Conference Session

Faculty Set the Preliminary Standards for Co-ops

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daryl Caswell, University of Calgary; Sarah Lockwood, University of Calgary; Jane Leung, University of Calgary

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

designprojects each year. The course capstone project is an eight week design challenge thatrequires students to collaborate with a social agency on developing solutions to currentsocial issues in Calgary and around the world.The topic of this paper centers on the potential for simultaneous and multiple levellearning events by placing design and communication skill development in the social andcultural arena. At the Schulich School of Engineering, the first year design andcommunication course partners with local and international agencies that welcome theopportunity to benefit from the creative abilities of over 700 students collaborating in 200teams and to participate in the creation of engineers who are able to see the broad societaland cultural

Conference Session

The Influence of Cooperative Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jim Wojciechowski, Grand Valley State University; Charles Standridge, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

use of Excel; engineering terminology, mechanisms anddevices; and the engineering design process. This knowledge was applied duringthe co-op experience to customer relationship topics such as meetingrequirements, using design standards, satisfying machine footprint constraints,and writing documentation that was understandable to all constituents. Generalcurricular knowledge was also applied to technical issues such as calculating thethrust force of a pneumatic cylinder given its bore size, stroke length, andsupplied air pressure. The professional development gained each co-op semesterbetter prepared the student for the ensuing curricular education experience invarious ways including assurance that no curricular assignment, project, or task

Conference Session

The Influence of Cooperative Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexander Yin, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

study, then, is to answer thefollowing question: 1) does experience in cooperative education or internship program influencesstudents' self-perceptions of their engineering problem-solving skills?Cooperative Education Research Research on the benefits of engineering students’ participation in a co-op suggests thatco-op students have more job interviewsv, higher starting salariesvi, vii, viii and higher grade pointaveragesix, x compared to students who do not participate in these programs. Friel surveyed 691cooperative education directors who reported that co-op students are perceived to be moreprofessional, more skilled problem solvers, better able to manage projects, and more technicallyknowledgeable than students without cooperative

Conference Session

Culture, Society, and Co-op

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ralph Ocon, Purdue University Calumet; Opal McFarlane, Purdue University Calumet

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

. Page 15.1378.91. Leadership Roles: Faculty can discuss leadership during any discussion about thedifferent leadership roles students will assume in the corporate world while working onvarious engineering projects. When discussing the future leadership roles engineering andtechnology students will assume throughout their careers, faculty can help to makestudents aware of the importance of leadership and its effects on employees, the projectand the organization.2. Teamwork Assignments: When students are given group assignments that require themto work together, the instructor can use the opportunity to discuss teambuilding and otheraspects of leadership.3. Other opportunities for faculty to raise the issue of leadership in their courses

Conference Session

Nuts and Bolts of Cooperative Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexander Yin, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

his co-op experience, Spencer researched whether projects weretechnologically “feasible,” economically “doable,” and could be completed in a timely fashion. After completing her internship, Jill realized how her first-year student design projectsucceeded technically, but failed to consider contextual factors such as costs, and manpower. The [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] system that we came up with, that we thought would be the best to use, realistically, it looked good on paper. It would have done exactly what it needed to be done, and we ended up getting an A on the project. However, realistically, it would have been very difficult to implement. With the price of materials always going up and down, it