Conference Session

Goal Specific First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Lewis, University of Louisville; Jeffrey Hieb, University of Louisville; David Wheatley, University of Louisville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

100 course are discussedin Section 5.2. Critical ThinkingThe term ―critical thinking‖ is one with which most people are familiar, but is difficult to easilydefine, as shown in1 where 89% of teachers interviewed claimed critical thinking to be animportant education objective, but only 19% were able to give a clear explanation of criticalthinking. One of the classic definitions of critical thinking comes from Robert Ennis: ―Criticalthinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do‖2.This definition does a good job of briefly capturing three key elements of critical thinking:reason, reflection, and judgment (or as Ennis puts it so well – ―deciding what to do or believe‖).The element of reason in

Conference Session

Learning as a Community

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janet Meyer, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Patrick Gee, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Laura Masterson, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

opportunities in engineering. Additionally, somestudents have a very specific idea of an engineer. Through the use of the tours we are able tointroduce them to a variety of different job opportunities in engineering.In 2007 and 2008 we took the students on selected tours of engineering research areas at IUPUI.In both groups students were to write a reflection paper about the tours. The papers includedevidence that students were excited about what they had visited. It was clear that for many ofthem, the research areas they saw were new and informative. In the first year the reflections weredone as an assignment in their learning community class. In the second year those takingEnglish did it as part of their English class. However it was graded by their

Conference Session

Projects and Problems in First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Senay Purzer, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

problem. Eric’sagreements with his team members were short and mostly in the form of “yeah”; however, thefact that his team members frequently sought his approval reflected his decision-making role. E2: Eddie Ok. I think. You think we should get going on some design concepts now? E3: Eric Sure E2: Eddie If we can’t think of any more criteria and constraints. E3: Eric Yeah E2: Eddie To put across E3: Eric Yeah. E1: Elvin All right so, traffic light E3: Eric And then, to improve on that solar power traffic light. E1: Elvin Solar… (writing) E3: Eric And then just a simple stop light, red light, you stop, no red light you don’t. E1: Elvin So, solar powered pedestrian? E3: Eric Yeah, solar powered

Conference Session

The Ever-Changing Course

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; Jean Kampe, Michigan Technological University; Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

ENG1001 (approximately 100 students), however, the project did not end with thisactivity. Page 14.852.5 Prior to coming to Michigan Tech’s orientation week, the first-year students read Three Cupsof Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time. 13 Each year, theuniversity selects a book that first-year students read as part of the “Reading as Inquiry”program.14 For the past three years, the program has selected books that reflect social orenvironmental issues. The purpose of this program is to prepare the entering students for collegelevel reading and analysis. During orientation week, students meet with their orientation

Conference Session

Learning as a Community

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sondra Miller, Boise State University; Pat Pyke, Boise State University; Amy Moll, Boise State University; Melissa Wintrow, Boise State University; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University; Janet Callahan, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

ERC was such thatstudents lived in suites with a shared common meeting space, which facilitated collaborativework and study. Through structured activities outside of the classroom, the FiR facilitatedlearning that enhanced engineering academics (e.g., advising, study groups, tutors), communitybuilding (e.g., informal drop-in coffee nights, rock climbing), and supported the RC programcommon values. Success of these programmatic activities was assessed qualitatively (i.e.,student’s perceptions articulated through reflective writing) and quantitatively (i.e., academicperformance in key freshman engineering courses).Qualitative Life Skills SuccessesTo fully assess the successes of the ERC, we chose to first qualitatively examine the experiencesof

Conference Session

Assessment and Curriculum Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Godfrey, University of Auckland; Rosalind Archer, University of Auckland; Paul Denny, University of Auckland; Margaret Hyland, University of Auckland; Chris Smaill, University of Auckland; Karl Stol, University of Auckland

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

the students straight into an engineering way of thinking” Interview with Dean of Engineering, July 1997 from Godfrey20The new structure embraced the ideas of: reducing the workload to make time for moreindependent learning and reflection, increasing the use of project based learning in allsubjects, including at least one Design course in each year of each specialization andincluding explicit common core courses to prepare graduates for professional life includingsocial and environmental responsibilities. “The IEAust Review came out soon after we started, and I felt we could have written it, our new degree matched what they wanted done – so our thinking was really up there with current

Conference Session

Assessment and Curriculum Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Casey Canfield, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Yevgeniya Zastavker, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

study indicatesthat educational efforts focused on active faculty engagement and self-reflection are needed toeffect the change in faculty conceptions of teaching and movement towards student-centeredpedagogical practices geared towards student intellectual development and conceptual change.Moreover, faculty teaching conceptions must be made explicit to facilitate a thoughtful,constructive dialogue regarding engineering education reform. It may be useful for faculty tocome together and share best practices to encourage a culture of common pedagogicalinnovation. In addition, faculty may benefit from experience in team-teaching, which may Page

Conference Session

Retention Tools and Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Jan Collins-Eaglin, Michigan State University; Nathaniel Ehrlich, Michigan State University; Denise Fleming, Michigan State University; Timothy Hinds, Michigan State University; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

engineering profession and (b) to project the core value of the college thatengineering faculty really care about the early engineering students--to be the friendly “face” ofthe faculty and of the profession to their students.Our college data reflect national trends in that our most significant attrition is from the earlyengineering students. Our “leavers” fit into the same two categories as described in theliterature11: those who perform well academically, but choose to leave; and students who fall justshort of the academic admissions threshold. The target of the Connector Faculty portion of thiswork is to address both groups of students through better interactions with faculty mentors.While the goal is not an “at all costs” rescue of each and every

Conference Session

Beyond the Engineering Classroom

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Bailey, North Carolina A&T State University; Cindy Waters, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

relationship, most have never thematized it for themselves, that is, theyhave not reflected on the phenomenon as an intellectual activity. A consequence of thislack of reflection on the activity they all already practice is that when they are confrontedwith unfamiliar situations, they are easily confused. An objective of the course is to trainstudents to perform better in situations in which they are unfamiliar with the content ofthe reasoning operations. EXAMPLEWe then introduce inductive and deductive argument forms, help students recognize,analyze, and evaluate arguments. We find that one of the most difficult things for most ofour students to grasp is the logical difference between deductive and inductive reasoningforms. Many students, even after

Conference Session

Beyond the Engineering Classroom

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Traum, University of North Texas; Sharon Karackattu, University of North Texas

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

solving skills or providing a design-and-buildexperience. It enables these students to picture, reflect upon, and make informed decisions abouttheir potential future careers as practicing engineers. This thought process then maps onto choice ofmajor. It can encourage students to stay or motivate them to switch to another program that betteraligns with their long-term goals.Many students choose engineering for pragmatic reasons, believing that completion of anengineering degree will guarantee stable employment prospects with higher starting salaries.11Unfortunately, students also elect to major in engineering by way of an “uninformed choice”.11 Thatis, they envision an engineering degree as the means to fulfill childhood fantasies. Studies

Conference Session

Exploring Retention

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Cassady, University of Arkansas; Sean Mulvenon, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

generallyreflects an adequate work ethic, a grade of B generally reflects a marginal work ethic, and agrade of C or lower (including most withdrawals) generally reflects a poor work ethic.Therefore, we use the GNEG 1111 grade as a descriptor of work ethic in the remainder of thispaper.Anecdotal data suggests that grades in the first-semester MATH class are of great concern to allfaculty and staff members (across all colleges and universities with engineering programs) whowork with first-year engineering students. Such concern is shared by the FEP faculty and staff. Inthe Fall Semester of 2007, only 58% of the students in the FY07 cohort who attempted MATH1203, MATH 1285, MATH 2554, or MATH 2554H received a passing grade. Therefore,performance in these

Conference Session

Goal Specific First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Srikanth Tadepalli, University of Texas, Austin; Mitchell Pryor; Cameron Booth, University of Texas, Austin

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

unnecessarily large use of human Page 14.398.7resources. The worst case scenario is considered in the final rankings.Asserting PresenceWith the new CMS in place we reevaluated the existing presence elements andbrainstormed how to improve, replace or augment them. We started by reworking theexisting styles and menus to give them a more updated feel. At this point the advantagesof the CMS became readily apparent when, after making changes to the layout and styleit was reflected through the site (see Figure 4). Figure 4: Revised Design Concept for WebsiteThe use of a blog style front page that lists updates to the site, information on

Conference Session

First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jay Brockman, University of Notre Dame; Lynnwood Brown, WikiRing Partnership; Michael McDonald, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

size of an entry in the list reflects how often that tag is used, so thatthe most commonly used tags stand out. If a user wishes to apply a tag that is not already in thecloud, he or she may simply type it into the tags text box, and the tag will automatically be addedto the cloud. Page 14.817.9 Figure 6: Form for assigning metadata to a resource.One of the more powerful features of the IntroEngineering wiki is a facility for buildinghomework assignments. Figure 7 shows a query form where the instructor searches forProblems applicable to “Chapter 4,” with the Learning Objective “Fundamental PhysicsTheories,” and

Conference Session

First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles McDowell, University of California, Santa Cruz; Adrienne Harrell, University of California, Santa Cruz

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

). Transfer Shock: Why is a Term Forty Years Old Still Relevant? Retrieved March 3, 2009- from NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Transfer-Shock.htmAcknowledgementsThis research was supported by National Science Foundation grant DUE-0336517. Any opinions,findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authorsand do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Page 14.504.8Appendix THE ENGINEERING TRANSFER TRANSITION PROGRAM PROGRAM SCHEDULEDAY

Conference Session

First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maria Sanchez, California State University, Fresno; Ira Sorensen, California State University, Fresno; Walter Mizuno, California State University, Fresno; Satya Mahanty, California State University, Fresno

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

the course. Finally, upper-classmen surveyed indicated that thecompetition was an effective means to introduce first-year students to the mechanicaldesign process, which is the primary curricular objective.Participating students and faculty were also asked to reflect on their experiences with thecompetition. Some comments from the students include:"The ME-1 competition boosted my interest in an engineering discipline because thevarious awards that were given or noted. It's important to have applications as well asgeneral computation skills.""The ME-1 competition is a great event to give engineering students a first-handexperience of what it's like to design, build and test a project."(Note: The competition is informally known among the

Conference Session

The Ever-Changing Course

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Gustafson, Duke University; Rebecca Simmons, Duke University; W. Neal Simmons, Duke University; Michael Ehrenfried, Kent Denver School; Tod Laursen, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

fields would need to know a compiled language, they alsofelt that a programming package such as MATLAB would be more globally useful during theirundergraduate career – reflecting the conclusions of Bjedov and Anderson1 as well as those ofAzemi and Pauley in a more recent study2. Furthermore, given the vast differences inprogramming experience of entering freshman students, a language like MATLAB was seen aspresenting similar educational benefits to a compiled language, without as steep a learning curve.Thus, the course has been completely revised to utilize MATLAB. One benefit of this approachhas been the inclusion or expansion of MATLAB use in several other engineering courses3,4 aswell as in math and physics courses. This vertical integration

Conference Session

Retention Tools and Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University; Amy Hamlin, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

students in their declared major as they enterENG1102 in the spring of 2005 and 2007. This data looks at all the first-year engineeringstudents enrolled in ENG1102 in the spring 2005 and 2007 semesters. As expected, the percentof Engineering Undecided (EGN) students retained in their original major is close to zero forboth study groups, which reflects the fact that these students are switching into a degree grantingmajor. More than 57% of the students are still in their originally declared engineering major atthe end of their third year, with most of the majors retaining between 75 and 85% of theiroriginal students. With the exception of EGE, EME, EMSE, and non-engineering majors, thepercent of students retained in their original major is lower

Conference Session

Goal Specific First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lesley Strawderman, Mississippi State University; Bill Elmore, Mississippi State University; Arash Salehi, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

traditionally assessed in academe. However, this must beaccompanied by a meta-cognitive ability to reflect, assess and regulate one’s engagement inlearning. For a learner human agency constitutes a foundation upon which new knowledge isassembled and integrated into a framework for choosing and adequately performing vocationalpursuits. Our students bring these traits to bear upon their decisions when choosing a vocationand the requisite educational training/certification necessary to enter this vocation. Unquestionably, causal factors (e.g. prior knowledge, socio-economic factors, psychological―tenor‖) influence ―agency‖—thus our current study of these factors. The centrality of one’sbeliefs about individual capabilities to control events affecting his

Conference Session

Learning as a Community

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Ricks, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Rhonda Kowalchuk, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; John Nicklow, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Loen Graceson-Martin, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Lalit Gupta, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; James Mathias, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Jale Tezcan, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Kathy Pericak-Spector, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

establishaccountability guidelines for my mentees,” with mean of 3.50 (sd = 0.98), and item 55, “Iencouraged my mentees to reflect on their progress toward their goals,” with mean of 3.63 (sd =0.92). Page 14.185.13Table 9Miscellaneous Aspects of the Peer Mentoring Experience Percent of Responses (n = 24) # Item M sd SA A N D SD NR 41 I was able to answer mentee questions about university life 4.25 0.61 33.3 58.3 8.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 43 I was able to assist

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald Welch, University of Texas, Tyler

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

-ended laboratory experiences that introduced each discipline within thecollege as well as provide a historical introduction to modern engineering. Existingcontent was repackaged and condensed to increase efficiency and allow room for elevenhours covering engineering in the modern world. The laboratories were not only anintroduction to each discipline, but provided the exercises to learn knowledge and skillsused throughout their program of study. The modest adjustments to the course objectivesare reflected in bold print in Table 1.The underlying goal of the new course content (Appendix 2) is to develop a passion forengineering and hopefully a specific engineering discipline within the freshman andtransfer students that will carry them through

Conference Session

Retention Tools and Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University; Wolfgang Bauer, Michigan State University; Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Nathaniel Ehrlich, Michigan State University; John Courtney, Michigan State University; Ruth Heckman, Lansing Community College; Denise Fleming, Michigan State University; Louise Paquette, Lansing Community College; Renee Mickelson, Lansing Community College; Mark Urban-Lurain; Clifford Weil, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thismaterial are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation (NSF).14. Citations1. The Information Technology Association of America, Innovation and a Competitive U.S. Economy: TheCase for Doubling the Number of STEM Graduates(http://www.itaa.org/workforce/docs/Innovationwhitepaper.pdf). 2005.2. National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 (Two volumes), National ScienceFoundation. 2006.3. National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 (Two volumes), National ScienceFoundation, table 3-2. 2006.4. Seymour, E.; Hewitt, N. M., Talking about leaving : why

Conference Session

Exploring Retention

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeong Hwan Choi, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Jacob Marszalek, University of Missouri, Kansas City; Joyce Lee, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Susan Linnemeyer, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

toperformance?” The aforementioned results partially answer the question by indicating that boththe ICE and SAGE programs affected student performance together. However, of particularinterest was whether the ICE program affected performance, so the above analysis was replicatedwith the subsample of students who participated in either ICE or both ICE and SAGE, and theirmatches (an analysis of ICE-only students was not possible because there were less than 10).GPAs were reweighted to reflect the new groupings, and all tests of the assumptions weresatisfactory. Page 14.596.12A full-factorial repeated-measures general linear model was again run to compare the

Conference Session

Assessment and Curriculum Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Hall, Louisiana Tech University; Stan Cronk, Louisiana Tech University; James Nelson, Louisiana Tech University; Patricia Brackin, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.Bibliography 1. 2008-2009 ABET Criteria for Engineering Accreditation; http://www.abet.org/Linked%20Documents- UPDATE/Criteria%20and%20PP/E001%2008-09%20EAC%20Criteria%2012-04-07.pdf 2. National Academy of Engineering, “The Engineer of 2020.” The National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004. www.nap.edu 3. Litzinger, Thomas; Wise, John; Lee, Sangha; Simpson, Timothy; Joshi, Sanjay. 2001. Assessing Readiness for Lifelong Learning. Proceedings of the 2001 ASEE Annual Conference. pp. 2211-2219 4. Nelson, S. 2001. Impact of Technology on Individuals and Society: A critical thinking and lifelong learning class for

Conference Session

The Ever-Changing Course

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Thompson, University of New Haven; Jean Nocito-Gobel, University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, mathematical, simulated, physical) reflecting all significant aspects of the requirements and constraints• Simulating or testing and analyzing system solution(s) against environmental models• Iterating as necessary to revise the system model or environmental models, or to revise system requirements if too stringent for a viable solution until the design and requirements are fully compatible. Figure 7. System Engineering Method Page 14.735.12Instructors have assigned this project for several years to achieve some of the original outcomesof the course. The major outcome associated with this assignment and assessment includesgetting students to begin to think about how to

Conference Session

Exploring Retention

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Freeman, Northeastern University; Beverly Jaeger, Beverly Jaeger, and Richard Whalen are members of Northeastern University’s; Richard Whalen, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

as cars, amuseum, a person not listed previously, building a fort. Some mentioned 3 to 5 times were Legosor toys, curiosity, programming, internship, non-relative such as a friend’s Dad, and high pay.Only once was the web mentioned, we thought maybe we had missed that category given theprolific use of the internet and the amount of time students seem to be on the internet. But interms of career choices, we saw no mention of the internet as a contributor to their decision.What is Engineering?We also asked our students “What is engineering”? This question helps first-year instructorscalibrate to the students’ preconceptions of their selected major. Content analysis revealed thatthere were 4 dominant responses –solving problems (39% reflected

Conference Session

First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

beginning ofcollege, generally believed they knew everything there was to know about college. As aconsequence many of these entering engineer freshmen did not put in the time to learn thematerial in their classes until they hit the first quizzes or midterm and suddenly realized that theyhave a lot of learning to make up to be on top of the class material.After the first two years of the Academic Success Program, the evaluations reflected a deficiencyin the program. The students reported that the Academic Success class did not help them withtheir academics. The students had not learned or been inspired by the time management helps,nor a series of videos on “How to get an A”, to take the time to learn the class material. Thestudents, in general, did