform more effectively in an increasingly complex and technological world. Several college presidents,…

Engineering education for youth: Diverse elementary school students' experiences with engineering design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegedus, Theresa

Lingering concerns over the persistent achievement gap amidst the trend of an increasingly diverse society have been compounded by calls from the Oval Office, the National Science Board, and nationwide media to also address our current creativity crisis. Now, more than ever, we have a responsibility to produce a STEM-capable (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce to meet the demands of our rapidly changing local and global economic landscape. Barriers exist in our traditional educational system, which has historically limited underrepresented groups' affiliation and membership in the disciplines of science and engineering. The recent incorporation of engineering into the latest science education reform efforts presents an opportunity to expose students as early as elementary school to engineering practices and habits of mind, which have the potential to stimulate creative thinking skills through engineering design. This qualitative study was designed to examine the ways in which engineering education has the potential to promote creativity and academic competence in elementary science classrooms. As a part of my study, a diverse group of students from two fifth-grade classrooms took part in a 10-12 hour, engineering-based curriculum unit (Engineering is Elementary) during their regular science instructional time. Using a sociocultural lens, to include cultural production and identities in practice as part of my framework, I analyzed group and individual performances through classroom observations, student interviews, and teacher reflections to better understand the meaning students made of their experiences with engineering. Findings from the study included the ways in which creativity was culturally produced in the classroom to include: 1) idea generation; 2) design and innovation; 3) gumption/resourcefulness; and 4) social value. Opportunities for collaboration increased through each stage of the unit culminating with the design challenge. Engineering teams required cultivation by the teacher as students negotiated spaces for collaboration through challenges of competition versus compromise; assumed versus assigned roles; management of verbal versus non-verbal communication; and shifts from teacher-as-authority-figure to peers as sources of knowledge and inspiration. The engineering design challenge provided an ideal context for broaching socio-scientific issues and attention to ethical considerations. Students made reference to their growing environmental awareness and developing moral reasoning in their definitions and reflections on green engineering. Throughout the course of the unit, successful students, struggling students, and students with uncertain trajectories established themselves as competent and efficacious engineers. Implications of the study include ways to assist teachers in recognizing and cultivating creativity and collaboration in addition to effectively incorporating socio-scientific issues as part of the engineering (and science) curriculum. I also present recommendations for promoting equity in classroom engineering, pre-service teacher initiatives, and strategies for capitalizing on the complementarity between science and engineering.

Elementary Students' Learning of Materials Science Practices Through Instruction Based on Engineering Design Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wendell, Kristen Bethke; Lee, Hee-Sun

2010-12-01

Materials science, which entails the practices of selecting, testing, and characterizing materials, is an important discipline within the study of matter. This paper examines how third grade students' materials science performance changes over the course of instruction based on an engineering design challenge. We conducted a case study of nine students who participated in engineering design-based science instruction with the goal of constructing a stable, quiet, thermally comfortable model house. The learning outcome of materials science practices was assessed by clinical interviews conducted before and after the instruction, and the learning process was assessed by students' workbooks completed during the instruction. The interviews included two materials selection tasks for designing a sturdy stepstool and an insulated pet habitat. Results indicate that: (1) students significantly improved on both materials selection tasks, (2) their gains were significantly positively associated with the degree of completion of their workbooks, and (3) students who were highly engaged with the workbook's reflective record-keeping tasks showed the greatest improvement on the interviews. These findings suggest the important role workbooks can play in facilitating elementary students' learning of science through authentic activity such as engineering design.

Training of Ability for Engineering Design through Long Term Internship Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konishi, Masami; Gofuku, Akio; Tomita, Eiji

The education program for engineering design capabilities through long term internship of Okayama University had started in 2006. The program supported by the MEXT is aimed to educate students in the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology of Okayama University. The internship satellite laboratory of the University is settled in the near place of collaborative companies in which students are engaged with the project themes extracted from problems in the factory of collaborative companies. Through the program, promotion of abilities for setup and solving a problem considering cost and due date together with performance of the solution. Students are also expected to gain knowledge on patent and ethics required for skillful engineers.

Renewable Microgrid STEM Education & Colonias Outreach Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

To provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) outreach and education to secondary students to encourage them to select science and engineering as a career by providing an engineering-based problem-solving experience involving renewable energy systems such as photovoltaic (PV) panels or wind turbines. All public and private schools, community colleges, and vocational training programs would be eligible for participation. The Power Microgrids High School Engineering Experience used renewable energy systems (PV and wind) to provide a design capstone experience to secondary students. The objective for each student team was to design a microgrid for the student’s school using renewable energymore » sources under cost, schedule, performance, and risk constraints. The students then implemented their designs in a laboratory environment to evaluate the completeness of the proposed design, which is a unique experience even for undergraduate college students. This application-based program was marketed to secondary schools in the 28th Congressional District through the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Regional Service Centers. Upon application, TEES identified regionally available engineers to act as mentors and supervisors for the projects. Existing curriculum was modified to include microgrid and additional renewable technologies and was made available to the schools.« less

Enhancing learning in geosciences and water engineering via lab activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valyrakis, Manousos; Cheng, Ming

2016-04-01

This study focuses on the utilisation of lab based activities to enhance the learning experience of engineering students studying Water Engineering and Geosciences. In particular, the use of modern highly visual and tangible presentation techniques within an appropriate laboratory based space are used to introduce undergraduate students to advanced engineering concepts. A specific lab activity, namely "Flood-City", is presented as a case study to enhance the active engagement rate, improve the learning experience of the students and better achieve the intended learning objectives of the course within a broad context of the engineering and geosciences curriculum. Such activities, have been used over the last few years from the Water Engineering group @ Glasgow, with success for outreach purposes (e.g. Glasgow Science Festival and demos at the Glasgow Science Centre and Kelvingrove museum). The activity involves a specific setup of the demonstration flume in a sand-box configuration, with elements and activities designed so as to gamely the overall learning activity. Social media platforms can also be used effectively to the same goals, particularly in cases were the students already engage in these online media. To assess the effectiveness of this activity a purpose designed questionnaire is offered to the students. Specifically, the questionnaire covers several aspects that may affect student learning, performance and satisfaction, such as students' motivation, factors to effective learning (also assessed by follow-up quizzes), and methods of communication and assessment. The results, analysed to assess the effectiveness of the learning activity as the students perceive it, offer a promising potential for the use of such activities in outreach and learning.

Refactoring a CS0 Course for Engineering Students to Use Active Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lokkila, Erno; Kaila, Erkki; Lindén, Rolf; Laakso, Mikko-Jussi; Sutinen, Erkki

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to determine whether applying e-learning material to a course leads to consistently improved student performance. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyzes grade data from seven instances of the course. The first three instances were performed traditionally. After an intervention, in the form of…

The Value of Career ePortfolios on Job Applicant Performance: Using Data to Determine Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ring, Gail L.; Waugaman, Chelsea; Brackett, Bob

2017-01-01

This research project investigated how the development of an ePortfolio, combined with ePortfolio pedagogies, impacted the interview performance of undergraduate students as they prepared to enter the job market. Participants were students in the Health Sciences and Biosystems Engineering programs at Clemson University, enrolled in…

Construction Mechanic, Engine Tune-Up II (Diesel), 8-8. Military Curriculum Materials for Vocational and Technical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

This course, adapted from military curriculum materials for vocational and technical education, teaches students to restore diesel engine performance to the manufacturer's specifications through troubleshooting and analyzing diesel engine fuel systems and to make minor and major adjustments to those components that directly affect engine…

High-Achieving High School Students and Not so High-Achieving College Students: A Look at Lack of Self-Control, Academic Ability, and Performance in College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honken, Nora B.; Ralston, Patricia A. S.

2013-01-01

This study investigated the relationship among lack of self-control, academic ability, and academic performance for a cohort of freshman engineering students who were, with a few exceptions, extremely high achievers in high school. Structural equation modeling analysis led to the conclusion that lack of self-control in high school, as measured by…

Does Students' Confidence in Their Ability in Mathematics Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, Sarah; Croft, Tony; Harrison, Martin

2009-01-01

Research was conducted into first year engineering students' learning of mathematics in a university college during 2005-2007. The aims were to understand better students' confidences and explore which factors affected performance and how these were inter-related. Questionnaires were administered which posed questions regarding previous…

Assessment of Student Professional Outcomes for Continuous Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keshavarz, Mohsen; Baghdarnia, Mostafa

2013-01-01

This article describes a method for the assessment of professional student outcomes (performance-type outcomes or soft skills). The method is based upon group activities, research on modern electrical engineering topics by individual students, classroom presentations on chosen research topics, final presentations, and technical report writing.…

Mandatory coursework assignments can be, and should be, eliminated!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haugan, John; Lysebo, Marius; Lauvas, Per

2017-11-01

Formative assessment can serve as a catalyst for increased student effort and student learning. Yet, many engineering degree programmes are dominated by summative assessment and make limited use of formative assessment. The present case study serves as an example on how formative assessment can be used strategically to increase student effort and improve student learning. Within five courses of an engineering bachelor degree programme in Norway, the mandatory coursework assignments were removed and replaced by formative-only assessment. To facilitate the formative assessment, weekly student peer-assessment sessions were introduced. The main findings include an increase in student study hours and improved student performance on the examinations. Finally, interviews were conducted by an external consultant in an effort to identify key factors that attributed to the positive outcome.

Connections Between Future Time Perspectives and Self-Regulated Learning for Mid-Year Engineering Students: A Multiple Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chasmar, Justine

This dissertation presents multiple studies with the purpose of understanding the connections between undergraduate engineering students' motivations, specifically students' Future Time Perspectives (FTPs) and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL). FTP refers to the views students hold about the future and how their perceptions of current tasks are affected by these views. SRL connects the behaviors, metacognition, and motivation of students in their learning. The goals of this research project were to 1) qualitatively describe and document engineering students' SRL strategies, 2) examine interactions between engineering students' FTPs and SRL strategy use, and 3) explore goal-setting as a bridge between FTP and SRL. In an exploratory qualitative study with mid-year industrial engineering students to examine the SRL strategies used before and after an SRL intervention, results showed that students intended to use more SRL strategies than they attempted. However, students self-reported using new SRL strategies from the intervention. Students in this population also completed a survey and a single interview about FTP and SRL. Results showed perceptions of instrumentality of coursework and skills as motivation for using SRL strategies, and a varied use of SRL strategies for students with different FTPs. Overall, three types of student FTP were seen: students with a single realistic view of the future, conflicting ideal and realistic future views, or open views of the future. A sequential explanatory mixed methods study was conducted with mid-year students from multiple engineering majors. First a cluster analysis of survey results of FTP items compared to FTP interview responses was used for participant selection. Then a multiple case study was conducted with data collected through surveys, journal entries, course performance, and two interviews. Results showed that students with a well-defined FTP self-regulated in the present based on their varied perceptions of instrumentality for their present tasks and evaluated and adapted their SRL strategies based on grades. Students with conflicting perceptions of the future used a high level of SRL in courses related to both conflicting future paths or related to their short-term goals. Students with open views had high SRL in most of their courses due to a high perception of instrumentality for their present courses. Implications for practice include use of a context-based SRL intervention to teach effective learning strategies, a shift of key general education courses to earlier in the engineering curriculum, and utilization of career-focused problems to support student FTP development and stress the importance of course content in future engineering careers.

How Mockups, a Key Engineering Tool, Help to Promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McDonald, Harry E.

2010-01-01

The United States ranking among the world in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is decreasing. To counteract this problem NASA has made it part of its mission to promote STEM education among the nation s youth. Mockups can serve as a great tool when promoting STEM education in America. The Orion Cockpit Working Group has created a new program called Students Shaping America s Next Space Craft (SSANS) to outfit the Medium Fidelity Orion Mockup. SSANS will challenge the students to come up with unique designs to represent the flight design hardware. There are two main types of project packages created by SSANS, those for high school students and those for university students. The high school projects will challenge wood shop, metal shop and pre-engineering classes. The university projects are created mainly for senior design projects and will require the students to perform finite element analysis. These projects will also challenge the undergraduate students in material selection and safety requirements. The SSANS program will help NASA in its mission to promote STEM education, and will help to shape our nations youth into the next generation of STEM leaders.

Evaluation of students' perception of their learning environment and approaches to learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valyrakis, Manousos; Cheng, Ming

2015-04-01

This work presents the results of two case studies designed to assess the various approaches undergraduate and postgraduate students undertake for their education. The first study describes the results and evaluation of an undergraduate course in Water Engineering which aims to develop the fundamental background knowledge of students on introductory practical applications relevant to the practice of water and hydraulic engineering. The study assesses the effectiveness of the course design and learning environment from the perception of students using a questionnaire addressing several aspects that may affect student learning, performance and satisfaction, such as students' motivation, factors to effective learning, and methods of communication and assessment. The second study investigates the effectiveness of supervisory arrangements based on the perceptions of engineering undergraduate and postgraduate students. Effective supervision requires leadership skills that are not taught in the University, yet there is rarely a chance to get feedback, evaluate this process and reflect. Even though the results are very encouraging there are significant lessons to learn in improving ones practice and develop an effective learning environment to student support and guidance. The findings from these studies suggest that students with high level of intrinsic motivation are deep learners and are also top performers in a student-centered learning environment. A supportive teaching environment with a plethora of resources and feedback made available over different platforms that address students need for direct communication and feedback has the potential to improve student satisfaction and their learning experience. Finally, incorporating a multitude of assessment methods is also important in promoting deep learning. These results have deep implications about student learning and can be used to further improve course design and delivery in the future.

Comparative Study of the academic performance between different curricula in Agricultural Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez, J. L.; Serrano, A.; Caniego, J.

2012-04-01

Due to the introduction of new degrees on the College of Agricultural Engineering of the Technical University of Madrid adapted to the European Space for Higher Education (Bologna), we have made a comparative study of academic achievement obtained by the students during their first year at the Centre according to different curricula. We used data from 2 curricula leading to the degree in Agricultural Engineering, Curriculumn 74 (6 years and annual structure) and Curriculum 96 modified in 2006 (5 years with quarterly structure) and the new curriculum in grades (4 years semi-structured). It has been used as a data source, the qualifications of new students during the last three years prior to the extinction of the curriculum.The study shows that current rates of academic success or failure and dropout during the first year of college are very similar to those happening 12 years ago, when it was assumed that the preparation of students from high school was much higher than today. Keywords: Academic performance, curricula, Bologna.

a Matter of Confidence: Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward Engaging in Lab and Course Work in Undergraduate Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micari, Marina; Pazos, Pilar; Hartmann, Mitra J. Z.

Although there has been a great deal of research on women's experiences in engineering study, there has been little attempt to connect experiential factors to performance in both course and lab. This two-phase study investigated gender differences in undergraduates' experiences in a fluid mechanics course as well as the relationship between experiential factors and student performance in that course. One hundred forty-seven students at a Midwestern research university completed questionnaires related to course experience and perceived engagement. Data were also collected on final grade for 89 students in the second round of data collection. Relative to men, women reported less confidence that they could avoid mistakes in the lab, less experience with mechanical items, less perceived ability in engineering relative to classmates, and less perceived skill in tasks requiring navigation or maneuvering through space. Feelings of engagement were related to grade, but no gender differences were found in either engagement or grade.

Mechanical Objects and the Engineering Learner: An Experimental Study of How the Presence of Objects Affects Students' Performance on Engineering Related Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bairaktarova, Diana N.

2013-01-01

People display varying levels of interaction with the mechanical objects in their environment; engineers in particular as makers and users of these objects display a higher level of interaction with them. Investigating the educational potential of mechanical objects in stimulating and supporting learning in engineering is warranted by the fact…

Interactive Educational Tool for Turbofan and Afterburning Turbojet Engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benson, Thomas J.

1997-01-01

A workstation-based, interactive educational computer program has been developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center to aid in the teaching and understanding of turbine engine design and analysis. This tool has recently been extended to model the performance of two-spool turbofans and afterburning turbojets. The program solves for the flow conditions through the engine by using classical one-dimensional thermodynamic analysis found in various propulsion textbooks. Either an approximately thermally perfect or calorically perfect gas can be used in the thermodynamic analysis. Students can vary the design conditions through a graphical user interface; engine performance is calculated immediately. A variety of graphical formats are used to present results, including numerical results, moving bar charts, and student-generated temperature versus entropy (Ts), pressure versus specific volume (pv), and engine performance plots. The package includes user-controlled printed output, restart capability, online help screens, and a browser that displays teacher-prepared lessons in turbomachinery. The program runs on a variety of workstations or a personal computer using the UNIX operating system and X-based graphics. It is being tested at several universities in the midwestern United States; the source and executables are available free from the author.

A Gamification Experience to Improve Engineering Students' Performance through Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sánchez-Carmona, Adrián; Robles, Sergi; Pons, Jordi

2017-01-01

The students' lack of motivation is a usual problem. The students value more the obtention of the degree than the developing of competences and skills. In order to fight this, we developed a gamification's experience based on merits and leaderboards. The merits are linked to the attainment of skills and competences that students usually do not…

Measuring the Effect of an Online Learning Community on Engineering Cooperative Education Students' Perceived and Measured Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Todd, Anita M.

2013-01-01

This quasi-experimental, static-group comparison study of two non-equivalent groups examined how Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) community participation of at-work, cooperative education students affected student perceived performance, perceived learning, and measured learning with student grade point average (GPA) and work term as covariates. The…

Perceptions of Memo Quality: A Case Study of Engineering Practitioners, Professors, and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amare, Nicole; Brammer, Charlotte

2005-01-01

One goal of college technical writing courses is to prepare students for real-world writing situations. Business writing textbooks function similarly, using guidelines, sample assignments, and model documents to help students develop rhetorical strategies to use in the workplace. Students attend class, or read and perform exercises in a textbook,…

Recombinant DNA Paper Model Simulation: The Genetic Engineer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Joan

1998-01-01

Describes a course for talented high school students that focuses on DNA science and technology. Employs Cold Spring Harbor's DNA Science laboratory manual. Engages students in performing sickle-cell anemia and thalassemia tests in rabbits. (DDR)

Teaching science, technology, and society to engineering students: a sixteen year journey.

PubMed

Ozaktas, Haldun M

2013-12-01

The course Science, Technology, and Society is taken by about 500 engineering students each year at Bilkent University, Ankara. Aiming to complement the highly technical engineering programs, it deals with the ethical, social, cultural, political, economic, legal, environment and sustainability, health and safety, reliability dimensions of science, technology, and engineering in a multidisciplinary fashion. The teaching philosophy and experiences of the instructor are reviewed. Community research projects have been an important feature of the course. Analysis of teaching style based on a multi-dimensional model is given. Results of outcome measurements performed for ABET assessment are provided. Challenges and solutions related to teaching a large class are discussed.

Implementation of Performance Assessment in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Education to Detect Science Process Skill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Septiani, A.; Rustaman, N. Y.

2017-02-01

A descriptive study about the implementation of performance assessment in STEM based instruction was carried out to investigate the tenth grade of Vocational school students’ science process skills during the teaching learning processes. A number of tenth grade agriculture students was involved as research subjects selected through cluster random sampling technique (n=35). Performance assessment was planned on skills during the teaching learning process through observation and on product resulted from their engineering practice design. The procedure conducted in this study included thinking phase (identifying problem and sharing idea), designing phase, construction phase, and evaluation phase. Data was collected through the use of science process skills (SPS) test, observation sheet on student activity, as well as tasks and rubrics for performance assessment during the instruction. Research findings show that the implementation of performance assessment in STEM education in planting media could detect students science process skills better from the observation individually compared through SPS test. It was also found that the result of performance assessment was diverse when it was correlated to each indicator of SPS (strong and positive; weak and positive).

Designing Worked Examples in Statics to Promote an Expert Stance: Working THRU vs. Working OUT

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calfee, Robert; Stahovich, Thomas

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the performance patterns of freshman engineering students as they completed a tutorial on freebody problems that employed a computer-based pen (CBP) to provide feedback and direct learning. A secondary analysis was conducted on detailed performance data for 16 participants from a freshman Engineering course…

Engine Tune-up Service. Unit 2: Charging System. Review Exercise Book. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Roger L.; Bacon, E. Miles

This book of pretests and review exercises is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 2, Charging System, available separately as CE 031 208. Focus of the exercises and pretests is testing the charging system. Pretests and performance checklists are provided for each of the three performance objectives contained in…

Engine Tune-Up Service. Unit 3: Primary Circuit. Review Exercise Book. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacon, E. Miles

This book of pretests and review exercises is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 3, Primary Circuit, available separately as CE 031 211. Focus of the exercises and pretests is testing the primary ignition circuit. Pretests and performance checklists are provided for each of the eight performance objectives…

Gender contentedness in aspirations to become engineers or medical doctors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koul, Ravinder; Lerdpornkulrat, Thanita; Poondej, Chanut

2017-11-01

Medical doctor and engineer are highly esteemed STEM professions. This study investigates academic and motivational characteristics of a sample of high school students in Thailand who aspire to become medical doctors or engineers. We used logistic regression to compare maths performance, gender typicality, gender contentedness, and maths and physics self-concepts among students with aspirations for these two professions. We found that high levels of felt gender contentedness in men had positive association with aspirations for engineering irrespective of the levels of maths or physics self-concept. We found that high levels of felt gender contentedness combined with high levels of maths or physics self-concept in women had positive associations with aspirations to become a medical doctor. These findings are evidence that student views of self are associated with uneven gendered patterns in career aspirations and have implications for the potential for future participation.

Time Pressure in Scenario-Based Online Construction Safety Quizzes and Its Effect on Students' Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaeger, Martin; Adair, Desmond

2017-01-01

Online quizzes have been shown to be effective learning and assessment approaches. However, if scenario-based online construction safety quizzes do not include time pressure similar to real-world situations, they reflect situations too ideally. The purpose of this paper is to compare engineering students' performance when carrying out an online…

Exploration and practice for engineering innovative talents training based on project-driven

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yishen; Lv, Qingsong; Ye, Yan; Wu, Maocheng; Gu, Jihua

2017-08-01

As one of the "excellent engineer education program" of the Ministry of Education and one of the characteristic majors of Jiangsu Province, the major of optoelectronic information science and engineering in Soochow University has a long history and distinctive features. In recent years, aiming to the talents training objective of "broad foundation, practiceoriented, to be creative", education and teaching reforms have been carried out, which emphasize basis of theoretical teaching, carrier of practical training, promotion of projects and discussion, and development of second class. By optimizing the teaching contents and course system of the theoretical courses, the engineering innovative talents training mode based on the project-driven has been implemented with playing a practical training carrier role and overall managing the second class teaching for cultivating students' innovative spirit and practical ability. Meanwhile, the evaluation mechanism of the students' comprehensive performance mainly based on "scores of theory test" is being gradually changed, and the activities such as scientific research, discipline competitions and social practices are playing an increasing important role in the students' comprehensive assessment. The produced achievements show that the proposed training model based on project-driven could stimulate the students' enthusiasm and initiative to participate in research activities and promote the training of students' ability of engineering practice and consciousness of innovation.

A hypersonic research vehicle to develop scramjet engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregorek, G. M.; Reuss, R. L.

1990-01-01

Four student design teams produced conceptual designs for a research vehicle to develop the supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engines necessary for efficient hypersonic flight. This research aircraft would provide flight test data for prototype scramjets that is not available in groundbased test facilities. The design specifications call for a research aircraft to be launched from a carrier aircraft at 40,000 feet and a Mach number of 0.8. The aircraft must accelerate to Mach 6 while climbing to a 100,000 foot altitude and then ignite the experimental scramjet engines for acceleration to Mach 10. The research vehicle must then be recovered for another flight. The students responded with four different designs, two piloted waverider configurations, and two unmanned vehicles, one with a blended body-wing configuration, the other with a delta wing shape. All aircraft made use of an engine database provided by the General Electric Aircraft Engine Group; both turbofan ramjet and scramjet engine performance using liquid hydrogen fuel was available. Explained here are the students' conceptual designs and the aerodynamic and propulsion concepts that made their designs feasible.

Effects of MicroCAD on Learning Fundamental Engineering Graphical Concepts: A Qualitative Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leach, James A.; Gull, Randall L.

1990-01-01

Students' reactions and performances were examined when taught engineering geometry concepts using a standard microcomputer-aided drafting software package. Two sample groups were compared based on their computer experience. Included are the methodology, data analysis, and conclusions. (KR)

Engineering design: A cognitive process approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strimel, Greg Joseph

The intent of this dissertation was to identify the cognitive processes used by advanced pre-engineering students to solve complex engineering design problems. Students in technology and engineering education classrooms are often taught to use an ideal engineering design process that has been generated mostly by educators and curriculum developers. However, the review of literature showed that it is unclear as to how advanced pre-engineering students cognitively navigate solving a complex and multifaceted problem from beginning to end. Additionally, it was unclear how a student thinks and acts throughout their design process and how this affects the viability of their solution. Therefore, Research Objective 1 was to identify the fundamental cognitive processes students use to design, construct, and evaluate operational solutions to engineering design problems. Research Objective 2 was to determine identifiers within student cognitive processes for monitoring aptitude to successfully design, construct, and evaluate technological solutions. Lastly, Research Objective 3 was to create a conceptual technological and engineering problem-solving model integrating student cognitive processes for the improved development of problem-solving abilities. The methodology of this study included multiple forms of data collection. The participants were first given a survey to determine their prior experience with engineering and to provide a description of the subjects being studied. The participants were then presented an engineering design challenge to solve individually. While they completed the challenge, the participants verbalized their thoughts using an established "think aloud" method. These verbalizations were captured along with participant observational recordings using point-of-view camera technology. Additionally, the participant design journals, design artifacts, solution effectiveness data, and teacher evaluations were collected for analysis to help achieve the research objectives of this study. Two independent coders then coded the video/audio recordings and the additional design data using Halfin's (1973) 17 mental processes for technological problem-solving. The results of this study indicated that the participants employed a wide array of mental processes when solving engineering design challenges. However, the findings provide a general analysis of the number of times participants employed each mental process, as well as the amount of time consumed employing the various mental processes through the different stages of the engineering design process. The results indicated many similarities between the students solving the problem, which may highlight voids in current technology and engineering education curricula. Additionally, the findings showed differences between the processes employed by participants that created the most successful solutions and the participants who developed the least effective solutions. Upon comparing and contrasting these processes, recommendations for instructional strategies to enhance a student's capability for solving engineering design problems were developed. The results also indicated that students, when left without teacher intervention, use a simplified and more natural process to solve design challenges than the 12-step engineering design process reported in much of the literature. Lastly, these data indicated that students followed two different approaches to solving the design problem. Some students employed a sequential and logical approach, while others employed a nebulous, solution centered trial-and-error approach to solving the problem. In this study the participants who were more sequential had better performing solutions. Examining these two approaches and the student cognition data enabled the researcher to generate a conceptual engineering design model for the improved teaching and development of engineering design problem solving.

Teaching habitat and animal classification to fourth graders using an engineering-design model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marulcu, Ismail

2014-05-01

Background: The motivation for this work is built upon the premise that there is a need for research-based materials for design-based science instruction. In this paper, a small portion of our work investigating the impact of a LEGOTM engineering unit on fourth grade students' preconceptions and understanding of animals is presented. Purpose: The driving questions for our work are: (1) What is the impact of an engineering-design-based curricular module on students' understanding of habitat and animal classification? (2) What are students' misconceptions regarding animal classification and habitat? Sample: The study was conducted in an inner-city K-8 school in the northeastern region of the United States. There were two fourth grade classrooms in the school. The first classroom included seven girls and nine boys, whereas the other classroom included eight girls and eight boys. All fourth grade students participated in the study. Design and methods: In answering the research questions mixed-method approaches are used. Data collection methods included pre- and post-tests, pre- and post-interviews, student journals, and classroom observations. Identical pre- and post-tests were administered to measure students' understanding of animals. They included four multiple-choice and six open-ended questions. Identical pre- and post-interviews were administered to explore students' in-depth understanding of animals. Results: Our results show that students significantly increased their performance after instruction on both the multiple-choice questions (t = -3.586, p = .001) and the open-ended questions (t = -5.04, p = .000). They performed better on the post interviews as well. Also, it is found that design-based instruction helped students comprehend core concepts of a life science subject, animals. Conclusions: Based on these results, the main argument of the study is that engineering design is a useful framework for teaching not only physical science-related subjects, but also life science subjects in elementary science classrooms.

A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of Latina Engineering Students at a Community College: Intersection of Race, Gender, and Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melendez, Marnie

The United States Science, Technology, and Engineering and Math (STEM) workforce is vital to this country's economic development interests, and its ability to compete effectively in the global market. One of the greatest challenges facing that industry in the US is the current and projected shortage of engineers serving the STEM industry. Policymakers, educators, and industry leaders in the US are concerned that if the noted challenge is not addressed, the projected shortage particularly in the engineering sector, will have a significant negative impact on the economic well-being of the U.S. (Hagedorn & Purnamasari, 2012). Research supports the need to widen the net when seeking out potential STEM students, and experts have pointed to increasing recruitment of women and underrepresented students into the STEM majors and fields. This study sought a deeper understanding of the lived experience of Latinas pursuing an engineering major at a California community college. Having the Latin engineering students describe in their own words what it is like to be women of color pursuing an engineering degree at a community college made their struggle real. It helped to explore new strategies and provoke change in policies to increase student success rates for Latinas in the STEM fields specifically in engineering. To attract and retain women of color (e.g., Latinas) in STEM programs, the effort must start where many of them typically begin their higher education, in the community college system. The researcher is also recommending that educators concerned with increasing retention, persistence, and academic performance, also examine and promote practices that serve to enhance the sense of belonging among all students, especially students of color. Furthermore, this research recommends that school administrators within the community college system should reaffirm their stated mission to eradicate racial and gender discrimination within the classroom and throughout the campus. Essentially, this stresses that college administration can play a huge role in enhancing the student success of historically disadvantaged students, including women of color pursuing or aspiring to pursue a degree within the STEM field.

The Effects of Professors' Race and Gender on Student Evaluations and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basow, Susan A.; Codos, Stephanie; Martin, Julie L.

2013-01-01

This experimental study examined the effects of professor gender, professor race, and student gender on student ratings of teaching effectiveness and amount learned. After watching a three-minute engineering lecture presented by a computer-animated professor who varied by gender and race (African American, White), female and male undergraduates…

The Use of Enhanced Guided Notes in an Electric Circuit Class: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawanto, O.

2012-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate students' (n=70) learning performance after their participation in lectures using enhanced guided notes (EGN) in an electric circuits course for non-electrical engineering students. Unlike traditional guided notes, EGN include questions that prompt students to evaluate their metacognitive knowledge. The results…

The Importance of Faculty-Student Connections in STEM Disciplines: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christe, Barbara

2013-01-01

Despite an alarm raised by Seymour and Hewitt (1997) describing science, engineering and mathematics programs as chilly and unwelcoming, students continue to report significant feelings of hostility and a lack of caring when characterizing the professor-student relationship. The negative feelings correlate with poor course performance, lower grade…

Virtual Reality in Engineering Education: A CIM Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erenay, Ozan; Hashemipour, Majid

2003-01-01

Instructors in technical schools, polytechnics, and universities of technology must continually help students find the links between theory and practice. Students often don't recognize the links among the various subjects they study, or the links among the various tasks they perform as they study. It is well known that students learn best by…

Tuning In to Dropping Out

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabarrok, Alex

2012-01-01

Over the past 25 years, the total number of students in college has increased by about 50 percent. But the number of students graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects has remained more or less constant. In 2009 the United States graduated 89,140 students in the visual and performing arts, more…

Factors Affecting the Performance of Students in University Remedial Mathematics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aoude, Solange G.

2013-01-01

The importance of mathematics is growing in all scientific and technological fields. Lebanese universities, in particular Notre Dame University-Louaize, require students to take a pool of mathematics courses in their scientific and engineering programs. Based on their scores on the university entrance exam, students accepted to the university…

The Case for Biocalculus: Design, Retention, and Student Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eaton, Carrie Diaz; Highlander, Hannah Callender

2017-01-01

Calculus is one of the primary avenues for initial quantitative training of students in all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, but life science students have been found to underperform in the traditional calculus setting. As a result, and because of perceived lack of its contribution to the understanding of biology, calculus…

Improving Students with Rubric-Based Self-Assessment and Oral Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barney, S.; Khurum, M.; Petersen, K.; Unterkalmsteiner, M.; Jabangwe, R.

2012-01-01

Rubrics and oral feedback are approaches to help students improve performance and meet learning outcomes. However, their effect on the actual improvement achieved is inconclusive. This paper evaluates the effect of rubrics and oral feedback on student learning outcomes. An experiment was conducted in a software engineering course on requirements…

Stemming on STEM: A STEM Education Framework for Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Jiwon; Taylor, Jonte C.

2016-01-01

There has been increased attention paid to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics also known as STEM. The focus on STEM has been both educational and occupational. Unfortunately, students with disabilities perform below their peers without disabilities in math and science. The authors discuss issues related to STEM and students with…

The Effects of Motivation on Student Performance on Science Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glenn, Tina Heard

2013-01-01

Academic achievement of public school students in the United States has significantly fallen behind other countries. Students' lack of knowledge of, or interest in, basic science and math has led to fewer graduates of science, technology, engineering, and math-related fields (STEM), a factor that may affect their career success and will certainly…

Performance, throughput, and cost of in-home training for the Army Reserve: Using asynchronous computer conferencing as an alternative to resident training

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hahn, H.A.; Ashworth, R.L. Jr.; Phelps, R.H.

1990-01-01

Asynchronous computer conferencing (ACC) was investigated as an alternative to resident training for the Army Reserve Component (RC). Specifically, the goals were to (1) evaluate the performance and throughput of ACC as compared with traditional Resident School instruction and (2) determine the cost-effectiveness of developing and implementing ACC. Fourteen RC students took a module of the Army Engineer Officer Advanced Course (EOAC) via ACC. Course topics included Army doctrine, technical engineering subjects, leadership, and presentation skills. Resident content was adapted for presentation via ACC. The programs of instruction for ACC and the equivalent resident course were identical; only the mediamore » used for presentation were changed. Performance on tests, homework, and practical exercises; self-assessments of learning; throughput; and cost data wee the measures of interest. Comparison data were collected on RC students taking the course in residence. Results indicated that there were no performance differences between the two groups. Students taking the course via ACC perceived greater learning benefit than did students taking the course in residence. Resident throughput was superior to ACC throughput, both in terms of numbers of students completing and time to complete the course. In spite of this fact, however, ACC was more cost-effective than resident training.« less

Engine Tune-Up Service. Unit 1: Battery and Cranking System. Review Exercise Book. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodson-Roberts, Ludy; And Others

This book of pretests and review exercises is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 1, Battery and Cranking System. Focus of the exercises and pretests is testing the battery and cranking system. Pretests and performance checklists are provided for each of the four performance objectives contained in the unit.…

Field Training Activities for Hydrologic Science in West Java, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agustina, C.; Fajri, P. N.; Fathoni, F.; Gusti, T. P.; Harifa, A. C.; Hendra, Y.; Hertanti, D. R.; Lusiana, N.; Rohmat, F. I.; Agouridis, C.; Fryar, A. E.; Milewski, A.; Pandjaitan, N.; Santoso, R.; Suharyanto, A.

2013-12-01

In hydrologic science and engineering, one challenge is establishing a common framework for discussion among workers from different disciplines. As part of the 'Building Opportunity Out of Science and Technology: Helping Hydrologic Outreach (BOOST H2O)' project, which is supported by the U.S. Department of State, nine current or recent graduate students from four Indonesian universities participated in a week of training activities during June 2013. Students had backgrounds in agricultural engineering, civil and environmental engineering, water resources engineering, natural resources management, and soil science. Professors leading the training, which was based at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in west Java, included an agricultural engineer, civil engineers, and geologists. Activities in surface-water hydrology included geomorphic assessment of streams (measuring slope, cross-section, and bed-clast size) and gauging stream flow (wading with top-setting rods and a current meter for a large stream, and using a bucket and stopwatch for a small stream). Groundwater-hydrology activities included measuring depth to water in wells, conducting a pumping test with an observation well, and performing vertical electrical soundings to infer hydrostratigraphy. Students also performed relatively simple water-quality measurements (temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, and alkalinity) in streams, wells, and springs. The group analyzed data with commercially-available software such as AQTESOLV for well hydraulics, freeware such as the U.S. Geological Survey alkalinity calculator, and Excel spreadsheets. Results were discussed in the context of landscape position, lithology, and land use.

Women, Men, and Academic Performance in Science and Engineering: The Gender Difference in Undergraduate Grade Point Averages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sonnert, Gerhard; Fox, Mary Frank

2012-01-01

Using longitudinal and multi-institutional data, this article takes an innovative approach in its analyses of gender differences in grade point averages (GPA) among undergraduate students in biology, the physical sciences, and engineering over a 16-year period. Assessed are hypotheses about (a) the gender ecology of science/engineering and (b) the…

The Impact of Taking a College Pre-Calculus Course on Students' College Calculus Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sonnert, Gerhard; Sadler, Philip M.

2014-01-01

Poor performance on placement exams keeps many US students who pursue a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) career from enrolling directly in college calculus. Instead, they must take a pre-calculus course that aims to better prepare them for later calculus coursework. In the USA, enrollment in pre-calculus courses in two- and…

Integrating design and communication in engineering education: a collaboration between Northwestern University and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

PubMed

Hirsch, Penny L; Yarnoff, Charles

2011-01-01

The required course for freshmen in Northwestern University's engineering school - a 2-quarter sequence called Engineering Design and Communication (EDC) - is noteworthy not only for its project-based focus on user-centered design, but also for its innovative integrated approach to teaching communication, teamwork, and ethics. Thanks to the collaboration between EDC faculty and staff at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, EDC students, at the beginning of their education, experience the excitement of solving problems for real clients and users. At the same time, these authentic design projects offer an ideal setting for teaching students how to communicate effectively to different audiences and perform productively as team members and future leaders in engineering.

Bringing Art, Music, Theater and Dance Students into Earth and Space Science Research Labs: A New Art Prize Science and Engineering Artists-in-Residence Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moldwin, M.; Mexicotte, D.

2017-12-01

A new Arts/Lab Student Residence program was developed at the University of Michigan that brings artists into a research lab. Science and Engineering undergraduate and graduate students working in the lab describe their research and allow the artists to shadow them to learn more about the work. The Arts/Lab Student Residencies are designed to be unique and fun, while encouraging interdisciplinary learning and creative production by exposing students to life and work in an alternate discipline's maker space - i.e. the artist in the engineering lab, the engineer in the artist's studio or performance space. Each residency comes with a cash prize and the expectation that a work of some kind will be produced as a response to experience. The Moldwin Prize is designed for an undergraduate student currently enrolled in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, the Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning or the School of Music, Theatre and Dance who is interested in exchange and collaboration with students engaged in research practice in an engineering lab. No previous science or engineering experience is required, although curiosity and a willingness to explore are essential! Students receiving the residency spend 20 hours over 8 weeks (February-April) participating with the undergraduate research team in the lab of Professor Mark Moldwin, which is currently doing work in the areas of space weather (how the Sun influences the space environment of Earth and society) and magnetic sensor development. The resident student artist will gain a greater understanding of research methodologies in the space and climate fields, data visualization and communication techniques, and how the collision of disciplinary knowledge in the arts, engineering and sciences deepens the creative practice and production of each discipline. The student is expected to produce a final work of some kind within their discipline that reflects, builds on, explores, integrates or traces their experience in the residency. This talk will describe the program, the inaugural year's outcomes, and plans to expand the program to other research labs.

The use of physical and virtual manipulatives in an undergraduate mechanical engineering (Dynamics) course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Edward A.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is a national focus. Engineering education, as part of STEM education, needs to adapt to meet the needs of the nation in a rapidly changing world. Using computer-based visualization tools and corresponding 3D printed physical objects may help nontraditional students succeed in engineering classes. This dissertation investigated how adding physical or virtual learning objects (called manipulatives) to courses that require mental visualization of mechanical systems can aid student performance. Dynamics is one such course, and tends to be taught using lecture and textbooks with static diagrams of moving systems. Students often fail to solve the problems correctly and an inability to mentally visualize the system can contribute to student difficulties. This study found no differences between treatment groups on quantitative measures of spatial ability and conceptual knowledge. There were differences between treatments on measures of mechanical reasoning ability, in favor of the use of physical and virtual manipulatives over static diagrams alone. There were no major differences in student performance between the use of physical and virtual manipulatives. Students used the physical and virtual manipulatives to test their theories about how the machines worked, however their actual time handling the manipulatives was extremely limited relative to the amount of time they spent working on the problems. Students used the physical and virtual manipulatives as visual aids when communicating about the problem with their partners, and this behavior was also seen with Traditional group students who had to use the static diagrams and gesture instead. The explanations students gave for how the machines worked provided evidence of mental simulation; however, their causal chain analyses were often flawed, probably due to attempts to decrease cognitive load. Student opinions about the static diagrams and dynamic models varied by type of model (static, physical, virtual), but were generally favorable. The Traditional group students, however, indicated that the lack of adequate representation of motion in the static diagrams was a problem, and wished they had access to the physical and virtual models.

Engineer Equipment Chief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, deals with the skills needed by engineer equipment chiefs. Addressed in the five individual units of the course are the following topics: construction management (planning, scheduling, and supervision);…

Comprehensive Small Engine Repair.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hires, Bill; And Others

This curriculum guide contains the basic information needed to repair all two- and four-stroke cycle engines. The curriculum covers four areas, each consisting of one or more units of instruction that include performance objectives, suggested activities for teacher and students, information sheets, assignment sheets, job sheets, visual aids,…

Paper Genetic Engineering.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacClintic, Scott D.; Nelson, Genevieve M.

Bacterial transformation is a commonly used technique in genetic engineering that involves transferring a gene of interest into a bacterial host so that the bacteria can be used to produce large quantities of the gene product. Although several kits are available for performing bacterial transformation in the classroom, students do not always…

49 CFR 240.123 - Criteria for initial and continuing education.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... that each engineer maintains the necessary knowledge, skill and ability concerning personal safety... both knowledge and performance skill testing; (3) Is conducted under the supervision of a qualified... whenever possible; (ii) Place the student engineer at the controls of a locomotive for a significant...

Engineering the future with America's high school students

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrance, M. A.; Jenner, J. W.

1993-01-01

The number of students enrolled in engineering is declining while the need for engineers is increasing. One contributing factor is that most high school students have little or no knowledge about what engineering is, or what engineers do. To teach young students about engineering, engineers need good tools. This paper presents a course of study developed and used by the authors in a junior college course for high school students. Students learned about engineering through independent student projects, in-class problem solving, and use of career information resources. Selected activities from the course can be adapted to teach students about engineering in other settings. Among the most successful techniques were the student research paper assignments, working out a solution to an engineering problem as a class exercise, and the use of technical materials to illustrate engineering concepts and demonstrate 'tools of the trade'.

First-Year Engineering Students' Portrayal of Engineering in a Proposed Museum Exhibit for Middle School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mena, Irene B.; Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.

2012-04-01

Students' perceptions of engineering have been documented through studies involving interviews, surveys, and word associations that take a direct approach to asking students about various aspects of their understanding of engineering. Research on perceptions of engineering rarely focuses on how students would portray engineering to others. First-year engineering student teams proposed a museum exhibit, targeted to middle school students, to explore the question "What is engineering?" The proposals took the form of a poster. The overarching research question focuses on how these students would portray engineering to middle school students as seen through their museum exhibit proposals. A preliminary analysis was done on 357 posters to determine the overall engineering themes for the proposed museum exhibits. Forty of these posters were selected and, using open coding, more thoroughly analyzed to learn what artifacts/objects, concepts, and skills student teams associate with engineering. These posters were also analyzed to determine if there were any differences by gender composition of the student teams. Building, designing, and teamwork are skills the first-year engineering students link to engineering. Regarding artifacts, students mentioned those related to transportation and structures most often. All-male teams were more likely to focus on the idea of space and to mention teamwork and designing as engineering skills; equal-gender teams were more likely to focus on the multidisciplinary aspect of engineering. This analysis of student teams' proposals provides baseline data, positioning instructors to develop and assess instructional interventions that stretch students' self-exploration of engineering.

The Effect of Student Collaboration in Solving Physics Problems Using an Online Interactive Response System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balta, Nuri; Awedh, Mohammad Hamza

2017-01-01

Advanced technology helps educational institutes to improve student learning performance and outcomes. In this study, our aim is to measure and assess student engagement and collaborative learning in engineering classes when using online technology in solving physics problems. The interactive response system used in this study is a collaborative…

Two-Year Community: Increasing Science Knowledge among High-Risk Student Populations through a Community College Honors/Service-Learning Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellerton, Sharon; Carmona, Naydu; Tsimounis, Areti

2016-01-01

There is an urgent need to increase K-12 science knowledge and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) preparedness for college. State and national data suggest a strong correlation between student performance in STEM subjects and student socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity. Queensborough Community College (QCC) is situated…

Ninth Grade Student Responses to Authentic Science Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellison, Michael Steven

This mixed methods case study documents an effort to implement authentic science and engineering instruction in one teacher's ninth grade science classrooms in a science-focused public school. The research framework and methodology is a derivative of work developed and reported by Newmann and others (Newmann & Associates, 1996). Based on a working definition of authenticity, data were collected for eight months on the authenticity in the experienced teacher's pedagogy and in student performance. Authenticity was defined as the degree to which a classroom lesson, an assessment task, or an example of student performance demonstrates construction of knowledge through use of the meaning-making processes of science and engineering, and has some value to students beyond demonstrating success in school (Wehlage et al., 1996). Instruments adapted for this study produced a rich description of the authenticity of the teacher's instruction and student performance. The pedagogical practices of the classroom teacher were measured as moderately authentic on average. However, the authenticity model revealed the teacher's strategy of interspersing relatively low authenticity instructional units focused on building science knowledge with much higher authenticity tasks requiring students to apply these concepts and skills. The authenticity of the construction of knowledge and science meaning-making processes components of authentic pedagogy were found to be greater, than the authenticity of affordances for students to find value in classroom activities beyond demonstrating success in school. Instruction frequently included one aspect of value beyond school, connections to the world outside the classroom, but students were infrequently afforded the opportunity to present their classwork to audiences beyond the teacher. When the science instruction in the case was measured to afford a greater level of authentic intellectual work, a higher level of authentic student performance on science classwork was also measured. In addition, direct observation measures of student behavioral engagement showed that behavioral engagement was generally high, but not associated with the authenticity of the pedagogy. Direct observation measures of student self-regulation found evidence that when instruction focused on core science and engineering concepts and made stronger connections to the student's world beyond the classroom, student self-regulated learning was greater, and included evidence of student ownership. In light of the alignment between the model of authenticity used in this study and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the results suggest that further research on the value beyond school component of the model could improve understanding of student engagement and performance in response to the implementation of the NGSS. In particular, it suggests a unique role environmental education can play in affording student success in K-12 science and a tool to measure that role.

Teaching bioprocess engineering to undergraduates: Multidisciplinary hands-on training in a one-week practical course.

PubMed

Henkel, Marius; Zwick, Michaela; Beuker, Janina; Willenbacher, Judit; Baumann, Sandra; Oswald, Florian; Neumann, Anke; Siemann-Herzberg, Martin; Syldatk, Christoph; Hausmann, Rudolf

2015-01-01

Bioprocess engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field of study which is strongly benefited by practical courses where students can actively experience the interconnection between biology, engineering, and physical sciences. This work describes a lab course developed for 2nd year undergraduate students of bioprocess engineering and related disciplines, where students are challenged with a real-life bioprocess-engineering application, the production of recombinant protein in a fed-batch process. The lab course was designed to introduce students to the subject of operating and supervising an experiment in a bioreactor, along with the analysis of collected data and a final critical evaluation of the experiment. To provide visual feedback of the experimental outcome, the organism used during class was Escherichia coli which carried a plasmid to recombinantly produce enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) upon induction. This can easily be visualized in both the bioreactor and samples by using ultraviolet light. The lab course is performed with bioreactors of the simplest design, and is therefore highly flexible, robust and easy to reproduce. As part of this work the implementation and framework, the results, the evaluation and assessment of student learning combined with opinion surveys are presented, which provides a basis for instructors intending to implement a similar lab course at their respective institution. © 2015 by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Using Collaborative Engineering to Inform Collaboration Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, Lynne P.

2012-01-01

Collaboration is a critical competency for modern organizations as they struggle to compete in an increasingly complex, global environment. A large body of research on collaboration in the workplace focuses both on teams, investigating how groups use teamwork to perform their task work, and on the use of information systems to support team processes ("collaboration engineering"). This research essay presents collaboration from an engineering perspective ("collaborative engineering"). It uses examples from professional and student engineering teams to illustrate key differences in collaborative versus collaboration engineering and investigates how challenges in the former can inform opportunities for the latter.

EGADS: A microcomputer program for estimating the aerodynamic performance of general aviation aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melton, John E.

1994-01-01

EGADS is a comprehensive preliminary design tool for estimating the performance of light, single-engine general aviation aircraft. The software runs on the Apple Macintosh series of personal computers and assists amateur designers and aeronautical engineering students in performing the many repetitive calculations required in the aircraft design process. The program makes full use of the mouse and standard Macintosh interface techniques to simplify the input of various design parameters. Extensive graphics, plotting, and text output capabilities are also included.

The impact of taking a college pre-calculus course on students' college calculus performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sonnert, Gerhard; Sadler, Philip M.

2014-11-01

Poor performance on placement exams keeps many US students who pursue a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) career from enrolling directly in college calculus. Instead, they must take a pre-calculus course that aims to better prepare them for later calculus coursework. In the USA, enrollment in pre-calculus courses in two- and four-year colleges continues to grow, and these courses are well-populated with students who already took pre-calculus in high school. We examine student performance in college calculus, using regression discontinuity to estimate the effects of taking college pre-calculus or not, in a national US sample of 5507 students at 132 institutions. We find that students who take college pre-calculus do not earn higher calculus grades.

Interacting with sexist men triggers social identity threat among female engineers.

PubMed

Logel, Christine; Walton, Gregory M; Spencer, Steven J; Iserman, Emma C; von Hippel, William; Bell, Amy E

2009-06-01

Social identity threat is the notion that one of a person's many social identities may be at risk of being devalued in a particular context (C. M. Steele, S. J. Spencer, & J. Aronson, 2002). The authors suggest that in domains in which women are already negatively stereotyped, interacting with a sexist man can trigger social identity threat, undermining women's performance. In Study 1, male engineering students who scored highly on a subtle measure of sexism behaved in a dominant and sexually interested way toward an ostensible female classmate. In Studies 2 and 3, female engineering students who interacted with such sexist men, or with confederates trained to behave in the same way, performed worse on an engineering test than did women who interacted with nonsexist men. Study 4 replicated this finding and showed that women's underperformance did not extend to an English test, an area in which women are not negatively stereotyped. Study 5 showed that interacting with sexist men leads women to suppress concerns about gender stereotypes, an established mechanism of stereotype threat. Discussion addresses implications for social identity threat and for women's performance in school and at work.

Fundamentals of Diesel Engines.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, deals with the fundamentals of diesel engine mechanics. Addressed in the three individual units of the course are the following topics: basic principles of diesel mechanics; principles, mechanics, and…

Undergraduate Astronautics at the United States Naval Academy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagaria, William J.

1991-01-01

The aerospace engineering curriculum at the U.S. Naval Academy which includes an astronautical and an aeronautical track is described. The objective of the program is to give students the necessary astronautical engineering background to perform a preliminary spacecraft design during the last semester of the program. (KR)

Engineer Equipment Operator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, deals with the skills needed by engineer equipment operators. Addressed in the seven individual units of the course are the following topics: introduction to Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) 1345…

Professional Competence Development at the Cooper Union School of Engineering. Project Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bussard, Ellen

A 3-year project was developed to increase students' abilities to perform competently as professional engineers. The project sought to infuse into existing courses concern for, practice with, and development of three competencies critical to professional success: problem-solving, communication, and value clarification. Eight elementary and…

Gender Disparities in Science and Engineering in Chinese Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Congbin; Tsang, Mun C.; Ding, Xiaohao

2010-01-01

Gender disparities in science and engineering majors in Chinese universities have received increasing attention from researchers and educators in China in recent years. Using data from a national survey of college students who graduated in 2005, this study documents gender disparities in enrollment and academic performance in science and…

Basic Engineer Equipment Mechanic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, deals with the skills needed by basic engineer equipment mechanics. Addressed in the four individual units of the course are the following topics: mechanics and their tools (mechanics, hand tools, and power…

Project Lead the Ways' Long-Term Effects on Post-Secondary Engineering Academic Success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zion, George H.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between students' high school Project Lead They Way participation and their subsequent academic success in post-secondary engineering studies and to assess to what degree, if any, their level of Project Lead The Way (PLTW) participation, gender, and AALANA status (African American, Latino/a American and Native American) effected this success. PLTW is the nation's single largest provider of pre-engineering curriculums, the subject of this research study, currently being offered in over 3,200 secondary schools nationwide. Despite this level of integration, the amount of research on PLTW's effectiveness has been very limited. To date, the majority of the literature on PLTW has examined its impact on students' high school academic performance or their desire to further their engineering studies. The findings from these studies have been overwhelmingly positive, indicating that PLTW students often had greater achievements in math and science and either plan to, or have actually enrolled, in post-secondary studies at higher rates. Nevertheless, the amount of literature on PLTW's effects on students' academic success in post-secondary engineering studies is very limited. Furthermore, no research has yet to examine for the moderating effects of gender, ethnicity, or level of PLTW participation on students' post-secondary academics success. The population of interest for this research study was 1,478 students who entered an undergraduate engineering program from 2007 to 2009 at a privately endowed, co-educational university located in the northeastern United States. The findings of this research study were that virtually all the effects of PLTW participation, gender, and AALANA status had on academic success were observed during students' freshmen and sophomore years. These effects were positive for PLTW participation, and adverse for female and AALANA students. Additionally, PLTW participation, gender, and AALANA status only explained a small amount of the variance for each of the academic success metrics. These conclusions suggest that future research on PLTW should focus on the first and second year of study and expand the factors examined, both quantitative and qualitative, to gain a greater understanding of the complex factors that influence students' initial academic success in post-secondary engineering studies.

Freshman-year experiences for African-American students in engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapple, Bernadette Maria

1998-12-01

The purpose of this study was to discover (a) why African American students choose to persist as an engineering major and (b) why students choose to leave engineering as a major. A total of 17 students from a large land-grant university participated in this study that was both quantitative and qualitative in design. This research will assist both the College of Engineering and the University in understanding the educational experiences of the matriculating African American pre-engineering student. In an effort to provide reasons and rationale for why African American engineering students choose to stay in this major and why other African American engineering student majors choose to leave, the researcher examined an undergraduate engineering program at a large land-grant institution in the South. The College of Engineering at this institution was able to institute several programs designed to increase the number of African American students choosing engineering as a major. Although initiatives for pre-collegiate students are important in the retention of African American students, it is the retention of those students once accepted into a program of study that the institution focuses on most. It is the intent of this study to offer a better understanding of such a retention initiative. Due to the decline of African American students pursuing majors in science and mathematics in general and in engineering in particular, an important research concern is to offer more insight into the experiences of the freshman engineering student in an attempt to develop fundamental reasons for why students remain in engineering and why some students leave. To assist the College of Engineering and the University in understanding the educational experiences of the matriculating African American pre-engineering student the data were collected from both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Results indicated that (a) students who chose to persist in the engineering program where highly committed and motivated to achieve their educational goals and (b) students who decided to switch out of the engineering curriculum simply felt unprepared for the demands of the engineering curriculum and, upon further exploration of the curriculum, discovered that engineering was not the career they initially desired.

Performance in College Chemistry: a Statistical Comparison Using Gender and Jungian Personality Type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greene, Susan V.; Wheeler, Henry R.; Riley, Wayne D.

This study sorted college introductory chemistry students by gender and Jungian personality type. It recognized differences from the general population distribution and statistically compared the students' grades with their Jungian personality types. Data from 577 female students indicated that ESFP (extroverted, sensory, feeling, perceiving) and ENFP (extroverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving) profiles performed poorly at statistically significant levels when compared with the distribution of females enrolled in introductory chemistry. The comparable analysis using data from 422 male students indicated that the poorly performing male profiles were ISTP (introverted, sensory, thinking, perceiving) and ESTP (extroverted, sensory, thinking, perceiving). ESTJ (extroverted, sensory, thinking, judging) female students withdrew from the course at a statistically significant level. For both genders, INTJ (introverted, intuitive, thinking, judging) students were the best performers. By examining the documented characteristics of Jungian profiles that correspond with poorly performing students in chemistry, one may more effectively assist the learning process and the retention of these individuals in the fields of natural science, engineering, and technology.

First-Year Engineering Students' Portrayal of Engineering in a Proposed Museum Exhibit for Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mena, Irene B.; Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.

2012-01-01

Students' perceptions of engineering have been documented through studies involving interviews, surveys, and word associations that take a direct approach to asking students about various aspects of their understanding of engineering. Research on perceptions of engineering rarely focuses on how students would portray engineering to others.…

Educating Tomorrow's Aerrospace Engineers by Developing and Launching Liquid-Propelled Rockets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besnard, Eric; Garvey, John; Holleman, Tom; Mueller, Tom

2002-01-01

conducted at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), in which engineering students develop and launch liquid propelled rockets. The program is articulated around two main activities, each with specific objectives. The first component of CALVEIN is a systems integration laboratory where students develop/improve vehicle subsystems and integrate them into a vehicle (Prospector-2 - P-2 - for the 2001-02 academic year - AY). This component has three main objectives: (1) Develop hands- on skills for incoming students and expose them to aerospace hardware; (2) allow for upper division students who have been involved in the program to mentor incoming students and manage small teams; and (3) provide students from various disciplines within the College of Engineering - and other universities - with the chance to develop/improve subsystems on the vehicle. Among recent student projects conducted as part of this component are: a new 1000 lbf thrust engine using pintle injector technology, which was successfully tested on Dec. 1, 2001 and flown on Prospector-2 in Feb. 2002 (developed by CSULB Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering students); a digital flight telemetry package (developed by CSULB Electrical Engineering students); a new recovery system where a mechanical system replaces pyrotechnics for parachute release (developed by CSULB Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering students); and a 1-ft payload bay to accommodate experimental payloads (e.g. "CANSATS" developed by Stanford University students). The second component of CALVEIN is a formal Aerospace System Design curriculum. In the first-semester, from top-level system requirements, the students perform functional analysis, define the various subsystems and derive their requirements. These are presented at the Systems Functional and Requirement Reviews (SFR &SRR). The methods used for validation and verification are determined. Specifications and Interface Control Documents (ICD) are generated by the student team(s). Trade studies are identified and conducted, leading to a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) at the end of the first semester. A detailed design follows, culminating in a Critical Design Review (CDR), etc. A general process suitable for a two-semester course sequence will be outlined. The project is conducted in an Integrated Product Team (IPT) environment, which includes a project manager, a systems engineer, and the various disciplines needed for the project (propulsion, aerodynamics, structures and materials, mass, CAD, thermal, fluids, etc.). Each student works with a Faculty member or industry advisor who is a specialist in his/her area. This design curriculum enhances the education of the graduates and provides future employers with engineers cognizant of and experienced in the application of Systems Engineering to a full-scale project over the entire product development cycle. For the AY01-02, the curriculum is being applied to the development of a gimbaled aerospike engine and its integration into P-3, scheduled to fly in May 2002. The paper ends with a summary of "lessons learned" from this experience. Budget issues are also addressed to demonstrate the ability to replicate such projects at other institutions with minimal costs, provided that it can be taken advantages of possible synergies between existing programs, in-house resources, and cooperation with other institutions or organizations.

Evolving social responsibility understandings, motivations, and career goals of undergraduate students initially pursuing engineering degrees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rulifson, Gregory A.

Engineers impact the lives of every person every day, and need to have a strong sense of social responsibility. Understanding what students think about social responsibility in engineering and their futures is very important. Further, by identifying influences that change these ideas and shape their conceptualizations, we can intervene to help prepare students for their responsibilities as part of the profession in the future. This thesis presents the experiences, in their own words, of 34 students who started in engineering. The study is composed of three parts: (i) engineering students' ideas about socially responsible engineering and what influenced these ideas, (ii) how students see themselves as future socially responsible engineers and how this idea changes over their first three years of college, and (iii) what social responsibility-related reasons students who leave engineering have for choosing a new major. Results show that students are complicated and have varied paths through and out of engineering studies. Students came up with their own ideas about socially responsible engineering that converged over the years on legal and safety related aspects of the profession. Relatedly, students identified with the engineering profession through internships and engineering courses, and rarely described socially responsible aspirations that could be accomplished with engineering. More often, those students who desired to help the disadvantaged through their engineering work left engineering. Their choice to leave was a combination of an unsupportive climate, disinterest in their classes, and a desire to combine their personal and professional social responsibility ambitions. If we want engineering students to push the engineering profession forward to be more socially responsible, we can identify the effective influences and develop a curriculum that encourages critical thinking about the social context and impacts of engineering. Additionally, a social responsibility-related curriculum could provide more opportunities for engagement that keeps those socially-motivated students in engineering. The engineering profession must also reflect these values to keep the new engineers working towards social responsibility and pushing the profession forward.

Instructional Design to Develop Communication Ability for Students in the Electrical Engineering Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakano, Mika; Takahara, Kenji; Kajiwara, Toshinori

This paper describes the instructional design to develop communication ability for students in the electrical engineering majors. It is based on the case of Fukuoka Institute of Technology which started new courses for communication skills in 2007. A series of communication education from the freshman year to the third grade is systematized, considering the developmental process of students' argumentation. In the classes, students continually learn dialogue and cooperation through various styles of discussion, debate, presentation and so on. The first introductory class of all is “Communication Theory I”, which is aimed at developing self-awareness and improving discussion skills for interpersonal relationship. In this course, students acquire skills to construct their arguments about the given issues and to evaluate others' presentation performances each other. To cultivate students' communication ability, education should not be closed in a class, but support system from departmental level is essential.

GiveMe Shelter: a people-centred design process for promoting independent inquiry-led learning in engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyer, Mark; Grey, Thomas; Kinnane, Oliver

2017-11-01

It has become increasingly common for tasks traditionally carried out by engineers to be undertaken by technicians and technologist with access to sophisticated computers and software that can often perform complex calculations that were previously the responsibility of engineers. Not surprisingly, this development raises serious questions about the future role of engineers and the education needed to address these changes in technology as well as emerging priorities from societal to environmental challenges. In response to these challenges, a new design module was created for undergraduate engineering students to design and build temporary shelters for a wide variety of end users from refugees, to the homeless and children. Even though the module provided guidance on principles of design thinking and methods for observing users needs through field studies, the students found it difficult to respond to needs of specific end users but instead focused more on purely technical issues.

Using interactive online role-playing simulations to develop global competency and to prepare engineering students for a globalised world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

May, Dominik; Wold, Kari; Moore, Stephanie

2015-09-01

The world is changing significantly, and it is becoming increasingly globalised. This means that countries, businesses, and professionals must think and act globally to be successful. Many individuals, however, are not prepared with the global competency skills needed to communicate and perform effectively in a globalised system. To address this need, higher education institutions are looking for ways to instil these skills in their students. This paper explains one promising approach using current learning principles: transnational interactive online environments in engineering education. In 2011, the TU Dortmund and the University of Virginia initiated a collaboration in which engineering students from both universities took part in one online synchronous course and worked together on global topics. This paper describes how the course was designed and discusses specific research results regarding how interactive online role-playing simulations support students in gaining the global competency skills required to actively participate in today's international workforce.

Developing Students' Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Analysis Skills in an Inquiry-Based Synthetic Organic Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Marisa G.; Samoshin, Andrey V.; Lewis, Robert B.; Gainer, Morgan J.

2016-01-01

A course is described where students are engaged in an inquiry-based quarter-long research project to synthesize a known pharmaceutical target. Students use literature search engines, such as Reaxys and SciFinder, and the primary chemical literature as resources to plan and perform the synthesis of their pharmaceutical target. Through this…

Original Research by Young Twinkle Students (ORBYTS): When Can Students Start Performing Original Research?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sousa-Silva, Clara; McKemmish, Laura K.; Chubb, Katy L.; Gorman, Marie N.; Baker, Jack S.; Barton, Emma J.; Rivlin, Tom; Tennyson, Jonathan

2018-01-01

Involving students in state-of-the-art research from an early age eliminates the idea that science is only for the scientists and empowers young people to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects. It is also a great opportunity to dispel harmful stereotypes about who is suitable for STEM careers, while leaving students…

The Effect of a Horseshoe Crab Citizen Science Program on Middle School Student Science Performance and STEM Career Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hiller, Suzanne E.; Kitsantas, Anastasia

2014-01-01

The purpose of the present quasi-experimental study was to examine the impact of a horseshoe crab citizen science program on student achievement and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career motivation with 86 (n = 86) eighth-grade students. The treatment group conducted fieldwork with naturalists and collected data for a…

Lincoln Advanced Science and Engineering Reinforcement (LASER) program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Willie E.

1989-01-01

Lincoln University, under the Lincoln Advanced Science and Engineering Reinforcement (LASER) Program, has identified and successfully recruited over 100 students for majors in technical fields. To date, over 70 percent of these students have completed or will complete technical degrees in engineering, physics, chemistry, and computer science. Of those completing the undergraduate degree, over 40 percent have gone on to graduate and professional schools. This success is attributable to well planned approaches to student recruitment, training, personal motivation, retention, and program staff. Very closely coupled to the above factors is a focus designed to achieve excellence in program services and student performance. Future contributions by the LASER Program to the pool of technical minority graduates will have a significant impact. This is already evident from the success of the students that began the first year of the program. With program plans to refine many of the already successful techniques, follow-on activities are expected to make even greater contributions to the availability of technically trained minorities. For example, undergraduate research exposure, broadened summer, and co-op work experiences will be enhanced.

USAF Summer Research Program - 1993 Graduate Student Research Program Final Reports, Volume 6, AEDC, FJSRL and WHMC

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

Mechanical Engineering Associate, PhD Laboratory: PL/VT Division Engineering University of Texas, San Anton Vol-Page No: 3-26 San Antonio, TX 7824-9065...parameters. The modules can be primitive or compound. Primitive modules represent the elementary computation units and define their interfaces. The... linear under varying conditions for the range of processor numbers. Discussion Performance: Our evaluation of the performance measurement results is the

Creating a Bio-Inspired Solution to Prevent Erosion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reher, R.; Martinez, A.; Cola, J.; Frost, D.

2016-12-01

Through the study of geophysical sciences, lessons can be developed which allow for the introduction of bio-inspired design and art concepts to K-5 elementary students. Students are placed into an engineering mindset in which they must apply the concepts of bio-geotechnics to observe how we can use nature to prevent and abate erosion. Problems are staged for students using realistic engineering scenarios such as erosion prevention through biomimicry and the study of anchorage characteristics of root structures in regard to stability of soil. Specifically, a lesson is introduced where students research, learn, and present information about bio-inspired designs to understand these concepts. They lean how plant roots differ in size and shape to stabilize soil. In addition, students perform a series of hands-on experiments which demonstrate how bio-cements and roots can slow erosion.

Chemical Engineering Students: A Distinct Group among Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godwin, Allison; Potvin, Geoff

2013-01-01

This paper explores differences between chemical engineering students and students of other engineering disciplines, as identified by their intended college major. The data used in this analysis was taken from the nationally representative Sustainability and Gender in Engineering (SaGE) survey. Chemical engineering students differ significantly…

Intelligent Performance Assessment of Students' Laboratory Work in a Virtual Electronic Laboratory Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achumba, I. E.; Azzi, D.; Dunn, V. L.; Chukwudebe, G. A.

2013-01-01

Laboratory work is critical in undergraduate engineering courses. It is used to integrate theory and practice. This demands that laboratory activities are synchronized with lectures to maximize their derivable learning outcomes, which are measurable through assessment. The typical high costs of the traditional engineering laboratory, which often…

Professional Competence Development at the Cooper Union School of Engineering. Course Development and Course Materials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bussard, Ellen

A 3-year project was developed to increase students' abilities to perform competently as professional engineers. The project sought to infuse into existing courses concern for, practice with, and development of three competencies critical to professional success: problem-solving, communication, and value clarification. Eight elementary and…

Integrating Sustainable Development in Chemical Engineering Education: The Application of an Environmental Management System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montanes, M. T.; Palomares, A. E.; Sanchez-Tovar, R.

2012-01-01

The principles of sustainable development have been integrated in chemical engineering education by means of an environmental management system. These principles have been introduced in the teaching laboratories where students perform their practical classes. In this paper, the implementation of the environmental management system, the problems…

The Role of Work Placement in Engineering Students' Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blicblau, Aaron Simon; Nelson, Tracey Louise; Dini, Kurosh

2016-01-01

Engineering graduates without industrial experience may find that employment is difficult to obtain immediately after completing their studies. This study investigates the impact of two arrangements of work experiences; short term (over 12 weeks, STP) and long-term (over 52 weeks, IBL) on academic grades. This study involved 240 undergraduate…

A Longitudinal Evaluative Study of Student Difficulties with Engineering Graphics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potter, Charles; Van Der Merwe, Errol; Kaufman, Wendy; Delacour, Julie

2006-01-01

We have previously reported in this journal that spatial ability influences academic performance in engineering. We have also reported that spatial ability is trainable, and can be increased through instruction focused on using perception and mental imagery in three-dimensional representation. In this article, we present the results of a…

Installation, Operation, and Operator's Maintenance of Diesel-Engine-Driven Generator Sets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, contains three study units dealing with the skills needed by individuals responsible for the installation, operation, and maintenance of diesel engine-driven generator sets. The first two units cover…

Introducing Whole-Systems Design to First-Year Engineering Students with Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blizzard, Jackie; Klotz, Leidy; Pradhan, Alok; Dukes, Michael

2012-01-01

Purpose: A whole-systems approach, which seeks to optimize an entire system for multiple benefits, not isolated components for single benefits, is essential to engineering design for radically improved sustainability performance. Based on real-world applications of whole-systems design, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is developing educational…

Using Student Performance to Judge the Difficulty of Examinations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roegner, Katherine

2015-01-01

This contribution focuses on a scheme developed to characterize the level of difficulty of an examination in the course "Linear Algebra for Engineers" and on the transfer of the underlying idea to a similar scheme for examinations in the course "Analysis I for Engineers". Using these schemes, it is possible to define standards…

Chain Saw Repair.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Mark; Helbling, Wayne

This curriculum is designed to supplement the Comprehensive Small Engine Repair guide by covering in detail all aspects of chain saw repair. The publication contains materials for both teacher and student and is written in terms of student performance using measurable objectives. The course includes six units. Each unit contains some or all of the…

Enhancing Diversity in Undergraduate Science: Self-Efficacy Drives Performance Gains with Active Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballen, Cissy J.; Wieman, Carl; Salehi, Shima; Searle, Jeremy B.; Zamudio, Kelly R.

2017-01-01

Efforts to retain underrepresented minority (URM) students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have shown only limited success in higher education, due in part to a persistent achievement gap between students from historically underrepresented and well-represented backgrounds. To test the hypothesis that active learning…

Building STEAM in Design-Related Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maldonado, Elaine; Pearson, Karen R.

2013-01-01

TECH-FIT is a National Science Foundation initiative at FIT, part of the State University of New York. An institution with over 85% female students, this interdisciplinary, design-related STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) project sought to increase inclusion and student performance in STEM. Building on new and existing…

Characteristics of Schools Successful in STEM: Evidence from Two States' Longitudinal Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Michael

2014-01-01

Present federal education policies promote learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and the participation of minority students in these fields. Using longitudinal data on students in Florida and North Carolina, value-added estimates in mathematics and science are generated to categorize schools into performance levels…

Academic Achievement and Formal Thought in Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vazquez, Stella Maris; de Anglat, Hilda Difabio

2009-01-01

Introduction: Research on university-level academic performance has significantly linked failure and dropping out to formal reasoning deficiency. We have not found any papers on formal thought in Argentine university students, in spite of the obvious shortcomings observed in the classrooms. Thus, the main objective of this paper was exploring the…

SPARTNIK: Engineering catalyst for government and industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prass, James D.; Romano, Thomas C.; Hunter, Jeanine M.

1995-01-01

Industrial demands for highly motivated and competent technical personnel to carry forward with the technological goals of the US has posed a significant challenge to graduating engineers. While curricula has improved and diversified over time to meet these industry demands, relevant industry experience is not always available to undergraduates. The microsatellite development program at San Jose State University (SJSU) has allowed an entire undergraduate senior class to utilize a broad range of training and education to refine their engineering skills, bringing them closer to becoming engineering professionals. Close interaction with industry mentors and manufacturers on a real world project provides a significant advantage to educators and students alike. With support from companies and government agencies, the students have designed and manufactured a microsatellite, designed to be launched into a low Earth orbit. This satellite will gather telemetry for characterizing the state of the spacecraft. This will enable the students to have a physical check on their predicted value of spacecraft subsystem performance. Additional experiments will also be undertaken during the two year lifetime, including micro-meteorite impact sensing and capturing digital color images of the Earth. This paper will detail the process whereby students designed, prototype and manufactured a small satellite in a large team environment, along with the experiments that will be performed on board. With the project's limited funds, it needed the support of many industry companies to help with technical issues and hardware acquisition. Among the many supporting companies, NASA's space shuttle small payloads program could be used for an affordable launch vehicle for the student project. The paper address these collaborations between the student project and industry support, as well as explaining the benefits to both. The paper draws conclusion on how these types of student projects can be used by industry as a feasible resource for developing small platforms for space based experiments, as well as increasing the practical experience and engineering knowledge of graduating students. These benefits to industry and universities, can lead to a close working relationship between the two. These types of projects can facilitate the development of low-cost space rated parts to be used by the industry and university projects. It can also help with the understanding and use of acceptable risk non-space rated parts reducing the cost of the spacecraft. This will lead to the development of low cost platforms for space based experiments, providing research companies an inexpensive, long duration platform to conduct their in-space experiments, while better preparing engineering undergraduates for their transition into the work force.

SPARTNIK: Engineering catalyst for government and industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prass, James D.; Romano, Thomas C.; Hunter, Jeanine M.

1995-09-01

Industrial demands for highly motivated and competent technical personnel to carry forward with the technological goals of the US has posed a significant challenge to graduating engineers. While curricula has improved and diversified over time to meet these industry demands, relevant industry experience is not always available to undergraduates. The microsatellite development program at San Jose State University (SJSU) has allowed an entire undergraduate senior class to utilize a broad range of training and education to refine their engineering skills, bringing them closer to becoming engineering professionals. Close interaction with industry mentors and manufacturers on a real world project provides a significant advantage to educators and students alike. With support from companies and government agencies, the students have designed and manufactured a microsatellite, designed to be launched into a low Earth orbit. This satellite will gather telemetry for characterizing the state of the spacecraft. This will enable the students to have a physical check on their predicted value of spacecraft subsystem performance. Additional experiments will also be undertaken during the two year lifetime, including micro-meteorite impact sensing and capturing digital color images of the Earth. This paper will detail the process whereby students designed, prototype and manufactured a small satellite in a large team environment, along with the experiments that will be performed on board. With the project's limited funds, it needed the support of many industry companies to help with technical issues and hardware acquisition. Among the many supporting companies, NASA's space shuttle small payloads program could be used for an affordable launch vehicle for the student project. The paper address these collaborations between the student project and industry support, as well as explaining the benefits to both. The paper draws conclusion on how these types of student projects can be used by industry as a feasible resource for developing small platforms for space based experiments, as well as increasing the practical experience and engineering knowledge of graduating students. These benefits to industry and universities, can lead to a close working relationship between the two. These types of projects can facilitate the development of low-cost space rated parts to be used by the industry and university projects. It can also help with the understanding and use of acceptable risk non-space rated parts reducing the cost of the spacecraft. This will lead to the development of low cost platforms for space based experiments, providing research companies an inexpensive, long duration platform to conduct their in-space experiments, while better preparing engineering undergraduates for their transition into the work force.

The Influence of Toy Design Activities on Middle School Students' Understanding of the Engineering Design Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ninger; Pereira, Nielsen L.; George, Tarun Thomas; Alperovich, Jeffrey; Booth, Joran; Chandrasegaran, Senthil; Tew, Jeffrey David; Kulkarni, Devadatta M.; Ramani, Karthik

2017-10-01

The societal demand for inspiring and engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and preparing our workforce for the emerging creative economy has necessitated developing students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes from as early as elementary school levels. Hands-on engineering design activities have shown the potential to promote middle school students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes. However, traditional classrooms often lack hands-on engineering design experiences, leaving students unprepared to solve real-world design problems. In this study, we introduce the framework of a toy design workshop and investigate the influence of the workshop activities on students' understanding of and self-efficacy beliefs in engineering design. Using a mixed method approach, we conducted quantitative analyses to show changes in students' engineering design self-efficacy and qualitative analyses to identify students' understanding of the engineering design processes. Findings show that among the 24 participants, there is a significant increase in students' self-efficacy beliefs after attending the workshop. We also identified major themes such as design goals and prototyping in students' understanding of engineering design processes. This research provides insights into the key elements of middle school students' engineering design learning and the benefits of engaging middle school students in hands-on toy design workshops.

The Roles of Engineering Notebooks in Shaping Elementary Engineering Student Discourse and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertel, Jonathan D.; Cunningham, Christine M.; Kelly, Gregory J.

2017-01-01

Engineering design challenges offer important opportunities for students to learn science and engineering knowledge and practices. This study examines how students' engineering notebooks across four units of the curriculum "Engineering is Elementary" (EiE) support student work during design challenges. Through educational ethnography and…

Intervention to Improve Engineering Self-Efficacy and Sense of Belonging of First-Year Engineering Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, Kari L.

The percentage of bachelor's degrees in STEM awarded to women and underrepresented minority students needs to increase dramatically to reach parity with their majority counterparts. While three key underrepresented minority (URM) groups, African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, and Native Americans constitute some 30 percent of the overall undergraduate student population in the United States, the share of engineering degrees earned by members of these groups declines as degree level increases. Underrepresented minority students accounted for about 12% of engineering bachelor's degrees awarded in 2009, 7% of master's degrees and 3% of doctorates (NSF Science Resource Statistics, 2009). The percent in engineering has been steadily decreasing, while overall participation in higher education among these groups has increased considerably. Keeping those thoughts in mind it is important to examine the historical theories and frameworks that will help us not only understand why underrepresented minority students pursue and persist in STEM majors in low numbers, but to also develop interventions to improve the alarming statistics that hamper engineering diversity. As indicated by our past two U.S. Presidents, there has been an increased discussion on the national and state level regarding the number of students entering engineering disciplines in general and underrepresented minority students in particular. Something happens between a student's freshman year and the point they decide to either switch their major or drop out of school altogether. Some researchers attribute the high dropout rate of underrepresented minority students in engineering programs to low engineering self-efficacy (e.g. Jordan et al., 2011). A student's engineering self-efficacy is his/her belief that he/she can successfully navigate the engineering curriculum and eventually become a practicing engineer. A student's engineering self-efficacy is formed by mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, his/her physiological state, and social persuasions, such as student-professor interaction. Increasing the awareness of a student's engineering self-efficacy could potentially improve sense of belonging and persistence for underrepresented minority students in engineering. The hypothesis of this study is that an intervention during the first semester of an incoming freshman's tenure can help improve their engineering self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and overall retention in the engineering program. This study explored the following research questions: 1. What are the differences in engineering self-efficacy, and sense of belonging for first-year underrepresented minority engineering students compared to majority students? 2. What factors or variables should be considered and/or addressed in designing an intervention to increase engineering self-efficacy and sense of belonging amongst first-year underrepresented minority engineering students? 3. Can a small intervention during the beginning of the first semester improve a student's sense of belonging, engineering self-efficacy, and student-professor interaction? Using the race, social fit, and achievement study by Walton and Cohen as a model, the author developed an intervention consisting of short compelling videos of upperclass engineering students from diverse backgrounds. In these videos, students discussed their pursuit of the engineering degree, what obstacles they faced in terms of sense of belonging and coping efficacy, and how they overcame those obstacles. Treatment groups of students watched the videos during the first few weeks of the semester, and pre and post tests were administered to measure mean gains in the student's engineering self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and other variables. The results showed that underrepresented minority students had a lower sense of belonging than whites. The intervention used in the study contributed to mean gain increases in participants' engineering self-efficacy, which could ultimately improve persistence. A single intervention did not show a significant increase in students' sense of belonging; more work needs to be done to develop an effective intervention. The intervention is easily adaptable with insignificant cost, making it attractive for Minority Engineering Program (MEP) and other success program whose aim is to increase students' engineering self-efficacy.

Testing foreign language impact on engineering students' scientific problem-solving performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tatzl, Dietmar; Messnarz, Bernd

2013-12-01

This article investigates the influence of English as the examination language on the solution of physics and science problems by non-native speakers in tertiary engineering education. For that purpose, a statistically significant total number of 96 students in four year groups from freshman to senior level participated in a testing experiment in the Degree Programme of Aviation at the FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria. Half of each test group were given a set of 12 physics problems described in German, the other half received the same set of problems described in English. It was the goal to test linguistic reading comprehension necessary for scientific problem solving instead of physics knowledge as such. The results imply that written undergraduate English-medium engineering tests and examinations may not require additional examination time or language-specific aids for students who have reached university-entrance proficiency in English as a foreign language.

NASA Ames Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program: 1986 research papers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Patricia

1988-01-01

Engineering enrollments are rising in universities; however the graduate engineering shortage continues. Particularly, women and minorities will be underrepresented for many years. As one means of solving this shortage, Federal agencies facing future scientific and technological challenges were asked to participate in the Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP). This program was created to provide an engineering experience for gifted female and minority high school students at an age when they could still make career and education decisions. The SHARP program is designed for high school juniors who are U.S. citizens, are 16 years old, and who have very high promise in math and science through outstanding academic performance in high school. Students who are accepted into this summer program will earn as they learn by working 8 hr days in a 5-day work week. Reports from SHARP students are presented.

The Transformative Experience in Engineering Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Katherine Ann

This research evaluates the usefulness of transformative experience (TE) in engineering education. With TE, students 1) apply ideas from coursework to everyday experiences without prompting (motivated use); 2) see everyday situations through the lens of course content (expanded perception); and 3) value course content in new ways because it enriches everyday affective experience (affective value). In a three-part study, we examine how engineering educators can promote student progress toward TE and reliably measure that progress. For the first study, we select a mechanical engineering technical elective, Flow Visualization, that had evidence of promoting expanded perception of fluid physics. Through student surveys and interviews, we compare this elective to the required Fluid Mechanics course. We found student interest in fluids fell into four categories: complexity, application, ubiquity, and aesthetics. Fluid Mechanics promotes interest from application, while Flow Visualization promotes interest based in ubiquity and aesthetics. Coding for expanded perception, we found it associated with students' engineering identity, rather than a specific course. In our second study, we replicate atypical teaching methods from Flow Visualization in a new design course: Aesthetics of Design. Coding of surveys and interviews reveals that open-ended assignments and supportive teams lead to increased ownership of projects, which fuels risk-taking, and produces increased confidence as an engineer. The third study seeks to establish parallels between expanded perception and measurable perceptual expertise. Our visual expertise experiment uses fluid flow images with both novices and experts (students who had passed fluid mechanics). After training, subjects sort images into laminar and turbulent categories. The results demonstrate that novices learned to sort the flow stimuli in ways similar to subjects in prior perceptual expertise studies. In contrast, the experts' significantly better results suggest they are accessing conceptual fluids knowledge to perform this new, visual task. The ability to map concepts onto visual information is likely a necessary step toward expanded perception. Our findings suggest that open-ended aesthetic experiences with engineering content unexpectedly support engineering identity development, and that visual tasks could be developed to measure conceptual understanding, promoting expanded perception. Overall, we find TE a productive theoretical framework for engineering education research.

Index of satisfaction in engineering courses in Portugal based on the students perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Raquel; Gonçalves, A. Manuela; Vasconcelos, Rosa M.

2016-06-01

In this work we describe and characterize the student's allocation satisfaction in the Portuguese public higher education system through the students' point of view, namely, in the academic engineering programs, extending previous studies of the author's team. We compare the ratio provided by the Portuguese Education Ministry through the Institutions' point of view, demand satisfaction index with the ratio proposed, applicant's satisfaction index, for the so called post-Bologna period. The data used in this paper covers the years from 2007 to 2013, provided by the Portuguese Education Institute. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed in order to assess whether there are significant differences between the ratios.

A study of the factors affecting advancement and graduation for engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, John Thomas

The purpose of this study was, first, to determine whether a set of predictor variables could be identified from pre-enrollment and post-enrollment data that would differentiate students who advance to a major in engineering from non-advancers and, further, to determine if the predictor variables would differentiate students who graduate from the College of Engineering from non-graduates and graduates of other colleges at Auburn University. A second purpose was to determine if the predictor variables would correctly identify male and female students with the same degree of accuracy. The third purpose was to determine if there were significant relationships between the predictor variables studied and grades earned in a set of 15 courses that have enrollments over 100 students and are part of the pre-engineering curriculum. The population for this study was the 868 students who entered the pre-engineering program at Auburn University as freshmen during the Summer and Fall Quarters of 1991. The variables selected to differentiate the different groups were ACT scores, high school grade indices, and first quarter college grade point average. Two sets of classification matrices were developed using analysis and holdout samples that were divided based on sex. With respect to the question about advancement to the professional engineering program, structure coefficients derived from discriminant analysis procedures performed on all the cases combined indicated that first quarter college grade point average, high school math index, ACT math score, and high school science grade index were important predictor variables in classifying students who advanced to the professional engineering program and those who did not. Further, important structure coefficients with respect to graduation with a degree from the College of Engineering were first quarter college grade point average, high school math index, ACT math score, and high school science grade index. The results of this study indicated that significant differences existed in the model's ability to predict advancement and graduation for male and female students. This difference was not unexpected based on the male-dominated population. However, the models identified predicted at a high rate for both male and female students. Finally, many significant relationships were found to exist between the predictor variables and the 15 pre-engineering courses that were selected. The strength of the relationships ranged from a high of .82, p < .001 (Chemistry 103 grade with total high school grade index) to a low of .07, p > .05 (Chemistry 102 with ACT science score).

Using biomedical engineering and "hidden capital" to provide educational outreach to disadvantaged populations.

PubMed

Drazan, John F; Scott, John M; Hoke, Jahkeen I; Ledet, Eric H

2014-01-01

A hands-on learning module called "Science of the Slam" is created that taps into the passions and interests of an under-represented group in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This is achieved by examining the use of the scientific method to quantify the biomechanics of basketball players who are good at performing the slam dunk. Students already have an intrinsic understanding of the biomechanics of basketball however this "hidden capital" has never translated into the underlying STEM concepts. The effectiveness of the program is rooted in the exploitation of "hidden capital" within the field of athletics to inform and enhance athletic performance. This translation of STEM concepts to athletic performance provides a context and a motivation for students to study the STEM fields who are traditionally disengaged from the classic engineering outreach programs. "Science of the Slam" has the potential to serve as a framework for other researchers to engage under-represented groups in novel ways by tapping into shared interests between the researcher and disadvantaged populations.

The roles of engineering notebooks in shaping elementary engineering student discourse and practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hertel, Jonathan D.; Cunningham, Christine M.; Kelly, Gregory J.

2017-06-01

Engineering design challenges offer important opportunities for students to learn science and engineering knowledge and practices. This study examines how students' engineering notebooks across four units of the curriculum Engineering is Elementary (EiE) support student work during design challenges. Through educational ethnography and discourse analysis, transcripts of student talk and action were created and coded around the uses of notebooks in the accomplishment of engineering tasks. Our coding process identified two broad categories of roles of the notebooks: they scaffold student activity and support epistemic practices of engineering. The study showed the importance of prompts to engage students in effective uses of writing, the roles the notebook assumes in the students' small groups, and the ways design challenges motivate children to write and communicate.

The students' interest for 2012 and 2013 cohort in construction engineering vocational education program Universitas Negeri Semarang in choosing the subject specialization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Julianto, Eko Nugroho; Salamah, Ummu

2017-03-01

On the 2012 curriculum, Vocational Education Program Universitas Negeri Semarang allowed the students to choose subjects for their specialization according to their ability. The subject specialization was given at the 6th semester to provide students in performing field work experience. Each course has its own enthusiasts specialization, students have certain considerations in selecting the course. The consideration of each of them is different from one another because they have their own talents, interests, aspirations and perceptions or a different view in assessing a subject specialization offered by Construction Engineering Vocational Education Program. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of interest caused by intrinsic and extrinsic factors on 2012 and 2013 students' cohort in selecting subjects of specialization. This research is descriptive with quantitative approach, which is carried out to determine the magnitude of the interest students in choosing courses of specialization. Research conducted at the Civil Engineering Department Universitas Negeri Semarang, with research subjects that students PTB forces in 2012 and 2013, with a total sample of 87 students. The results showed that the interest of the student of 2012 and 2013 in selecting subjects of specialization is equal to 68.06% with the criteria are interested in contributions from intrinsic factors indicate the yield at 35.48% and 64.52% extrinsic factors.

A comparison of personality characteristics of male and female engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Erin Beth

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between personality characteristics of female and male freshmen, engineering students. A secondary purpose was to ascertain whether personality characteristics of freshmen, engineering students were different from those of general collegiate students of the same sex. The Millon Index of Personality Styles (MIPS) was administered to a sample of 72 female and 86 male freshmen, engineering students at a private midwestern engineering institution. The MIPS college normative sample of 1,600 college students was used as a comparison group. A total of 24 personality characteristics were assessed in the domains of motivation aims, cognitive modes, and interpersonal behaviors. Four hypotheses, which dealt with comparisons of the engineering samples, were tested by way of discriminant analyses. Two hypotheses, which compared the engineering samples to the collegiate samples of the same sex, were tested by way of t-tests. All six hypotheses yielded significant differences across various personality variables. It was concluded that engineering students of both sexes were more similar than different in personality characteristics. It was also concluded that there were greater personality differences between freshmen male engineering students and male college students than there are between freshmen female engineering students and female college students.

Increased structure and active learning reduce the achievement gap in introductory biology.

PubMed

Haak, David C; HilleRisLambers, Janneke; Pitre, Emile; Freeman, Scott

2011-06-03

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instructors have been charged with improving the performance and retention of students from diverse backgrounds. To date, programs that close the achievement gap between students from disadvantaged versus nondisadvantaged educational backgrounds have required extensive extramural funding. We show that a highly structured course design, based on daily and weekly practice with problem-solving, data analysis, and other higher-order cognitive skills, improved the performance of all students in a college-level introductory biology class and reduced the achievement gap between disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students--without increased expenditures. These results support the Carnegie Hall hypothesis: Intensive practice, via active-learning exercises, has a disproportionate benefit for capable but poorly prepared students.

Engagement vs Performance: Using Electronic Portfolios to Predict First Semester Engineering Student Persistence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aguiar, Everaldo; Ambrose, G. Alex; Chawla, Nitesh V.; Goodrich, Victoria; Brockman, Jay

2014-01-01

As providers of higher education begin to harness the power of big data analytics, one very fitting application for these new techniques is that of predicting student attrition. The ability to pinpoint students who might soon decide to drop out, or who may be following a suboptimal path to success, allows those in charge not only to understand the…

Roles, uses, and benefits of general aviation aircraft in aerospace engineering education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Odonoghue, Dennis P.; Mcknight, Robert C.

1994-01-01

Many colleges and universities throughout the United States offer outstanding programs in aerospace engineering. In addition to the fundamentals of aerodynamics, propulsion, flight dynamics, and air vehicle design, many of the best programs have in the past provided students the opportunity to design and fly airborne experiments on board various types of aircraft. Sadly, however, the number of institutions offering such 'airborne laboratories' has dwindled in recent years. As a result, opportunities for students to apply their classroom knowledge, analytical skills, and engineering judgement to the development and management of flight experiments on an actual aircraft are indeed rare. One major reason for the elimination of flight programs by some institutions, particularly the smaller colleges, is the prohibitive cost of operating and maintaining an aircraft as a flying laboratory. The purpose of this paper is to discuss simple, low-cost, relevant flight experiments that can be performed using readily available general aviation aircraft. This paper examines flight experiments that have been successfully conducted on board the NASA Lewis Research Center's T-34B aircraft, as part of the NASA/AIAA/University Flight Experiment Program for Students (NAUFEPS) and discusses how similar experiments could be inexpensively performed on other general aviation aircraft.

Project-based learning in a high school engineering program: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

France, Todd

Generating greater student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been a major topic of discussion among educators, policymakers, and researchers in recent years, as increasing the number of graduates in these fields is widely considered a necessary step for sustaining the progress of today's society. Fostering this interest must occur before students reach college, and substantial efforts have been made to engage students at K-12 levels in STEM-focused learning. Attempts to involve students in engineering, a vital and growing profession, yet one in which students often have little experience, have frequently emphasized the design and construction of physical products, a practice supported by project-based learning. This thesis examines the environment of an engineering high school course that employed the project-based model. The course is part of a dedicated curricular program which aims to provide students with positive experiences in engineering-related activities while also preparing them for the rigors of college. A case study was conducted to provide insight into the benefits and drawbacks of the learning model. The study's outcomes are intended to provide guidance to educators participating in the design and/or facilitation of project-based activities, particularly those involved with engineering education. The research was performed using a qualitative approach. Long-term engagement with course participants was deemed critical to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the interactions and events that transpired on a daily basis. Nine educators involved with the program were interviewed, as were nineteen of the course's thirty-nine students. A wealth of other relevant data -- including surveys, field notes, and evaluations of student work -- was compiled for analysis as well. The study findings suggest that experiences in problem solving and teamwork were the central benefits of the course. Limitations existed due to a high focus on hands-on work, which infringed upon the significance of math and science content as well as the utilization of disciplined inquiry. In addition, group projects failed to hold individuals accountable, leading to assessment challenges. Program-wide, a number of issues hindered the teachers' abilities to institute changes, most notably a commitment to serve students of all abilities.

Learning analytics for smart campus: Data on academic performances of engineering undergraduates in Nigerian private university.

PubMed

Popoola, Segun I; Atayero, Aderemi A; Badejo, Joke A; John, Temitope M; Odukoya, Jonathan A; Omole, David O

2018-04-01

Empirical measurement, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of learning outcomes in higher institutions of developing countries may lead to sustainable education in the region. In this data article, data about the academic performances of undergraduates that studied engineering programs at Covenant University, Nigeria are presented and analyzed. A total population sample of 1841 undergraduates that studied Chemical Engineering (CHE), Civil Engineering (CVE), Computer Engineering (CEN), Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE), Information and Communication Engineering (ICE), Mechanical Engineering (MEE), and Petroleum Engineering (PET) within the year range of 2002-2014 are randomly selected. For the five-year study period of engineering program, Grade Point Average (GPA) and its cumulative value of each of the sample were obtained from the Department of Student Records and Academic Affairs. In order to encourage evidence-based research in learning analytics, detailed datasets are made publicly available in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file attached to this article. Descriptive statistics and frequency distributions of the academic performance data are presented in tables and graphs for easy data interpretations. In addition, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison post-hoc tests are performed to determine whether the variations in the academic performances are significant across the seven engineering programs. The data provided in this article will assist the global educational research community and regional policy makers to understand and optimize the learning environment towards the realization of smart campuses and sustainable education.

Simulation teaching method in Engineering Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Qieni; Wang, Yi; Li, Hongbin

2017-08-01

We here introduce a pedagogical method of theoretical simulation as one major means of the teaching process of "Engineering Optics" in course quality improvement action plan (Qc) in our school. Students, in groups of three to five, complete simulations of interference, diffraction, electromagnetism and polarization of light; each student is evaluated and scored in light of his performance in the interviews between the teacher and the student, and each student can opt to be interviewed many times until he is satisfied with his score and learning. After three years of Qc practice, the remarkable teaching and learning effect is obatined. Such theoretical simulation experiment is a very valuable teaching method worthwhile for physical optics which is highly theoretical and abstruse. This teaching methodology works well in training students as to how to ask questions and how to solve problems, which can also stimulate their interest in research learning and their initiative to develop their self-confidence and sense of innovation.

Materials education activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ries, Heidi R.; Harris, Jonice; Leake, Woodrow W.; Bunnell, L. Roy; Berrettini, Robert

1993-01-01

Last year, at NEW: Update '91, a panel discussion was held to address the unique difficulties of attracting and retaining minorities and women in technical studies. Unfortunately, retention in technical majors is a problem of varying proportions for the entire student population, and must be improved in order to maintain the strength of the nation's industrial base. To investigate the cause of student attrition in technical majors, in-depth interviews of both current and former (non-graduating) engineering students at four colleges and universities in Colorado were conducted by Hewitt and Seymour. They found that there was no significant difference in the level of high school preparation and undergraduate academic performance in these two groups, despite the prevailing faculty perception that most students who switch from technical to nontechnical majors were underprepared. The majority of engineering students who changed majors reported that they were turned off by science, while one-third complained of poor teaching.

Improving the Retention of First Year Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bishop, Graham

The thesis compares student attrition rates in two UWS Schools for 2004 and 2005. It analyses possible reasons why students discontinue and identifies strategies and approaches to improving the quality of the teaching and learning environment for these students. The thesis focuses on the retention of first year students in the School of Engineering at the University of Western Sydney. Low retention rates are costly to the university, leading to inefficient use of resources, failure to fulfil student aspirations, and intervention between the university and the student. In each chapter, the thesis addresses student retention, satisfaction and performance and the interrelation between them and outlines the measures taken by the School of Engineering to improve these measurements for students commencing in 2006 and proposes many recommendations for further improvements in subsequent years. Each chapter addresses these issues by following the student pathway, commencing with the student leaving High School and entering their chosen university and course of study. At each stage, the relevant issues are addressed which have a direct or indirect impact on student retention, satisfaction and performance. Use is made of reports and papers published by universities and organisations, as outlined in the Literature Review. The research questions provide data through the results obtained from surveys. Typical Retention Rates are 75% for UWS, 81% for the Sector, 76% for the New Generation Universities (NGUs) and 62% for the School of Engineering on which this research is focussed. This thesis confirms the research from many countries that closely links student retention with the quality of teaching and learning. Key issues are: • a sound first year student orientation and welcome by staff; encountering efficient, effective and accurate student. The introduction of a more effective and tailored orientation program in 2007 attracted, at UWS School of Engineering, 92% attendance and greater awareness by the students of their study program and the available support services; • having student queries responded to promptly and effectively; The introduction of a First Year Coordinator in 2007 proved to be well received, with a significant number of students having prompt responses to their queries, as compared with previous years; clear expectations management about services and key academic issues like assessment; the marketing of UWS Engineering programs was addressed in 2006 and 2007, with an expansion of the marketing program operated for feeder schools and improved awareness of student expectations prior to entry: an ongoing exercise; having committed, accessible, responsive and capable teaching staff; the accessibility and responsiveness of teaching staff to first year student issues, as outlined in this thesis, is being addressed in 2007; receiving prompt and helpful feedback on their learning; an issue being addressed by the First Year Teaching Team as an essential element of the teaching and learning process; together with: effective use of an appropriate selection from a myriad of learning strategies and resources which give emphasis to active learning, practice oriented learning, peer supported learning and self-managed learning; supported by a reliable infrastructure and support systems; and consistently encountering staff that are responsive and committed to giving service to student support. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Trajectories of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering Students by Race and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lord, S. M.; Layton, R. A.; Ohland, M. W.

2011-01-01

Electrical engineering (EE) is one of the largest engineering disciplines. Computer engineering (CpE) has a similar curriculum, but different demographics and student outcomes. Using a dataset from universities in the U.S. that includes over 70,000 students who majored in engineering, this paper describes the outcomes for students matriculating in…

Comparing Composites.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathras, Michael S.

1993-01-01

Presents an activity that models the work of chemical engineers. Students design, fabricate, and perform mechanical tests on plaster matrix composites and compare the strength to mass ratios of several products. (PR)

Empathy among students in engineering programmes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasoal, Chato; Danielsson, Henrik; Jungert, Tomas

2012-10-01

Engineers face challenges when they are to manage project groups and be leaders for organisations because such positions demand skills in social competence and empathy. Previous studies have shown that engineers have low degrees of social competence skills. In this study, the level of empathy as measured by the four subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, perspective taking, fantasy, empathic distress and empathic concern, among engineering students was compared to students in health care profession programmes. Participants were undergraduate students at Linköping University, 365 students from four different health care profession programmes and 115 students from two different engineering programmes. When the empathy measures were corrected for effects of sex, engineering students from one of the programmes had lower empathy than psychology and social worker students on the fantasy and perspective-taking subscales. These results raise questions regarding opportunities for engineering students to develop their empathic abilities. It is important that engineering students acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills regarding empathy.

Communication Needs of Thai Civil Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaewpet, Chamnong

2009-01-01

This article reports on an examination of the communication needs of a group of Thai civil engineering students. Twenty-five stakeholders helped identify the communication needs of the students by participating in individual interviews. These included employers, civil engineers, civil engineering lecturers, ex-civil engineering students of the…

Engineering students' experiences and perceptions of workplace problem solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Rui

In this study, I interviewed 22 engineering Co-Op students about their workplace problem solving experiences and reflections and explored: 1) Of Co-Op students who experienced workplace problem solving, what are the different ways in which students experience workplace problem solving? 2) How do students perceive a) the differences between workplace problem solving and classroom problem solving and b) in what areas are they prepared by their college education to solve workplace problems? To answer my first research question, I analyzed data through the lens of phenomenography and I conducted thematic analysis to answer my second research question. The results of this study have implications for engineering education and engineering practice. Specifically, the results reveal the different ways students experience workplace problem solving, which provide engineering educators and practicing engineers a better understanding of the nature of workplace engineering. In addition, the results indicate that there is still a gap between classroom engineering and workplace engineering. For engineering educators who aspire to prepare students to be future engineers, it is imperative to design problem solving experiences that can better prepare students with workplace competency.

Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.

PubMed

Freeman, Scott; Eddy, Sarah L; McDonough, Miles; Smith, Michelle K; Okoroafor, Nnadozie; Jordt, Hannah; Wenderoth, Mary Pat

2014-06-10

To test the hypothesis that lecturing maximizes learning and course performance, we metaanalyzed 225 studies that reported data on examination scores or failure rates when comparing student performance in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses under traditional lecturing versus active learning. The effect sizes indicate that on average, student performance on examinations and concept inventories increased by 0.47 SDs under active learning (n = 158 studies), and that the odds ratio for failing was 1.95 under traditional lecturing (n = 67 studies). These results indicate that average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sections, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning. Heterogeneity analyses indicated that both results hold across the STEM disciplines, that active learning increases scores on concept inventories more than on course examinations, and that active learning appears effective across all class sizes--although the greatest effects are in small (n ≤ 50) classes. Trim and fill analyses and fail-safe n calculations suggest that the results are not due to publication bias. The results also appear robust to variation in the methodological rigor of the included studies, based on the quality of controls over student quality and instructor identity. This is the largest and most comprehensive metaanalysis of undergraduate STEM education published to date. The results raise questions about the continued use of traditional lecturing as a control in research studies, and support active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.

Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics

PubMed Central

Freeman, Scott; Eddy, Sarah L.; McDonough, Miles; Smith, Michelle K.; Okoroafor, Nnadozie; Jordt, Hannah; Wenderoth, Mary Pat

2014-01-01

To test the hypothesis that lecturing maximizes learning and course performance, we metaanalyzed 225 studies that reported data on examination scores or failure rates when comparing student performance in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses under traditional lecturing versus active learning. The effect sizes indicate that on average, student performance on examinations and concept inventories increased by 0.47 SDs under active learning (n = 158 studies), and that the odds ratio for failing was 1.95 under traditional lecturing (n = 67 studies). These results indicate that average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sections, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning. Heterogeneity analyses indicated that both results hold across the STEM disciplines, that active learning increases scores on concept inventories more than on course examinations, and that active learning appears effective across all class sizes—although the greatest effects are in small (n ≤ 50) classes. Trim and fill analyses and fail-safe n calculations suggest that the results are not due to publication bias. The results also appear robust to variation in the methodological rigor of the included studies, based on the quality of controls over student quality and instructor identity. This is the largest and most comprehensive metaanalysis of undergraduate STEM education published to date. The results raise questions about the continued use of traditional lecturing as a control in research studies, and support active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms. PMID:24821756

Choosing engineering: Can I succeed and do I want to? A qualitative analysis framed in expectancy-value theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matusovich, Holly Marie

Recently published reports call for an increase in the number of engineering graduates and suggest appropriate characteristics that these graduates should embody. Accomplishing either objective requires first understanding why students choose to pursue engineering degrees. This research started addressing this knowledge gap using Eccles' expectancy-value model to qualitatively and longitudinally examine undergraduate student's choices to enroll and persist in engineering majors. Specifically, this study focused on identity within Eccles' model to answer the question: How do students' beliefs about being engineers in the future shape their choices to pursue engineering? Framed in Eccles' model, students' choices to pursue engineering majors are based on beliefs about their engineering-related competence and how much they value succeeding in an engineering major. Eccles posits that identity shapes both competence and value beliefs. This study defined identity as students' self-perceptions as future engineers then examined the roles these self-perceptions in shaping their choices to pursue engineering degrees. Gee's conception of four-interrelated aspects of identity (nature identity, institutional identity, affinity identity, and discourse identity) provided a lens to examine students' self-perceptions as future engineers. Multiple case study methods guided this research with each of ten students (five men and five women) representing a case. Results derive from the inductive analysis of longitudinal interviews triangulated with survey results---all data spanned the students' first through fourth undergraduate years. This study is part of a larger body of work, the Academic Pathways Study (APS), conducted by the Center for Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE). Results demonstrated that students' self-perceptions as future engineers are connected to both competence and value beliefs and to the choice to persist in engineering. Specifically, the results showed: (1) even in their fourth undergraduate year, three out of ten participants were uncertain about themselves as future engineers; (2) students choosing to pursue an engineering degree because they identify with the types of activities in which engineers engage experience the persistence choice process differently than students who choose engineering for other reasons; and (3) all students ultimately had positive competence beliefs, although two women participants continually renegotiated definitions of competence in engineering.

Evaluations of Introducing Project-Based Design Activities in the First and Second Years of Engineering Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edward, Norrie S.

2004-01-01

This paper presents three evaluated case studies of the use of design activities in the early years of undergraduate engineering courses. Analyses of academic performance in these activities and in a separate test of understanding were correlated with student perceptions of the activities and with measures of learning style. General student…

Engine Tune-up Service. Unit 6: Emission Control Systems. Posttests. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morse, David T.; May, Theodore R.

This book of posttests is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 6, Emission Control Systems, available separately as CE 031 220. Focus of the posttests is inspecting, testing, and servicing emission control systems. One multiple choice posttest is provided that covers the seven performance objectives contained in…

Engine Tune-Up Service. Unit 4: Secondary Circuit. Posttests. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morse, David T.

This book of posttests is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 4, Secondary Circuit, available separately as CE 031 214. Focus of the posttests is testing and servicing the secondary ignition circuit. One multiple choice posttest is provided that covers the seven performance objectives contained in the unit. (No…

Engine Tune-Up Service. Unit 3: Primary Circuit. Posttests. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morse, David T.

This book of posttests is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 3, Primary Circuit, available separately as CE 031 211. Focus of the posttests is setting the primary ignition circuit. One multiple choice posttest is provided, covering the eight performance objectives contained in the unit. (No answer key is…

Imagineering in Education: A Framework to Enhance Students' Learning Performance and Creativity in Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nilsook, Prachyanun; Utakrit, Nattakant; Clayden, Judy

2014-01-01

Imagination is a powerful engine that can drive people to bring their ideas, dreams, and desires to reality. The imagination constructs stories that lead people to create. Combining imagination with engineering knowledge creates inventions which initially might seem fantastic. The authors provide in this article a brief overview of a successful…

Assessment by Employers of Newly Graduated Civil Engineers from the Islamic University of Gaza

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enshassi, Adnan; Hassouna, Ahmed

2005-01-01

The evaluation process is very important to identify and recognize the strengths and the weaknesses of graduated students. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the newly graduated civil engineers from the Islamic University of Gaza in Palestine. The methodology was based on questionnaires and informal interview. The…

The Effect of Individual Differences on Searching the Web.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ihadjadene, Madjid; Chaudiron, Stephanne,; Martins, Daniel

2003-01-01

Reports results from a project that investigated the influence of two types of expertise--knowledge of the search domain and experience of the Web search engines--on students' use of a Web search engine. Results showed participants with good knowledge in the domain and participants with high experience of the Web had the best performances. (AEF)

Implementing Motivational Features in Reactive Blended Learning: Application to an Introductory Control Engineering Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mendez, J. A.; Gonzalez, E. J.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a significant advance in a reactive blended learning methodology applied to an introductory control engineering course. This proposal was based on the inclusion of a reactive element (a fuzzy-logic-based controller) designed to regulate the workload for each student according to his/her activity and performance. The…

Undergraduate Engineering--A Comparative Study of First Year Performance in Single Gender Campuses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dana-Picard, Thierry; Kidron, Ivy; Komar, Meir; Steiner, Joseph

2005-01-01

The Jerusalem College of Technology is an institution for higher education in Israel, where the majority of the students study towards an undergraduate degree in Engineering (Electronics, Applied Optics, Computers, etc.). The studies are held on three different campuses, one campus for men and two for women. We describe the organization of the…

Effectiveness of UK and International A-Level Assessment in Predicting Performance in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birch, David M.; Rienties, Bart

2014-01-01

In many universities, admissions decisions are made based upon the advanced-level (A-Level) results. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of A-level and international equivalents as a predictor of early achievement in higher education. About 135 UK and 92 international undergraduate engineering students from 35 countries were assessed…

Providing Co-Curricular Support: A Multi-Case Study of Engineering Student Support Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Walter C., Jr.

2015-01-01

In response to the student retention and diversity issues that have been persistent in undergraduate engineering education, many colleges have developed Engineering Student Support Centers (ESSCs) such as Minority Engineering Programs (MEPs) and Women in Engineering Programs (WEPs). ESSCs provide underrepresented students with co-curricular…

Career Education at the College Level: A Modest Proposal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reschke, Claus

Foreign language programs in America have not tried to meet the specific needs of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in professional schools who are preparing for an international career in law, marketing, accounting, hotel management, or engineering. These students need to be able to use the language in the performance of their…

Revising a Design Course from a Lecture Approach to a Project-Based Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kunberger, Tanya

2013-01-01

In order to develop the evaluative skills necessary for successful performance of design, a senior, Geotechnical Engineering course was revised to immerse students in the complexity of the design process utilising a project-based learning (PBL) approach to instruction. The student-centred approach stresses self-directed group learning, which…

Process and Learning Outcomes from Remotely-Operated, Simulated, and Hands-on Student Laboratories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corter, James E.; Esche, Sven K.; Chassapis, Constantin; Ma, Jing; Nickerson, Jeffrey V.

2011-01-01

A large-scale, multi-year, randomized study compared learning activities and outcomes for hands-on, remotely-operated, and simulation-based educational laboratories in an undergraduate engineering course. Students (N = 458) worked in small-group lab teams to perform two experiments involving stress on a cantilever beam. Each team conducted the…

Simulation-Based Learning: The Learning-Forgetting-Relearning Process and Impact of Learning History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidovitch, Lior; Parush, Avi; Shtub, Avy

2008-01-01

The results of empirical experiments evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning-forgetting-relearning process in a dynamic project management simulation environment are reported. Sixty-six graduate engineering students performed repetitive simulation-runs with a break period of several weeks between the runs. The students used a…

Indigenous Cultural Contexts for STEM Experiences: Snow Snakes' Impact on Students and the Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Brant G.; Roehrig, Gillian

2018-01-01

Opportunities for American Indian youth to meaningfully engage in school-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences have historically been inadequate. As a consequence, American Indian students perform lower on standardized assessments of science education than their peers. In this article we describe the emergence…

Increasing Student Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy through Gamification Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banfield, James; Wilkerson, Brad

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess gamification as a method of experiential learning theory (ELT) on student motivation and self-efficacy to perform System Engineering/Information Assurance (IA) tasks. The study was a basic qualitative method, whereby data was collected via semi-structured interview and then analyzed for recurring themes and…

Students' Perceptions of Dynamics Concept Pairs and Correlation with Their Problem-Solving Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fang, Ning

2012-01-01

A concept pair is a pair of concepts that are fundamentally different but closely related. To develop a solid conceptual understanding in dynamics (a foundational engineering science course) and physics, students must understand the fundamental difference and relationship between two concepts that are included in each concept pair. However, all…

Perspective on Flipping Circuits I

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Gloria J.; Patrick, Erin E.; Srivastava, Ramakant; Law, Mark E.

2014-01-01

A flipped-classroom approach was implemented in a Circuits I class for electrical and computer engineering majors to lower its high attrition and failure rate. Students were asked to watch online lectures and then come to class prepared to work problems in small groups of four. The attitude, retention, and performance of students in the flipped…

Measuring Learners' Attitudes toward Team Projects: Scale Development Through Exploratory And Confirmatory Factor Analyses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chyung, Seung Youn; Winiecki, Donald J.; Hunt, Gary; Sevier, Carol M.

2017-01-01

Team projects are increasingly used in engineering courses. Students may develop attitudes toward team projects from prior experience, and their attitudinal responses could influence their performance during team project-based learning in the future. Thus, instructors need to measure students' attitudes toward team projects during their learner…

Analysis of Associate Degree Program for Traffic Safety Technicians. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shimada, Jonathan K.

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the Associate Degree Program for Traffic Engineering Technicians (TET's) offered at three community colleges on students' subsequent job performance as technicians. Data were collected by means of personal interviews and telephone interviews with 81 students, their primary instructors, and their…

Development of a Short-Form Measure of Science and Technology Self-Efficacy Using Rasch Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamb, Richard L.; Vallett, David; Annetta, Leonard

2014-01-01

Despite an increased focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in U.S. schools, today's students often struggle to maintain adequate performance in these fields compared with students in other countries (Cheek in "Thinking constructively about science, technology, and society education." State University of New…

What’s in a Prerequisite? A Mixed-Methods Approach to Identifying the Impact of a Prerequisite Course

PubMed Central

Sato, Brian K.; Lee, Amanda K.; Alam, Usman; Dang, Jennifer V.; Dacanay, Samantha J.; Morgado, Pedro; Pirino, Giorgia; Brunner, Jo Ellen; Castillo, Leanne A.; Chan, Valerie W.; Sandholtz, Judith H.

2017-01-01

Despite the ubiquity of prerequisites in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, there has been minimal effort to assess their value in a data-driven manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the impact of prerequisites in the context of a microbiology lecture and lab course pairing. Through interviews and an online survey, students highlighted a number of positive attributes of prerequisites, including their role in knowledge acquisition, along with negative impacts, such as perhaps needlessly increasing time to degree and adding to the cost of education. We also identified a number of reasons why individuals do or do not enroll in prerequisite courses, many of which were not related to student learning. In our particular curriculum, students did not believe the microbiology lecture course impacted success in the lab, which agrees with our analysis of lab course performance using a previously established “familiarity” scale. These conclusions highlight the importance of soliciting and analyzing student feedback, and triangulating these data with quantitative performance metrics to assess the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula. PMID:28232587

Graduate Student Program in Materials and Engineering Research and Development for Future Accelerators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spentzouris, Linda

The objective of the proposal was to develop graduate student training in materials and engineering research relevant to the development of particle accelerators. Many components used in today's accelerators or storage rings are at the limit of performance. The path forward in many cases requires the development of new materials or fabrication techniques, or a novel engineering approach. Often, accelerator-based laboratories find it difficult to get top-level engineers or materials experts with the motivation to work on these problems. The three years of funding provided by this grant was used to support development of accelerator components through a multidisciplinary approachmore » that cut across the disciplinary boundaries of accelerator physics, materials science, and surface chemistry. The following results were achieved: (1) significant scientific results on fabrication of novel photocathodes, (2) application of surface science and superconducting materials expertise to accelerator problems through faculty involvement, (3) development of instrumentation for fabrication and characterization of materials for accelerator components, (4) student involvement with problems at the interface of material science and accelerator physics.« less

The acquisition and transfer of knowledge of electrokinetic-hydrodynamics (EKHD) fundamentals: an introductory graduate-level course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascal, Jennifer; Tíjaro-Rojas, Rocío; Oyanader, Mario A.; Arce, Pedro E.

2017-09-01

Relevant engineering applications, such as bioseparation of proteins and DNA, soil-cleaning, motion of colloidal particles in different media, electrical field-based cancer treatments, and the cleaning of surfaces and coating flows, belongs to the family of 'Applied Field Sensitive Process Technologies' requiring an external field to move solutes in a fluid within a fibrous (or porous) domain. This field incorporates an additional variable that makes the analysis very challenging and can create for the student a number of new problems to solve. A graduate-level course, based on active-learning approaches and High Performance Learning Environments, where transfer of knowledge plays a key role, was designed by the Chemical Engineering Department at Tennessee Technological University. This course, where the fundamentals principles of EKHD were taught to science, engineering and technology students was designed by the Chemical Engineering Department at the Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN. An important number of these students were able to grasp the tools required to advance their research projects that led to numerous technical presentations in professional society meetings and publications in peered-reviewed journals.

A Comparative Study to Predict Student’s Performance Using Educational Data Mining Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uswatun Khasanah, Annisa; Harwati

2017-06-01

Student’s performance prediction is essential to be conducted for a university to prevent student fail. Number of student drop out is one of parameter that can be used to measure student performance and one important point that must be evaluated in Indonesia university accreditation. Data Mining has been widely used to predict student’s performance, and data mining that applied in this field usually called as Educational Data Mining. This study conducted Feature Selection to select high influence attributes with student performance in Department of Industrial Engineering Universitas Islam Indonesia. Then, two popular classification algorithm, Bayesian Network and Decision Tree, were implemented and compared to know the best prediction result. The outcome showed that student’s attendance and GPA in the first semester were in the top rank from all Feature Selection methods, and Bayesian Network is outperforming Decision Tree since it has higher accuracy rate.

Influence of gender in choosing a career amongst engineering fields: a survey study from Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bucak, Seyda; Kadirgan, Neset

2011-10-01

The aim of this study is to understand the motivating factors behind students' choices in their decision-making process and also get an insight on their perception of different engineering branches. A survey was prepared and the results were evaluated amongst 1163 answers. Two major influences on student's decision in their professional choices are shown to be career services and family members. Generally, students have claimed to choose a profession based on 'finding a job' and 'being happy'. Some engineering branches such as Genetic and Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Industrial Engineering, are shown to be distinctly preferred by female students, whereas mechanical, civil and electronic engineering are favourites for male students. The survey results were also compared with the distribution of male and female students in various engineering departments. This study clearly shows that certain engineering branches are perceived as more appropriate for women and are thus favoured by female students, while those perceived as more appropriate for men are favoured by male students.

Student attraction to engineering through flexibility and breadth in the curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alpay, E.

2013-03-01

Several European universities provide entry to general engineering studies prior to degree specialisation. The potential advantages of such entry include the provision of a broader foundation in engineering fundamentals, the option for students to defer specialisation until a greater awareness of the different engineering disciplines and the preparation of students for a more versatile career. In this paper, the attractiveness of general engineering (specifically in the first year of study) is explored through a national (UK) survey on pre-university students. Attention is given to gauging student enthusiasm for flexibility in engineering specialisation, combined degree options and exposure to other non-technical courses. The findings indicate that a general engineering programme is highly attractive to students who are currently considering an engineering degree. The programme is also attractive to some students who had previously not considered engineering. For both sets of students, the desire for education on broader topics is indicated, specifically in areas of leadership, teamwork and business skills, and more generally self-awareness and personal development.

Hey kid! Wanna build a loudspeaker? The first one's free

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrett, Steven

2005-09-01

In 2000, Penn State University instituted a First Year Seminar (FYS) requirement for every entering undergraduate student. This paper describes a hands-on FYS on audio engineering that has each freshman, in a class of 20, construct and test a two-way loudspeaker system during eight 2-hour meetings. Time and resource constraints dictated that the speaker system must be assembled using only hand tools and characterized using only an oscillator and digital multimeters. Due to limitations on the funds made available for each FYS by the College of Engineering, the total cost of entire system could not exceed $65/side. Each student is provided with a woofer, tweeter, crossover components, and enclosure parts to build one speaker system. The students are offered the option of purchasing a second set of parts for $65 so that they can complete the course with a stereo pair. Ninety percent of the students exercise the stereo option. This presentation will describe the speaker system, using an enclosure made primarily from PVC plumbing parts, and the four laboratory exercises that the students perform and write up that are designed to introduce basic engineering concepts including graphing, electrical impedance, resonance, transfer functions, mechanical and gas stiffness, and nondestructive parameter measurement.

Engineering Outreach: A Successful Initiative with Gifted Students in Science and Technology in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Yuen-Yan; Hui, Diane; Dickinson, Anthony R.; Chu, Dennis; Cheng, David Ki-Wai; Cheung, Edward; Ki, Wing-Hung; Lau, Wing-Hong; Wong, Jasper; Lo, Edward W. C.; Luk, Kwai-Man

2010-01-01

The primary goal of engineering outreach is to attract prospective students to engineering education and the engineering profession. Gifted students, especially those identified as possessing unusually high abilities in science and technology, are especially promising students to attract to careers in engineering. It is critical to cultivate these…

Learning-Centered Instruction of Engineering Graphics for Freshman Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pucha, Raghuram V.; Utschig, Tristan T.

2012-01-01

Teaching "Engineering Graphics" to freshman engineering students poses challenges to instructors as well as to students. While the instructors are confronted with a lack of material / text book that covers the broad scope of the subject matter, the students struggle to correlate newly developed skills to real-world engineering design problems…

Diving Deep: A Comparative Study of Educator Undergraduate and Graduate Backgrounds and Their Effect on Student Understanding of Engineering and Engineering Careers, Utilizing an Underwater Robotics Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scribner, J. Adam

Numerous studies have demonstrated that educators having degrees in their subjects significantly enhances student achievement, particularly in secondary mathematics and science (Chaney, 1995; Goe, 2007; Rowan, Chiang, & Miller, 1997; Wenglinsky, 2000). Yet, science teachers in states that adopt the Next Generation Science Standards will be facilitating classroom engineering activities despite the fact that few have backgrounds in engineering. This quantitative study analyzed ex-post facto WaterBotics (an innovative underwater robotics curriculum for middle and high school students) data to determine if educators having backgrounds in engineering (i.e., undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering) positively affected student learning on two engineering outcomes: 1) the engineering design process, and 2) understanding of careers in engineering (who engineers are and what engineers do). The results indicated that educators having backgrounds in engineering did not significantly affect student understanding of the engineering design process or careers in engineering when compared to educators having backgrounds in science, mathematics, technology education, or other disciplines. There were, however, statistically significant differences between the groups of educators. Students of educators with backgrounds in technology education had the highest mean score on assessments pertaining to the engineering design process while students of educators with disciplines outside of STEM had the highest mean scores on instruments that assess for student understanding of careers in engineering. This might be due to the fact that educators who lack degrees in engineering but who teach engineering do a better job of "sticking to the script" of engineering curricula.

A photovoltaics module for incoming science, technology, engineering and mathematics undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dark, Marta L.

2011-05-01

Photovoltaic-cell-based projects have been used to train eight incoming undergraduate women who were part of a residential summer programme at a women's college. A module on renewable energy and photovoltaic cells was developed in the physics department. The module's objectives were to introduce women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors to physical phenomena, to develop quantitative literacy and communication skills, and to increase the students' interest in physics. The students investigated the performance of commercially available silicon semiconductors through experiments they designed, carried out and analysed. They fabricated and tested organic dye-based solar cells. This article describes the programme, the solar cell module, and presents some experimental results obtained by the students.

American Society of Civil Engineers | ASCE

Science.gov Websites

Diversity and Inclusion Civil Engineering Salaries Pre-College Outreach Student Resources University Civil Engineering Salaries Support for Students & Teachers Pre-College Outreach Student Resources Ethics Diversity and Inclusion Civil Engineering Salaries Support for Students & Teachers Pre-College

Group by Subject or by Ability? Tertiary Mathematics for Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plank, Michael; James, Alex; Hannah, John

2011-01-01

The mathematics topics taught to engineering students at university are ostensibly no different to those taught to mathematics majors, so should these students be taught together or separately? Should engineering students be segregated by ability in their mathematics classes? This study analyses the grades of over 1000 engineering students, and…

African American student perception of persistence in engineering at a predominantly white institution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Sean T.

This study examines African American student perceptions of persistence in engineering. The research design is methodologically qualitative using a purposefully selected population of engineering students. Semi-structured interviews were designed to develop an in-depth understanding of what completion of the engineering degree means to African American engineering students. This research seeks insight into the linkages between African American student perceptions of persistence as it relates to both the academic and social culture of the engineering department. Vincent Tinto's model of Institutional Departure (1975, 1987) is one of the most commonly cited models of persistence in higher education (Braxton, Milem, Sullivan, 2000). Tinto's model was leveraged in this study to understand perceptions obtained through student interviews. Tinto suggests that exploration of student goal commitment and perceptions of institutional commitment are key to understanding student persistence. Results of this study suggest that African American students have perceptions about the university that may influence the decision to persist in engineering. Ultimately, this study may prove useful to researchers and administrators interested in improving access and success for African American engineering students.

The Five-Factor Model Personality Assessment for Improved Student Design Team Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogot, Madara; Okudan, Gul E.

2006-01-01

Researchers have long noted the correlation of various personality traits and team performance. Studies relating aggregate team personality traits to team performance are scattered in the literature and may not always be relevant to engineering design teams. This paper synthesizes the results from applicable Five-Factor Model (FFM)-based…

Students' Changing Images of Engineering and Engineers. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jocuns, Andrew; Stevens, Reed; Garrison, Lari; Amos, Daniel

2008-01-01

This study analyzes the images of engineers and engineering that students construct over the course of their undergraduate engineering educations. Students in their first year of study to become engineers knew very little about the work they would be doing as an engineer and their expectations were more specific, hopeful, and high status than…

Success in introductory college physics: The role of gender, high school preparation, and student learning perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jean Chi-Jen

Physics is fundamental for science, engineering, medicine, and for understanding many phenomena encountered in people's daily lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between student success in college-level introductory physics courses and various educational and background characteristics. The primary variables of this study were gender, high school mathematics and science preparation, preference and perceptions of learning physics, and performance in introductory physics courses. Demographic characteristics considered were age, student grade level, parents' occupation and level of education, high school senior grade point average, and educational goals. A Survey of Learning Preference and Perceptions was developed to collect the information for this study. A total of 267 subjects enrolled in six introductory physics courses, four algebra-based and two calculus-based, participated in the study conducted during Spring Semester 2002. The findings from the algebra-based physics courses indicated that participant's educational goal, high school senior GPA, father's educational level, mother's educational level, and mother's occupation in the area of science, engineering, or computer technology were positively related to performance while participant age was negatively related. Biology preparation, mathematics preparation, and additional mathematics and science preparation in high school were also positively related to performance. The relationships between the primary variables and performance in calculus-based physics courses were limited to high school senior year GPA and high school physics preparation. Findings from all six courses indicated that participant's educational goal, high school senior GPA, father's educational level, and mother's occupation in the area of science, engineering, or computer technology, high school preparation in mathematics, biology, and the completion of additional mathematics and science courses were positively related to performance. No significant performance differences were found between male and female students. However, there were significant gender differences in physics learning perceptions. Female participants tended to try to understand physics materials and relate the physics problems to real world situations while their male counterparts tended to rely on rote learning and equation application. This study found that participants performed better by trying to understand the physics material and relate physics problems to real world situations. Participants who relied on rote learning did not perform well.

Chemistry teaching in the new degrees of Agricultural Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arce, Augusto; Tarquis, Ana Maria; Castellanos, Maria Teresa; Requejo, Maria Isabel; Cartagena, Maria Carmen

2013-04-01

The academic year 2011-12 is the second one implementing Bologna process in ETSI at the subjects of Agricultural Chemistry I and Chemistry II in the new four Degrees: Graduate in Engineering and Agricultural Science, Food Engineering Graduate, Graduate Environmental and engineering Graduate in Biotechnology, for it has been necessary to design and implement new interactive methodologies in the teaching-learning process based on the use of the virtual platform of the UPM, implement new evaluation systems that promote continued participation active student and the development of educational materials to support the subjects of chemistry designed new degrees within the EEES. In addition to the above actions, an assessment test prior chemistry knowledge has been made to all students who enter into Agricultural Grades, improving laboratory practices and the comparative study of academic obtained by the students of the new grades in the subjects of chemistry during the year 2011-12 compared to the 2010-11 academic year. More than 15,000 data have showed a good correlation between the student's prior knowledge, the level test performed, test scores, the overall success rate of the course and the abandonment of the different degrees. Academic results show a higher percentage of students enrolled and presented on a greater number of passes on students enrolled in the 2011-12 academic year for students enrolled in the previous academic year. The improved results have influenced the actions taken and the level of knowledge with students entering. Finally, we propose possible solutions to fix these results in future courses, aiming to improve the degree of efficiency, success and significant absenteeism in the first year as it will condition the dropout rate of these new degrees. Acknowledgements: Proyecto de Innovación Educativa N° IE02054-11/12 UPM. 2012.

Educating next-generation civil engineers about smart structures technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yunfeng

2005-05-01

The implementation of smart structures technology in the design, construction and maintenance of civil and mechanical systems have been shown beneficial to the performance enhancement, operating efficiency and reliability of structural systems. However, most of today's engineering students are unaware of the remarkable properties of smart sensors and many applications of smart structures technology. It is thus desirable to prepare the future engineers of the society for the cutting-edge technologies in smart structures, for which they may see broad application in their generation. Pioneering work in incorporating smart structures technologies into civil engineering curriculum has been done by the writer at Lehigh University and is described in this paper. In particular, a graduate-level course entitled "Smart Structural Systems" has been taught in the Spring Semester of Year 2004 at Lehigh University. To better convey the course material to students, a smart structures test-bed, which is used not only to showcase various technological aspects of a smart structural system but also offer students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience by doing experiments has been under development at Lehigh University. The hands-on experience that could be developed with the smart structures test-bed is believed being essential for students to have a good understanding and mastering of the smart structures technologies.

Effect of an Engineering Camp on Students' Perceptions of Engineering and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammack, Rebekah; Ivey, Toni A.; Utley, Juliana; High, Karen A.

2015-01-01

Students' knowledge about a profession influences their future decisions about careers. Research indicates that students tend to hold stereotypical views of engineers, which would hinder engineering as a career choice. The purpose of this study was to measure how participating in a week long engineering summer camp affected middle school students'…

Examining student performance in an introductory Physics for engineering course: A quantitative case study.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valente, Diego; Savkar, Amit; Mokaya, Fridah; Wells, James

The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) has been analyzed and studied in various ways with regards to students' understanding of basic physics concepts. We present normalized learning gains and effect size calculations of FCI scores, taken in the context of large-scale classes in a 4-year public university and course instruction that incorporates elements of Just-In-Time teaching and active learning components. In addition, we will present here a novel way of using FCI pre- and post-test as a predictor of students' performance on midterm and final exams. Utilizing a taxonomy table of physics concepts, we will look at student performance broken down by topic, while also examining possible correlations between FCI post-test scores and other course assessments. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), UConn.

Evolution of Students' Varied Conceptualizations About Socially Responsible Engineering: A Four Year Longitudinal Study.

PubMed

Rulifson, Greg; Bielefeldt, Angela R

2018-03-20

Engineers should learn how to act on their responsibility to society during their education. At present, however, it is unknown what students think about the meaning of socially responsible engineering. This paper synthesizes 4 years of longitudinal interviews with engineering students as they progressed through college. The interviews revolved broadly around how students saw the connections between engineering and social responsibility, and what influenced these ideas. Using the Weidman Input-Environment-Output model as a framework, this research found that influences included required classes such as engineering ethics, capstone design, and some technical courses, pre-college volunteering and familial values, co-curricular groups such as Engineers Without Borders and the Society of Women Engineers, as well as professional experiences through internships. Further, some experiences such as technical courses and engineering internships contributed to confine students' understanding of an engineer's social responsibility. Overall, students who stayed in engineering tended to converge on basic responsibilities such as safety and bettering society as a whole, but tended to become less concerned with improving the lives of the marginalized and disadvantaged. Company loyalty also became important for some students. These results have valuable, transferable contributions, providing guidance to foster students' ideas on socially responsible engineering.

Preparing systems engineering and computing science students in disciplined methods, quantitative, and advanced statistical techniques to improve process performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCray, Wilmon Wil L., Jr.

The research was prompted by a need to conduct a study that assesses process improvement, quality management and analytical techniques taught to students in U.S. colleges and universities undergraduate and graduate systems engineering and the computing science discipline (e.g., software engineering, computer science, and information technology) degree programs during their academic training that can be applied to quantitatively manage processes for performance. Everyone involved in executing repeatable processes in the software and systems development lifecycle processes needs to become familiar with the concepts of quantitative management, statistical thinking, process improvement methods and how they relate to process-performance. Organizations are starting to embrace the de facto Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI RTM) Models as process improvement frameworks to improve business processes performance. High maturity process areas in the CMMI model imply the use of analytical, statistical, quantitative management techniques, and process performance modeling to identify and eliminate sources of variation, continually improve process-performance; reduce cost and predict future outcomes. The research study identifies and provides a detail discussion of the gap analysis findings of process improvement and quantitative analysis techniques taught in U.S. universities systems engineering and computing science degree programs, gaps that exist in the literature, and a comparison analysis which identifies the gaps that exist between the SEI's "healthy ingredients " of a process performance model and courses taught in U.S. universities degree program. The research also heightens awareness that academicians have conducted little research on applicable statistics and quantitative techniques that can be used to demonstrate high maturity as implied in the CMMI models. The research also includes a Monte Carlo simulation optimization model and dashboard that demonstrates the use of statistical methods, statistical process control, sensitivity analysis, quantitative and optimization techniques to establish a baseline and predict future customer satisfaction index scores (outcomes). The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model and industry benchmarks were used as a framework for the simulation model.

Enhancing Diversity in Undergraduate Science: Self-Efficacy Drives Performance Gains with Active Learning

PubMed Central

Ballen, Cissy J.; Wieman, Carl; Salehi, Shima; Searle, Jeremy B.; Zamudio, Kelly R.

2017-01-01

Efforts to retain underrepresented minority (URM) students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have shown only limited success in higher education, due in part to a persistent achievement gap between students from historically underrepresented and well-represented backgrounds. To test the hypothesis that active learning disproportionately benefits URM students, we quantified the effects of traditional versus active learning on student academic performance, science self-efficacy, and sense of social belonging in a large (more than 250 students) introductory STEM course. A transition to active learning closed the gap in learning gains between non-URM and URM students and led to an increase in science self-efficacy for all students. Sense of social belonging also increased significantly with active learning, but only for non-URM students. Through structural equation modeling, we demonstrate that, for URM students, the increase in self-efficacy mediated the positive effect of active-learning pedagogy on two metrics of student performance. Our results add to a growing body of research that supports varied and inclusive teaching as one pathway to a diversified STEM workforce. PMID:29054921

Using Self-Determination Theory to Build Communities of Support to Aid in the Retention of Women in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dell, Elizabeth M.; Verhoeven, Yen; Christman, Jeanne W.; Garrick, Robert D.

2018-01-01

Diverse perspectives are required to address the technological problems facing our world. Although women perform as well as their male counterparts in math and science prior to entering college, the numbers of women students entering and completing engineering programmes are far below their representation in the workforce. This paper reports on a…

Engine Tune-up Service. Unit 4: Secondary Circuit. Review Exercise Book. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacon, E. Miles

This book of pretests and review exercises is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 4, Secondary Circuit, available separately as CE 031 214. Focus of the exercises and pretests is testing and servicing the secondary ignition circuit. Pretests and performance checklists are provided for each of the seven…

Engine Tune-up Service. Unit 2: Charging System. Posttests. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Roger L.; Bacon, E. Miles

This book of posttests is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 2, Charging System, available separately as CE 031 208. Focus of the posttest is on the testing of the charging system. One multiple choice posttest is provided, that covers the three performance objectives contained in the unit. (No answer key is…

Engine Tune-Up Service. Unit 5: Fuel and Carburetion Systems. Posttests. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morse, David T.

This book of posttests is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 5, Fuel and Carburetion Systems; available separately as CE 031 217. Focus of the posttests is the inspecting and servicing of the fuel and carburetion systems. One multiple choice posttest is provided that covers the 10 performance objectives…

Engine Tune-up Service. Unit 6: Emission Control Systems. Review Exercise Book. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacon, E. Miles

This book of pretests and review exercises is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 6, Emission Control Systems, available separately as CE 031 220. Focus of the exercises and pretests is inspecting, testing, and servicing emission control systems. Pretests and performance checklists are provided for each of the…

The Impact of the Pre-Instructional Cognitive Profile on Learning Gain and Final Exam of Physics Courses: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capizzo, Maria Concetta; Nuzzo, Silvana; Zarcone, Michelangelo

2006-01-01

The case study described in this paper investigates the relationship among some pre-instructional knowledge, the learning gain and the final physics performance of computing engineering students in the introductory physics course. The results of the entrance engineering test (EET) have been used as a measurement of reading comprehension, logic and…

Engineering, Technology and Science Disciplines and Gender Difference: A Case Study among Indian Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheruvalath, Reena

2018-01-01

It is proposed to examine the argument that females cannot perform better in engineering and science fields because of their poor mathematical or logical reasoning. The major reason for the reduced number of females in the above fields in India is the socio-cultural aversion towards females choosing the field and restriction in providing higher…

Negative Impact of Employment on Engineering Student Time Management, Time to Degree, and Retention: Faculty, Administrator, and Staff Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyson, Will

2012-01-01

Interviews with faculty, administrators, staff, and students at four engineering programs reveal the role of undergraduate student employment on retention and timely degree completion among engineering students. Dueling narratives reveal how student approaches to earning an engineering degree differ greatly from faculty, administrator, and staff…

A study of female students enrollment in engineering technology stem programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habib, Ihab S.

The problem studied in this research project was the enrollment of female STEM Engineering Technology students and the impact of professional mentoring and financial incentives on their enrollment, retention, and completion of engineering curriculum. Several tasks were presented in researchers' professional position; to recruit more students to the program, especially female as a minority in the Engineering Technology Department, make appropriate changes to the curriculum, and make improvements in mentoring students to improve rates of enrollment, retention, and completion of the program. A survey was created to study the effects of Science Engineering Technology and Mathematics for Engineering Technology (STEM ENGT) students' perceptions, mentorship, and scholarships availability, enrollment, retention, and program completion by enrolled student gender. Other studies have discovered that more scholarship and faculty mentorship support provided for female students resulted in improved diversity within engineering curricula student bodies (Sorcinelli, 2007).

College Admissions and Academic Ethic: How Context-Specific Evaluation within a Science-Based Compensatory Program Benefits African American Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wooten, Melissa E.

2016-01-01

This study investigates how the college readiness of participants in a compensatory program designed to facilitate interest in science and engineering was determined. Archival data were used to qualitatively analyze the performance reports of 205 student participants during the compensatory program's first 5 years. Findings indicate participants…

Content Delivery Using Augmented Reality to Enhance Students' Performance in a Building Design and Assembly Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shirazi, Arezoo; Behzadan, Amir H.

2015-01-01

Recent studies suggest that the number of students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees has been generally decreasing. An extensive body of research cites the lack of motivation and engagement in the learning process as a major underlying reason of this decline. It has been discussed that if properly…

Leveraging Quiz-Based Multiple-Prize Web Tournaments for Reinforcing Routine Mathematical Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez-Tablas, Ana I.; de Fuentes, Jose M.; Hernandez-Ardieta, Jorge L.; Ramos, Benjamin

2013-01-01

In Higher Education Engineering studies, there exists the need of engaging students in performing drill and practice activities with the goal of reinforcing routine mathematical skills. The usual optionality of these tasks entails the risk of students not fulfilling them in an effective way. Although competitive approaches are not a trend in…

Education in Brazil

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

student dropout rate and a lacking scientific tradition. This paper would be beneficial to someone interested in educa- tion, especially the...Competition is keen, especially in engineering, and medicine. The test is very difficult. It tests students knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics...States’ Industrial and National War Colleges and prepares "civilians and military to perform executive and advisory functions, especially in those

Enhancing Force Concept Inventory Diagnostics to Identify Dominant Misconceptions in First-Year Engineering Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Blas, Teresa; Seidel, Luis; Serrano-Fernandez, Ana

2010-01-01

This work presents the results of a study whose aim is to detect systematic errors about the concept of force among freshmen students. The researchers analysed the results of the Force Concept Inventory test, which was administered to two different groups of students. The results show that, although there were significant performance variations…

Student Attraction, Persistence and Retention in STEM Programs: Successes and Continuing Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sithole, Alec; Chiyaka, Edward T.; McCarthy, Peter; Mupinga, Davison M.; Bucklein, Brian K.; Kibirige, Joachim

2017-01-01

Low student enrollment and high attrition rates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education are major challenges in higher education. Many STEM entrants end-up switching their majors to non-STEM fields, perform poorly relative to their peers in other programs, and/or drop out of college without earning any academic…

A Study of Creativity in CaC[subscript 2] Steamship-Derived STEM Project-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lou, Shi-Jer; Chou, Yung-Chieh; Shih, Ru-Chu; Chung, Chih-Chao

2017-01-01

This study mainly aimed to explore the effects of project-based learning (PBL) integrated into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities and to analyze the creativity displayed by junior high school students while performing these activities. With a quasi-experimental design, 60 ninth-grade students from a junior high…

Helping Struggling Students in Introductory Biology: A Peer-Tutoring Approach That Improves Performance, Perception, and Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batz, Zachary; Olsen, Brian J.; Dumont, Jonathan; Dastoor, Farahad; Smith, Michelle K.

2015-01-01

The high attrition rate among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors has long been an area of concern for institutions and educational researchers. The transition from introductory to advanced courses has been identified as a particularly "leaky" point along the STEM pipeline, and students who struggle early in…

Impact of Adding Internet Technology on Student Performance and Perception of Autonomy in Fundamentals of Electronics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosero-Zambrano, Carlos Andrés; Avila, Alba; Osorio, Luz Adriana; Aguirre, Sandra

2018-01-01

The coupling of the traditional classroom instruction and a virtual learning environment (VLE) in an engineering course is critical to stimulating the learning process and to encouraging students to develop competencies outside of the classroom. This can be achieved through planned activities and the use of information and communication…

Linking First-Year and Senior Engineering Design Teams: Engaging Early Academic Career Students in Engineering Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Garey A.; Weckler, Paul; Thomas, Dan

2015-01-01

In Biosystems Engineering at Oklahoma State University, senior design is a two semester course in which students work on real-world projects provided by clients. First-year (freshmen and trans­fer) students enroll in an introductory engineering course. Historically, these students worked on a team-based analysis project, and the engineering design…

Disciplinary Differences in Out-of-School High School Science Experiences and Influence on Students' Engineering Choices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godwin, Allison; Sonnert, Gerhard; Sadler, Philip M.

2016-01-01

Participation from a variety of students is important to the long-term growth of the engineering field. Much of the research on engineering recruitment or career choice has focused on engineering as a whole, even though engineering disciplines are varied in student participation and focus. This work examines how students' out-of-school interests…

Engineering students' sustainability approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haase, S.

2014-05-01

Sustainability issues are increasingly important in engineering work all over the world. This article explores systematic differences in self-assessed competencies, interests, importance, engagement and practices of newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark in relation to environmental and non-environmental sustainability issues. The empirical base of the article is a nation-wide, web-based survey sent to all newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark commencing their education in the fall term 2010. The response rate was 46%. The survey focused on a variety of different aspects of what can be conceived as sustainability. By means of cluster analysis, three engineering student approaches to sustainability are identified and described. The article provides knowledge on the different prerequisites of engineering students in relation to the role of sustainability in engineering. This information is important input to educators trying to target new engineering students and contribute to the provision of engineers equipped to meet sustainability challenges.

Energy Supplement. Supplement to School Planning and Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoff, Larry

2001-01-01

Presents the following articles on energy efficiency and American public schools: "High Performance Schools Reduce Costs and Improve Student and Staff Environment" (Larry Schoff); "ASHRAE's Standard 90.1: Educating the Engineer" (Mack and Melanie Wallace"; and "Performance Contracting: Meeting the Challenge of Deferred Maintenance in America's…

Industrial Assessment Centers - Small Manufacturers Reduce Energy & Increase Productivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Since 1976, the Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs), administered by the US Department of Energy, have supported small and medium-sized American manufacturers to reduce energy use and increase their productivity and competitiveness. The 24 IACs, located at premier engineering universities around the country (see below), send faculty and engineering students to local small and medium-sized manufacturers to provide no-cost assessments of energy use, process performance and waste and water flows. Under the direction of experienced professors, IAC engineering students analyze the manufacturer’s facilities, energy bills and energy, waste and water systems, including compressed air, motors/pumps, lighting, process heat and steam. Themore » IACs then follow up with written energy-saving and productivity improvement recommendations, with estimates of related costs and payback periods.« less

How to make mathematics relevant to first-year engineering students: perceptions of students on student-produced resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loch, Birgit; Lamborn, Julia

2016-01-01

Many approaches to make mathematics relevant to first-year engineering students have been described. These include teaching practical engineering applications, or a close collaboration between engineering and mathematics teaching staff on unit design and teaching. In this paper, we report on a novel approach where we gave higher year engineering and multimedia students the task to 'make maths relevant' for first-year students. This approach is novel as we moved away from the traditional thinking that staff should produce these resources to students producing the same. These students have more recently undertaken first-year mathematical study themselves and can also provide a more mature student perspective to the task than first-year students. Two final-year engineering students and three final-year multimedia students worked on this project over the Australian summer term and produced two animated videos showing where concepts taught in first-year mathematics are applied by professional engineers. It is this student perspective on how to make mathematics relevant to first-year students that we investigate in this paper. We analyse interviews with higher year students as well as focus groups with first-year students who had been shown the videos in class, with a focus on answering the following three research questions: (1) How would students demonstrate the relevance of mathematics in engineering? (2) What are first-year students' views on the resources produced for them? (3) Who should produce resources to demonstrate the relevance of mathematics? There seemed to be some disagreement between first- and final-year students as to how the importance of mathematics should be demonstrated in a video. We therefore argue that it should ideally be a collaboration between higher year students and first-year students, with advice from lecturers, to produce such resources.

Improving collaborative learning in online software engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neill, Colin J.; DeFranco, Joanna F.; Sangwan, Raghvinder S.

2017-11-01

Team projects are commonplace in software engineering education. They address a key educational objective, provide students critical experience relevant to their future careers, allow instructors to set problems of greater scale and complexity than could be tackled individually, and are a vehicle for socially constructed learning. While all student teams experience challenges, those in fully online programmes must also deal with remote working, asynchronous coordination, and computer-mediated communications all of which contribute to greater social distance between team members. We have developed a facilitation framework to aid team collaboration and have demonstrated its efficacy, in prior research, with respect to team performance and outcomes. Those studies indicated, however, that despite experiencing improved project outcomes, students working in effective software engineering teams did not experience significantly improved individual achievement. To address this deficiency we implemented theoretically grounded refinements to the collaboration model based upon peer-tutoring research. Our results indicate a modest, but statistically significant (p = .08), improvement in individual achievement using this refined model.

NASA-UVA Light Aerospace Alloy and Structures Technology Program: LA(2)ST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gangloff, Richard P.; Haviland, John K.; Herakovich, Carl T.; Pilkey, Walter D.; Pindera, Marek-Jerzy; Scully, John R.; Stoner, Glenn E.; Thornton, Earl A.; Wawner, Franklin E., Jr.; Wert, John A.

1993-01-01

The NASA-UVA Light Aerospace Alloy and Structures Technology (LA(2)ST) Program continues a high level of activity, with projects being conducted by graduate students and faculty advisors in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Virginia. This work is funded by the NASA-Langley Research Center under Grant NAG-1-745. We report on progress achieved between July 1 and December 31, 1992. The objective of the LA(2)ST Program is to conduct interdisciplinary graduate student research on the performance of next generation, light weight aerospace alloys, composites and thermal gradient structures in collaboration with NASA-Langley researchers. Specific technical objectives are presented for each research project. We generally aim to produce relevant data and basic understanding of material mechanical response, corrosion behavior, and microstructure; new monolithic and composite alloys; advanced processing methods; new solid and fluid mechanics analyses; measurement advances; and critically, a pool of educated graduate students for aerospace technologies.

NASA Ames summary high school apprenticeship research program, 1983 research papers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, P.

1984-01-01

Engineering enrollments are rising in universities; however, the graduate engineer shortage continues. Particularly, women and minorities will be underrepresented for years to come. As one means of solving this shortage, Federal agencies facing future scientific and technological challenges were asked to participate in the Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP). This program was created 4 years ago to provide an engineering experience for gifted female and minority high school students at an age when they could still make career and education decisions. The SHARP Program is designed for high school juniors (women and minorities) who are U.S. citizens, are 16 years old, and who have unusually high promise in mathematics and science through outstanding academic performance in high school. Students who are accepted into this summer program will earn as they learn by working 8 hours a day in a 5-day work week. This work-study program features weekly field trips, lectures and written reports, and job experience related to the student's career interests.

Using a Low Cost Flight Simulation Environment for Interdisciplinary Education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khan, M. Javed; Rossi, Marcia; ALi, Syed F.

2004-01-01

A multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary education is increasingly being emphasized for engineering undergraduates. However, often the focus is on interaction between engineering disciplines. This paper discusses the experience at Tuskegee University in providing interdisciplinary research experiences for undergraduate students in both Aerospace Engineering and Psychology through the utilization of a low cost flight simulation environment. The environment, which is pc-based, runs a low-cost of-the-shelf software and is configured for multiple out-of-the-window views and a synthetic heads down display with joystick, rudder and throttle controls. While the environment is being utilized to investigate and evaluate various strategies for training novice pilots, students were involved to provide them with experience in conducting such interdisciplinary research. On the global inter-disciplinary level these experiences included developing experimental designs and research protocols, consideration of human participant ethical issues, and planning and executing the research studies. During the planning phase students were apprised of the limitations of the software in its basic form and the enhancements desired to investigate human factors issues. A number of enhancements to the flight environment were then undertaken, from creating Excel macros for determining the performance of the 'pilots', to interacting with the software to provide various audio/video cues based on the experimental protocol. These enhancements involved understanding the flight model and performance, stability & control issues. Throughout this process, discussions of data analysis included a focus from a human factors perspective as well as an engineering point of view.

An Exploratory Survey of Student Perspectives Regarding Search Engines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alshare, Khaled; Miller, Don; Wenger, James

2005-01-01

This study explored college students' perceptions regarding their use of search engines. The main objective was to determine how frequently students used various search engines, whether advanced search features were used, and how many search engines were used. Various factors that might influence student responses were examined. Results showed…

Learning from Fellow Engineering Students Who Have Current Professional Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, John W.; Rutherford, Ursula

2012-01-01

This paper presents an investigation of how experience-led content in an engineering degree can be strengthened by creating opportunities for engineering students to benefit from the knowledge, skills and resources of students with current professional experience. Students who study civil engineering part-time at Coventry University (while also…

High School Student Modeling in the Engineering Design Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mentzer, Nathan; Huffman, Tanner; Thayer, Hilde

2014-01-01

A diverse group of 20 high school students from four states in the US were individually provided with an engineering design challenge. Students chosen were in capstone engineering courses and had taken multiple engineering courses. As students considered the problem and developed a solution, observational data were recorded and artifacts…

Structure and Management of an Engineering Senior Design Course.

PubMed

Tanaka, Martin L; Fischer, Kenneth J

2016-07-01

The design of products and processes is an important area in engineering. Students in engineering schools learn fundamental principles in their courses but often lack an opportunity to apply these methods to real-world problems until their senior year. This article describes important elements that should be incorporated into a senior capstone design course. It includes a description of the general principles used in engineering design and a discussion of why students often have difficulty with application and revert to trial and error methods. The structure of a properly designed capstone course is dissected and its individual components are evaluated. Major components include assessing resources, identifying projects, establishing teams, understanding requirements, developing conceptual designs, creating detailed designs, building prototypes, testing performance, and final presentations. In addition to the course design, team management and effective mentoring are critical to success. This article includes suggested guidelines and tips for effective design team leadership, attention to detail, investment of time, and managing project scope. Furthermore, the importance of understanding business culture, displaying professionalism, and considerations of different types of senior projects is discussed. Through a well-designed course and proper mentoring, students will learn to apply their engineering skills and gain basic business knowledge that will prepare them for entry-level positions in industry.

Impact of Adding Internet Technology on Student Performance and Perception of Autonomy in Fundamentals of Electronics Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosero-Zambrano, Carlos Andrés; Avila, Alba; Osorio, Luz Adriana; Aguirre, Sandra

2018-04-01

The coupling of the traditional classroom instruction and a virtual learning environment (VLE) in an engineering course is critical to stimulating the learning process and to encouraging students to develop competencies outside of the classroom. This can be achieved through planned activities and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), resources designed to complement students' autonomous learning needs. A quantitative analysis of students' academic performance using final course grades was performed for a fundamentals of electronics course and we examine students' perception of their autonomy using surveys. The students' progress and attitudes were monitored over four consecutive semesters. The first began with the design of the intervention and the following three consisted in the implementation. The strategy was focused on the development of course competencies through autonomous learning with ICT tools presented in the VLE. Findings indicate that the students who did the activities in the VLE showed an increase in performance scores in comparison with students who did not do them. The strategy used in this study, which enhanced perceived autonomy, was associated with a positive effect on their learning process. This research shows that a technology-enhanced course supported by ICT activities can both improve academic performance and foster autonomy in students.

Engineers in the Classroom: Their Influence on African-American Students' Perceptions of Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Stephen; Lyons, Jed

2008-01-01

A Draw an Engineer Test was used to capture the perceptions of engineering held by two similar groups of 6th grade African-American students. Forty-four students who had graduate level engineers in their classrooms during a prior school year as part of a GK-12 project were matched to 44 students who had not. Matching criteria included race,…

Examining elementary students' perceptions of engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oware, Euridice A.

There has been a national focus on improving K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The integration of engineering education from kindergarten through high school (K-12) has been identified as key to sustaining the U.S. economy and standard of living. Misconceptions about the nature of engineering may deter children from even considering this profession. Currently, there are few research studies on young children's perceptions of engineers, and such research can be used to support children along STEM pathways. The purpose of this research was to investigate elementary students' perceptions of engineers for children enrolled in a gifted and talented outreach program. Participants included students enrolled in two structural engineering classes: one for 3rd and 4th graders and another for 5th and 6th grade students. Participants represented an age group that is not typically exposed to engineering. This research was framed within a constructivist theoretical framework, and qualitative research methods were utilized to develop a rich understanding of the perspectives of students enrolled in the engineering classes. Data collection included student pre- and post-questionnaires, Draw-an-Engineer tasks, and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis entailed the use of open and axial coding. Trustworthiness of data was determined through triangulation of multiple data sources. Results demonstrated how children describe the work of engineers, objects associated with engineering, tools used or created by engineers, and professional characteristics of engineers. In addition, images of engineers were discussed and influences on students' perceptions of engineers were identified. The findings of this study have implications for the development of formal and informal K-12 curricula and programs that focus on improving students' understanding and engagement in engineering. Implications for researchers interested in studying children's perceptions were also discussed.

Conceptual or procedural mathematics for engineering students at University of Samudra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saiman; Wahyuningsih, Puji; Hamdani

2017-06-01

This study we investigate whether the emphasis in mathematics courses for engineering students would benefit from being more conceptually oriented than more procedurally oriented way of teaching. In this paper, we report in some detail from twenty-five engineering students comes from three departements ; mechanical engineering, civil engineering and industrial engineering. The aim was to explore different kinds of arguments regarding the role of mathematics in engineering courses, as well as some common across contexts. The result of interview showed that most of engineering students feel that conceptual mathematics is more important than procedural mathematics for their job the future.

Development of concept-based physiology lessons for biomedical engineering undergraduate students.

PubMed

Nelson, Regina K; Chesler, Naomi C; Strang, Kevin T

2013-06-01

Physiology is a core requirement in the undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum. In one or two introductory physiology courses, engineering students must learn physiology sufficiently to support learning in their subsequent engineering courses and careers. As preparation for future learning, physiology instruction centered on concepts may help engineering students to further develop their physiology and biomedical engineering knowledge. Following the Backward Design instructional model, a series of seven concept-based lessons was developed for undergraduate engineering students. These online lessons were created as prerequisite physiology training to prepare students to engage in a collaborative engineering challenge activity. This work is presented as an example of how to convert standard, organ system-based physiology content into concept-based content lessons.

Things for You to Know. Fuel System. Student Manual--Introduction. Small Engine Repair Series. First Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Pamela

This student manual, part of a small-engine repair series on servicing fuel systems, is designed for use by special needs students in Texas. Information covered in this manual is considered to be the minimum that students need to know about fuel systems in order to get small-engine repair jobs. The manual introduces students to small-engine fuel…

Problem-based learning biotechnology courses in chemical engineering.

PubMed

Glatz, Charles E; Gonzalez, Ramon; Huba, Mary E; Mallapragada, Surya K; Narasimhan, Balaji; Reilly, Peter J; Saunders, Kevin P; Shanks, Jacqueline V

2006-01-01

We have developed a series of upper undergraduate/graduate lecture and laboratory courses on biotechnological topics to supplement existing biochemical engineering, bioseparations, and biomedical engineering lecture courses. The laboratory courses are based on problem-based learning techniques, featuring two- and three-person teams, journaling, and performance rubrics for guidance and assessment. Participants initially have found them to be difficult, since they had little experience with problem-based learning. To increase enrollment, we are combining the laboratory courses into 2-credit groupings and allowing students to substitute one of them for the second of our 2-credit chemical engineering unit operations laboratory courses.

Secondary Teacher Self-Efficacy and Technology Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hale, James Lee

2013-01-01

This dissertation is based on a conceptual framework founded in the plight of the United States in the critical areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, such as student performance, global economy, job opportunities, and technological innovation. Subpar performance can be traced to, among other things, education and specifically…

A novel paradigm for engineering education: virtual internships with individualized mentoring and assessment of engineering thinking.

PubMed

Chesler, Naomi C; Ruis, A R; Collier, Wesley; Swiecki, Zachari; Arastoopour, Golnaz; Williamson Shaffer, David

2015-02-01

Engineering virtual internships are a novel paradigm for providing authentic engineering experiences in the first-year curriculum. They are both individualized and accommodate large numbers of students. As we describe in this report, this approach can (a) enable students to solve complex engineering problems in a mentored, collaborative environment; (b) allow educators to assess engineering thinking; and (c) provide an introductory experience that students enjoy and find valuable. Furthermore, engineering virtual internships have been shown to increase students'-and especially women's-interest in and motivation to pursue engineering degrees. When implemented in first-year engineering curricula more broadly, the potential impact of engineering virtual internships on the size and diversity of the engineering workforce could be dramatic.

Multipurpose Educational Modules to Teach Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicle Technologies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-09-01

The goal of the overall project is to develop a software simulation for a hydraulic hybrid vehicle. The simulation will enable students to compare various hybrid configurations with conventional IC engine performance.

Degree program changes and curricular flexibility: Addressing long held beliefs about student progression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ricco, George Dante

In higher education and in engineering education in particular, changing majors is generally considered a negative event - or at least an event with negative consequences. An emergent field of study within engineering education revolves around understanding the factors and processes driving student changes of major. Of key importance to further the field of change of major research is a grasp of large scale phenomena occurring throughout multiple systems, knowledge of previous attempts at describing such issues, and the adoption of metrics to probe them effectively. The problem posed is exacerbated by the drive in higher education institutions and among state legislatures to understand and reduce time-to-degree and student attrition. With these factors in mind, insights into large-scale processes that affect student progression are essential to evaluating the success or failure of programs. The goals of this work include describing the current educational research on switchers, identifying core concepts and stumbling blocks in my treatment of switchers, and using the Multiple Institutional Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD) to explore how those who change majors perform as a function of large-scale academic pathways within and without the engineering context. To accomplish these goals, it was first necessary to delve into a recent history of the treatment of switchers within the literature and categorize their approach. While three categories of papers exist in the literature concerning change of major, all three may or may not be applicable to a given database of students or even a single institution. Furthermore, while the term has been coined in the literature, no portable metric for discussing large-scale navigational flexibility exists in engineering education. What such a metric would look like will be discussed as well as the delimitations involved. The results and subsequent discussion will include a description of changes of major, how they may or may not have a deleterious effect on one's academic pathway, the special context of changes of major in the pathways of students within first-year engineering programs students labeled as undecided, an exploration of curricular flexibility by the construction of a novel metric, and proposed future work.

Undergraduate engineering students' attitudes and perceptions towards `professional ethics' course: a case study of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sethy, Satya Sundar

2017-11-01

'Professional Ethics' has been offered as a compulsory course to undergraduate engineering students in a premier engineering institution of India. It was noticed that students' perceptions and attitudes were frivolous and ornamental towards this course. Course instructors and institution authorities were motivated to find out the factors contributing to this awkwardness. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared and administrated to 336 students registered for the July-November 2014 semester. The study found two factors contributing to students' indifference towards the Professional Ethics course. First, most of the students did not have self-interest to join the engineering programme, and while pursuing their study, they decided to switch to a different field upon completion of their engineering study. Second, students who desired to be engineers in their future believed that engineering code of ethics is not really referred to in most of the engineering jobs, and therefore Professional Ethics course is only meant for classroom discussions.

Results of Summer Enrichment Program to Promote High School Students' Interest in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Brenda; McAnulty, Kate

2014-01-01

For more than thirty years, personnel from the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering have presented a summer program targeting high school students historically underrepresented in engineering fields. INSPIRE provides these students with an introduction to careers in engineering and assists the students in planning their…

Engineering Students for the 21st Century: Student Development through the Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheville, Alan; Bunting, Chuck

2011-01-01

Through support of the National Science Foundation's Department Level Reform program, "Engineering Students for the 21st Century" (ES21C) has implemented a ten-course sequence designed to help students develop into engineers. Spread across the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) curriculum at Oklahoma State University, these…

Reaching Students: What Research Says about Effective Instruction in Undergraduate Science and Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kober, Nancy

2015-01-01

The undergraduate years are a turning point in producing scientifically literate citizens and future scientists and engineers. Evidence from research about how students learn science and engineering shows that teaching strategies that motivate and engage students will improve their learning. So how do students best learn science and engineering?…

Patent Information Use in Engineering Technology Design: An Analysis of Student Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Margaret; Zwicky, Dave

2017-01-01

How might engineering technology students make use of patent information in the engineering design process? Librarians analyzed team project reports and personal reflections created by students in an undergraduate mechanical engineering technology design course, revealing that the students used patents to consider the patentability of their ideas,…

46 CFR 166.10 - Course of study for engineering students.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Course of study for engineering students. 166.10 Section... AND APPROVAL OF NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIPS § 166.10 Course of study for engineering students. The course of study for engineering students shall include (a) all the instruction necessary to fully equip the...

46 CFR 166.10 - Course of study for engineering students.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Course of study for engineering students. 166.10 Section... AND APPROVAL OF NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIPS § 166.10 Course of study for engineering students. The course of study for engineering students shall include (a) all the instruction necessary to fully equip the...

46 CFR 166.10 - Course of study for engineering students.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Course of study for engineering students. 166.10 Section... AND APPROVAL OF NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIPS § 166.10 Course of study for engineering students. The course of study for engineering students shall include (a) all the instruction necessary to fully equip the...

46 CFR 166.10 - Course of study for engineering students.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Course of study for engineering students. 166.10 Section... AND APPROVAL OF NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIPS § 166.10 Course of study for engineering students. The course of study for engineering students shall include (a) all the instruction necessary to fully equip the...

46 CFR 166.10 - Course of study for engineering students.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Course of study for engineering students. 166.10 Section... AND APPROVAL OF NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIPS § 166.10 Course of study for engineering students. The course of study for engineering students shall include (a) all the instruction necessary to fully equip the...

Student Satisfaction with Information Provided by Academic Advisors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutton, Kyra L.; Sankar, Chetan S.

2011-01-01

The retention of engineering students is important because more than half of the students who begin engineering programs in the United States will not earn an engineering degree. A literature review showed the importance of academic advising in retaining students in engineering programs. Therefore, the goal of this study is to identify the level…

Educational Projects in Unmanned Aerial Systems at the NASA Ames Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dahlgren, Robert P.

2017-01-01

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), autonomy and robotics technology have been fertile ground for developing a wide variety of interdisciplinary student learning opportunities. In this talk, several projects will be described that leverage small fixed-wing UAS that have been modified to carry science payloads. These aircraft provide a unique hands-on experience for a wide range of students from college juniors to graduate students pursuing degrees in electrical engineering, aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, applied mathematics, physics, structural engineering and other majors. By combining rapid prototyping, design reuse and open-source philosophies, a sustainable educational program has been organized structured as full-time internships during the summer, part-time internships during the school year, short details for military cadets, and paid positions. As part of this program, every summer one or more UAS is developed from concept through design, build and test phases using the tools and facilities at the NASA Ames Research Center, ultimately obtaining statements of airworthiness and flight release from the Agency before test flights are performed. In 2016 and 2017 student projects focused on the theme of 3D printed modular airframes that may be optimized for a given mission and payload. Now in its fifth year this program has served over 35 students, and has provided a rich learning experience as they learn to rapidly develop new aircraft concepts in a highly regulated environment, on systems that will support principal investigators at university, NASA, and other US federal agencies.

Biomedical engineering education through global engineering teams.

PubMed

Scheffer, C; Blanckenberg, M; Garth-Davis, B; Eisenberg, M

2012-01-01

Most industrial projects require a team of engineers from a variety of disciplines. The team members are often culturally diverse and geographically dispersed. Many students do not acquire sufficient skills from typical university courses to function efficiently in such an environment. The Global Engineering Teams (GET) programme was designed to prepare students such a scenario in industry. This paper discusses five biomedical engineering themed projects completed by GET students. The benefits and success of the programme in educating students in the field of biomedical engineering are discussed.

Teaching Engineering Students Team Work

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levi, Daniel

1998-01-01

The purpose of this manual is to provide professor's in engineering classes which the background necessary to use student team projects effectively. This manual describes some of the characteristics of student teams and how to use them in class. It provides a set of class activities and films which can be used to introduce and support student teams. Finally, a set of teaching modules used in freshmen, sophomore, and senior aeronautical engineering classes are presented. This manual was developed as part of a NASA sponsored project to improve the undergraduate education of aeronautical engineers. The project has helped to purchase a set of team work films which can be checked out from Cal Poly's Learning Resources Center in the Kennedy Library. Research for this project has included literature reviews on team work and cooperative learning; interviews, observations, and surveys of Cal Poly students from Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Psychology; participation in the Aeronautical Engineering senior design lab; and interviews with engineering faculty. In addition to this faculty manual, there is a student team work manual which has been designed to help engineering students work better in teams.

An Australian study of possible selves perceived by undergraduate engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Dawn; Male, Sally A.

2017-11-01

In this study, we worked with second-year engineering students at an Australian university to examine previously identified threshold concepts within the theoretical framework of Possible Selves. Using workshops as the context for intensive work with students, students were encouraged to consider their future lives and work, including their engineering fears, expectations, and aspirations. The findings revealed many students to have a poor understanding of the realities of engineering work. Moreover, perceived gaps between self-efficacy and the requirements of engineering work appeared to be motivating if students deemed it possible to reduce the gap, but demotivating if they identified a characteristic over which there was perceived to be no control. The study suggests that these engineering students needed more opportunities to explore both the roles of engineers and their own possible selves. Overall, the findings indicate that higher education students may need encouragement and support to explore potential future roles, and they strengthen calls for further research in this area.

Introducing Engineering Design through an Intelligent Rube Goldberg Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acharya, Sushil; Sirinterlikci, Arif

2010-01-01

Engineering students need a head start on designing a component, a process, or a system early in their educational endeavors, and engineering design topics need to be introduced appropriately without negatively affecting students' motivation for engineering. In ENGR1010 at Robert Morris University, freshmen engineering students are introduced to…

Engine Tune-Up Service. Unit 1: Battery and Cranking System. Posttests. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodson-Roberts, Ludy; And Others

This book of posttests is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 1, Battery and Cranking System. Focus of the posttests is the testing of the battery and cranking system. Four multiple choice posttests are provided, one for each of the performance objectives contained in the unit. (No answer keys are provided.)…

Engine Tune-Up Service. Unit 5: Fuel and Carburetion Systems. Review Exercise Book. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodson, Ludy

This book of pretests and review exercises is designed to accompany the Engine Tune-Up Service Student Guide for Unit 5, Fuel and Carburetion Systems, available separately as CE 031 217. Focus of the exercises and pretests is inspecting and servicing the fuel and carburetion systems. Pretests and performance checklists are provided for each of the…

Analysing the Correlation between Social Network Analysis Measures and Performance of Students in Social Network-Based Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Putnik, Goran; Costa, Eric; Alves, Cátia; Castro, Hélio; Varela, Leonilde; Shah, Vaibhav

2016-01-01

Social network-based engineering education (SNEE) is designed and implemented as a model of Education 3.0 paradigm. SNEE represents a new learning methodology, which is based on the concept of social networks and represents an extended model of project-led education. The concept of social networks was applied in the real-life experiment,…

Perception and Intention in Relation to Engineering: A Gendered Study Based on a One-Day Outreach Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molina-Gaudo, Pilar; Baldassarri, S.; Villarroya-Gaudo, M.; Cerezo, E.

2010-01-01

This paper explores both how male and female high school pupils (15-16 years old) perceive the engineering profession and their willingness to pursue a career in this area. A study was performed around a one-day outreach activity, Girls' Day, organized for the first time in Spain. During Girls' Day, students were exposed to specific activities…

A Solution to the Small Enrollment Problem in Aerospace Engineering--Self-Paced Materials Used in an Independent Studies Mode.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fowler, Wallace T.; Watkins, R. D.

With the decline in enrollment in the early 1970's, many aerospace engineering departments had too few students to offer some required courses. At the University of Texas at Austin, a set of personalized system of instruction (PSI) materials for the aircraft performance, stability, and control course was developed. The paper includes a description…

Evolution of the teachings of chemistry in the new degrees of School of Agricultural Engineering and its importance in the acquisition of competencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arce, Augusto; Tarquis, Ana M.; Castellanos, Maria Teresa; Requejo, Maria Isabel; Cartagena, Maria Carmen

2014-05-01

The academic year 2012-13 is the third year of implementation of the Bologna process in ETSI Agricultural for the subjects Chemistry I and Chemistry II in the new four Degrees: Graduate in Engineering and Agricultural Science, Food Engineering Graduate, Graduate in Engineering Environmental and Biotechnology graduate. We have implemented new interactive methodologies in the teaching-learning process based on the use of the virtual platform of the UPM, and teaching support materials and new laboratory practice developing has. It has also launched new continuous assessment systems that promote active student participation. A comparative study of academic achievements by students of the new grades in the subjects of chemistry during the last three academic years was performed to correlating the results obtained, the success rate and the drop out, and compare with the level of prior knowledge to those entering students. Possible solutions to try and fix these results in future courses are proposed Finally, the general competencies that contribute this course, how they are acquired and how they should be evaluated correctly are indicated. Acknowledgments: Innovation educative projects Nº IE02054-11/12 UPM. 2012

Students as Teachers: Effectiveness of a Peer-Led STEM Learning Programme over 10 Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drane, Denise; Micari, Marina; Light, Gregory

2014-01-01

Peer-led small-group learning has been used quite extensively in the US to enhance performance and retention of undergraduate students in science, math, and engineering classes. This study presents the results from an evaluation of a peer-led small-group programme at a research university in the US over a 10-year period across five disciplines…

Impacts of Effective Temperature on Sectional View Drawing Ability and Implications for Engineering and Technology Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsioloudis, Petros J.

2017-01-01

Temperature can influence thermal comfort, working performance, and social behavior. In a classroom that is slightly cool, an assumption can be made that learning could be affected in a negative way. Considering this, a quasi-experimental study was done to determine if a significant difference of effective temperature have an effect on students':…

Sending Learning Pills to Mobile Devices in Class to Enhance Student Performance and Motivation in Network Services Configuration Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munoz-Organero, M.; Munoz-Merino, P. J.; Kloos, C. D.

2012-01-01

Teaching electrical and computer software engineers how to configure network services normally requires the detailed presentation of many configuration commands and their numerous parameters. Students tend to find it difficult to maintain acceptable levels of motivation. In many cases, this results in their not attending classes and not dedicating…

Correlation between a Student's Performance on the Mental Cutting Test and Their 3D Parametric Modeling Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinhauer, H. M.

2012-01-01

Engineering graphics has historically been viewed as a challenging course to teach as students struggle to grasp and understand the fundamental concepts and then to master their proper application. The emergence of stable, fast, affordable 3D parametric modeling platforms such as CATIA, Pro-E, and AutoCAD while providing several pedagogical…

The All-Purpose Science Teacher: An Analysis of Loopholes in State Requirements for High School Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Council on Teacher Quality, 2010

2010-01-01

The basic story line of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) crisis is, at this point, well known. In an increasingly interdependent and technology-driven economy, America is falling behind. A substantial number of students cannot perform basic math. U.S. students lag behind peers in international comparisons of science…

An Analysis to Determine the Management Training Requirements for Civil Engineering Superintendents and Foremen.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

34 " develop a more accurate concept of human behavior. In addition, students learn how to improve their abilities to 22 [ .". ., , . . * lead, follow...contains four volumes with 36 lessons. This block defines the arena where professional Air Force officers operate. In addition, students learn to... learned in unit A, to perform limited position classification casework, and to * -write evaluation reports. Students may either enroll in Unit A only, or in

Creating meaningful learning experiences: Understanding students' perspectives of engineering design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleong, Richard James Chung Mun

There is a societal need for design education to prepare holistic engineers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to innovate and compete globally. Design skills are paramount to the espoused values of higher education, as institutions of higher learning strive to develop in students the cognitive abilities of critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. To meet these interests from industry and academia, it is important to advance the teaching and learning of engineering design. This research aims to understand how engineering students learn and think about design, as a way for engineering educators to optimize instructional practice and curriculum development. Qualitative research methodology was used to investigate the meaning that engineering students' ascribe to engineering design. The recruitment of participants and corresponding collection of data occurred in two phases using two different data collection techniques. The first phase involved the distribution of a one-time online questionnaire to all first year, third year, and fourth year undergraduate engineering students at three Canadian Universities. After the questionnaire, students were asked if they would be willing to participate in the second phase of data collection consisting of a personal interview. A total of ten students participated in interviews. Qualitative data analysis procedures were conducted on students' responses from the questionnaire and interviews. The data analysis process consisted of two phases: a descriptive phase to code and categorize the data, followed by an interpretative phase to generate further meaning and relationships. The research findings present a conceptual understanding of students' descriptions about engineering design, structured within two educational orientations: a learning studies orientation and a curriculum studies orientation. The learning studies orientation captured three themes of students' understanding of engineering design: awareness, relevance, and transfer. With this framework of student learning, engineering educators can enhance learning experiences by engaging all three levels of students' understanding. The curriculum studies orientation applied the three holistic elements of curriculum---subject matter, society, and the individual---to conceptualize design considerations for engineering curriculum and teaching practice. This research supports the characterization of students' learning experiences to help educators and students optimize their teaching and learning of design education.

The Complex Dynamics of Student Engagement in Novel Engineering Design Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCormick, Mary

In engineering design, making sense of "messy," design situations is at the heart of the discipline (Schon, 1983); engineers in practice bring structure to design situations by organizing, negotiating, and coordinating multiple aspects (Bucciarelli, 1994; Stevens, Johri, & O'Connor, 2014). In classroom settings, however, students are more often given well-defined, content-focused engineering tasks (Jonassen, 2014). These tasks are based on the assumption that elementary students are unable to grapple with the complexity or open-endedness of engineering design (Crismond & Adams, 2012). The data I present in this dissertation suggest the opposite. I show that students are not only able to make sense of, or frame (Goffman, 1974), complex design situations, but that their framings dynamically involve their nascent abilities for engineering design. The context of this work is Novel Engineering, a larger research project that explores using children's literature as an access point for engineering design. Novel Engineering activities are inherently messy: there are characters with needs, settings with implicit constraints, and rich design situations. In a series of three studies, I show how students' framings of Novel Engineering design activities involve their reasoning and acting as beginning engineers. In the first study, I show two students whose caring for the story characters contributes to their stability in framing the task: they identify the needs of their fictional clients and iteratively design a solution to meet their clients' needs. In the second, I show how students' shifting and negotiating framings influence their engineering assumptions and evaluation criteria. In the third, I show how students' coordinating framings involve navigating a design process to meet clients' needs, classroom expectations, and technical requirements. Collectively, these studies contribute to literature by documenting students' productive beginnings in engineering design. The implications span research and practice, specifically targeting how we attend to and support students as they engage in engineering design.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: College Students Engineer Efficient Vehicles

Science.gov Websites

in EcoCAR 2 CompetitionA> College Students Engineer Efficient Vehicles in EcoCAR 2 Competition to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: College Students Engineer Efficient Vehicles in EcoCAR 2 Competition on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: College Students Engineer

How to Make Mathematics Relevant to First-Year Engineering Students: Perceptions of Students on Student-Produced Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loch, Birgit; Lamborn, Julia

2016-01-01

Many approaches to make mathematics relevant to first-year engineering students have been described. These include teaching practical engineering applications, or a close collaboration between engineering and mathematics teaching staff on unit design and teaching. In this paper, we report on a novel approach where we gave higher year engineering…

Impacts of Innovativeness and Attitude on Entrepreneurial Intention: Among Engineering and Non-Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Kris M. Y.; Breznik, Kristijan

2017-01-01

This study attempted to explore the impacts of attitudinal antecedents on students' entrepreneurial intention. Comparisons between students of engineering and non-engineering backgrounds and gender groups were made. Total of 998 students from universities in Hong Kong were surveyed, leading to a number of highlights in the study. First, it is…

Peer-Led Team Learning Helps Minority Students Succeed

PubMed Central

Snyder, Julia J.; Sloane, Jeremy D.; Dunk, Ryan D. P.; Wiles, Jason R.

2016-01-01

Active learning methods have been shown to be superior to traditional lecture in terms of student achievement, and our findings on the use of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) concur. Students in our introductory biology course performed significantly better if they engaged in PLTL. There was also a drastic reduction in the failure rate for underrepresented minority (URM) students with PLTL, which further resulted in closing the achievement gap between URM and non-URM students. With such compelling findings, we strongly encourage the adoption of Peer-Led Team Learning in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses. PMID:26959826

Peer-Led Team Learning Helps Minority Students Succeed.

PubMed

Snyder, Julia J; Sloane, Jeremy D; Dunk, Ryan D P; Wiles, Jason R

2016-03-01

Active learning methods have been shown to be superior to traditional lecture in terms of student achievement, and our findings on the use of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) concur. Students in our introductory biology course performed significantly better if they engaged in PLTL. There was also a drastic reduction in the failure rate for underrepresented minority (URM) students with PLTL, which further resulted in closing the achievement gap between URM and non-URM students. With such compelling findings, we strongly encourage the adoption of Peer-Led Team Learning in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses.

KSC-2011-3470

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-12

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- A research laboratory is prepared for students to perform hands-on activities in Kennedy’s Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSL). High-school students from two Orlando, Fla., schools travelled to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to participate in National Lab Day activities. During the event, about 80 students, toured various facilities and engaged in educational hands-on activities. National Lab Day is a partnership between federal agencies, foundations, professional societies and organizations devoted to promoting science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, hands-on discovery-based laboratory experiences for students. Photo Credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

Student perceptions of secondary science: A performance technology application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Small, Belinda Rusnak

The primary purpose of this study was to identify influences blocking or promoting science performance from the lived K-12 classroom experience. Human Performance Technology protocols were used to understand factors promoting or hindering science performance. The goal was to gain information from the individual students' perspective to enhance opportunities for stakeholders to improve the current state of performance in science education. Individual perspectives of 10 secondary science students were examined using grounded theory protocols. Findings include students' science learning behaviors are influenced by two major themes, environmental supports and individual learning behaviors. The three environmental support factors identified include the methods students receive instruction, students' opportunities to access informal help apart from formal instruction, and students' feelings of teacher likability. Additionally, findings include three major factors causing individual learners to generate knowledge in science. Factors reported include personalizing information to transform data into knowledge, customizing learning opportunities to maximize peak performance, and tapping motivational opportunities to persevere through complex concepts. The emergent theory postulated is that if a performance problem exists in an educational setting, then integrating student perspectives into the cause analysis opens opportunity to align interventions for influencing student performance outcomes. An adapted version of Gilbert's Behavioral Engineering Model is presented as an organizational tool to display the findings. The boundaries of this Performance Technology application do not extend to the identification, selection, design, or implementation of solutions to improved science performance. However, as stakeholders begin to understand learner perspectives then aligned decisions may be created to support learners of science in a direct, cost effective manner.

Evaluation of an Audience Response System in Library Orientations for Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brush, Denise A.

2010-01-01

While interactive hands-on instruction is usually considered the best approach for engineering students for both their academic courses and for library instruction, the size of the engineering student population compared to the number of instructors and the available classroom space means that engineering librarians, like engineering faculty, may…

Alliance for Computational Science Collaboration: HBCU Partnership at Alabama A&M University Continuing High Performance Computing Research and Education at AAMU

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qian, Xiaoqing; Deng, Z. T.

2009-11-10

This is the final report for the Department of Energy (DOE) project DE-FG02-06ER25746, entitled, "Continuing High Performance Computing Research and Education at AAMU". This three-year project was started in August 15, 2006, and it was ended in August 14, 2009. The objective of this project was to enhance high performance computing research and education capabilities at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), and to train African-American and other minority students and scientists in the computational science field for eventual employment with DOE. AAMU has successfully completed all the proposed research and educational tasks. Through the support of DOE, AAMU was able tomore » provide opportunities to minority students through summer interns and DOE computational science scholarship program. In the past three years, AAMU (1). Supported three graduate research assistants in image processing for hypersonic shockwave control experiment and in computational science related area; (2). Recruited and provided full financial support for six AAMU undergraduate summer research interns to participate Research Alliance in Math and Science (RAMS) program at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL); (3). Awarded highly competitive 30 DOE High Performance Computing Scholarships ($1500 each) to qualified top AAMU undergraduate students in science and engineering majors; (4). Improved high performance computing laboratory at AAMU with the addition of three high performance Linux workstations; (5). Conducted image analysis for electromagnetic shockwave control experiment and computation of shockwave interactions to verify the design and operation of AAMU-Supersonic wind tunnel. The high performance computing research and education activities at AAMU created great impact to minority students. As praised by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 2009, ?The work on high performance computing that is funded by the Department of Energy provides scholarships to undergraduate students as computational science scholars. This is a wonderful opportunity to recruit under-represented students.? Three ASEE papers were published in 2007, 2008 and 2009 proceedings of ASEE Annual Conferences, respectively. Presentations of these papers were also made at the ASEE Annual Conferences. It is very critical to continue the research and education activities.« less

Understanding the Role of Academic Language on Conceptual Understanding in an Introductory Materials Science and Engineering Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, Jacquelyn

Students may use the technical engineering terms without knowing what these words mean. This creates a language barrier in engineering that influences student learning. Previous research has been conducted to characterize the difference between colloquial and scientific language. Since this research had not yet been applied explicitly to engineering, conclusions from the area of science education were used instead. Various researchers outlined strategies for helping students acquire scientific language. However, few examined and quantified the relationship it had on student learning. A systemic functional linguistics framework was adopted for this dissertation which is a framework that has not previously been used in engineering education research. This study investigated how engineering language proficiency influenced conceptual understanding of introductory materials science and engineering concepts. To answer the research questions about engineering language proficiency, a convenience sample of forty-one undergraduate students in an introductory materials science and engineering course was used. All data collected was integrated with the course. Measures included the Materials Concept Inventory, a written engineering design task, and group observations. Both systemic functional linguistics and mental models frameworks were utilized to interpret data and guide analysis. A series of regression analyses were conducted to determine if engineering language proficiency predicts group engineering term use, if conceptual understanding predicts group engineering term use, and if conceptual understanding predicts engineering language proficiency. Engineering academic language proficiency was found to be strongly linked to conceptual understanding in the context of introductory materials engineering courses. As the semester progressed, this relationship became even stronger. The more engineering concepts students are expected to learn, the more important it is that they are proficient in engineering language. However, exposure to engineering terms did not influence engineering language proficiency. These results stress the importance of engineering language proficiency for learning, but warn that simply exposing students to engineering terms does not promote engineering language proficiency.

Project Based Learning experiences in the space engineering education at Technical University of Madrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez, Jacobo; Laverón-Simavilla, Ana; del Cura, Juan M.; Ezquerro, José M.; Lapuerta, Victoria; Cordero-Gracia, Marta

2015-10-01

This work describes the innovation activities performed in the field of space education since the academic year 2009/10 at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), in collaboration with the Spanish User Support and Operations Center (E-USOC), the center assigned by the European Space Agency (ESA) in Spain to support the operations of scientific experiments on board the International Space Station. These activities have been integrated within the last year of the UPM Aerospace Engineering degree. A laboratory has been created, where students have to validate and integrate the subsystems of a microsatellite using demonstrator satellites. In parallel, the students participate in a Project Based Learning (PBL) training process in which they work in groups to develop the conceptual design of a space mission. One student in each group takes the role of project manager, another one is responsible for the mission design and the rest are each responsible for the design of one of the satellite subsystems. A ground station has also been set up with the help of students developing their final thesis, which will allow future students to perform training sessions and learn how to communicate with satellites, how to receive telemetry and how to process the data. Several surveys have been conducted along two academic years to evaluate the impact of these techniques in engineering learning. The surveys evaluate the acquisition of specific and generic competences, as well as the students' degree of satisfaction with respect to the use of these learning methodologies. The results of the surveys and the perception of the lecturers show that PBL encourages students' motivation and improves their results. They not only acquire better technical training, but also improve their transversal skills. It is also pointed out that this methodology requires more dedication from lecturers than traditional methods.

Situated mathematics teaching within electrical engineering courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennig, Markus; Mertsching, Bärbel; Hilkenmeier, Frederic

2015-11-01

The initial phase of undergraduate engineering degree programmes often comprises courses requiring mathematical expertise which in some cases clearly exceeds school mathematics, but will be imparted only later in mathematics courses. In this article, an approach addressing this challenge by way of example within a fundamentals of electrical engineering course is presented. The concept focuses on gaining specific mathematical knowledge and competencies in the technical context of this course. For this purpose, a complementary blended learning scenario centring around a web-based learning platform and involving an adaptation of the course was developed. The concept particularly considers the heterogeneity of today's student groups and is discussed with regard to related approaches, didactical considerations, and technical implementation. For the interventions, the results of a questionnaire-based evaluation proving students' acceptance and positive influence on examination performance are presented.

Engineering education at a new public university in Brazil: first students' contact with engineering methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, Jesus Franklin A.; Leite, Patrícia; Mantovani, Gerson L.; Lanfredi, Alexandre J. C.; Martins-Filho, Luiz S.

2011-06-01

This paper describes the experience of an introductory discipline to the engineering curricula at the Brazilian Federal University of ABC (UFABC). The university offers a common basic curriculum that must be accomplished by every student and can be followed by professionalising courses. The discipline 'Introduction to Engineering' presents the basis of the engineering career, methods and thinking together with professional commitments and regulations. The objective is to help students to consciously choose their careers, minimising the precocity problem in deciding a professional future. The discipline methodology includes activities proposed by the TryEngineering website and from Brazilian engineering councils. Lectures with invited professors introduce UFABC engineering specialities: Aerospace, Bioengineering, Energy, Environmental & Urban, Information, Instrumentation & Automation & Robotics, Management, Materials. This paper reports the proposed activities, results obtained by the students, a methodology critical analysis and the impacts on the following steps of students embracing an engineering career.

Engineering students' and faculty perceptions of teaching methods and the level of faculty involvement that promotes academic success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karpilo, Lacy N.

Student academic success is a top priority of higher education institutions in the United States and the trend of students leaving school prior to finishing their degree is a serious concern. Accountability has become a large part of university and college ratings and perceived success. Retention is one component of the accountability metrics used by accreditation agencies. In addition, there are an increasing number of states allocating funds based in part on retention (Seidman, 2005). Institutions have created initiatives, programs, and even entire departments to address issues related to student academic success to promote retention. Universities and colleges have responded by focusing on methods to retain and better serve students. Retention and student academic success is a primary concern for high education institutions; however, engineering education has unique retention issues. The National Science Board (2004) reports a significant decline in the number of individuals in the United States who are training to become engineers, despite the fact that the number of jobs that utilize an engineering background continues to increase. Engineering education has responded to academic success issues by changing curriculum and pedagogical methods (Sheppard, 2001). This descriptive study investigates the perception of engineering students and faculty regarding teaching methods and faculty involvement to create a picture of what is occurring in engineering education. The population was the engineering students and faculty of Colorado State University's College of Engineering. Data from this research suggests that engaging teaching methods are not being used as often as research indicates they should and that there is a lack of student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom. This research adds to the breadth of knowledge and understanding of the current environment of engineering education. Furthermore, the data allows engineering educators and other higher education professionals to gain insight into the teaching methods currently being utilized in engineering and reinforces the importance of student-faculty interaction and thus facilitating the creation of programs or initiatives to improve student academic success.

Exploring the Engineering Student Experience: Findings from the Academic Pathways of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES). TR-10-01

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheppard, Sheri; Gilmartin, Shannon; Chen, Helen L.; Donaldson, Krista; Lichtenstein, Gary; Eris, Ozgur; Lande, Micah; Toye, George

2010-01-01

This report is based on data from the Academic Pathways of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES), administered to engineering students at 21 U.S. engineering colleges and schools in the spring of 2008. The first comprehensive set of analyses completed on the APPLES dataset presented here looks at how engineering students experience their…

Eliciting and characterizing students' mental models within the context of engineering design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dankenbring, Chelsey

Recently, science education reform documents have called for the incorporation of engineering principles and practices into the K-12 science standards and curriculum. One way this has been done is through the use of engineering design tasks as a way for students to apply their scientific understandings to real-world problems. However, minimal studies have documented students' conceptions within the context of engineering design. Thus, the first chapter of this thesis outlines the steps taken to develop a draw-and-explain item that elicited students' mental models regarding the cause of the four seasons after finishing an engineering design task. Students' mental models regarding the reason for the seasons are also described. The second chapter characterizes students' conceptions regarding sun-Earth relationships, specifically the amount of daylight hours throughout the year, for students who completed either an engineering design task or more traditional learning activities. Results from these studies indicate that draw-and-explain items are an effective way of obtaining students' mental models and that students harbor a variety of alternate conceptions on astronomy related concepts within various learning contexts. Implications from this study include the need for further research regarding how engineering design is used in the classroom and how engineering design facilitates science learning. Also, professional development that allows in-service teachers to gain experience teaching engineering design is needed, as are teacher preparation programs that expose pre-service teachers to engineering design.

Selling Technical Sales to Engineering Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bumblauskas, Daniel P.; Carberry, Adam R.; Sly, David P.

2017-01-01

Sales engineering or technical sales programs bridge engineering and business to educate engineering students in sales specific to their discipline. Students develop business awareness through such programs, providing the sales workforce with technically knowledgeable salespeople. The following study analyzed cohorts of students enrolled in a…

The Chemical Engineering behind How Carbonated Beverages Go Flat: A Hands-On Experiment for Freshmen Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hohn, Keith L.

2007-01-01

A hands-on project was developed to educate new chemical engineering students about the types of problems chemical engineers solve and to improve student enthusiasm for studying chemical engineering. In this project, students studied the phenomenon of carbonated beverages going flat. The project was implemented in 2003 and 2004 at Kansas State…

The Gender Differences: Hispanic Females and Males Majoring in Science or Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Susan Wightman

Documented by national statistics, female Hispanic students are not eagerly rushing to major in science or engineering. Using Seidman's in-depth interviewing method, 22 Hispanic students, 12 female and 10 male, majoring in science or engineering were interviewed. Besides the themes that emerged with all 22 Hispanic students, there were definite differences between the female and male Hispanic students: role and ethnic identity confusion, greater college preparation, mentoring needed, and the increased participation in enriched additional education programs by the female Hispanic students. Listening to these stories from successful female Hispanic students majoring in science and engineering, educators can make changes in our school learning environments that will encourage and enable more female Hispanic students to choose science or engineering careers.

Bringing Outreach into the Engineering Classroom--A Mass and Heat Transfer Course Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eniola-Adefeso, Omolola

2010-01-01

One major contributing factor to the low number of students receiving degrees in engineering is the two decades of steady decline in student enrollment in engineering disciplines. Evidence in the literature suggests that this decline can be linked to K-12 students' lack of knowledge of engineering careers and their perception of engineering as…

Retention, Success, and Satisfaction of Engineering Students Based on the First-Year Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prendergast, Lydia Q.

2013-01-01

A project-based course for first-year engineering students, called Engineering Exploration, was created an implemented with the goals of increasing retention, providing professional skills, increasing interest about engineering, and to aide in choosing an engineering major. Over 100 students have taken the course since its inception in Fall 2009.…

The Impact of Engineering Integrated Science (EIS) Curricula on First-Year Technical High School Students' Attitudes toward Science and Perceptions of Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nam, Younkyeong; Lee, Sun-Ju; Paik, Seoung-Hey

2016-01-01

This study investigated how engineering integrated science (EIS) curricula affect first-year technical high school students' attitudes toward science and perceptions of engineering. The effect of the EIS participation period on students' attitudes toward science was also investigated via experimental study design. Two engineering integrated…

Pathways to Engineering: The Validation Experiences of Transfer Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Yi; Ozuna, Taryn

2015-01-01

Community college engineering transfer students are a critical student population of engineering degree recipients and technical workforce in the United States. Focusing on this group of students, we adopted Rendón's (1994) validation theory to explore the students' experiences in community colleges prior to transferring to a four-year…

Hands-on curriculum teaches biomedical engineering concepts to home-schooled students.

PubMed

Sagstetter, Ann M; Nimunkar, Amit J; Tompkins, Willis J

2009-01-01

University level outreach has increased over the last decade to stimulate K-12 student interest in engineering related fields. Home schooling students are one of the groups that are valued for engineering admissions due to diligent study habits and high achievement scores. However, home schooled students have inadequate access to science, math, and engineering related resources, which precludes the development of interdisciplinary teaching methods. To address this problem, we have developed a hands-on, STEM based curriculum as a safe and comprehensive supplement to current home schooling curricula. The ultimate goal is to stimulate university-student relations and subsequently increase engineering recruitment opportunities. Our pre and post workshop survey comparisons demonstrate that integrating disciplines, via the manner presented in this study, provides a K-12 student-friendly engineering learning method.

The impact of a living learning community on first-year engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flynn, Margaret A.; Everett, Jess W.; Whittinghill, Dex

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of an engineering living and learning community (ELC) on first-year engineering students. A control group of non-ELC students was used to compare the experiences of the ELC participants. Analysis of survey data showed that there was significant differences between the ELC students and the non-ELC students in how they responded to questions regarding social support, academic support, connectedness to campus, and satisfaction with the College of Engineering and the institution as a whole. Particularly, there were significant differences between ELC and non-ELC students for questions related to feeling like part of an engineering community, having strong relationships with peers, belonging to a supportive peer network, studying with engineering peers, and spending time with classmates outside of class.

The Roles of Implicit Understanding of Engineering Ethics in Student Teams' Discussion.

PubMed

Lee, Eun Ah; Grohman, Magdalena; Gans, Nicholas R; Tacca, Marco; Brown, Matthew J

2017-12-01

Following previous work that shows engineering students possess different levels of understanding of ethics-implicit and explicit-this study focuses on how students' implicit understanding of engineering ethics influences their team discussion process, in cases where there is significant divergence between their explicit and implicit understanding. We observed student teams during group discussions of the ethical issues involved in their engineering design projects. Through the micro-scale discourse analysis based on cognitive ethnography, we found two possible ways in which implicit understanding influenced the discussion. In one case, implicit understanding played the role of intuitive ethics-an intuitive judgment followed by reasoning. In the other case, implicit understanding played the role of ethical insight, emotionally guiding the direction of the discussion. In either case, however, implicit understanding did not have a strong influence, and the conclusion of the discussion reflected students' explicit understanding. Because students' implicit understanding represented broader social implication of engineering design in both cases, we suggest to take account of students' relevant implicit understanding in engineering education, to help students become more socially responsible engineers.

Making Recycled Paper: An Engineering Design Challenge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Ting; Becker, Kurt

2013-01-01

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators are facing the challenge of attracting more students. The disparity between the need for engineers and the enrollment of engineering students is growing (Genalo, Bruning, & Adams, 2000), and career aspirations of high school students are inconsistent with the employment…

STEM Attrition among High-Performing College Students in the United States: Scope and Potential Causes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Xianglei

2015-01-01

Postsecondary education plays a critical role in building a strong workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The U.S. postsecondary education system, however, frequently loses many potential STEM graduates through attrition. An increasing portion of STEM leavers are top performers who might have made valuable…

The effects of computer-aided design software on engineering students' spatial visualisation skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kösa, Temel; Karakuş, Fatih

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of computer-aided design (CAD) software-based instruction on the spatial visualisation skills of freshman engineering students in a computer-aided engineering drawing course. A quasi-experimental design was applied, using the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Visualization of Rotations (PSVT:R) for both the pre- and the post-test. The participants were 116 freshman students in the first year of their undergraduate programme in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at a university in Turkey. A total of 72 students comprised the experimental group; they were instructed with CAD-based activities in an engineering drawing course. The control group consisted of 44 students who did not attend this course. The results of the study showed that a CAD-based engineering drawing course had a positive effect on developing engineering students' spatial visualisation skills. Additionally, the results of the study showed that spatial visualisation skills can be a predictor for success in a computer-aided engineering drawing course.

Effects of single-gender mathematics classrooms on self-perception of mathematical ability and post secondary engineering paths: an Australian case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tully, D.; Jacobs, B.

2010-08-01

This study focused on a population of female engineering students, probing the influences of their secondary school experience on their choice to pursue an engineering course of study at university. The motivating question is: Do unique opportunities exist in an all-female secondary school mathematics classroom, which impact a young woman's self-perception of her mathematics ability as well as promote a positive path towards an engineering-based university major? Using both qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments, this study examined a sample of Australian engineering students enrolled at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). Demographic statistics show that 40% of UTS' female engineering student population attended a single-gender secondary school, indicating a potential influence of school type (single-gender) on engineering enrolment patterns. Female students were primarily motivated to pursue a post secondary engineering path because of a self-belief that they are good at mathematics. In contrast, male students were more influenced by positive male role models of family members who are practising engineers. In measures of self- perception of mathematical skill and ability, female students from single-gender schools outscored their male engineering counterparts. Additionally, female students seem to benefit from verbal encouragement, contextualisation, same gender problem-solving groups and same gender classroom dynamics.

Minority Engineering Program Pipeline: A Proposal to Increase Minority Student Enrollment and Retention in Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charity, Pamela C.; Klein, Paul B.; Wadhwa, Bhushan

1995-01-01

The Cleveland State University Minority Engineering Program Pipeline consist of programs which foster engineering career awareness, academic enrichment, and professional development for historically underrepresented minority studies. The programs involved are the Access to Careers in Engineering (ACE) Program for high school pre-engineering students: the LINK Program for undergraduate students pursuing degree which include engineering; and the PEP (Pre-calculus Enrichment Program) and EPIC (Enrichment Program in Calculus) mathematics programs for undergraduate academic enrichment. The pipeline is such that high school graduates from the ACE Program who enroll at Cleveland State University in pursuit of engineering degrees are admitted to the LINK Program for undergraduate level support. LINK Program students are among the minority participants who receive mathematics enrichment through the PEP and EPIC Programs for successful completion of their engineering required math courses. THese programs are interdependent and share the goal of preparing minority students for engineering careers by enabling them to achieve academically and obtain college degree and career related experience.

Internal Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greitzer, E. M.; Tan, C. S.; Graf, M. B.

2004-06-01

Focusing on phenomena important in implementing the performance of a broad range of fluid devices, this work describes the behavior of internal flows encountered in propulsion systems, fluid machinery (compressors, turbines, and pumps) and ducts (diffusers, nozzles and combustion chambers). The book equips students and practicing engineers with a range of new analytical tools. These tools offer enhanced interpretation and application of both experimental measurements and the computational procedures that characterize modern fluids engineering.

Elementary Students' Acquisition of Academic Vocabulary Through Engineering Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kugelmass, Rachel

This study examines how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) inquiry-based learning through a hands-on engineering design can be beneficial in helping students acquire academic vocabulary. This research took place in a second grade dual- language classroom in a public, suburban elementary school. English language learners, students who speak Spanish at home, and native English speakers were evaluated in this study. Each day, students were presented with a general academic vocabulary focus word during an engineering design challenge. Vocabulary pre-tests and post-tests as well as observation field notes were used to evaluate the student's growth in reading and defining the focus academic vocabulary words. A quiz and KSB (knowledge and skill builder) packet were used to evaluate students' knowledge of science and math content and engineering design. The results of this study indicate that engineering design is an effective means for teaching academic vocabulary to students with varying levels of English proficiency.

Investigation of students' experiences of gendered cultures in engineering workplaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Male, Sally A.; Gardner, Anne; Figueroa, Eugenia; Bennett, Dawn

2018-05-01

Women remain severely under-represented in engineering in Australia as in all Western countries. This limits the pool of talent, standpoints and approaches within the profession. Furthermore, this under-representation equates to restriction of the benefits of being an engineer mainly to men. Gendered workplace experiences have been found to contribute to women leaving the profession. In this study we explore students' experiences of gendered cultures in engineering workplaces, using interviews with a purposive sample of 13 students (4 male) recruited following a previous survey. Although the overall experience of workplace learning is positive for many students, male and female engineering students reported experiences consistent with masculine cultures. Educators and employers must proactively lead improvements to the culture in engineering workplaces, prepare students for gendered workplaces and support students to reflect during and after workplace experiences. The experiences presented here could be adapted to enhance inclusivity training.

Engineering perceptions of female and male K-12 students: effects of a multimedia overview on elementary, middle-, and high-school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Amy M.; Ozogul, Gamze; DiDonato, Matt D.; Reisslein, Martin

2013-10-01

Computer-based multimedia presentations employing animated agents (avatars) can positively impact perceptions about engineering; the current research advances our understanding of this effect to pre-college populations, the main target for engineering outreach. The study examines the effectiveness of a brief computer-based intervention with animated agents in improving perceptions about engineering. Five hundred sixty-five elementary, middle-, and high-school students in the southwestern USA viewed a short computer-based multimedia overview of four engineering disciplines (electrical, chemical, biomedical, and environmental) with embedded animated agents. Students completed identical surveys measuring five subscales of engineering perceptions immediately before and after the intervention. Analyses of pre- and post-surveys demonstrated that the computer presentation significantly improved perceptions for each student group, and that effects were stronger for elementary school students, compared to middle- and high-school students.

Student-driven courses on the social and ecological responsibilities of engineers : commentary on "student-inspired activities for the teaching and learning of engineering ethics".

PubMed

Baier, André

2013-12-01

A group of engineering students at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, designed a course on engineering ethics. The core element of the developed Blue Engineering course are self-contained teaching-units, "building blocks". These building blocks typically cover one complex topic and make use of various teaching methods using moderators who lead discussions, rather than experts who lecture. Consequently, the students themselves started to offer the credited course to their fellow students who take an active role in further developing the course themselves.

Minority engineering scholarships renewal, 2011.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-01

Scholarships for Minority Students Studying Engineering and Science : Support will make scholarships available to minority students : interested in engineering and science and will increase significantly the number of minority students that Missouri ...

Minority engineering scholarships, 2012.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-02-01

Scholarships for Minority Students Studying Engineering and Science: Support will make scholarships available to minority students : interested in engineering and science and will increase significantly the number of minority students that Missouri S...

Mastery inspired activities to help at risk students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stelzer, Tim; Gladding, Gary; Gutmann, Brianne; Lundsgaard, Morten; Schroeder, Noah

2016-03-01

Introductory physics is a roadblock for many aspiring engineers at the University of Illinois. The overall attrition rate in our introductory mechanics and E&M courses is approximately 15%, however that rate doubles for some under-represented populations. We introduced a set of online activities designed to provide students both an accurate assessment of their current understanding, and the resources to improve their performance. This talk will describe the design of these activities, and their impact on student attitude and understanding.

Engineering for All: A Middle School Program to Introduce Students to Engineering as a Potential Social Good

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacker, Michael; Crismond, David; Hecht, Deborah; Lomask, Michal

2017-01-01

This article is the first of a two-part series about Engineering for All (EfA), a $1.7M National Science Foundation-funded project, which introduces middle school students to engineering, not only as a career path, but as an endeavor with potential for doing social good. Engineering for All opens students' eyes to the role engineers play in…

Spatial ability mediates the gender difference in middle school students' science performance.

PubMed

Ganley, Colleen M; Vasilyeva, Marina; Dulaney, Alana

2014-01-01

Prior research has demonstrated a male advantage in spatial skills and science achievement. The present research integrated these findings by testing the potential role of spatial skills in gender differences in the science performance of eighth-grade students (13-15 years old). In (N = 113), the findings showed that mental rotation ability mediated gender differences in physical science and technology/engineering test scores. In (N = 73,245), science performance was examined in a state population of eighth-grade students. As in , the results revealed larger gender differences on items that showed higher correlations with mental rotation. These findings underscore the importance of considering spatial training interventions aimed at reducing gender differences in the science performance of school-aged children. © 2014 The Authors. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

How Middle Schoolers Draw Engineers and Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fralick, Bethany; Kearn, Jennifer; Thompson, Stephen; Lyons, Jed

2009-02-01

The perceptions young students have of engineers and scientists are often populated with misconceptions and stereotypes. Although the perceptions that young people have of engineers and of scientists have been investigated separately, they have not been systematically compared. The research reported in this paper explores the question "How are student perceptions of engineers and scientists similar and how are they different?" Approximately 1,600 middle school students from urban and suburban schools in the southeastern United States were asked to draw either an engineer or a scientist at work. Drawings included space for the students to explain what their person was doing in the picture. A checklist to code the drawings was developed and used by two raters. This paper discusses similarities and differences in middle school perceptions of scientists and engineers. Results reveal that the students involved in this study frequently perceive scientists as working indoors conducting experiments. A large fraction of the students have no perception of engineering. Others frequently perceive engineers as working outdoors in manual labor. The findings have implications for the development and implementation of engineering outreach efforts.

Air Force Center of Excellence on Bio-nano-enabled Inorganic/Organic Nanostructures and Improved Cognition (BIONIC)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-09

IRG #3)  Mostafa A. El-Sayed, School of Chemistry & Biochemistry (IRG #2)  Andrei Fedorov, School of Mechanical Engineering (IRG #2)  Michael A...Engineering, U.S. Citizen)  *David Anderson (Ph.D. student, School of Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Citizen)  Luke A. Beardslee (Ph.D. student, School...Songkil Kim (PhD student, School of Mechanical Engineering)  Philip Kwon (Ph.D. student, School of Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Citizen)  Erin Lightman

Career preference theory: A grounded theory describing the effects of undergraduate career preferences on student persistence in engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dettinger, Karen Marie

This study used grounded theory in a case study at a large public research university to develop a theory about how the culture in engineering education affects students with varying interests and backgrounds. According to Career Preference Theory, the engineering education system has evolved to meet the needs of one type of student, the Physical Scientist. While this educational process serves to develop the next generation of engineering faculty members, the majority of engineering undergraduates go on to work as practicing engineers, and are far removed from working as physical scientists. According to Career Preference Theory, students with a history of success in mathematics and sciences, and a focus on career, enter engineering. These students, who actually have a wide range of interests and values, each begin seeking an identity as a practicing engineer. Career Preference Theory is developed around a concept, Career Identity Type, that describes five different types of engineering students: Pragmatic, Physical Scientist, "Social" Scientist, Designer, and Educator. According to the theory, each student must develop an identity within the engineering education system if they are to persist in engineering. However, the current undergraduate engineering education system has evolved in such a way that it meets only the needs of the Physical Scientist. Pragmatic students are also likely to succeed because they tend to be extremely goal-focused and maintain a focus on the rewards they will receive once they graduate with an engineering degree. However, "Social" Scientists, who value interpersonal relationships and giving back to society; Designers, who value integrating ideas across disciplines to create aesthetically pleasing and useful products; and Educators, who have a strong desire to give back to society by working with young people, must make some connection between these values and a future engineering career if they are to persist in engineering. According to Career Preference Theory, "Social" Scientists, Designers, and Educators are likely to leave engineering, while Pragmatics and Physical Scientists are likely to persist.

Biomedical and Biochemical Engineering for K-12 Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madihally, Sundararajan V.; Maase, Eric L.

2006-01-01

REACH (Reaching Engineering and Architectural Career Heights) is a weeklong summer academy outreach program for high school students interested in engineering, architecture, or technology. Through module-­based instruction, students are introduced to various engineering fields. This report describes one of the modules focused on introducing…

Student Self-Selection for Specializations in Engineering.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Izraeli, Dafna; And Others

1979-01-01

Tests the hypothesis that students self-selecting themselves for different occupational fields differ in relevant values and interests. Industrial engineers have different work values and images of their subfield than other engineering specialists. In terms of type of student selecting engineering, the profession cannot be treated as an…

Navigating Transitions: Challenges for Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore-Russo, Deborah; Wilsey, Jillian N.; Parthum, Michael J., Sr.; Lewis, Kemper

2017-01-01

As college students enter engineering, they face challenges when they navigate across various transitions. These challenges impact whether a student can successfully adapt to the rigorous curricular requirements of an engineering degree and to the norms and expectations that are particular to engineering. This article focuses on the transitions…

Predicting Engineering Student Attrition Risk Using a Probabilistic Neural Network and Comparing Results with a Backpropagation Neural Network and Logistic Regression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mason, Cindi; Twomey, Janet; Wright, David; Whitman, Lawrence

2018-01-01

As the need for engineers continues to increase, a growing focus has been placed on recruiting students into the field of engineering and retaining the students who select engineering as their field of study. As a result of this concentration on student retention, numerous studies have been conducted to identify, understand, and confirm…

Impact of distributed virtual reality on engineering knowledge retention and student engagement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulbaran, Tulio Alberto

Engineering Education is facing many problems, one of which is poor knowledge retention among engineering students. This problem affects the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (A/E/C) industry, because students are unprepared for many necessary job skills. This problem of poor knowledge retention is caused by many factors, one of which is the mismatch between student learning preferences and the media used to teach engineering. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of Distributed Virtual Reality (DVR) as an engineering teaching tool. The implementation of DVR addresses the issue of poor knowledge retention by impacting the mismatch between learning and teaching style in the visual versus verbal spectrum. Using as a point of departure three knowledge domain areas (Learning and Instruction, Distributed Virtual Reality and Crane Selection as Part of Crane Lift Planning), a DVR engineering teaching tool is developed, deployed and assessed in engineering classrooms. The statistical analysis of the data indicates that: (1) most engineering students are visual learners; (2) most students would like more classes using DVR; (3) engineering students find DVR more engaging than traditional learning methods; (4) most students find the responsiveness of the DVR environments to be either good or very good; (5) all students are able to interact with DVR and most of the students found it easy or very easy to navigate (without previous formal training in how to use DVR); (6) students' knowledge regarding the subject (crane selection) is higher after the experiment; and, (7) students' using different instructional media do not demonstrate statistical difference in knowledge retained after the experiment. This inter-disciplinary research offers opportunities for direct and immediate application in education, research, and industry, due to the fact that the instructional module developed (on crane selection as part of construction crane lift planning) can be used to convey knowledge to engineers beyond the classrooms. This instructional module can also be used as a workbench to assess parameters on engineering education such as time on task, assessment media, and long-term retention among others.

The University of Connecticut Biomedical Engineering Mentoring Program for high school students.

PubMed

Enderle, John D; Liebler, Christopher M; Haapala, Stephenic A; Hart, James L; Thonakkaraparayil, Naomi T; Romonosky, Laura L; Rodriguez, Francisco; Trumbower, Randy D

2004-01-01

For the past four years, the Biomedical Engineering Program at the University of Connecticut has offered a summer mentoring program for high school students interested in biomedical engineering. To offer this program, we have partnered with the UConn Mentor Connection Program, the School of Engineering 2000 Program and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Summer Laboratory Apprentice Program. We typically have approximately 20-25 high school students learning about biomedical engineering each summer. The mentoring aspect of the program exists at many different levels, with the graduate students mentoring the undergraduate students, and these students mentoring the high school students. The program starts with a three-hour lecture on biomedical engineering to properly orient the students. An in-depth paper on an area in biomedical engineering is a required component, as well as a PowerPoint presentation on their research. All of the students build a device to record an EKG on a computer using LabView, including signal processing to remove noise. The students learn some rudimentary concepts on electrocardiography and the physiology and anatomy of the heart. The students also learn basic electronics and breadboarding circuits, PSpice, the building of a printed circuit board, PIC microcontroller, the operation of Multimeters (including the oscilloscope), soldering, assembly of the EKG device and writing LabView code to run their device on a PC. The students keep their EKG device, LabView program and a fully illustrated booklet on EKG to bring home with them, and hopefully bring back to their high school to share their experiences with other students and teachers. The students also work on several other projects during this summer experience as well as visit Hartford Hospital to learn about Clinical Engineering.

Sixth-Grade Students' Views of the Nature of Engineering and Images of Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karatas, Faik O.; Micklos, Amy; Bodner, George M.

2011-01-01

This study investigated the views of the nature of engineering held by 6th-grade students to provide a baseline upon which activities or curriculum materials might be developed to introduce middle-school students to the work of engineers and the process of engineering design. A phenomenographic framework was used to guide the analysis of data…

Where Is the Engineering I Applied For? A Longitudinal Study of Students' Transition into Higher Education Engineering, and Their Considerations of Staying or Leaving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmegaard, Henriette Tolstrup; Madsen, Lene Møller; Ulriksen, Lars

2016-01-01

This paper presents results from a qualitative longitudinal study of students' transition into higher education engineering. The study aims at comparing upper-secondary school students' expectations of engineering with their actual experiences when encountering the engineering programme. It explores how this encounter provides a platform for…

Educating the engineers of 2020: An outcomes-based typology of engineering undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knight, David B.

Members of government and industry have called for greater emphasis within U.S. colleges and universities on producing engineers who can enter and advance a more competitive, globally connected workforce. Looking toward this future, engineers will need to exhibit strong analytical skills as in the past, but they also will need to be proficient in a cadre of new abilities to compete. This study examines, in combination, an array of knowledge and skills aligned with the National Academy of Engineering's "engineer of 2020." The study has two major goals. The first is to develop a typology of engineering students based on the learning outcomes associated with the engineer of E2020. The second is to understand the educational experiences that distinguish these groups of students who resemble, more or less, the engineer of 2020. This approach acknowledges that engineering graduates need a complex skill set to succeed in the new global economy; it is the combination of skills associated with the engineer of 2020, not the individual skills in isolation, which will ensure graduates can respond to workforce needs of the future. To date, research on student outcomes has studied learning outcomes independent of one another rather than investigating student learning holistically. The study uses student data from the Prototype to production: Processes and conditions for preparing the Engineer of 2020 study, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF EEC-0550608). Engineering students from a nationally representative sample of engineering programs in the United States answered a survey that collected information on their pre-college academic preparation and sociodemographic characteristics, their curricular and co-curricular experiences in their engineering programs, and their self-ratings of their engineering-related competencies. Only data on engineering students in their senior year (n=2,422) were utilized in analyses. Analyses were conducted in multiple phases for each of five engineering disciplines in the data set (biomedical/bioengineering, chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering). First, cluster analyses produced typologies (or groupings) of engineering seniors (one for each of five engineering disciplines studied and an "all engineering" analysis) based on nine self-reported learning outcomes, including fundamental skills, design skills, contextual awareness, interdisciplinary competence, and professional skills. Second, profiles of pre-college characteristics as well as student experiences in college were developed for each discipline and the five disciplines combined. Using analyses of variance, Chi-square analyses, and multinomial logistic regression, this phase also identified differences in student characteristics and college experiences between clusters of students reporting high proficiencies on the array of outcomes and students in other clusters. This second phase informed the third phase, which produced parsimonious models that used pre-college characteristics and student experience variables to predict cluster membership. As a whole, the findings demonstrate that analyses that include the full array of E2020 learning outcomes produce meaningful typologies that distinguish between groupings of students in different engineering fields. Findings demonstrate that a subset of students - the engineers of 2020 - report high skills and abilities on the full array of learning outcomes. These are the graduates sought by both the federal government and industry who most closely resemble the engineers of 2020. In addition, distinctive curricular and co-curricular experiences distinguish this E2020 group of students in each engineering discipline from other groupings of students in that same discipline. These findings have valuable implications for practice because they identify an array of discipline-specific, in- and out-of-class learning experiences that appear to promote the development of this multi-dimensional set of outcomes. Overall, however, greater curricular emphases on broad and systems perspectives in the engineering curriculum most consistently set apart the students who report high proficiencies on the E2020 outcomes. The findings also indicate that strategies for improving undergraduate engineering outcomes should be tailored by engineering discipline. The study contributes to both practice and research by developing a technique that can be used to create an outcomes-based typology that can be applied to any set of learning outcomes. Graphical representations of results consolidate large quantities of information into an easily accessible format so that findings can guide both practitioners and policymakers who seek to improve this multi-dimensional set of undergraduate engineering learning outcomes. Future directions for research, including operationalizing organizational contexts influencing E2020 learning outcomes as well as anticipated career trajectories of students across the typology, are also discussed.

Differences in Chemical Engineering Student-Faculty Interactions by Student Age and Experience at a Large, Public, Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciston, Shannon; Sehgal, Sanya; Mikel, Tressa; Carnasciali, Maria-Isabel

2018-01-01

Adult undergraduate students aged 25+ in engineering disciplines are an important demographic bringing a wealth of life experience to the classroom. This study uses qualitative data drawn from semi-structured interviews with two groups of undergraduate chemical engineering students at a large, public research university: adult students with…

Astronomy as a Tool for Training the Next Generation Technical Workforce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, V.; Walsh, G.; Ryan, W.; Ryan, E.

A major challenge for today's institutes of higher learning is training the next generation of scientists, engineers, and optical specialists to be proficient in the latest technologies they will encounter when they enter the workforce. Although research facilities can offer excellent hands-on instructional opportunities, integrating such experiential learning into academic coursework without disrupting normal operations at such facilities can be difficult. Also, motivating entry level students to increase their skill levels by undertaking and successfully completing difficult coursework can require more creative instructional approaches, including fostering a fun, non-threatening environment for enhancing basic abilities. Astronomy is a universally appealing subject area, and can be very effective as a foundation for cultivating advanced competencies. We report on a project underway at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM Tech), a science and engineering school in Socorro, NM, to incorporate a state-of-the-art optical telescope and laboratory experiments into an entry-level course in basic engineering. Students enrolled in an explosive engineering course were given a topical problem in Planetary Astronomy: they were asked to develop a method to energetically mitigate a potentially hazardous impact between our planet and a Near-Earth asteroid to occur sometime in the future. They were first exposed to basic engineering training in the areas of fracture and material response to failure under different environmental conditions through lectures and traditional laboratory exercises. The students were then given access to NM Tech's Magdalena Ridge Observatory's (MRO) 2.4-meter telescope to collect physical characterization data, (specifically shape information) on two potentially hazardous asteroids (one roughly spherical, the other an elongated ellipsoid). Finally, the students used NM Tech's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) to perform field experiments to discern how an object's shape affects disruptive outcomes, and what must be factored into mitigation schemes to attain the desired result of complete destruction of the object. The scientific findings (details will be presented) derived by the students were valuable, and the students benefited from this non-traditional teaching approach such that they acquired a superior appreciation for research and experimentation, and exited the course with an increased motivation to continue their engineering training.

Effects of Engineering Design-Based Science on Elementary School Science Students' Engineering Identity Development across Gender and Grade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capobianco, Brenda M.; Yu, Ji H.; French, Brian F.

2015-04-01

The integration of engineering concepts and practices into elementary science education has become an emerging concern for science educators and practitioners, alike. Moreover, how children, specifically preadolescents (grades 1-5), engage in engineering design-based learning activities may help science educators and researchers learn more about children's earliest identification with engineering. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which engineering identity differed among preadolescents across gender and grade, when exposing students to engineering design-based science learning activities. Five hundred fifty preadolescent participants completed the Engineering Identity Development Scale (EIDS), a recently developed measure with validity evidence that characterizes children's conceptions of engineering and potential career aspirations. Data analyses of variance among four factors (i.e., gender, grade, and group) indicated that elementary school students who engaged in the engineering design-based science learning activities demonstrated greater improvements on the EIDS subscales compared to those in the comparison group. Specifically, students in the lower grade levels showed substantial increases, while students in the higher grade levels showed decreases. Girls, regardless of grade level and participation in the engineering learning activities, showed higher scores in the academic subscale compared to boys. These findings suggest that the integration of engineering practices in the science classroom as early as grade one shows potential in fostering and sustaining student interest, participation, and self-concept in engineering and science.

Campus Climate and the Underrepresented Minority Engineering Student Experience: A Critical Race Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayes, Terrance

In the current technological era, the number of minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a crucial factor in predetermining the economic growth of the United States. Since the minority population is growing at much faster rates than the non-minority population, the lack of proportionate production of minority engineers poses a threat to the United States' ability to remain a global competitor in technological innovation. Sixty-three per cent (63%) of undergraduate students who enter engineering majors continue on to graduate in that major. The graduation rate, however, for African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students in engineering is significantly lower at 39%. As this group represents only a small fraction of the annual student enrollment, engineering programs are graduating these minority groups at rates that are greatly disproportionate to United States demographics. Therefore, researchers are thoroughly investigating certain initiatives that promote academic success among underrepresented minority students in engineering. Colleges and universities have attempted to address the growing achievement gap between underrepresented minority and non-minority engineering students, predominately through various deficit-based interventions, focusing on the student's flaws and problems. As the pipeline for minorities in engineering continues to narrow, it begs the question of whether institutions are focusing on the right solutions to the problem. Critical Race Theory scholars argue that colleges and universities must address institutional climate issues around students, such as racism, microaggressions, and marginalization, before members of oppressed groups can truly succeed. This dissertation explored the unique experiences of underrepresented minority engineering students in a predominately White and Asian campus.

Barriers to student success in engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boles, Wageeh; Whelan, Karen

2017-07-01

In the UK, the USA and Australia, there have been calls for an increase in the number of engineering graduates to meet the needs of current global challenges. Universities around the world have been grappling with how to both attract more engineering students and to then retain them. Attrition from engineering programmes is disturbingly high. This paper reports on an element of research undertaken through an Australian Learning and Teaching Council-funded Fellowship that investigated the factors leading to student attrition in engineering programmes, by identifying barriers to student success. Here, we contrast a review of the literature related to student barriers and success with student perceptions, gathered through a series of focus groups and interviews at three Australian universities. We also present recommendations for action to try to remove barriers to student success.

Software Engineering Frameworks: Textbooks vs. Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMaster, Kirby; Hadfield, Steven; Wolthuis, Stuart; Sambasivam, Samuel

2012-01-01

This research examines the frameworks used by Computer Science and Information Systems students at the conclusion of their first semester of study of Software Engineering. A questionnaire listing 64 Software Engineering concepts was given to students upon completion of their first Software Engineering course. This survey was given to samples of…

Students' Attitudes towards Interdisciplinary Education: A Course on Interdisciplinary Aspects of Science and Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gero, Aharon

2017-01-01

A course entitled "Science and Engineering Education: Interdisciplinary Aspects" was designed to expose undergraduate students of science and engineering education to the attributes of interdisciplinary education which integrates science and engineering. The core of the course is an interdisciplinary lesson, which each student is…

Spreadsheet as a motivational tool in learning and professional development in Agricultural Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medina, Silvia; Moratiel, Ruben; Tarquis, Ana Maria; María Durán, Jose

2013-04-01

For the past few decades, Spanish universities have been introduced gradually, the use of so-called New Technologies in the classroom. This is because its use contributes to improve outcomes in education at all levels. In this sense, it helps not only to expand knowledge as in traditional education, but teaches students to learn and encouraged them to be more independent, to develop and apply their knowledge in practice, their future employment use. The aim of this paper is to analyse the educational content and the degree of satisfaction students get through the use of a spreadsheet program to perform various practices of Agricultural Engineers courses of the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Weekly, the professor poses a practice with a detailed explanation of what is required and students have the opportunity to submit as many times as they want, over two weeks, the work developed. Students are encouraged to undertake individual work and to submit in the same day the exercise done because earlier is the presentation of results more opportunities to correct the mistakes. Regardless of students' knowledge on Excel, the professor explains each one of the Excel resources to be employed in the presented practice. Then, they have the opportunity to ask about them avoiding the scenario of not performing the practice due to ignore some Excel resources. The number of practices that are performed per year depend on the hours / credits that are assigned to each subject. On the other hand, to check the degree of student satisfaction with these practices, a anonymous questionnaire was performed consisting of 15 questions that can be grouped into four categories: consolidation of knowledge (4 questions), practice organization (7 questions), following indications (2 questions) and knowledge of Excel (2 questions). Results show high degree of students' satisfaction in their learning process and their applicability in the future. Acknowledgments Funded provided by educational innovation projects "Training of mentors' students in different subjects in the first degree and postgraduate ETSI Agrónomos" and "Students mentoring system in undergraduate and graduate courses at ETS Ingenieros Agrónomos" given by UPM are gratefully appreciated.

Student research laboratory for optical engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolstoba, Nadezhda D.; Saitgalina, Azaliya; Abdula, Polina; Butova, Daria

2015-10-01

Student research laboratory for optical engineering is comfortable place for student's scientific and educational activity. The main ideas of laboratory, process of creation of laboratory and also activity of laboratory are described in this article. At ITMO University in 2013-2014 were formed a lot of research laboratories. SNLO is a student research (scientific) laboratory formed by the Department of Applied and computer optics of the University ITMO (Information Technologies of Mechanics and Optics). Activity of laboratory is career guidance of entrants and students in the field of optical engineering. Student research laboratory for optical engineering is a place where student can work in the interesting and entertaining scientific atmosphere.

Retaining minorities in engineering: Assessment of a program prototype

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Good, Jennifer Marie (Phillips)

Program assessment is an essential part of healthy program development. Assessment should include multiple considerations, dimensions, and outcomes that match the program's objectives. As a newly formed retention program, the Auburn University Minority Engineering Program, designed to help pre-engineering minority students make the transition into their freshman year of university studies, incorporated evaluation and assessment into all three components of the program (the interactive learning laboratory, critical-thinking workshops, and Sunday-evening tutorials) from the program's inception. If students successfully adapted to the university environment and the demands of the pre-engineering course of study, then retention of minority students in the College of Engineering should improve. Data were gathered on the students involved in the various program components. Students who entered the Minority Engineering Program were pre- and posttested on three standardized subtests (critical thinking, mathematics, and science reasoning) of the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency. The first-quarter grade-point averages of the students were also gathered to compare their grades to freshman students in previous quarters within the College of Engineering. Qualitative data were also gathered on this same group of students. An analysis of the data revealed that student achievement is affected by involvement in the Minority Engineering Program. Specifically, the first quarter grade point averages of students involved in the program exceeded those of their peers in earlier years of study prior to the program's existence. In addition, mathematics and science reasoning scores on standardized tests increased pre- to postintervention. Comments collected in journals and files also demonstrated use of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills employed by the students. Recommendations for alterations of the program were made based on the outcome of the program evaluation. Further suggestions for research in minority engineering program development and evaluation were also discussed.

Lubrication System 1. Check and Change the Engine Oil. Student Manual. Small Engine Repair Series. First Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Pamela

This student manual on checking and changing the engine oil is the second of three in an instructional package on the lubrication system in the Small Engine Repair Series for handicapped students. The stated purpose for the booklet is to help students learn what tools and equipment to use and all the steps of the job. Informative material and…

Engineering success: Undergraduate Latina women's persistence in an undergradute engineering program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosbottom, Steven R.

The purpose and focus of this narrative inquiry case study were to explore the personal stories of four undergraduate Latina students who persist in their engineering programs. This study was guided by two overarching research questions: a) What are the lived experiences of undergraduate Latina engineering students? b) What are the contributing factors that influence undergraduate Latina students to persist in an undergraduate engineering program? Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth was used to the analyze data. Findings suggest through Yosso's (2005) aspirational capital, familial capital, social capital, navigational capital, and resistant capital the Latina student persisted in their engineering programs. These contributing factors brought to light five themes that emerged, the discovery of academic passions, guidance and support of family and teachers, preparation for and commitment to persistence, the power of community and collective engagement, and commitment to helping others. The themes supported their persistence in their engineering programs. Thus, this study informs policies, practices, and programs that support undergraduate Latina engineering student's persistence in engineering programs.

Creativity among Geomatical Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keh, Lim Keng; Ismail, Zaleha; Yusof, Yudariah Mohammad

2017-01-01

This research aims to find out the creativity among the geomatical engineering students. 96 geomatical engineering students participated in the research. They were divided into 24 groups of 4 students. Each group were asked to solve a real world problem collaboratively with their creative thinking. Their works were collected and then analysed as…

Engineering Knowledge and Student Development: An Institutional and Pedagogical Critique of Engineering Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Xiaofeng

Educators have recommended the integration of engineering and the liberal arts as a promising educational model to prepare young engineers for global economic, environmental, sociotechnical, and ethical challenges. Drawing upon philosophy of technology, engineering studies, and educational psychology, this dissertation examines diverse visions and strategies for integrating engineering and liberal education and explores their impacts on students' intellectual and moral development. Based on archival research, interviews, and participant observation, the dissertation presents in-depth case studies of three educational initiatives that seek to blend engineering with the humanities, social sciences, and arts: Harvey Mudd College, the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, and the Programs in Design and Innovation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research finds that learning engineering in a liberal arts context increases students' sense of "owning" their education and contributes to their communication, teamwork, and other non-technical professional skills. In addition, opportunities for extensive liberal arts learning in the three cases encourage some students to pursue alternative, less technocentric approaches to engineering. Nevertheless, the case studies suggest that the epistemological differences between the engineering and liberal arts instructors help maintain a technical/social dualism among most students. Furthermore, the dissertation argues a "hidden curriculum," which reinforces the dominant ideology in the engineering profession, persists in the integrated programs and prevents the students from reflecting on the broad social context of engineering and critically examining the assumptions upheld in the engineering profession.

Students' attitudes towards interdisciplinary education: a course on interdisciplinary aspects of science and engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gero, Aharon

2017-05-01

A course entitled 'Science and Engineering Education: Interdisciplinary Aspects' was designed to expose undergraduate students of science and engineering education to the attributes of interdisciplinary education which integrates science and engineering. The core of the course is an interdisciplinary lesson, which each student is supposed to teach his/her peers. Sixteen students at advanced stages of their studies attended the course. The research presented here used qualitative instruments to characterise students' attitudes towards interdisciplinary learning and teaching of science and engineering. According to the findings, despite the significant challenge which characterises interdisciplinary teaching, a notable improvement was evident throughout the course in the percentage of students who expressed willingness to teach interdisciplinary classes in future.

Examining the effect of goal clarity on faculty performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waychal, Pradeep

2018-07-01

Performance of faculty members is the prime factor in the success of any academic organisation and certainly engineering academic organisation. The performance depends on various factors. This study tests our hypothesis, in the context of an Indian engineering college, that goal clarity is one such factor that significantly impacts faculty performance. Our experiment emphasised the importance of goal clarity by screening a relevant movie and by seeking professional goals from the faculty members. After a year, we evaluated the faculty performance using peer evaluation method and triangulated the data with course evaluation by students where faculty member's goal was to be a better teacher, to ensure the trustworthiness of peer evaluation. We found that the performance of faculty, who had goal clarity, was significantly better than the performance of those who did not have goal clarity.

Examination of engineering design teacher self-efficacy and knowledge base in secondary technology education and engineering-related courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vessel, Kanika Nicole

2011-12-01

There is an increasing demand for individuals with engineering education and skills of varying fields in everyday life. With the proper education students of high-needs schools can help meet the demand for a highly skilled and educated workforce. Researchers have assumed the supply and demand has not been met within the engineering workforce as a result of students' collegiate educational experiences, which are impacted by experiences in K-12 education. Although factors outside of the classroom contribute to the inability of universities to meet the increasing demand for the engineering workforce, most noted by researchers is the academic unpreparedness of freshman engineering students. The unpreparedness of entering freshman engineering students is a result of K-12 classroom experiences. This draws attention not only to the quality and competence of teachers present in the K-12 classroom, but the type of engineering instruction these students are receiving. This paper was an effort to systematically address one of the more direct and immediate factors impacting freshman engineering candidates, the quality of secondary engineering educators. Engineers develop new ideas using the engineering design process, which is taught at the collegiate level, and has been argued to be the best approach to teach technological literacy to all K-12 students. However, it is of importance to investigate whether technology educators have the knowledge and understanding of engineering design, how to transfer that knowledge in the classroom to students through instructional strategies, and their perception of their ability to do that. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to show the need for examining the degree to which technology and non-technology educators are implementing elements of engineering design in the curriculum.

Mentoring for 2000 and beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guerra, K. M.; Farrance, M. A.

1994-01-01

Today, more than 40 percent of the United States workforce are women. However, only a small percentage of working women are employed in science or engineering fields. The numbers of women in engineering and math professions have actually decreased since 1984. Last year, a mentoring program was created at NASA Ames Research Center aimed at encouraging young girls to stay in school, increasing their self confidence and helping them perform better academically. Teachers at the Ronald McNair Intermediate School matched fifth through eighth grade students with women engineers at NASA Ames. Results from a year-end survey submitted by the mentees indicated that the program was successful in achieving its first-year goals; more than one student reported that she felt 'really special' because of her mentor's efforts. The NASA Ames Mentor program has continued into the 1992-93 academic year with both returning mentor/mentee pairs and new participants.

Iteration in Early-Elementary Engineering Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarland Kendall, Amber Leigh

K-12 standards and curricula are beginning to include engineering design as a key practice within Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. However, there is little research on how the youngest students engage in engineering design within the elementary classroom. This dissertation focuses on iteration as an essential aspect of engineering design, and because research at the college and professional level suggests iteration improves the designer's understanding of problems and the quality of design solutions. My research presents qualitative case studies of students in kindergarten and third-grade as they engage in classroom engineering design challenges which integrate with traditional curricula standards in mathematics, science, and literature. I discuss my results through the lens of activity theory, emphasizing practices, goals, and mediating resources. Through three chapters, I provide insight into how early-elementary students iterate upon their designs by characterizing the ways in which lesson design impacts testing and revision, by analyzing the plan-driven and experimentation-driven approaches that student groups use when solving engineering design challenges, and by investigating how students attend to constraints within the challenge. I connect these findings to teacher practices and curriculum design in order to suggest methods of promoting iteration within open-ended, classroom-based engineering design challenges. This dissertation contributes to the field of engineering education by providing evidence of productive engineering practices in young students and support for the value of engineering design challenges in developing students' participation and agency in these practices.

Think first job! Preferences and expectations of engineering students in a French `Grande Ecole'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerwel Proches, Cecile N.; Chelin, Nathalie; Rouvrais, Siegfried

2018-03-01

A career in engineering may be appealing owing to the prospect of a good salary and a dynamic work environment. There may, however, be challenges for students wishing to enter their first job. In engineering education, career preparation courses may be included so as to prepare students adequately for their first job, future careers, and to reinforce career decision-making skills. This study explored the first-job preferences and expectations of engineering students at a generalist French 'Grande Ecole' before their compulsory internship. The study ultimately provided insight into ways in which future engineers may best be equipped for their first jobs. A qualitative research study was employed, using four focus groups to collect data, which was analysed thematically. Key findings indicate the resolute importance that engineering students place on having a challenging job, teamwork, independence, opportunities for development, and a participative style of being managed. The research findings may be of value in order to renew an engineering curriculum with better alignment between students' expectations and industry needs.

Preparing university students to lead K-12 engineering outreach programmes: a design experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anthony, Anika B.; Greene, Howard; Post, Paul E.; Parkhurst, Andrew; Zhan, Xi

2016-11-01

This paper describes an engineering outreach programme designed to increase the interest of under-represented youth in engineering and to disseminate pre-engineering design challenge materials to K-12 educators and volunteers. Given university students' critical role as facilitators of the outreach programme, researchers conducted a two-year design experiment to examine the programme's effectiveness at preparing university students to lead pre-engineering activities. Pre- and post-surveys incorporated items from the Student Engagement sub-scale of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale. Surveys were analysed using paired-samples t-test. Interview and open-ended survey data were analysed using discourse analysis and the constant comparative method. As a result of participation in the programme, university students reported a gain in efficacy to lead pre-engineering activities. The paper discusses programme features that supported efficacy gains and concludes with a set of design principles for developing learning environments that effectively prepare university students to facilitate pre-engineering outreach programmes.

Characterizing learning-through-service students in engineering by gender and academic year

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carberry, Adam Robert

Service is increasingly being viewed as an integral part of education nationwide. Service-based courses and programs are growing in popularity as opportunities for students to learn and experience their discipline. Widespread adoption of learning-through-service (LTS) in engineering is stymied by a lack of a body of rigorous research supporting the effectiveness of these experiences. In this study, I examine learning-through-service through a nationwide survey of engineering undergraduate and graduate students participating in a variety of LTS experiences. Students (N = 322) participating in some form of service -- service-learning courses or extra-curricular service programs -- from eighty-seven different institutions across the United States completed a survey measuring demographic information (institution, gender, academic year, age, major, and grade point average), self-perceived sources of learning (service and traditional coursework), engineering epistemological beliefs, personality traits, and self-concepts (self-efficacy, motivation, expectancy, and anxiety) toward engineering design. Responses to the survey were used to characterize engineering LTS students and identify differences in these variables in terms of gender and academic year. The overall findings were that LTS students perceived their service experience to be a beneficial source for learning professional skills and, to a lesser degree, technical skills, held moderately sophisticated engineering epistemological beliefs, and were generally outgoing, compassionate, and adventurous. Self-perceived sources of learning, epistemological beliefs, and personality traits were shown to be poor predictors of student engineering achievement. Self-efficacy, motivation, and outcome expectancy toward engineering design were generally high for all LTS students; most possessed rather low anxiety levels toward engineering design. These trends were generally consistent between genders and across the five academic years (first-year, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students) surveyed. Females had significantly more sophisticated epistemological beliefs, greater perceptions of service as a source of learning professional and technical skills, and higher anxiety toward engineering design. They also were significantly more extroverted and agreeable. Males had higher confidence, motivation, and expectancy for success toward engineering design. Across academic year it was seen that students varied in their engineering design self-concepts, except for motivation.

Gauging Workplace Readiness: Assessing the Information Needs of Engineering Co-op Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffryes, Jon; Lafferty, Meghan

2012-01-01

Librarians at the Science and Engineering Library at the University of Minnesota surveyed engineering students participating in a work placement as part of the cooperative education program. The survey asked about students' on-the-job information usage, comfort level accessing different types of engineering literature, and experience learning to…

The Accuracy of Student Grading in First-Year Engineering Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hattum-Janssen, Natascha; Pacheco, Jose Augusto; Vasconcelos, Rosa Maria

2004-01-01

Assessment has become a powerful tool to change student learning. In a project of the Council of Engineering Courses of the University of Minho, Portugal, students of textile engineering, apparel engineering and industrial electronics increased their participation in every aspect of their assessment process. The traditional exam was changed to…

Black Engineering Students' Motivation for PhD Attainment: Passion Plus Purpose

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGee, Ebony O.; White, Devin T.; Jenkins, Akailah T.; Houston, Stacey; Bentley, Lydia C.; Smith, William J.; Robinson, William H.

2016-01-01

Purpose: Much of the extant research, practice and policy in engineering education has focused on the limited persistence, waning interest and lack of preparation among Black students to continue beyond the post-secondary engineering pipeline. However, this research suggests that many Black PhD students persist and succeed in engineering, fueled…

The Intersection of Gender and Race: Exploring Chemical Engineering Students' Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Allison; Verdín, Dina; Kirn, Adam; Satterfield, Derrick

2018-01-01

We surveyed 342 first-year engineering students at four U.S. institutions interested in a chemical engineering career about their feelings of belonging in engineering, motivation, and STEM identities. We compared these students by both gender and race/ethnicity on these attitudinal factors. We found several significant differences in…

The Influence of Toy Design Activities on Middle School Students' Understanding of the Engineering Design Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Ninger; Pereira, Nielsen L.; Tarun, Thomas George; Alperovich, Jeffrey; Booth, Joran; Chandrasegaran, Senthil; Tew, Jeffrey David; Kulkarni, Devadatta M.; Ramani, Karthik

2017-01-01

The societal demand for inspiring and engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and preparing our workforce for the emerging creative economy has necessitated developing students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes from as early as elementary school levels. Hands-on engineering design…

Inspiring the Next Generation: The International Space Station Education Accomplishments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alleyne, Camille W.; Hasbrook, Pete; Knowles, Carolyn; Chicoine, Ruth Ann; Miyagawa, Yayoi; Koyama, Masato; Savage, Nigel; Zell, Martin; Biryukova, Nataliya; Pinchuk, Vladimir;

Webcasts promote in-class active participation and learning in an engineering elective course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freguia, Stefano

2017-09-01

This paper describes the design and outcomes of an educational intervention undertaken to improve the quality of delivery of a fourth-year engineering elective course - Industrial Wastewater and Solid Waste Management at the University of Queensland. The objective was to increase the level of active participation of students in planned active-learning classroom activities, including whole-class discussions and small group project-type work. According to a flipped classroom model, new online material in the form of webcasts was proposed to students before class. Students reacted very positively to the webcasts: the percentage of students viewing the webcast before planned workshop sessions ranged between 80% and 92% over the five weeks of the intervention. Enhanced engagement led also to increased attendance (85-92% at workshop sessions), and remarkable active participation in class (half of observed teams were ∼80% active). Remarkably, team performance as quantified by their report marks linearly correlated with the level of active participation in class.

Improving educational objectives of the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering programme at Kuwait University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aldowaisan, Tariq; Allahverdi, Ali

2016-05-01

This paper describes the process of developing programme educational objectives (PEOs) for the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering programme at Kuwait University, and the process of deployment of these PEOs. Input of the four constituents of the programme, faculty, students, alumni, and employers, is incorporated in the development and update of the PEOs. For each PEO an assessment process is employed where performance measures are defined along with target attainment levels. Results from assessment tools are compared with the target attainment levels to measure performance with regard to the PEOs. The assessment indicates that the results meet or exceed the target attainment levels of the PEOs' performance measures.

What Ideas Do Students Associate with "Biotechnology" and "Genetic Engineering"?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Ruaraidh; Stanisstreet, Martin; Boyes, Edward

2000-01-01

Explores the ideas that students aged 16-19 associate with the terms 'biotechnology' and 'genetic engineering'. Indicates that some students see biotechnology as risky whereas genetic engineering was described as ethically wrong. (Author/ASK)

Recruitment and Retention of Indians in Science and Engineering (RISE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karnawat, Sunil

1997-01-01

Fifteen students from Turtle Mountain Community College were selected to participate in activities of the RISE project last summer. Eight students successfully completed project activities and received stipends for their participation. These eight students are (1) Jamie Gable, (2) John Morin, (3) Patrick Belgarde, (4) Jason Laducer, (5) Alex Johnson, (6) Eric Houle, (7) Gary Renault, and (8) Kenny DeCoteau. In the fall of 1998, Jamie Gable and Gary Renault went to North Dakota State University to pursue their undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering, and John Morin and Alex Johnson joined the University of North Dakota's electrical engineering and industrial technology programs, respectively. Remaining four students will continue to participate in the RISE activities this year and transfer to the universities next year. Seven students who failed to complete the RISE project activities during the current award period are encouraged to participate again this fall. The RISE students were enrolled in a special course called "Introduction to Engineering Materials." The project director, Dr. Kamawat, taught the course on Saturdays and Sundays. Theoretical and mathematical background on engineering materials and careers in various engineering professions were discussed in this course. The students attended guest lectures given by engineers and professors and visited local industries. In addition, the students went to North Dakota State University (NDSU) at Fargo, ND, and the University of Minnesota (UMN) at Minneapolis, MN, to tour their engineering departments. At NDSU, they conducted laboratory tests on various engineering materials, such as concrete, steel, wood, plastics, and carbon composites. The students investigated the mechanical behavior of these materials under various loading conditions, collected data, interpreted data, identified possible errors, determined the mechanical properties, and wrote reports on their findings. The students created posters describing their results on the behavior of engineering material. The posters were displayed in the TMCC's student lounge.

Educational initiative for EE/RE engineering skills: Solar Two student interns. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Norbeck, J.M.

1997-07-01

The US Department of Energy sponsored five student interns from the University of California, Riverside, College of Engineering to work during the summer of 1996 at the Solar Two Energy facility in the Mojave Desert. Through the DOE intern program, engineering students supported the Solar Two Project under the supervision of engineers from Southern California Edison. The prime purpose was to provide outreach and educational support for expanding interactions with university students to increase awareness of careers in renewable energy and energy efficiency fields. The College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) coordinated this project. CE-CERT is primarilymore » a research facility focusing on air pollution and energy efficiency. CE-CERT serves undergraduate and graduate students by employing them on research projects, supporting them in the research and experimentation required for Senior Design Projects, and sponsoring them in student engineering competitions.« less

Linking Engineering and Medical Training: A USC program seeks to introduce medical and engineering students to medical device development.

PubMed

Tolomiczenko, George; Sanger, Terry

2015-01-01

Medical students are attracted by the prospect of a meaningful addition to their clinical work. Engineering students are excited by a unique opportunity to learn directly alongside their medical student peers. For both, as well as the scientific community at large, the boutique program at the University of Southern California (USC) linking engineering and medical training at the graduate level is instructive of a new way of approaching engineering education that can potentially provide benefits to both students and society. Students who have grown up in an era of ?mass customization? in the retail and service industries can enjoy that same degree of flexibility also in the realm of education. At the same time, society gains engineers who have developed an increased empathy and awareness of the clinical contexts in which their innovations will be implemented.

Knowledge and attitudes toward vaccination: A survey of Serbian students.

PubMed

Cvjetkovic, Smiljana J; Jeremic, Vida Lj; Tiosavljevic, Danijela V

Since vaccination coverage in Serbia has been decreasing and health professionals have been identified as the most important factor in making decisions about immunization, vaccination knowledge and attitudes of students, especially medical students, are of particular interest. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on three groups of 509 Belgrade University students (medical, law and engineering students). The data were collected using an on-line questionnaire posted to student groups and included the Vaccine Knowledge Questionnaire and Attitudes Toward Vaccination Scale. This survey also included questions about demographic characteristics and perceived negative experiences. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed. There was a significant difference in the Vaccine Knowledge score (F=40.48, p<0.01) among the three groups of students. Medical students (N=251, Mean=4.47, SD=1.71) had significantly higher mean knowledge scores than did law (N=128, Mean=2.80, SD=1.56) or engineering students (N=130, Mean=3.98, SD=1.81). Compared with the law (Mean=49.77, SD=10.23) and engineering students (Mean=57.62, SD=12.21), medical students (Mean=59.52, SD=9.62) also had significantly higher attitude scores (F=37.56, p<0.01). These findings demonstrate general positive attitudes of Serbian students toward immunization. However, some knowledge gaps were identified. Multivariate analysis showed that those who had better vaccine knowledge, those who studies medicine, those who attended at university for more years, and those who do not know someone who had a negative experience with vaccines were more likely to have positive attitudes toward vaccination. Considering the growing vaccination hesitance in the general population, this is an important result that indicates that medical students are possible important participants in future public health campaigns. A strong association between vaccine knowledge and attitudes implies recommendations to introduce a specialized vaccination curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of medical study. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Intending to Stay: Images of Scientists, Attitudes Toward Women, and Gender as Influences on Persistence among Science and Engineering Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyer, Mary

Contemporary research on gender and persistence in undergraduate education in science and engineering has routinely focused on why students leave their majors rather than asking why students stay. This study compared three common ways of measuring persistence-commitment to major, degree aspirations, and commitment to a science or engineering career-and emphasized factors that would encourage students to persist, including positive images of scientists and engineers, positive attitudes toward gender equity in science and engineering, and positive classroom experiences. A survey was administered in classrooms to a total of 285 female and male students enrolled in two required courses for majors. The results indicate that the different measures of persistence were sensitive to different influences but that students' gender did not interact with their images, attitudes, and experiences in predicted ways. The study concludes that an individual student's gender may be a more important factor in explaining why some female students leave their science and engineering majors than in explaining why others stay.

Astrobiobound! Search for Life in the Solar System: Scientists and Engineers Bringing their Challenges to K-12 Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klug Boonstra, S. L.; Swann, J.; Manfredi, L.; Zippay, A.; Boonstra, D.

2014-12-01

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) brought many dynamic opportunities and capabilities to the K-12 science classroom - especially with the inclusion of engineering. Using science as a context to help students engage in the engineering practices and engineering disciplinary core ideas is an essential step to students' understanding of how science drives engineering and how engineering enables science. Real world examples and applications are critical for students to see how these disciplines are integrated. Furthermore, the interface of science and engineering raise the level of science understanding, and facilitate higher order thinking skills through relevant experiences. Astrobiobound! is designed for the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) and CCSS (Common Core State Standards). Students also practice and build 21st Century Skills. Astrobiobound! help students see how science and systems engineering are integrated to achieve a focused scientific goal. Students engage in the engineering design process to design a space mission which requires them to balance the return of their science data with engineering limitations such as power, mass and budget. Risk factors also play a role during this simulation and adds to the excitement and authenticity. Astrobiobound! presents the authentic first stages of NASA mission design process. This simulation mirrors the NASA process in which the science goals, type of mission, and instruments to return required data to meet mission goals are proposed within mission budget before any of the construction part of engineering can begin. NASA scientists and engineers were consulted in the development of this activity as an authentic simulation of their mission proposal process.

UAF Space Systems Engineering Program: Engaging Students through an Apprenticeship Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorsen, D.

2017-12-01

Learning by doing has been the mantra of engineering education for decades, however, the constraints of semester length courses limits the types and size of experiences that can be offered to students. The Space Systems Engineering Program (SSEP) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks provides interdisciplinary engineering and science students with hands-on experience in all aspects of space systems engineering through a design, build, launch paradigm applied to balloon and rocket payloads and small satellites. The program is structured using an apprenticeship model such that students, freshmen through graduate, can participate in multi-year projects thereby gaining experiences appropriate to their level in college. Students enter the lab in a trainee position and receive training on lab processes and design software. Depending on the student's interests they learn how to use specific lab equipment and software design tools. Trainees provide support engineering under guidance of an upper classman. As the students' progress in their degree program and gain more expertise, they typically become part of a specific subsystem team, where they receive additional training in developing design documents and in writing requirements and test documents, and direct their efforts to meeting specific objectives. By the time the student reaches their senior year, they have acquired the leadership role for a specific subsystem and/or a general leadership role in the lab. If students stay to pursue graduate degrees, they assume the responsibility of training and mentoring other undergraduates in their areas of expertise. Throughout the program upper class students mentor the newer students. The Space Systems Engineering Program strives to reinforce a student's degree program through these large scale projects that place engineering in context.

Comparing two types of engineering visualizations: task-related manipulations matter.

PubMed

Cölln, Martin C; Kusch, Kerstin; Helmert, Jens R; Kohler, Petra; Velichkovsky, Boris M; Pannasch, Sebastian

2012-01-01

This study focuses on the comparison of traditional engineering drawings with a CAD (computer aided design) visualization in terms of user performance and eye movements in an applied context. Twenty-five students of mechanical engineering completed search tasks for measures in two distinct depictions of a car engine component (engineering drawing vs. CAD model). Besides spatial dimensionality, the display types most notably differed in terms of information layout, access and interaction options. The CAD visualization yielded better performance, if users directly manipulated the object, but was inferior, if employed in a conventional static manner, i.e. inspecting only predefined views. An additional eye movement analysis revealed longer fixation durations and a stronger increase of task-relevant fixations over time when interacting with the CAD visualization. This suggests a more focused extraction and filtering of information. We conclude that the three-dimensional CAD visualization can be advantageous if its ability to manipulate is used. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

University Experiences and Women Engineering Student Persistence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayers, LoAnn Debra Gienger

Riverside University (a pseudonym), like many universities, has not significantly increased the number of women who graduate with bachelor's degrees in engineering. The purpose of the study is to understand how the university experiences of women students influence the decision to persist in an undergraduate engineering degree and to understand the role of self-perception in how the students perceive experiences as supporting or hindering their persistence in the major. Archival data, documents and artifacts, observations, individual interviews, and a focus group with women engineering students provide insights into students' perceived barriers and supports of student success. Analysis of the data results in two major themes. First, students' self-confidence and self-efficacy influence how women assimilate university experiences as either supportive or diminishing of academic success. Second, university policies and practices shape the campus environment within which student experiences are formed and influence a student's level of institutional, academic, and social integration. The results of the study indicate opportunities for university leadership to enhance strategies that positively shape students' institutional, academic and social integration as precursors toward increasing the number of women students who successfully complete undergraduate engineering degrees at Riverside University. Future research is indicated to better understand how gender and gender identity intersects with other demographic factors, such as socio-economic status, immigration status, and life stage (e.g., traditional versus non-traditional students), to support or deter the persistence of engineering students to degree completion.

University of Colorado CubeSat Student Projects as Successful Model for Teaching Students about Engineering Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palo, S. E.; Li, X.; Woods, T. N.; Kohnert, R.

2014-12-01

There is a long history of cooperation between students at the University of Colorado, Boulder and professional engineers and scientists at LASP, which has led to many successful space missions with direct student involvement. The recent student-led missions include the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE, 1998 - 2002), the Student Dust Counter (SDC) on New Horizons (2006 - present), the Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE), being a very successful NSF CubeSat that launched in September 2012, and the NASA Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) CubeSat (launch will be in early 2015). Students are involved in all aspects of the design, and they experience the full scope of the mission process from concept, to fabrication and test, and mission operations. A significant part of the student involvement in the CubeSat projects is gained by using the CubeSat development as a focal point for an existing two-semester course sequence in CU's Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES) Department: the Space Hardware Design section of Graduate Projects I & II (ASEN 5018 & ASEN 6028). The goal of these courses is to teach graduate students how to design and build systems using a requirement-based approach and fundamental systems engineering practices. The two-semester sequence takes teams of about 15 students from requirements definition and preliminary design through manufacturing, integration, and testing. In addition to the design process, students learn key professional skills such as working effectively in groups, finding solutions to open-ended problems, and actually building a system to their own set of specifications. The partnership between AES and LASP allows us to include engineering professionals in the mix, thus more effectively training science and engineering students for future roles in the civilian or commercial space industry. The mentoring process with LASP engineers helps to mitigate risk of the inexperience of the students and ensures consistent system engineer oversight for the multi-year CubeSat programs.

Changing the Engineering Student Culture with Respect to Academic Integrity and Ethics.

PubMed

VanDeGrift, Tammy; Dillon, Heather; Camp, Loreal

2017-08-01

Engineers create airplanes, buildings, medical devices, and software, amongst many other things. Engineers abide by a professional code of ethics to uphold people's safety and the reputation of the profession. Likewise, students abide by a code of academic integrity while learning the knowledge and necessary skills to prepare them for the engineering and computing professions. This paper reports on studies designed to improve the engineering student culture with respect to academic integrity and ethics. To understand the existing culture at a university in the USA, a survey based on a national survey about cheating was administered to students. The incidences of self-reported cheating and incidences of not reporting others who cheat show the culture is similar to other institutions. Two interventions were designed and tested in an introduction to an engineering course: two case studies that students discussed in teams and the whole class, and a letter of recommendation assignment in which students wrote about themselves (character, strengths, examples of ethical decisions) three years into the future. Students were surveyed after the two interventions. Results show that first-year engineering students appreciate having a code of academic integrity and they want to earn their degree without cheating, yet less than half of the students would report on another cheating student. The letter of recommendation assignment had some impact on getting students to think about ethics, their character, and their actions. Future work in changing the student culture will continue in both a top-down (course interventions) and bottom-up (student-driven interventions) manner.

Mathematical learning instruction and teacher motivation factors affecting science technology engineering and math (STEM) major choices in 4-year colleges and universities: Multilevel structural equation modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Ahlam

2011-12-01

Using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002/06, this study examined the effects of the selected mathematical learning and teacher motivation factors on graduates' science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related major choices in 4-year colleges and universities, as mediated by math performance and math self-efficacy. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, I analyzed: (1) the association between mathematical learning instruction factors (i.e., computer, individual, and lecture-based learning activities in mathematics) and students' STEM major choices in 4-year colleges and universities as mediated by math performance and math self-efficacy and (2) the association between school factor, teacher motivation and students' STEM major choices in 4-year colleges and universities via mediators of math performance and math self-efficacy. The results revealed that among the selected learning experience factors, computer-based learning activities in math classrooms yielded the most positive effects on math self-efficacy, which significantly predicted the increase in the proportion of students' STEM major choice as mediated by math self-efficacy. Further, when controlling for base-year math Item Response Theory (IRT) scores, a positive relationship between individual-based learning activities in math classrooms and the first follow-up math IRT scores emerged, which related to the high proportion of students' STEM major choices. The results also indicated that individual and lecture-based learning activities in math yielded positive effects on math self-efficacy, which related to STEM major choice. Concerning between-school levels, teacher motivation yielded positive effects on the first follow up math IRT score, when controlling for base year IRT score. The results from this study inform educators, parents, and policy makers on how mathematics instruction can improve student math performance and encourage more students to prepare for STEM careers. Students should receive all possible opportunities to use computers to enhance their math self-efficacy, be encouraged to review math materials, and concentrate on listening to math teachers' lectures. While all selected math-learning activities should be embraced in math instruction, computer and individual-based learning activities, which reflect student-driven learning, should be emphasized in the high school instruction. Likewise, students should be encouraged to frequently engage in individual-based learning activities to improve their math performance.

Virtually the Same: A Comparison of STEM Students' Content Knowledge, Course Performance, and Motivation to Learn in Virtual and Face-to-Face Introductory Biology Laboratories. Research and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reece, Amber J.; Butler, Malcolm B.

2017-01-01

Biology I is a required course for many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors and is often their first college-level laboratory experience. The replacement of the traditional face-to-face laboratory experience with virtual laboratories could influence students' content knowledge, motivation to learn biology, and overall…

KSC-2011-7825

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-11-16

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director Janet Petro addresses pre-calculus, engineering, and physics students at Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., on the future of the center during an education outreach event on Nov. 16 in the school’s Performing Arts Center. Students also had the opportunity to view FIRST Robotics robot in action and learned about Kennedy’s Educate to Innovate (KETI) LEGO Mindstorm activities. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

Formula Student as Part of a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Huw Charles

2013-01-01

Formula Student (FS) is a multi-university student design competition managed by the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Students are required to demonstrate and prove their creativity and engineering skills through the design, manufacture and financing of a small formula style race car. This paper seeks to explore the educational value that…

The Impact of a Cohort Model Learning Community on First-Year Engineering Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doolen, Toni L.; Biddlecombe, Erin

2014-01-01

This study investigated the effect of cohort participation in a learning community and collaborative learning techniques on the success of first-year engineering students. Student success was measured as gains in knowledge, skills, and attitudes, student engagement, and persistence in engineering. The study group was comprised of students…

Primary School Students' Views about Science, Technology and Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pekmez, Esin

2018-01-01

Some of the main goals of science education are to increase students' knowledge about the technology and engineering design process, and to train students as scientifically and technologically literate individuals. The main purpose of this study is to find out primary students' views about science, technology and engineering. For this aim and in…

Comparison of Spatial Skills of Students Entering Different Engineering Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veurink, N.; Sorby, S. A.

2012-01-01

Spatial skills have been shown to be important to success in an engineering curriculum, and some question if poor spatial skills prevent students from entering STEM fields or if students with weak spatial skills avoid engineering disciplines believed to highly spatially-oriented. Veurink and Hamlin (2011) found that freshmen students entering…

First-Year University Science and Engineering Students' Understanding of Plagiarism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeo, Shelley

2007-01-01

This paper is a case study of first-year science and engineering students' understandings of plagiarism. Students were surveyed for their views on scenarios illustrating instances of plagiarism in the context of the academic work and assessment of science and engineering students. The aim was to explore their understandings of plagiarism and their…

JSC engineers visit area schools for National Engineers Week

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-02-28

Johnson Space Center (JSC) engineers visit Houston area schools for National Engineers Week. Students examine a machine that generates static electricity (4296-7). Students examine model rockets (4298).

A comparative study on first-time and experienced project-based learning students in an engineering design module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chua, K. J.

2014-09-01

This study aims to compare and evaluate the learning ability and performance differences between two groups of students undergoing project-based learning (PjBL), with one group having prior PjBL experience, while the other group is being freshly exposed to PjBL. More specifically, it examines if there are significant differences in knowledge score, problem-solving ability, and eventual project-deliverable outcomes between the two sets of students. Performances were compared via qualitative and quantitative analyses. Key findings have indicated a significant increase in fundamental formative knowledge; enhanced problem-solving abilities; and production of better performing artefacts with regard to the set of design skills between experienced and first-time PjBL groups. This study also highlighted that experienced PjBL students have less conflicts within their groups, and are more receptive to PjBL compared to first-time PjBL students. Results from this study provide a starting point for educators to seek new learning/facilitating strategies that are relevant based on the experience and learning styles of students.

Giving back or giving up: Native American student experiences in science and engineering.

PubMed

Smith, Jessi L; Cech, Erin; Metz, Anneke; Huntoon, Meghan; Moyer, Christina

2014-07-01

Native Americans are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. We examine communal goal incongruence-the mismatch between students' emphasis on communal work goals and the noncommunal culture of STEM-as a possible factor in this underrepresentation. First, we surveyed 80 Native American STEM freshmen and found they more highly endorsed communal goals than individualistic work goals. Next, we surveyed 96 Native American and White American students in STEM and non-STEM majors and confirmed that both Native American men and women in STEM highly endorsed communal goals. In a third study, we conducted a follow-up survey and in-depth interviews with a subset of Native American STEM students in their second semester to assess their experiences of belonging uncertainty, intrinsic motivation, persistence intentions, and perceived performance in STEM as a function of their initial communal work goals. Results demonstrate the prominence of communal goals among incoming Native American freshman (especially compared with White male STEM majors) and the connection between communal goals and feelings of belonging uncertainty, low motivation, and perceived poor performance 1 semester later. The interview data illustrate that these issues are particularly salient for students raised within tribal communities, and that a communal goal orientation is not just a vague desire to "help others," but a commitment to helping their tribal communities. The interviews also highlight the importance of student support programs for fostering feelings of belonging. We end by discussing implications for interventions and institutional changes that may promote Native American student retention in STEM.

The association of snoring and risk of obstructive sleep apnea with poor academic performance among university students.

PubMed

Khassawneh, Basheer Y; Alkhatib, Loiy L; Ibnian, Ali M; Khader, Yousef S

2018-04-20

Subjects with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have neurocognitive dysfunction. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of symptoms and risk of OSA among university students and the association with academic performance. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Jordan University of Science and Technology. Students from faculties of engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry were asked to participate in this study. The Berlin Sleep Questionnaire was used to report symptoms and risk of OSA. Below average cumulative scores were considered poor academic performance. A total of 777 students (51% female; mean age, 20 years) completed the study questionnaire. According to the study definition, 42 students (5.4%) had high risk for OSA. Snoring was reported by 11% and daytime sleepiness and fatigue by 30%. Compared to female students, male students had more snoring (14.6 vs. 7.6%, p = 0.002) and higher risk for OSA (6.5 vs. 1.6%, p = 0.001). Both self-reported snoring and being at high risk for OSA were associated with poor academic performance (27.9 vs. 11.6% and 23.1 vs. 9.2%, respectively; p < 0.02). After adjusting for confounding factors, the odds ratio of having poor academic performance in students at high risk for OSA was 2.4 (CI 1.11-5.2, p = 0.027). Snoring and OSA were uncommon among university students. However, both were more common among male students and were associated with poor academic performance.

The Impact of Design-Based STEM Integration Curricula on Student Achievement in Engineering, Science, and Mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selcen Guzey, S.; Harwell, Michael; Moreno, Mario; Peralta, Yadira; Moore, Tamara J.

2017-04-01

The new science education reform documents call for integration of engineering into K-12 science classes. Engineering design and practices are new to most science teachers, meaning that implementing effective engineering instruction is likely to be challenging. This quasi-experimental study explored the influence of teacher-developed, engineering design-based science curriculum units on learning and achievement among grade 4-8 students of different races, gender, special education status, and limited English proficiency (LEP) status. Treatment and control students ( n = 4450) completed pretest and posttest assessments in science, engineering, and mathematics as well as a state-mandated mathematics test. Single-level regression results for science outcomes favored the treatment for one science assessment (physical science, heat transfer), but multilevel analyses showed no significant treatment effect. We also found that engineering integration had different effects across race and gender and that teacher gender can reduce or exacerbate the gap in engineering achievement for student subgroups depending on the outcome. Other teacher factors such as the quality of engineering-focused science units and engineering instruction were predictive of student achievement in engineering. Implications for practice are discussed.

Analysis of air temperature changes on blood pressure and heart rate and performance of undergraduate students.

PubMed

Siqueira, Joseana C F; da Silva, Luiz Bueno; Coutinho, Antônio S; Rodrigues, Rafaela M

2017-01-01

The increase in air temperature has been associated with human deaths, some of which are related to cardiovascular dysfunctions, and with the reduction of physical and cognitive performance in humans. To analyze the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) and the cognitive performance of students who were submitted to temperature changes in classrooms. The university students answered a survey that was adapted from the Battery of Reasoning Tests over 3 consecutive days at different air temperatures while their thermal state and HR were measured. During those 3 days, BP and HR were evaluated before and after the cognitive test. The average and final HR increased at high temperatures; the tests execution time was reduced at high temperatures; and the cognitive tests was related to Mean BP at the beginning of the test, the maximum HR during the test and the air temperature. The cognitive performance of undergraduate students in the field of engineering and technology will increase while performing activities in a learning environment with an air temperature of approximately 23.3°C (according to their thermal perception), if students have an initial MBP of 93.33 mmHg and a 60 bpm HRmax.

Acclimating international graduate students to professional engineering ethics.

PubMed

Newberry, Byron; Austin, Katherine; Lawson, William; Gorsuch, Greta; Darwin, Thomas

2011-03-01

This article describes the education portion of an ongoing grant-sponsored education and research project designed to help graduate students in all engineering disciplines learn about the basic ethical principles, rules, and obligations associated with engineering practice in the United States. While the curriculum developed for this project is used for both domestic and international students, the educational materials were designed to be sensitive to the specific needs of international graduate students. In recent years, engineering programs in the United States have sought to develop a larger role for professional ethics education in the curriculum. Accreditation requirements, as well as pressures from the private sector, have helped facilitate this shift in focus. Almost half of all engineering graduate students in the U.S. are international students. Further, research indicates that the majority of these students will remain in the U.S. to work post-graduation. It is therefore in the interest of the profession that these students, coming from diverse backgrounds, receive some formal exposure to the professional and ethical expectations and norms of the engineering profession in the United States to help ensure that they have the knowledge and skills--non-technical as well as technical--required in today's engineering profession. In becoming acculturated to professional norms in a host country, international students face challenges that domestic students do not encounter; such as cultural competency, language proficiency, and acculturation stress. Mitigating these challenges must be a consideration in the development of any effective education materials. The present article discusses the project rationale and describes the development of on-line instructional materials aimed at helping international engineering graduate students acclimate to professional engineering ethics standards in the United States. Finally, a brief data summary of students' perceptions of the usefulness of the content and instructional interface is provided to demonstrate the initial effectiveness of the materials and to present a case for project sustainability.

Beyond Blackboards: Engaging Underserved Middle School Students in Engineering.

PubMed

Blanchard, Sarah; Judy, Justina; Muller, Chandra; Crawford, Richard H; Petrosino, Anthony J; White, Christina K; Lin, Fu-An; Wood, Kristin L

Beyond Blackboards is an inquiry-centered, after-school program designed to enhance middle school students' engagement with engineering through design-based experiences focused on the 21 st Century Engineering Challenges. Set within a predominantly low-income, majority-minority community, our study aims to investigate the impact of Beyond Blackboards on students' interest in and understanding of engineering, as well as their ability to align their educational and career plans. We compare participants' and nonparticipants' questionnaire responses before the implementation and at the end of the program's first academic year. Statistically significant findings indicate a school-wide increase in students' interest in engineering careers, supporting a shift in school culture. However, only program participants showed increased enjoyment of design-based strategies, understanding of what engineers do, and awareness of the steps for preparing for an engineering career. These quantitative findings are supported by qualitative evidence from participant focus groups highlighting the importance of mentors in shaping students' awareness of opportunities within engineering.

Perceptions of Female High School Students on Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madara, Diana Starovoytova; Namango, Sitati

2016-01-01

There is overwhelming evidence that females are underrepresented in engineering worldwide, and Kenya is not an exception. Recent study at School of Engineering (SOE), Moi University (MU) established that engineering parity ration was found to be 1.68 %, meaning that for every 59 students admitted to MU there was only one student admitted to SOE.…

Students' Awareness and Perceptions of Learning Engineering: Content and Construct Validation of an Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan-Wiles, Daphne S.

2012-01-01

With the recent addition of engineering to most K-12 testable state standards, efficient and comprehensive instruments are needed to assess changes in student knowledge and perceptions of engineering. In this study, I developed the Students' Awareness and Perceptions of Learning Engineering (STAPLE) instrument to quantitatively measure fourth…

Examining Elementary School Students' Mental Models of Sun-Earth Relationships as a Result of Engaging in Engineering Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dankenbring, Chelsey; Capobianco, Brenda M.

2016-01-01

Current reform efforts in science education in the United States call for students to learn science through the integration of science and engineering practices. Studies have examined the effect of engineering design on students' understanding of engineering, technology, and science concepts. However, the majority of studies emphasize the accuracy…

Setting an Egalitarian Social Norm in the Classroom: Improving Attitudes towards Diversity among Male Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Jill E.; Sekaquaptewa, Denise

2014-01-01

This study tested the effect of a message describing a social norm of egalitarian attitudes and behaviors in an engineering college on male students' attitudes and behavioral intentions surrounding diversity in engineering. Participants were first-semester university students enrolled in four sections of an introductory engineering course in…

Multi-Institution Study of Student Demographics and Outcomes in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lord, Susan M.; Layton, Richard A.; Ohland, Matthew W.

2015-01-01

Electrical Engineering (EE) and Computer Engineering (CpE) programs have similar curricula, but different demographics and student outcomes. This paper extends earlier longitudinal studies to a larger and more diverse dataset with 90,000 first-time-in-college and 26,000 transfer students who majored in engineering at USA institutions, including…

Promoting innovation: Enhancing transdisciplinary opportunities for medical and engineering students.

PubMed

Brazile, Tiffany; Hostetter Shoop, Glenda; McDonough, Christine M; Van Citters, Douglas W

2018-01-30

Addressing current healthcare challenges requires innovation and collaboration. Current literature provides limited guidance in promoting these skills in medical school. One approach involves transdisciplinary training in which students from different disciplines work together toward a shared goal. We assessed the need for such a curriculum at Dartmouth College. We surveyed medical and engineering students' educational values; learning experiences; professional goals; and interest in transdisciplinary education and innovation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Shared values among student groups included leadership development, innovation, collaboration, and resource sharing. Medical students felt their curriculum inadequately addressed creativity and innovation relative to their engineering counterparts (p < 0.05). Medical students felt less prepared for entrepreneurial activities (p < 0.05), while engineering students indicated a need for basic medical knowledge and patient-oriented design factors. Despite strong interest, collaboration was less than 50% of indicated interest. Medical and engineering students share an interest in the innovation process and need a shared curriculum to facilitate collaboration. A transdisciplinary course that familiarizes students with this process has the potential to promote physicians and engineers as leaders and innovators who can effectively work across industry lines. A transdisciplinary course was piloted in Spring 2017.

Assessing Troubleshooting Proficiency: Application of a General Strategy for Work Performance Measurement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finch, Curtis R.; O'Reilly, Patrick A.

1974-01-01

The measure was designed to be able to evaluate a student's ability to find troubles in an automobile engine, to be appropriate at a variety of geographic sites, and to meet certain validity and reliability standards. (AG)

Towards a global virtual community of female engineering students and professionals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cotel, Aline; Rimer, Sara; Reddivari, Sahithya

2014-11-01

ct- The need for strategies to empower Liberian women is exemplified in the recent study carried out by ActionAid International, which examined the state of Liberian undergraduate women in urban areas. The results show that these women often face sexual intimidation by faculty and instructors, women are often excluded from student organizations, there exists a lack of institutional support for female organizations at the universities, and that the women do not feel safe in the university due to low security standards. The situation is even direr for the female engineering students with less than 5% of the engineering student population being women, therefore they are quite isolated in their engineering studies with minimal role models and professional support as they persist. We have planned a leadership camp for female Liberian engineering undergraduate women. The ultimate goal is to empower the Liberian women engineers with the skills, support and inspiration necessary to becoming successful engineering professionals. The leadership camp is planned and facilitated collaboratively by the members of the University of Michigan Society of Women Engineers (UM-SWE) student chapter and the Liberia Society of Women Engineers (L-SWE) student organization. The 2 week-long leadership camp has a workshop-based format with two themes: (i) academic and professional skills, and (ii) student organization development. Funded by UM CRLT, IRWG, STEM Africa.

Teaching ethics to engineers: ethical decision making parallels the engineering design process.

PubMed

Bero, Bridget; Kuhlman, Alana

2011-09-01

In order to fulfill ABET requirements, Northern Arizona University's Civil and Environmental engineering programs incorporate professional ethics in several of its engineering courses. This paper discusses an ethics module in a 3rd year engineering design course that focuses on the design process and technical writing. Engineering students early in their student careers generally possess good black/white critical thinking skills on technical issues. Engineering design is the first time students are exposed to "grey" or multiple possible solution technical problems. To identify and solve these problems, the engineering design process is used. Ethical problems are also "grey" problems and present similar challenges to students. Students need a practical tool for solving these ethical problems. The step-wise engineering design process was used as a model to demonstrate a similar process for ethical situations. The ethical decision making process of Martin and Schinzinger was adapted for parallelism to the design process and presented to students as a step-wise technique for identification of the pertinent ethical issues, relevant moral theories, possible outcomes and a final decision. Students had greatest difficulty identifying the broader, global issues presented in an ethical situation, but by the end of the module, were better able to not only identify the broader issues, but also to more comprehensively assess specific issues, generate solutions and a desired response to the issue.