Conference Session

Methods and Techniques in Graduate Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pauline Johnson, University of Alabama; Philip Johnson, University of Alabama; Beth Todd, University of Alabama; Joan Barth, University of Alabama; Bettie Aruwajoye, University of Alabama; Hannah Beatty, University of Alabama; Kendrick Gibson, University of Alabama; Sarah Dunlap, University of Alabama

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies

globalizing profession, the challenges facingengineers in a developing country, the development of professional “soft skill” learningoutcomes not easily taught in traditional classrooms and to get first-hand experience inwhat engineering is ultimately about: building things that make people’s lives better.Components of the program include service learning project development, managementand installation and the development of leadership, teaming and communication skills setwithin a developing country - Peru. The service learning component was the installationof 18 solar panels in three remote Peruvian Amazon villages. The service part of thegraduate course, built upon previously established UA-Peru connections, involved theconception, planning and

Conference Session

New Trends in CHE Education II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sundararajan Madihally, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

different topics that couldbe useful to graduate students, which potentially minimizes redundancy for resident graduatestudents. In summary, the seminar series can be used as a possibility of incorporating some ofthe soft skills into the graduate program.Key words: graduate program, soft skills, seminars, writing, cultureINTRODUCTION.Graduate programs in various institutions are developed to advance the technical competency ofthe graduate students. As a degree requirement, graduate students enroll in few mandatoryclasses dealing with advanced chemical engineering topics such as thermodynamics, transportphenomena and reaction engineering. In addition, they also enroll in elective courses relevant totheir research topic. PhD students are accepted as

Conference Session

Assessment and Continuous Improvement in Engineering Technology: Part I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xian Zhao, Inner Mongolia University of Technology; Joy Colwell, Purdue University, Calumet; Carl Jenks, Purdue University, Calumet

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

AC 2009-486: TECHNOLOGY CURRICULA IN CHINA AND THE UNITEDSTATES: WHAT ROLE DO "SOFT SKILLS" PLAY?Xian Zhao, Inner Mongolia University of Technology Xian Zhao, ABD, is an Associate Professor of Management at Inner Mongolia University of Technology (IMUT) in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, where she teaches courses in Finance, Investment, International Business and other related subjects.Joy Colwell, Purdue University, CalumetCarl Jenks, Purdue University, Calumet Page 14.1169.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Technology Curriculum in China and the United States: What Role

Conference Session

Project-Based Service Learning

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Beverly Jaeger, Northeastern University; Ethan LaRochelle, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Page 14.597.4of their involvement can be difficult, but initial findings demonstrate that there are a wide rangeof benefits to more appropriately justify the work involved in participating. The project-basedmodel of programs like EWB gives students the opportunity to apply many hard skills while alsoemphasizing the development of soft skills. The major focus of the first-phase survey employedin this study was to identify the impact EWB has on developing soft skills and the second phasesurvey combined both hard-skill and soft-skill inquiries. The coupling of these skill-sets is anecessity for the education of engineers in today’s society making them a more valuable resourcefor the field of employment the students subsequently enter [3

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2009-2416: INTRODUCING A TWO-SEMESTER RESEARCH COURSE INTHE FRESHMAN YEARWael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Page 14.798.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Introducing a Two-Semester Research Course in the Freshman YearAbstractEngineering schools have been using capstone projects to introduce the students to ‘real world’applications and break the barrier between theory and practice. It is usually in the form of a two-semester course where the students use the first semester to develop the soft skills needed for theproject in terms of project management and

Conference Session

ECE Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John McLellan, Freescale; Andy Mastronardi, Freescale

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Page 14.541.4autonomous high speed Smart Car is far from simple. During the design and construction phaseof the challenge students must tackle several Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math(STEM) related issues such as embedded microcontroller programming, closed loop controlcalculation, modeling and implementation, as well as overall vehicle dynamics (physics).Soft skills are likewise emphasized through team collaboration, design documentation, andproject management.Creating a high-speed race car is the apex of the challenge. High speed control coupled with theunpredictable track design creates some spectacular problems to solve and just as common somespectacular crashes. For example, in 2007, many teams came prepared for a flat fast

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arun Ravindran, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Patricia Tolley, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Arindam Mukherjee, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

knowledge of pre-requisite topics, and five questions testing topics covered in the course. Page 14.807.7Four additional items related to “soft skills” were included on the test. Students are asked to ratetheir level of confidence in their ability to: (1) design and implement projects to satisfyperformance expectations; (2) design and implement projects on time; and (3) make professionalpresentations. The last question asked students if their most recent team experience in anothercourse was a positive one. These “soft skill” questions are included on the pre/post tests so thatthe project team could determine if the students needed additional

Conference Session

Liberal Education and Leadership

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Val Hawks, Brigham Young University; John Harb, Brigham Young University; Alan Parkinson, Brigham Young University; Spencer Magleby, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

her technical skills, fired for poor peopleskills, and promoted for leadership and management skills.”7 The contemporary environmentrequires engineers to understand business processes, be able to contribute to cross-functionalteams and have “soft” skills in order to relate to peers, superiors and subordinates both in theoffice and across the globe. One engineering VP was quoted as saying, “We look for people whocan lead a team, someone who can get a small team-four to six people-motivated and a personwho can quickly learn which people are best at doing what. It’s hard enough to find a goodengineer; one who can lead a team and speak well in front of customers is really hard.” 8Engineering graduates themselves have noticed that they are not

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics: Using Case Studies

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Skvarenina, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

, internationalization, and ethics, areoften referred to as the soft skills. Generally students’ exposure to these items is through theirelective (or required) courses in the humanities and social sciences. However, ABETaccreditation also requires that the achievement of the outcomes be assessed and evaluated.Obtaining direct evidence of achievement of the outcomes by the students can be problematicalas the other departments may not be doing assessment. Even if they are, the technology studentsin a humanities course are probably just a small fraction of the course enrollment, so it may bedifficult to obtain information about their performance. While we rely on other departments toprovide the bulk of the students’ exposure to the soft skills, we have tried to

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Design in the Classroom

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Taskin Padir, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

one computer engineer, two electricalengineers and two manufacturing engineering technologists at Lake Superior State Universityhas worked on this project as their capstone design requirement through the 2007-2008 academicyear. Lake Superior State University offers ABET accredited programs in computer, electricaland mechanical engineering as well as in manufacturing engineering technology. Robotics andautomation is a degree option in all majors. The capstone senior design project is an integral partof all the degree programs and provides a real-life experience for the engineering senior students.The two-semester course has been an important tool to introduce students to soft skills such asproject management, communications, engineering

Conference Session

Critical Thinking and Creative Arts

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Beth Todd, University of Alabama; Garry Warren, University of Alabama; Susan Burkett, University of Alabama; David Cordes, University of Alabama; Marcus Brown, University of Alabama

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

useful methods forteaching ethics, societal impact, and contemporary issues throughout the curriculum 8. A reviewdescribing creative methods for teaching and learning these skills are given by Shuman et al 9.Student focused e-learning courses 10 as well as ePortfolio approaches 11 have been useful forplacing responsibility of the student on communicating knowledge of the ABET outcomes thatare difficult to assess.Still others have attempted to address contemporary issues and other ABET outcomes bycreating soft skill modules that can be included in any course.12,13 When lumped with ethical andsocietal impact modules, assessment of the contemporary issue module showed that studentconfidence when dealing with these topics went from an average pre

Conference Session

Software and Hardware for Educators II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Wiebe, North Carolina State University; Chia-Lin Ho, North Carolina State University; Lisa Bullard, North Carolina State University; Dianne Raubenheimer, North Carolina State University; Jeff Joines, North Carolina State University; Carolyn Miller, North Carolina State University; George Rouskas, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

years in your field?From the exercise and combination of the results from both subgroups, some commonthemes emerged as shown in Table 1. The results and feedback from the workshop wereutilized to refine the first Delphi survey and also led to the development of a Model ofComputational Capabilities. Table 1 – Common Themes from the Workshop New hires After first year on job Next few years Specific applications Technological tools Architecture & (domain knowledge) technology skills Problem solving skills Systems knowledge Soft skills (global (critical thinking

Conference Session

Innovations in the CHE Laboratory

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marvi Matos, University of Washington; Danilo Pozzo, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

open-endedproblems. The approach is intended to provide a platform to teach and evaluate for an additionalset of “soft” skills. These important skills include leadership, composure under uncertainty,critical thinking, creativity, group work, task division, time management, literature searches andforward thinking. We believe that the introduction of high degrees of uncertainty into thelaboratory serves as a tool to prepare the students for a rapidly changing industrial world.Introduction The evolution of Chemical Engineering historically has been driven by changingindustrial needs and by research developments in a broad spectrum of areas. Some of therelatively young areas of Chemical Engineering include semiconductors and microelectronics

Conference Session

New Learning Paradigms II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gisele Ragusa, University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

and dispositions may be more difficult for students to understand. Italso may be more difficult to accurately measure this particular construct. Accordingly, thesetwo reasons provide rationale for each of the respective results.Discussion and Future WorkThis paper presents research on the pilot results of the newly designed global preparednessindex. Results of this pilot are preliminary as the population sample size is rather small (N=147).The index provides us with insight as to the “soft skill” areas that me must provide training andeducation for engineering candidates if we want our engineering students to be fully prepared towork in global societies. Post pilot, a full, large-scale study should be conducted with the unitwith sample sizes

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Experiential Learning and Economic Development II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Raviv, Florida Atlantic University; Moshe Barak, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Timothy VanEpps, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

no longer be a distinguishing feature.Clearly, a broader-based educational experience that teaches leadership, innovation, andentrepreneurship is required in an environment that enhances and extends “non-traditional Engineering”curricula. The “Stay within the lines,” “Do not break the crayon” and “Find the ‘right’ (and only) answer”attitudes are archaic. Instead, we must focus on thinking outside-the-box, taking risks, and being criticalthinkers, creative and imaginative. The so-called “soft skills” not previously associated with technical people have become vital workplacetools. New graduates must be prepared for a work environment that breaks down feelings of anonymityand encourages trust and respect for individuals and ideas

Conference Session

ERM Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dan Budny, University of Pittsburgh; Laura Lund, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

were introduced to the studentsas part of the curriculum which provided them with a framework for attacking each of the Page 14.1327.3specific projects. The more beneficial elements of the curriculum, however, were the aspects ofteam development and performance, communication both written and verbal, the procedures fordocumentation using a journal notebook, and reflection on the experiences of each student withtheir project. In other words, the value of the course is that the students learned both in theclassroom and through experience the “soft skills” necessary to function effectively as engineersupon completion of their degree

Conference Session

International Study Abroad Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

E James Nelson, Brigham Young University; Rollin Hotchkiss, Brigham Young University; Lourdes Manley, Brigham Young University; Oscar Dzul, Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas; Joshua Draper, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

International

culturalsensitivity are part of a global skill set that has been identified by the engineering community asnecessary for new graduates; therefore, many institutions have modified existing courses orcreated new ones to develop these skills3.The research presented hereto addresses globalization in the context of civil engineering and hasthe twofold objective of (1) describing a sustainable engineering study abroad program thatcould be used as a model to develop the required soft skills for engineers to work in globalenvironments and, (2) describing current and future assessment tools used to measure the successof the program. This ongoing study abroad program is taught in the Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering department at Brigham Young University (BYU) to

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nidal Al-Masoud, Central Connecticut State University; Peter Baumann, Central Connecticut State University; Alfred Gates, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

contribution index is based on the assumption that all outcomes are equallyweighted; this might be improved by assigning weights to each outcome as appropriate, and byusing the non-technical courses (General Education) to assess soft skills 3-6. Currently ourevaluation is based on technical courses and will close the loop by adding non-technical coursesif deemed necessary. ME3 43% ME2 33% PEO5 21% Program Educational Objectives Program Learning Outcomes ME1

Conference Session

Innovative Curriculum and Practices in Engineering Technology

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Mullett, Springfield Technical Community College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

for the design, manufacturing, sales, and updating/maintenanceof sophisticated electric/electronics systems. While soft skills have been a buzz word in theUnited States for some time (late 1990s), the European Union has more recently undertaken aprogram of change (Education and Training - 2010) to incorporate more of these soft skills intotheir post-secondary technician education system and to move towards a student centeredapproach to teaching[21] that focuses more on outcomes and competencies and promotes a cultureof life-long learning for all citizens. It is unclear in this author’s research whether or not asystems approach has been at the center of any discussions associated with this initiative.Recently, there seems to be more

Conference Session

Innovations in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Omer Farook, Purdue University, Calumet; Chandra Sekhar, Purdue University, Calumet; Essaid Bouktache, Purdue University, Calumet; Jai Agrawal, Purdue University, Calumet; Jared Goodall, South Lake Automation

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

thelearning outcome of the course. The laboratory performance of the course is performedin teams of four students. This mode provides a platform for horizontal learning throughactive and engaged discourse and discussion. Students are empowered to charter theirlearning and feed their curiosity. The course culminates in a Final Project which isassessed based upon its comprehensiveness and originality. Students are required tomaster the soft skills of comprehensive report writing on a weekly basis through technicalproject report writing and an oral presentation based upon the Team’s Final Project.These classroom practices and laboratory environment provides a challenging andinvigorating environment that prepares them for a lifelong learning process and

Conference Session

Developing Tomorrow's Leaders through Co-op Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacqueline El-Sayed, Kettering University; Denise Stodola, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

, engineering graduates have beendocumented to have deficiencies for some outcomes, especially those pertaining to the“soft” skills, such as effective communication and multidisciplinary teamwork2 ;however, Davis et. al.3 recently developed an expert profile that is broadly applicable toall engineering disciplines, and which El-Sayed4 used to determine how co op educationcan address the deficiencies apparent in engineering education.This expert profile outlines the characteristics that, once mastered, would make anengineer deemed an “expert” in his profession. This set of behaviors is broader than theABET educational outcomes and lists the outcomes in terms of roles with correspondingobservable actions for each role. The roles of Analyst, Problem

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Projects

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark Redekopp, University of Southern California; Cauligi Raghavendra, University of Southern California; Allan Weber, University of Southern California; Gisele Ragusa, University of Southern California; Therese Wilbur, University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

marketing and engineeringstudents were more engaged, creative, took greater initiative, and expressed greater satisfactionwith both courses. The engineering capstone design course saw an increase in fully functional,completed projects than in previous semesters while marketing students expressed a deeperownership over the marketing concepts that were taught. Additionally, the metric’s results fromthe course provided valuable information that is aligned to the “soft skill” outcomes required byABET6.With our second offering in spring 2009, we have integrated the art and design course as ourthird partner and are implementing the approach outlined in earlier sections. With joint courseschedules and more time designated for group meetings during class

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education: Innovation, International Cooperation, and Social Entrepreneurship

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nassif Rayess, University of Detroit, Mercy; Darrell Kleinke, University of Detroit, Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

be quite striking. As thispartnership moves forward and grows, rigorous assessment will be undertaken and published inthe future.ConclusionsSocial entrepreneurship projects offer great opportunities for engineering students to apply theirskills in meaningful ways and to acquire excellent and necessary soft skills that will help furthertheir careers. This educational objective is achieved through the creation of a partnership thatbrings students, clients, faculty and volunteers together to work on enabling technology projects,particularly ones concerning parents with disabilities. Initial assessment shows that allconstituencies are well served and even more telling is the forward momentum that is being feltby everyone involved. The

Conference Session

Liberal Education and Leadership

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julia Williams, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Richard House, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Anneliese Watt, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

own teachingof communication to the intrinsic motivation of personal or departmental conviction. Manywould likely agree with a respondent who reported teaching communication “because it’s theright thing to do.” The stated reasons for this imperative vary, with some respondents citingcompetitive advantage for graduating job-seekers, while others report that they want toencourage reflection or critical thinking. One view is compatible with a distinction between“soft skills” and core engineering competencies; the other implies what one respondent termed a“symbiotic relationship” in which engineering and its communication practices are inextricablefrom one another.The account changes appreciably, though, when respondents describe motivations

Conference Session

Faculty and Program Exchanges: Internationalizing, Collaborations and Interactions

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fanyu Zeng, Indiana Wesleyan University; Chao Liu, Southeast University; Xiaodong Zhang, Southeast University

Tagged Divisions

International

Reid, “Soft Skills, High Impact on the Leadership Track”,http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pdf/tts03-leadership.pdf , 2003.3. Slava Kalyuga, “Instructional designs for the development of transferable knowledge and skills: A cognitiveload perspective”, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VDC-4V995T88&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4fe8956cd677c9c9010e96beff213e22.4. Knowledge Management Center at University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota, “Transferable SkillsSurvey”, http://www.d.umn.edu/kmc/career_transfer_survey.html.5. Philip Potter, “Generating transferable knowledge from local territorial

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education III

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Suryaprasad Jayadevappa, PES School of Engineering; Ravi Shankar, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, relationship, etc) using UML and sequence diagrams then suitable tools can be developed (currently some are available) to implement the design in an object oriented language like C++. ≠ Year 4: In the graduation year a student is expected to complete the capstone project with results that can be demonstrated. Additionally the student is expected to take an addition of 4 more courses at level L4. Level4 courses provides the students with greater detailing with respect to the implementation and help fine tune the developed module and system.To get the proposed 200+ credits for a degree in CSE a student has to supplement with courseson soft-skills such as Communications, Leadership, and Ethics, and courses on

Conference Session

Capstone Design I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ding Yuan, Colorado State University, Pueblo; Nebojsa Jaksic, Colorado State University, Pueblo; Jane Fraser, Colorado State University, Pueblo

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

transition from the preparation course to the capstone one. Inthe future, we plan to establish further collaboration between the two courses, such as enforcingthe group activities and teamwork.2) Oral presentations for the proposalsOral communication is one of the soft skills required by ABET. In the seminar course, besidesthe lecture on the professional presentation skills, we try to encourage students to express theirideas orally through class discussions as well as presentations. For the assessment purpose, theoral presentation of the proposal is the most important event since this is the last presentation andis hosted as a public presentation session. During the presentation, students will face not only theinstructor and the classmates in this

Conference Session

Critical issues in IT and IET: Focus Group

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Scachitti, Purdue University, Calumet; Juan Salinas, Purdue University, Calumet; Deepthi Karanam, Purdue University, Calumet

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

layout concepts and conceptualized important soft skills such as“selling” their ideas to management. Ultimately five simulation assignments were developed forthe course. These five assignments focus on the main topics that faculty had found to beimportant during their real life experiences with simulation modeling. The objectives of eachassignment are as follows: Objectives for Assignments Assignment #1: • Identify components required to create a basic process simulation model. • Implement graphics to appropriately visualize process changes. Assignment #2: • Test what-if scenarios for increasing throughput of process flow. Assignment #3: • Collect and validate existing data in a simulation model

Conference Session

Tablet and Portable PCs for Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sabina Jeschke, University of Stuttgart; Lars Knipping, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Nicole Natho, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Erhard Zorn, Technische Universitaet Berlin; Olivier Pfeiffer, Technische Universitaet Berlin

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

. Besides, OneNote supports mobile devices asTablet PCs, PDAs, and graphics tablets for handwritten notes. Briefly, the benefits of thisapplication are its clarity, usability, and the opportunity to convey soft skills. Figure 1. Microsoft OneNote 2007 screenshot.In the following chapters, we present the preliminary results of our first evaluation. In line withthe evaluation, the second chapter describes the theoretical and practical settings of this projectin detail, and the comments of the students. Moving on, the third chapter reviews the drawbacksof the use of OneNote against the background of natural sciences and mathematics.ConceptThe lecture “New Media in Education and Research” covers the use of IT-Technologies in

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics V

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Ochs, Lehigh University; Lisa Getzler-Linn, Lehigh University; Margaret Huyck, Illinois Institute of Technology; Scott Schaffer, Purdue University; Mary Raber, Michigan Technology University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

the process (versus at the beginning and end) 3) Assessment of prior knowledge and the development of effective in-process feedback mechanisms 4) Transfer of learning with follow-on opportunities to practice what has been learned in order to reinforce motivation and self confidence to identify and manage risks in support of innovative solutionsProject PlanAs proposed in our NSF CCLI grant10, we will “…develop a continuous multilevel assessmentprocess that will measure (student’s) achievement of ‘soft skills’ knowledge and application ofthis knowledge in a multidisciplinary team environment…” while working on real-world projectsin the context of our individual academic programs under an