Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Off the Beaten Path

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robin Adams, Purdue University; Cheryl Allendoerfer, University of Washington; Tori Rhoulac Smith, Howard University; David Socha, University of Washington; Dawn Williams, Howard University; Ken Yasuhara

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

education research and strategies for success. In thispaper, we provide an overview on storytelling, describe our use of stories for buildingcommunity in engineering education, and summarize results from the evaluation of ourinteractive FIE storytelling session.IntroductionThe engineering education research community is evolving. Some evidence of this is the growthof capacity building programs such as year-long mentored or collaborative researchexperiences[1-4] and departments of engineering education (e.g., Purdue University, VirginiaTech). At a smaller scale are workshops and interactive sessions at engineering educationconferences that focus on research skill development [5-7]. Venues for disseminating engineeringeducation scholarship are also

Conference Session

Educational Research and the New Engineering Educator

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malcolm Drewery, National Academy of Engineering; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering; Stefani A. Bjorklund

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

service.Importance of StudyMore recently, educators have been trying to improve engineering education by introducing andstrengthening their commitment to assessing specific approaches to teaching, learning, andstudent learning outcomes. In their recent article, “Assessment in Engineering Education:Evolution, Approaches, and Future Collaboration”, Olds, Moskal, and Miller describe the currentmovement toward the assessment of student learning outcomes within the engineeringcommunity, and assert that, as recently as 1997, the engineering community had relatively little Page 12.1583.2experience in conducting outcomes assessment [1]. Further, Bjorklund and

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Gehringer, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

tointroduce a new topic into a course, but lack time to produce the necessary lecture andhomework materials. An independent-study student can scout the topic in advance and producelecture notes and problems that can be used in teaching the course. This helps both theindependent-study student, who learns about a new topic earlier than other students, and the restof the class, which has access to better course materials than they would otherwise.1. IntroductionAs a new faculty member, you probably want to expand your research team and get extra help inpreparing your courses. This paper will tell you how you can use independent-study courses tomeet these needs, while simultaneously enriching the students’ education by giving them theopportunity to work

Conference Session

Women, Minorities and the New Engineering Educator

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Noel Schulz, Mississippi State University; Kirk Schulz, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

and don’ts with graduate students.IntroductionWorking with graduate students is part of the expectation for faculty members at any researchuniversity. However, many new faculty members find working with graduate students to be bothbewildering and highly rewarding – and sometimes the most stressful part of starting theircareers as academic faculty members.The co-authors have advised over 40 graduate students during the past decade, and have learnedseveral valuable lessons on working with graduate students. The comments and suggestions inthis paper are not gleaned from formal research, but instead are common themes we have used inworking and mentoring our students. References [1-5] also provide suggestions and additionalideas related to working

Conference Session

Faculty Development: Creating successful NEEs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Jackson, East Carolina University; Robert Chin, East Carolina University; Charles Coddington, East Carolina University; Paul Petersen, East Carolina University; Fonooni Hamid

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

commitment tonew faculty takes on several related, yet distinct features. Examples of these initiatives include:1) reduced workloads for new faculty for the first two years to enable them to generateindividual and collaborative research activities, funded grants, and publications, 2) periodicuniversity-wide training to learn policies and procedures that affect day-to-day activities on acollege campus, 3) periodic workshops hosted by senior faculty mentors, and 4) one-on-onediscussions between senior faculty members and junior faculty members to encourage candiddialogue between professional colleagues. Another feature of the mentorship philosophy is aproposal to the dean of the college to offer newly hired faculty a contractual start date of July

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Melani Plett, Seattle Pacific Univ; Donald Peter

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

for Improved LearningA primary goal of homework is for students to learn as much as possible, especially perhaps,from their mistakes. The typical homework format, however, has impediments to the learningprocess: 1) slow feedback, 2) penalties for mistakes, and 3) no encouragement to discovermistakes and correct them. In recent years, several new approaches to homework have beenintroduced, but none addresses all three learning limitations listed above: a) Homework isassigned but neither required nor graded. b) It is automatically graded online. c) Detailedsolutions are provided online.Four years ago we began developing a self-graded aspect to our homework assignments with thegoal of improving student learning while minimizing the burden to the

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Claude Villiers, Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

different learning styles, and enhance the quality of learning.Other qualities of effective presentation were presented by Ressler et al.7 and Estes et al.3. Ineach of the four classes, the author took all the necessary measures to ensure that the studentsunderstood the theory behind the structure, properties, and material characteristics pertinent toeach subject. When applicable, he stressed on the practical applications of the relatedconstruction practice. Also, in each of the courses the student’s communication and writing skillswere also assessed. The student’s final grade is presented in Fig. 1. Additional information abouteach particular class is described below.Civil Engineering Materials ClassThe Civil Engineering Materials class was the

Conference Session

Advice from the Experts for NEEs at Small Universities

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Claude Villiers, Florida Gulf Coast University; Diane Bondehagen, Florida Gulf Coast University; Chris Geiger

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

Conference Session

Best of the NEE

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Squire, Virginia Military Institute; Charles Bott, Virginia Military Institute; Matthew Hyre, Virginia Military Institute

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

of these funding sources is evaluatedfor undergraduate research suitability with respect to typical timelines, funding agency’scriticality of success, the undergraduate’s class year, and the professor’s time before tenurereview.I. IntroductionPh.D. granting universities have long expected their faculty to conduct an active researchprogram, however in the past two decades an increasing emphasis has been reported in theamount of emphasis undergraduate-only engineering schools are placing on their faculty to buildresearch programs.1 While some studies have questioned whether this has a negative impactupon the teaching experience, especially of technical subjects2,3,4, it will likely continue toincrease as administrators seek to improve faculty

Conference Session

Faculty Development: Creating successful NEEs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Abul Azad, Northern Illinois University; Osman Tokhi, University of Sheffield, UK.

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

foreign nationals were granted lawful permanent residence to the US during2005 1. In 2001, the lead author migrated from the United Kingdom (UK) with a facultyposition at a US University. He has completed his BSc and MSc from Bangladesh andobtained his PhD (control and systems engineering) from the University of Sheffield (UK).He lived in the UK for around thirteen years and was involved with educational andresearch activities. The co-author obtained his BSc from Kabul University (Afghanistan)and PhD from Heriot-Watt University (UK) in 1988. He worked at various academic andindustrial establishments since graduation in 1978 and is currently employed as a Reader inthe Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, The University

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Off the Beaten Path

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jenny Lo, Virginia Tech; Vinod Lohani, Virginia Tech; Michael Gregg, Virginia Tech; Richard Goff, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

freshman engineering courses in theGeneral Engineering program at Virginia Tech are being transformed to follow a similar 1-lecture, 1-workshop per week format. The team-based approach helped to successfullyimplement the new delivery format of the course. Lo and Lohani shared responsibilities fordeveloping lecture and workshop material as well as managing personnel including graduate andundergraduate teaching assistants and graders. In spring 2005, there were 4 graduate studentswho taught the workshop sections. In fall 2005 and 2006 semesters, the authors managed 14graduate students who were involved in teaching the workshops. The new format has been byand large a successful experience. Some other advantages are noted below.Multiple faculty could

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrienne Minerick, Mississippi State University; Jason Keith, Michigan Technological University; Donald Visco, Tennessee Technological University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

AC 2007-1126: TIPS FOR NEW FACULTY: ENGAGING YOUR GRADUATESTUDENTS IN INDEPENDENT THOUGHTAdrienne Minerick, Mississippi State UniversityJason Keith, Michigan Technological UniversityDonald Visco, Tennessee Technological University Page 12.1493.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Tips for New Faculty: Engaging Your Graduate Students in Independent Thought Adrienne R. Minerick1, Jason M. Keith2, Donald Visco3 1 Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Off the Beaten Path

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bobby Crawford, USMA; Tony Jones, USMA

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

completes its four-year academic program. Within this program,students are free to select one of a number of academic majors, many of which fall in therealm of the liberal arts. Because of the stress on breadth of the experience, those studentsdesiring to major in a non-engineering discipline are required to take, as a minimum, asequence of three courses from one of the engineering programs. They may select fromChemical, Civil, Electrical, Environmental, Mechanical, Nuclear, or Systems(Management) Engineering. Table 1 depicts the courses included in the MechanicalEngineering (ME) sequence. Table 1. Mechanical Engineering Three-Course Sequence Course Content

Conference Session

Best of the NEE

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yi-Min Huang, University of Washington; Jessica Yellin, University of Washington; Jennifer Turns, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

, wewill discuss three creative ways that time was reflected in the decision-making interviews.Creative approaches to overcome time barrier “We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch.” ~ John F. KennedyThere are certain things and ideas participants suggested that made the time issues seem morepervasive. Although participants generally acknowledged time as constraints or limitations,some participants also revealed their beliefs that time issues can sometimes be beyond beinga constraint. Their responses suggested creative solutions to overcome time as a limitation.In the paragraphs below, we have categorized these creative approaches along these threedimensions: (1) Faculty centered approaches (2) Student centered approaches (3

Conference Session

Advice from the Experts for NEEs at Small Universities

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Larson, Seattle University; Agnieszka Miguel, Seattle University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

, andpublishing results. One key tip that is pervasive throughout this paper is understanding thetenure requirements in your department at your institution.1. IntroductionResearch expectations have been constantly increasing at teaching colleges and universitieswhere the primary focus is on teaching. This includes liberal arts colleges, comprehensiveschools, and universities that have a Master's program but do not offer doctorate degrees.Research has several benefits to teaching oriented institutions. First, faculty members must staycurrent in their field. This makes faculty members more knowledgeable and as a result, moreeffective teachers. Having faculty members that perform research opens up opportunities tostudents. They can assist faculty in

Conference Session

Women, Minorities and the New Engineering Educator

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brook Sattler, University of Washington; Jessica Yellin, University of Washington; Yi-Min Huang, University of Washington; Jennifer Turns, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

from this in-depth study included: (1) the use of narratives/storytelling to describe their views of diversity; (2) the self reporting of a critical incident (positive ornegative) involving diversity; and (3) the use of politically correct terms when talking aboutdiversity. The use of narratives to describe diversity views was very personal and concrete. Whenparticipants discussed a critical incident they used narratives to describe and reflect about aspecific personal experience. Many times in telling their stories, participants were cautious of theirwords and acknowledged needing to be politically correct, frequently using the acronym PC for“politically correct”. Many participants described one or more of these diversity themes whentalking

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Benitez, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Juan Jimenez, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Yesenia Cruz, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Marta Rosa, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Alexandra Medina-Borja, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

as what would they recommend instructors to avoid?We discuss the results of a comprehensive focus group study being undertaken at the Universityof Puerto Rico at Mayagüez among Industrial Engineering freshmen to the fifth year students.We asked students what they remember about professors that they feel taught them the most, andalso of those that did not contribute much to their “engineering education.” Among the findings,a prevalence of rejection towards the use of Power Point presentations was revealed.Other findings and conclusions for future research are also discussed surrounding student-centrism vs. teacher-centrism.1 INTRODUCTIONMuch has been said about retention of engineering students in the 21 century. The role of theinstructor and

Conference Session

Women, Minorities and the New Engineering Educator

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Annette Mallory Donawa; Clifton Martin, Morgan State University; Carl White, Morgan State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

thespring, 2006 semester. This course met once per week for 1.0 hour. Students weregiven the Watson-Glaser Critical Appraisal Form A, which consisted of 80 questions asa pre- and post- assessment to determine if a formal critical thinking course couldenhance students’ critical thinking skills. Bloom’s Taxonomy was used as a frameworkto help students differentiate between lower and higher order thinking skills. Thestudents compared the hierarchical structure from Bloom’s Taxonomy to identify andpositioned the critical thinking categories from the Watson-Glaser assessment, whichincluded: inferences, recognition of assumptions, deductions, interpretations andevaluation of arguments (see Figure 1). Evalution of Arguments

Conference Session

Women, Minorities and the New Engineering Educator

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cheryl Allendoerfer, University of Washington; Sharon Jones, Lafayette College; Jaime Hernandez, Texas State University-San Marcos; Rebecca Bates, Minnesota State University-Mankato; Robin Adams, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

studies linked to the ongoingscholarship in CAEE, created resources for dissemination, and refined leadership skills.The 2006 ISEE participants, or Scholars, were relatively new to engineering education researchwhen they began their ISEE year. Eighteen Scholars were selected from a competitive, nationalpool of candidates based on the strength of each Scholar’s application – including a proposedresearch project focusing on diversity issues – and the capacity of the proposed project to meetthe ISEE goals of 1) contributing to engineering education scholarship, 2) enhancing learningand local change, 3) facilitating coherence and expansion of the existing community, and 4)demonstrating engineering education scholarship as a professional endeavor

Conference Session

Best of the NEE

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wendy James, Oklahoma State University; Stacee Harmon, Oklahoma State University; Richard Bryant, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

, scientific methods in thelatter part of the nineteenth century when researchers asked subjects to reflect and report on theirown cognition. At the turn of the nineteenth century, using such subjective data for analysis was Page 12.556.7abandoned in favor of using only observable actions as appropriate objective data. This resultedin the behaviorist perspective, where learning is understood as the formation, strengthening, andadjustment of associations between ideas, stimuli, and responses. These theories “are framed bythe assumption that behavior is to be understood as the responses of an organism to stimuli in thesituation,”1 which usually can

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine; June Marshall, St. Joseph's College

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

. Page 12.867.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 In Search of Teaching Excellence: Tricks of the TradeThe purpose of this paper is to identify and describe teaching tools and techniques thatwill help new faculty as well as experienced faculty become more effective teachers.Based on a review of the literature, the following excerpts have been divided into twomajor sections. The focus of the first section is the learning process, and the secondsection discusses innovative methods of teaching.Topics included in the “Learning” section include: 1) Focusing on Learning and NotTeaching; 2) Problem Based Learning; 3) Facilitating Group Learning (PromotingAccountability, Linking Assignments, and Stimulating the Idea Exchange

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators: Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dean Kim, Bradley University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

and passion for teaching can be attributed to his experiences asa graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,as indicated in the following Table 1. The author’s observations and discussions with professorsduring his ten semesters as a Laboratory Teaching Assistant, in addition to his experience asLecturer of the junior-level System Dynamics course, had helped him to start developing hisTeaching philosophy and methods even before becoming a professor. Course Student level Duties Remarks System Dynamics Juniors Laboratory TA Named to the (10 semesters) (also helped with

Conference Session

Best of the NEE

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Chesney, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

Conference Session

Faculty Development: Creating successful NEEs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kam Jugdev, Athabasca University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

sharing some of my tricks of the trade, I hope that new faculty will not have to personally learn all their lessons the hard way, because at times, it is easier and less painful to learn from the experiences of others. Page 12.188.2 1IntroductionUniversities face many broad issues such as fiscal restraint, technological changes, andinternational competition 1. Universities also face issues related to how they balance researchwith teaching performance, assessment, and accountability. “Organizational changes must occurgiven the changes in what