machine design and a writtensequence of steps. Pictures were taken throughout the class, and videos of the finaldemonstrations were made. The two instructors kept reflective teaching journals, and evaluationsmeasured the students’ perceptions of the class. These data were collected and electronicallystored (e.g., the sketches were scanned) during the class in a master file.Data Analysis We analyzed the data collected during our study using a grounded theory framework10. Thisqualitative research framework involves analyzing data without preconceptions of an existingtheory for the purpose of generating a new theory through induction. Results can then speakindependently (but can be connected to) established models. While this research is not
also enters the system. For example, what is taught today is strongly influenced by what today's teachers were once taught. Similarly, each student brings a history and, thus, certain characteristic into the system.4. Feedback Loops The interaction of elements of complex systems usually contains stimulating or inhibiting feedback loops. This feedback causes the activity of an individual element to reflect back Page 14.350.5 on itself. One aspect of engineering education that illustrates the existence of feedback loops is the element of formal assessment. A very simplified way to illustrate this is looking at how student learning
comprehensive standard3.5.1 states: “The institution identifies college-level general education competencies and theextent to which graduates have attained them”. Therefore UDLAP had to clearly define itscollege-level general education competencies, and develop an assessment plan to learn about theextent to which graduates have attained UDLAP’s college-level general education competenciesas well as to enhance student learning and development of these competencies.UDLAP’s general education reflects our mission, vision and undergraduate profile35. UDLAPattempts to cultivate the knowledge, skills, values, and habits of mind that will allow ourgraduates to lead personally enriching and socially responsible lives as successful twenty-firstcentury citizens
been available for several weeks. Page 14.222.10 Date of Lecture This student appears to be a Figure 5 - Number of days after posting of OneNote file until this particular student accessed the material - a reflective student.reflective student who made use of the OneNote and D2L combination of access in a timelymanner. A review of this student's records show that they finished the course with the sixthhighest
as a member of thedesign team, but most engineering decisions do not occur at this level.The engineering design process would also be modified by basing it upon the environment. Inaddition to the steps of investigation, reflection, and creation, a new step of transformation wouldbe added: “The fourth and final step asks the following questions of the engineer: Has thesuffering in the world been reduced? Have the social injustices that pervade our global villagebeen even slightly ameliorated? Has the notion of a community of interests been expanded? Isthe world a kinder, gentler place borrowing from the Greek poet Aeschylus?” 21This transformational consideration is a positive idea; however, it is not always possible toexamine. (For example
studentssketch during design, even when they are taught to do so.Robertson et al.[14] studied the impact of CAD use on creativity as self-reported by 200professionals and identified four relevant phenomena. The first is an increased ability tocommunicate concepts and create shared visual understanding via the CAD model. Theremaining phenomena are less positive: circumscribed (or limited) thinking; premature solutionfixation, and bounded ideation. The Robertson work included a small focus group of recentgraduates leading them to reflect on CAD usage in education vs. in industry. Along with thepositive benefits of CAD skills (e.g. improved communication, ability to use current tools);negative effects included an unrealistic belief in the accuracy of CAD
pamphlets and sheets to beincluded in the education materials handed out to Habitat families. These green living techniqueshelped families save on their utility bills and live more responsibly. Figure 2 shows examples ofthe pamphlets that were designed by students. In addition to this, the students felt that the servicelearning aspect had helped them to realize their responsibility as engineers to the general public.Most students reflected that they would be more inclined to volunteer their talents and knowledgefor other non-profit organizations and community based services. Figure 2: Samples of Public Education Materials Prepared by Student TeamsTherefore, the overall analysis of the first iteration evaluation was that the most
enable understanding of the effects of individual types of forces. Figure 3. Diagram of an atomic force 2.2 Physics of AFM Imaging and Force microscope system that uses the Spectroscopy ‘optical lever’ approach to detect cantilever deflection. A laser is used to The concept and physics upon which AFM is reflect light off of the back of the based is relatively simple. Essentially, a tiny cantilever that is in contact with the probe in the form of a microscale cantilever beam surface. (typically 100-200 um long, 20-30 um wide, and1-3 um thick), with a sharp tip (radius < 10 nm) located at its distal end, is used to
serve as an object lesson ofthe need for teamwork and communication3,4 . Many of the most popular competitions aresponsored by national or international engineering societies and attract competitors frominstitutions around the globe. Other competitions may exist only at a single school, or evenwithin a single course. All engineering competitions typically share the broad objective ofpromoting engineering academic objectives. Other specific objectives are reflected in thecompetition rules which sometimes reflect a desire to influence social behavior. For instance, ina situation where the retention of under-represented groups is an objective, competition rulesrequire inclusion of a member of an under-represented group on each team5. In another
journaling should be employed focused on improving interpersonalskills, initiative and being dependable. Participation in outdoor community service projects mayalso provide opportunities to nurture these skills in the students. All student results should betracked and monitored through the 4th-6th grade levels.Plan implementation at the high school levelAt the 9th -10th grade levels, work ethic development should be continued and expanded with theinclusion of self-regulated learning concepts. High school freshmen should retake and comparetheir middle school results of the OWEI. This is followed with group discussion and self-reflection of work ethic concepts. The group discussions can be extended to include role-playingactivities and real life
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
of teaching graduate engineering coursesusing students’ Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences (MI). Thirty volunteers answeredcommercially available Learning Style and MI tests in our Electrical Engineering department.Learning styles are grouped as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VAK) and can determined bythe VAK learning style test. Learning styles are reflected in different academic strengths,weaknesses, and skills. Studies show that the differences between learning styles will affect botha person’s choice of profession and their success in this profession, both in education and in theworld of business. People who work at something that fits their learning style have a betterchance of becoming successful in it. In this study, tools
more than pictures, (3) when given time to reflect on the materialpresented, and (4) when proceeding in a stepwise manner [3]. However, reaching the studentswho best learn via external stimuli, with pictures, with activity, and when taking a more globalperspective on the information can be accomplished with few instructional changes. Pedagogicaltechniques such as presenting both abstract and concrete information, both problem-based andfundamentals-based exercises, and both images and text engage more students. Small groups alsoencourage activity and provide a break from traditional lectures [3].Grove and Bretz developed a survey for chemistry students to measure their metacognitive skills,or how well they understand the concepts and their
case of the module relevant information (“ready knowledge”) was placed in the systemshell in an electronic format. In the module “Multimedia and e-learning: e-learning methods andtools” the students independently processed the following topics in the course of acquiringinformation:- Factors influencing learning (e.g. previous educational experience, motivation, learning style)- Theories and models of teaching and learning (e.g. adult learning models, experimental and reflective models, cognitive theories, learning styles, motivational theories)- Basic forms of collaborative learning- Role of communication and language in teaching and learning- Barriers to learning- Opportunities for professional development for specialist teachers and
, andhow to select an operating system for a particular application (i.e., real-time industrialcontrollers).Though OS is one of the fundamental and core courses of computer science or computerengineering disciplines, it is not commonly offered in CET programs. This paper describes anoperating system course taught to CET/EET students. The remainder of this paper is organizedas follows. Section two discusses course development, including course context, courseobjectives, course content and laboratory exercises. Section three presents our teachingexperience and reflection, and Section four gives the conclusion.2. Course Development2.1 Curriculum Context and Course ObjectivesIn our CET curriculum, Computer Architecture, Object Oriented Programming
evaluation included daily workshop reflections and a debriefingsession. At the end of each day of the summer workshops, the teachers were asked to discuss to thefollowing questions: 1) What have you learned in today's workshop? 2) What questions do you haveconcerning the content that was presented? and 3) Is there any information that was discussed that youwould like to know more about? The teachers' responses to these questions were used to prepare the nextdays' activities. An anonymous Keep/Quit/Start survey using 3x5 card was employed twice during theweek, as well. For the summative evaluations, participant questionnaires and pretest/posttest results havebeen used. For the previous workshops, the pretest/posttest results have indicated an
goals of this project were to utilize laptops already required of students to improve theirlearning experience in a microcontroller applications course and to reduce the per seat coursedelivery cost. Using laptops in conjunction with the Microchip PICKit1 did improve the studentlearning experience as reflected in the course grade and course evaluation written comments. Perseat costs of this approach were approximately half the cost of maintaining a dedicatedmicrocontroller lab. Written and verbal comments from students using the PICKit1 developmentkit indicated that they enjoyed having the freedom to work on their microcontroller projects atany time. Follow up anecdotal evidence also indicated that the flexibility and portability of
for training engineers in seismic behavior and design, and the need for research in theseareas, also increase. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of dynamic soil testing equipment, fewstudents are able to have hands-on experience with this type of soil testing. Dynamic soil testingequipment such as cyclic triaxial and cyclic simple shear machines typically ranges from$60,000 to $200,000. As a result, typically only students at large research universities have anyexposure to this type of testing and only those performing research have anything more than anobservational experience.The apparatus discussed in this paper reflects the author’s attempt to develop an affordabledynamic soil testing system (less than $10,000). Such a system will make
students agree or strongly agreethat the new instructional system has a positive impact on their learning. Over 90% of studentsfeel that they become more active in the classroom and there are more interaction between Page 14.573.6students and instructor. All the students agreed that they are relieved from the burden of notestaking and can concentrate more on the lecture. As far as the usability, over 90% of students feelthe system is easy to use; they can write the answer using the pen of Tablet PC and submit theanswer easily. It seems that the students are excited about the new instructional system. This isalso reflected by the increase in
learning. The “communication” score reflected the students’ ability toexplain what they did in lab and in the post-lab modeling and analysis, as well as how clearlyand crisply they defined terms and techniques. “Knowledge” was determined by their commandof the relevant background information and modeling approaches. The score for “answeringquestions” reflected not only whether a first answer to a question was correct, but also how wellthe students were able to “think on their feet” when we asked follow-up questions and attemptedto guide them to a greater understanding of a concept if they were initially deficient.“Accomplishment” reflected the overall level of effort and work that went into their modelingand analysis over the module (assuming the
, tests, exams, journaling, community feedback, employer feedback, interviewsStudent Skills Reflection statements, self-assessments, community feedback, employer feedback, critical thinking assessment tool, photographs, videos, design artefacts, observation, oral presentations, performance reviewStudent Attitudes and Identity Intercultural development inventory, community service attitudes scale, journaling, photographs, videos, peer review, conversation analysisOther Longitudinal
the school sites,influenced the amount of implementation.6 In this study a mixed-methods approach using 27 Page 14.1102.3teachers was undertaken to examine what factors affected the implementation of a particular pre-developed reformed chemistry curriculum (Living By Chemistry). The protocols used to obtainthe data for this study consisted of the Teachers’ Beliefs Interview (TBI), observations using theReformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), reflection documents, and schoolcharacteristics. These data were analyzed using a constant comparative method.10 From the dataanalysis, three groups of teachers emerged: traditional, mechanistic
programs written in strictly imperative languages that reflect thesemantics of the underlying memory model, such as C. Schonberg and Dewar report similarobservations of students graduating from other programs that adopted Java- centric curricula.5While these deficits are not common at schools with architecture-first curricula,3,4,5 object-centriccurricula are asserted to provide complementary advantages. Rather than taking a position onwhether architecture-first curricula are strictly superior to object-first, we implementedcompensatory reforms that appear to be successful, as observed by upper division systemsfaculty and employers who report that recent graduates have attained a dramatically improvedability to program in C
3preparedness. As such, the primary research question guiding this paper is: How can wemeasure the global preparedness of graduate and undergraduate engineering students? In designing my instrument I used the same subscales of the teacher instrument andaltered individual survey items within the subscales to reflect specific engineering foci asrecommended by the National Academy of Engineering. This paper presents the pilot researchresults from implementation of the global preparedness index that I designed for engineeringstudents. The following seven subscales were utilized in creation of this global preparednessindex. Ethic of Responsibility: Deep personal and care concern for people in all parts of the world; sees moral
may have inaccuracies or conclusion. Reasoning may be vague or contain some faults. The misconceptions. student makes connections from material directly from class. 3. Accurate: Student uses several specific 3. Reflective: Student uses multiple observations to draw a terms and the majority of them accurately. conclusion. The majority of reasoning must be valid. Student makes new connections among topics within the course. 4. Sophisticated: Student demonstrates 4. Metacognitive: Student demonstrates awareness of their completely accurate knowledge about learning. Student uses multiple observations to make a completely multiple concepts
observed the presentations was impressed with how well thestudents had really considered the social and physical development stages of thekindergarten children. The teams displayed a lot of creativity in the production of each oftheir commercials. It was clear that all the student teams had done a lot of work. The finalcomponent of the grade was peer assessment on the project teams. The students wererequired to distribute (confidentially) a fictitious bonus to each of their team membersbased on their contribution to the team project, reflecting peer evaluation of how eachmember had performed on the team. In most cases the bonuses were divided evenlybetween the team members, although in a few cases, particular students were recognizedfor
videotapes were digitized and entered into Transana (Fassnacht & Woods31; seewww.transana.org), a computer application for discourse analysis that integrates the video,transcript text and researcher codes. Classroom talk was divided into segments we called clips,and clips were coded to reflect the points of interest in the research questions listed above.Coding FrameworkThe coding framework for our qualitative/quantitative analysis delineates three differentdimensions: A. Instruction time codes subdivide each class period based on how the instructor interacts with students. B. Concepts mark engagement with “big ideas” from STEM, such as modularity in engineering, projection in mathematics, and Newton’s laws in physics. We
on society.CONCLUSIONSThis article discusses the potential for incorporating service learning and its associatededucational advantages in civil engineering undergraduate courses. Meeting specific objectivesand outcomes of the initiative and feedback from students indicates that overall the projects aresuccessful. Service-learning benefits a student in many ways: It deepens understanding of coursecontent; builds a bridge between theory and practice; increases a sense of social responsibility;and sharpens abilities to solve problems creatively and to work collaboratively.However, the implementation of these real-life projects also allows faculty to reflect on somemajor challenges uncounted. Good co-ordinations between faculty and community
manufacturing, but the acquisition ofNETEC has brought about an expanded scope, and the NCME now serves a much broaderaudience of educators in existing (mechanical, civil, electronics, aerospace, quality, etc.) andemerging (nano, bio, green, etc.) engineering technology fields. The merger of MERC Onlineand NETEC puts the NCME in position to be a facilitator of cross-disciplinary endeavors at alllevels. Sheppard, et.al. in Educating Engineers: Designing for the Future of the Field, indicatesthat the new model for engineering education should move student thinking to engineeringthinking, reflective judgment, and analytic problem solving: “…The ideal learning trajectory is a spiral, with all components revisited at increasing levels of
Introduction to the Austin Children’s MuseumThe Austin Children's Museum (ACM) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is "to createinnovative learning experiences for children and their families that equip and inspire the nextgeneration of creative problem solvers.” Through well-crafted exhibits and educationalprograms, the Museum helps lead young children towards the life-long learning modes ofquestioning, reflecting, informed decision-making, critical thinking, and multidimensional Page 14.488.3thinking. There have been significant advancements in the understanding of how young mindsdevelop and are inspired before starting grade school. For the