Conference Session

Institutional and Curricular Reform

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arunkumar Pennathur, University of Texas-El Paso; Louis Everett, University of Texas-El Paso

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

. Page 13.166.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Aligning Student Learning, Faculty Development and Engineering Content: A Framework for Strategic Planning of Engineering Instruction and AssessmentAbstractThis paper outlines an innovative framework for modeling and planning engineering educationassessment interventions. The theoretical bases for the framework are primarily derived andintegrated from research methods and findings in several different disciplines - humanengineering, engineering education, human communication sciences and, mathematicalmodeling using statistical and neural network approaches. The framework consists of four keyelements – the task of instruction, the players

Conference Session

STEM Pipeline: Pre-College to Post-Baccalaureate

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julie Trenor, University of Houston; Olga Pierrakos, James Madison University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

’ Academic and Career PlansAbstractUndergraduate research experiences in engineering have recently received significant interest asmechanisms for attracting undergraduates to graduate-level work. In particular, the NationalScience Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) initiative aims to recruitstudents to careers in research. Our work employs a social cognitive theoretical framework toinvestigate how participation in a summer undergraduate research program influencesparticipants’ academic and career plans (specifically plans to pursue a Ph.D.) and their self-efficacy for future scientific research. A mixed-methods approach, incorporating surveyinstruments, interviews, and weekly self-reflective journal entries, was utilized to

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 2

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristyn Jackson, Stanford University; Tori Bailey, Stanford University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; Helen Chen, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

the concept of dual degreeprograms is consistent with recommendations contained in recent reports regarding therelationship between undergraduate and graduate education (advocating that we move towardsthe master’s degree being the professional engineering degree7,8).With more schools adding dual degree programs, we believe that schools need a greaterunderstanding of how students decide to pursue a dual degree or other graduate degree. Theinformation about this decision process should enable programs to better support their students’in this phase of their education and career planning. It will also give schools insights into how tostructure effective dual-degree programs to support the students considering graduate workthrough a dual degree

Conference Session

Professional Skills and the Workplace

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Ferguson, Illinois Institute of Technology; Margaret Huyck, Illinois Institute of Technology; Carolyn Wood, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

and analytical perspectives, 5 and improve teamwork ,communication , and project management skills . IPRO Projects are based on realproblems, often involving sponsors that reflect the diversity of the workplace: corporations,entrepreneurial ventures, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Theprojects cover a broad range of topics and include service learning, research, design,process improvement and business planning assignments.Every undergraduate student is required to take two IPROs. A majority of IPRO studentsare majoring in engineering, architecture and computer science, but the program alsoinvolves undergraduate students

Conference Session

STEM Pipeline: Pre-College to Post-Baccalaureate

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Venetia Dover, Howard University; Lorraine Fleming, Howard University; Dawn Williams, Howard University; Viara Quinones, Howard University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

a multi method longitudinal study conducted at a Historically BlackCollege/University (HBCU) in fall 2006 and spring 2007 using a sample of 51 high achieving(GPA > 3.0) Black STEM students. The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) was used as atheoretical framework to provide insight regarding factors influencing the post baccalaureatedecisions of high achieving Black STEM students. Survey findings revealed a statisticallysignificant association between STEM discipline and post baccalaureate plans. Qualitative datafrom a focus group will shed light on factors influencing the aforementioned finding.IntroductionThe literature indicates that the representation of minority science, technology, engineering, andmathematics (STEM

Conference Session

Design: Content and Context

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anoop Desai, Georgia Southern University; Jean-Claude Thomassian, State University of New York, Maritime College

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

approach forms the basis of course design. This approach enables the incorporation of the opinions as well as the preferences of various constituencies such as potential employers, accreditation boards, parents, state and national professional regulation boards etc. This step utilizes the four stage ‘House of Quality’ approach to quantify priorities. 1. Course Planning: This step incorporates the voice of end users (employers, accreditation board, professional development societies etc). This step is akin to asking the question: ‘What outcome do you expect out of this course?’ Once these opinions are ascertained, they are prioritized in arrange from highest priority to lowest priority 2. Component Deployment: This step

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Howard Evans, National University; Shekar Viswanathan, National University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

motivating and assisting faculty to conduct research andscholarly work at what has traditionally been a highly teaching-focused university. As part ofthis initiative a number of novel institutional programs have been devised and implemented. Thisinitiative encompasses programs such as creating faculty professional development funds;offering faculty awards in the form of money and time allocation; presenting distinguishedscholar awards; publicizing and celebrating scholarly work; formally incorporating researchgoals in annual plans at the college/school, department, and individual faculty levels; and otherincentives. The impact of these efforts has resulted in a significant, measurable increase inresearch and scholarly work over the last four years

Conference Session

Student Engagement and Motivation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Stolk, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; John Geddes, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Mark Somerville, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Robert Martello, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

learners are like the self-regulated learners Zimmermandescribes in that they are “metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally active participantsin their own learning.”15 In addition to masters of learning processes, self-directed learners areself-starters, with intention to develop and conceptions of themselves as highly capablelearners.16,17 As Rogers notes, self-directed learners possess positive self-regard, a self-actualizing tendency, and openness to experience.7,18Cognitive and metacognitive factors in SDL include students’ abilities to recognize needs,develop strategies for planning, monitoring, and adapting learning processes, reflect on theircognitive processes, and engage in accurate self-evaluation of performance or mastery

Conference Session

Tools for Teaching

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tobia Steyn, University of Pretoria; Alan Carr, University of Pretoria

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

;• continual assessment; and• extensive feedback.Active learning involves activities that engage students in doing something, instead of onlyobserving what can or should be done. Students are made aware of their own learning actionsand that they must consciously plan, implement, monitor and evaluate these actions. Thesignificance of this principle is in accordance with research results which show that activelearning has the strongest positive influence on academic improvement.13 Face to faceinteraction is the main mode of communication between facilitators (lecturer and tutors) and thestudents, but is not in a traditional lecture style format. The course is presented in a computerlaboratory where facilitator-student and student-student interaction are

Conference Session

ERM Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Wilson, Western Kentucky University; Dennis George, Western Kentucky University; john bruni, Western Kentucky University; Mark Cambron, Western Kentucky University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

respond to the following question: “Which of the following have you done or do you plan to do before you graduate from you institution?”for each of the items above with the following answers and associated scores: • done (3.0); • plan to do (2.0); • do not plan to do (1.0), and Page 13.165.4 • have not decided (0.0).Student perception of engagement competency was determined by response to select NSSEquestions. Scores were generated by equally weighting all four components of the algorithm.ResultsThe weighting constants originally proposed were an equal weighting of all three assessmentmeasures: faculty perception of

Conference Session

Writing and Portfolios

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jung Oh, Kansas State University-Salina; Judith Collins, Kansas State University-Salina

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

common goal to solve a problem, contribute information, and share tools.Students were asked to take the initiative of assigning roles within a team (e.g. a file manager, acommunicator, an editor). The chemistry faculty identified the students from the technicalwriting course who had previously taken the chemistry course and encouraged their contributionsas “knowledgeable peer”/“experienced peer” with their chromatography lab experiences.Technical writing course students wrote summaries of relevant information based on retrievedarticles, and posted the original and the summary to “group files”. Students were to read eachothers work in preparation for planning and building a PowerPoint presentation. The softwareautomatically labeled each uploaded

Conference Session

Writing and Portfolios

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Turns, University of Washington; Kejun Xu, University of Washington; Matt Eliot, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

did was a division of labor, however, most of the machining and designing of process plans we did together. This allowed us to remain on the same page, and always to understand what the other person was doing and why. An important part of teamwork is compatibility. My partner and I were fortunate enough to work well together, however, this may not always be the case. In the engineering world, personality screenings are often done to determine which people should work together on a team, and which should not. When personality screenings aren't done, it is important to be able to work together nonetheless, and to focus on the project goals as opposed to personal differences. Many people learned this lesson while

Conference Session

Tools for Teaching

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Scott Moor, Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

in each core with their monitors on support arms allowing easymovement. Computer connections are accessible at the desktop. In addition, each clusterincludes electric power, water and compressed air. Students break into groups of three forcomputer work, and can break into groups of two, three, four or six for other activities. Whennot in use for formal classes, students use it as an informal learning space.Use of the room for classes has just begun. We are currently assessing the basic configuration ofthis space. Student surveys, room observation and instructor interviews are planned ascomponents of this assessment.Initial indications are that the room is well liked in spite of some early technical glitches.Students, particularly groups

Conference Session

Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Olga Pierrakos, James Madison University; Maura Borrego, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Jenny Lo, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

nation were recruited,resulting to about 235 and 275 student participants, respectively for the pre- and post- surveys.In this paper, we present key findings of what students learned and valued, present outcomeswhich should be better addressed during the experience, student career path goals, etc. Thestrength of the research design plan is that the results can be generalized to other REU sites andcan be replicated across scientific disciplines and institutions at various levels and scales. These Page 13.231.3findings can aid REU site program directors and undergraduate research faculty advisors toimprove their program and assessment

Conference Session

ERM Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carl Lund, State University of New York at Buffalo

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

for other activities.The second major objective of the TExT is to provide learning activities to be used in the class-room along with detailed lesson plans describing how to conduct these activities. To the maxi-mum extent possible, this includes providing the resources necessary for conducting the in-classactivity. In cases where the resources cannot be provided, the lesson plan includes a list of all theitems the instructor will need in class along with an indication of those that must be obtainedfrom a source external to the TExT. The key points of this objective are to ensure (a) that eachactivity is well designed as a student learning experience, (b) that implementation of each activ-ity is straightforward and time-efficient and (c) that

Conference Session

Professional Skills and the Workplace

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Trevelyan, University of Western Australia

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

coding descriptors, for example “planning maintenance” and“developing technical standards”. There was little or no supporting evidence for somedescriptors, and others had to be merged when it became clear that the evidence could notdistinguish one from another. For example, separate descriptors for “marketing”, “assistingclients develop projects”, and “researching client needs” were merged into a single descriptor“influencing clients”.Several unexpected aspects of engineering practice emerged from the interview data. By farthe most significant was technical coordination. There were three questions in the interviewto explore supervision relationships (with superiors, contractors and subordinates). The initialreview of responses led to a single

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 2

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Debbie Chachra, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Deborah Kilgore, University of Washington; Heidi Loshbaugh, Colorado School of Mines; Janice McCain, Howard University; Helen Chen, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

__ Making decisions __ Making trade-offs __ Modeling __ Planning __ Prototyping __ Seeking information __ Sketching __ Synthesizing __ Testing __ Understanding the problem __ Using creativity __ Visualizing Figure 1. Text of the design activities task.The first-year administration of the APS survey yielded 147 responses to the design-activitiesquestion that were suitable for analysis

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 1

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Morozov, University of Washington; Deborah Kilgore, University of Washington; Ken Yasuhara, University of Washington; Cynthia Atman, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

problem Detailing how to build the solution to the problem Assessing and passing judgment on a possible or planned solution to the problem Comparing and contrasting two solutions to the problem on a particular dimension such as cost Selecting one idea or solution to the problem from among those considered Communicating elements of the design in sketches, diagrams, lists, and written or oral reportsFigure 1. The confidence survey question, as administered. Page 13.1061.6For the following engineering design activities, please indicate how often you engaged inthe activity in your coursework in the current academic year

Conference Session

Student Engagement and Motivation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Crown; Arturo Fuentes; Bob Freeman

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

engagement is an essentialelement in the design and implementation of an effective learning environment that must bedeliberately stimulated and measured. An engaged student is one who has a realistic plan forlearning and implements that plan at their full potential. According to the authors, reconnectingor integrating the educational process with the student’s values, interests, goals, and aspirations(who the student is) will significantly strengthen the motivational basis for their education andlead to a higher level of engagement, learning, and academic success. Although the mosteffective means of impacting student motivation and success is to address all aspects of who thestudent is, the focus of this paper is on the use of games delivered in a

Conference Session

Emerging Issues in Engineering Education Research and Pedagogy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Cady, National Academy of Engineering; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

learn ratherthan what their professors teach. In addition, EC 2000 stressed that individual institutions shouldcontinue to improve their programs based on their own internal goals.In 2004, the National Academy of Engineering released a report envisioning how the engineeringprofession would change by the year 2020 8. It was followed in 2005 by another Academy reporton how to best educate these future engineers. Among other recommendations, this reportsuggested that higher education institutions should encourage their engineering faculty membersto conduct research in engineering education 9. In light of this plan, and in an effort to evaluatesome progress in engineering education research, the NSF funding patterns for engineeringeducation

Conference Session

Faculty Attitudes and Perceptions

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cathy Burack, Brandeis University; John Duffy, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Alan Melchior, Brandeis University; Eric Morgan, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

than one course. Thirty-seven full-time engineering faculty members havetried service-learning at least once so far, just about half the faculty.Faculty were recruited via personal contacts and through workshops offered in the summer andfall of 2004. All engineering faculty were invited. The summer workshop was an all day affairwith presentations by Dwight Giles as well as community partners and breakout discussions;Dwight Giles is a well-known researcher in service-learning9 and was a consultant on the project.A second workshop was about 3 hours and focused on assessment, and again Dwight Gilespresented. A planning grant from NSF allowed faculty to develop S-L courses throughminigrants and graduate student support, and a part-time S-L

Conference Session

Student Engagement and Motivation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Howard, Illinois Institute of Technology; Daniel Ferguson, Illinois Institute of Technology; Margaret Huyck, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

throughout the academic term. First, the timing of the three Reflections was Page 13.1099.5adjusted slightly. During the Fall 2006 semester, Reflections were completed at roughly weeks 4,8, and 12 of the 16-week semester. During the Spring 2007 semester, the due date for the firstReflection was adjusted from week 4 to week 5, so that it coincided with the completion of teamproject plans. This was because it had been noted by team instructors that many students wereunable to effectively answer questions about their projects until after they had at least started towrite a specific plan for the work they were going to do. Second, the timing of the

Conference Session

Faculty Attitudes and Perceptions

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah Zappe, Pennsylvania State University; Natalia Kapli, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

that those students with a more positive perception of active learning techniques ingeneral will also likely find the activities used in the course to be positive.2. What is the relationship between students’ perceived relevance of course and their perceptionof active learning?We hypothesize that students who perceive the course to be more relevant to their future and ofgreater interest to them will be more likely to endorse principles of active learning. Many of thestudents in the class are planning careers in industry as opposed to academic positions. Wehypothesize that students who have a greater interest in teaching will also likely feel morepositive about teaching strategies that have an active component.3. What differences exist between

Conference Session

Institutional and Curricular Reform

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Goldberg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Andreas Cangellaris, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Michael Loui, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Raymond Price, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Bruce Litchfield, Univ Of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

, collaborative team to move ahead with pilot changes tothe curriculum. This group has been meeting since September 2007, and plans for the firstiFoundry class are being set for September 2008.Voluntary participation. It is best to staff such a pilot program with faculty who are trulyinterested in undergraduate education and students who are amenable to change. Even the mostresearch-oriented institution has a cadre of dedicated undergraduate teachers, and many studentstoday are interested in many of the modifications to the curriculum that have been proposed inthe 2020 reports and elsewhere. iFoundry began with faculty and chief advisors from fivedepartments, and student leaders joined the discussion in September 2007.Signatory authority and variances

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 1

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Helen Chen, Stanford University; Krista Donaldson, Stanford University; Ozgur Eris, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Debbie Chachra, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Gary Lichtenstein, Stanford University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; George Toye, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Advancement of EngineeringEducation (CAEE) is a cross-university study that systematically examines how engineeringstudents navigate their education, and how engineering skills and identity develop during theundergraduate period. Through the collective work of the APS, two instruments have emerged –the Persistence in Engineering (PIE) survey and the Academic Pathways of People LearningEngineering Survey (APPLES). This paper describes the redesign of the longitudinal PIE surveyinstrument for the cross-sectional administrations of APPLES as informed by emerging findingsfrom other APS methods. We discuss the challenges of the evolution of PIE and APPLES whileaddressing the comparability of these instruments to each other, and outline plans for

Conference Session

Writing and Portfolios

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anne Nichols, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

AC 2008-1113: USING CALIBRATED PEER REVIEW AS A TEACHING TOOLFOR STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGY IN ARCHITECTUREAnne Nichols, Texas A&M University Dr. Nichols is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Texas A&M University. She teaches structural analysis, design, and planning at the undergraduate and graduate level. She is a civil engineer with research interests in the structural mechanics and modeling of masonry and cement materials. Page 13.1331.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Using Calibrated Peer Review as a Teaching Tool for Structural

Conference Session

Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patrick Terenzini, The Pennsylvania State University; Lisa Lattuca, Pennsylvania State University; Matthew Ohland, Purdue Engineering Education; Russell Long, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

SourcesThe methodology to be used in this study must be carefully designed if it is to be credible andprovide useful psychometric insights on widely used measures of engineering learning, as well ason the validity of self-reported learning outcome measures in educational research. In this paper,we thus present an analytical plan for evaluating the criterion-related validity of the scalesdeveloped for the EC2000 study using data available through the Multi-Institution Database forInvestigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD) project, including student FEexamination scores and grade-point averages (from transcript records). Presentation anddiscussion of the study design and procedures at ASEE will permit the engineering

Conference Session

STEM Pipeline: Pre-College to Post-Baccalaureate

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gillian Nicholls, University of Pittsburgh; Harvey Wolfe, University of Pittsburgh; Mary Besterfield-Sacre, University of Pittsburgh; Larry Shuman, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

was 0.848demonstrating the fitted model possessed excellent ability to discriminate between these twoeducational outcomes. The significant variables were overall BY math proficiency; BY sciencequartile; family composition; language minority status; frequency of parental discussions withthe student regarding post high school plans; parental expectations of the student’s advancement;student expectation of personal educational attainment; parental marital status; type of highschool the student planned to attend; the father’s highest level of education; the number of hoursper week the student worked for pay; the student’s ability groups for math and science; thestudent’s math and science grades from grades 6 to 8; ACT math score; SAT math and

Conference Session

Institutional and Curricular Reform

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Froyd, Texas A&M University; Charles Henderson, Western Michigan University; Jean Layne, Texas A&M University; Andrea Beach, Western Michigan University; Noah Finkelstein, University of Colorado; R. Sam Larson, Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

initiative?), (2) barriers to change (what will makeit hard for you to reach your goals?), (3) foci for change (what parts of the system will you seekto change?), and (4) strategies for change (what is the big picture of how you plan to bring aboutthe change?). Page 13.906.2GoalsGoals for change convey expectations for desired conditions at the conclusion of a changeinitiative. Change agents should start with their goals for change, since clearly articulated,compelling, widely supported goals for change will facilitate explicit decision-making processes.For example, some engineering departments across the country are facing the challenge to reducethe

Conference Session

Problem Solving and Misconceptions

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Jackman, Iowa State University; Sarah Ryan, Iowa State University; Craig Ogilvie, Iowa State University; Dale Niederhauser, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

asynchronous discussions. It was found that the majorityof messages were related to resolving or solving the problem as compared to problemformulation.6 This may indicate that students tend to move to the solution process prematurely.A similar phenomenon was observed by Kelsey, who found that discussions about problemsfocused primarily on finding the solution as opposed to problem formulation.7 Volkemaobserved that problem formulation occurs early in planning and design activities (core activitiesin engineering).8 He suggested that factors contributing to poor problem solving performanceinclude problem complexity, expertise, problem solving environment, and processes used by the