developfull notebook entries gave them an opportunity to discuss and share decisions on what corecontent provides the best opportunities for students to experience, thematically, larger conceptualideas that span multiple grades. Teachers held onto their entries and used it as the basis for theirfuture planning sessions. In the following example the teacher describes a student scenario usingtheir notebook to record their observations (Figure 4).Figure 4: Teacher notebook entry and explanation on sound Sometimes children may be at stations…with their notebook…and actually record what they did at each center. On this one you have a tuning fork showing that the sound came from the table …[in another case] they [student] hit the drum
engaged in a pluralistic,complex world, we have undertaken a project to develop and assess core liberal educationoutcomes. This paper describes the planning and actions thus far to meet these new requirementsat the university and specifically in our engineering programs. We have begun to expandoutcome assessment to include five “intellectual and practical skills,” specifically, critical andcreative thinking, inquiry/analysis, problem-solving, and information literacy. VALUE rubricsare being used as part of the process to ascertain where the best opportunities are to measurestudent achievement within the engineering and technology programs. An assessment frameworkis presented and successful pilot results are discussed.The ChallengeOur regional
Ph.D. students tocomplete a Teaching Practicum course during their doctoral studies. Students work closely withfaculty mentors in teaching a course. While the focus of the class is on pedagogy, the goal is forstudents to find the experience useful regardless of whether they are going into academia,industry, a research laboratory, or other career pursuits. In addition to issues dealing withteaching engineering, sessions are organized for career planning, success in both academia andindustry, ethics, and basic counseling and mentoring skills. This paper is a study of theeffectiveness of the Teaching Practicum experience. Survey responses are analyzed from nearly100 Ph.D. alumni for the period from the summer of 1996 to the spring of 2009. The
: students felt very uncomfortable having to write evensimple programs without having had any prior programming experience. The author (with somemisgivings) plans to remove the MATLAB content from the course and have the students usemore familiar tools (e.g. Excel) for computation.Finally, students were asked about the homework assignments, which were largely identical tothe ones given to third-year students in the past. Fully 100% found the assignments challenging,but only 28.7% found them to be too challenging. As before, the students exhibited a markeddislike for the homework assignments that required MATLAB. Given that MATLAB is popularand much-loved tool of practicing engineers, these students will eventually become accustomedto it.As to the
both the program model and the impact of the program. Data collected fromparticipants includes demographics data, efficacy and learning assessments, and evaluations ofthe programs‟ content. This data is collected through survey templates provided to local studentleaders, tabulated locally, and returned to the National leadership. Through the pilot studies thedata collection and research methods are verified for their effectiveness in this unique programmodel. This paper will present the program assessment for internal development as well asaddress research questions about engineering students involved in STEM mentoring activities.Finally we present recommendations for developing the program further and a plan for acomprehensive study of the
come up changes in experimentalprocedures. I have heard students mention that they are now more aware of the polarization aspect oflight, and how the textbook makes a “lot more sense” with this experiment.At SELU, Rana Mitra (RM) is planning on taking the Engineering Statics students to the campusgymnasium. In one experiment, the students will carry out an activity with a simple set-up consisting ofa rod hinged at one end. Weights will be hung from the free end, and a force sensor will be attached tothe top of the free end to measure the force that is needed to hold the rod at a certain fixed angle. For Page 22.1658.4the same hanging
of women (3.17 GPA) to that of men (3.09 GPA) was statisticallysignificant with a p =.009, with the findings currently under review for use in the College’sdiversity plan metrics. This diversity plan is required by the university and ties to the College’srecruitment plan to increase engineering enrollment of underrepresented students, which includesall women.10, 11 These findings are not unique, since research indicates that women inengineering are well prepared and perform well academically,9, 12-16 but are now documented forfurther study by the College. This continuation study was undertaken, in part, to comparefindings at Texas A&M to recent research on persistence and graduation, particularly for womenand women of color.17, 18
EngineeringThe Engineering Equity Extension Services (EEES) developed a research-based approach toencouraging more gender equity in engineering, specifically in the mechanical and electricalfields, with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of women attaining baccalaureate degreesin these fields. We envisioned a “train-the-trainer” project based on an extension services model,with our Experts providing research-based guidance on practice to Extension Agents whoprovide practical guidance of “gender-friendly” instructional and outreach practices, informed byresearch on engineering education and project management, to teachers, faculty, and outreachvolunteers. Over the 5-year course of the Project, the original plan evolved into one employingExpert
enhance the students’ comprehension of the usefulness of dimensionalanalysis in the planning of experimental programs and the interpretation of the experimentaldata. The intent is to have students actively participate in the performance of the demonstrationsand the gathering of data. They would also correlate the data during the class period usingsoftware such as Excel, Matlab, or MathCad. The class session would be lively, with muchincreased student participation and active learning.Accordingly, we have developed a fluid mechanics experiment dealing with the flow of fluids(i. e., water and air) through nozzles of different sizes. The pressure drops across the nozzles aremeasured for a variety of flow rates. Using dimensional analysis, the
year? What is the average number of students in each offering of your Engineering Economy course? Is your Engineering Economy course a Semester or Quarterly course? How many credits is your Engineering Economy course worth? In your department's recommended plan of study, what year is your Engineering Economy course taken? Are there any prerequisite courses for your Engineering Economy course? In addition to your Engineering Economy course, are there other courses in the Engineering Economy field available to students within your department? Student Perspective In general, do your students believe that Engineering Economy is an important course at the time the course is
engineering technologist• When they graduate 74% of the students plan to enrol in another program, with 57% percent of those students planning to study a Bachelor of Engineering program, and 11% a Bachelor of Technology program.• Most of the students believe it is very important (63%) or important (27%) that their program is accredited by Engineers Australia.Some of the other important findings were:• The four major influences on their decision to study engineering were: I like building things; I like finding out how things work; Good employment opportunities; and Good pay when I graduate.• The four major influences on their decision to study their current program were: To advance my career; It has the specialization I want; The
experience an immersionin the native culture.NDSU Camp for TCC StudentsThis camp has two tracks, one for students and another for the TCC faculty and high schoolteachers. Besides academic sessions, laboratories, and industry visits, students at the camp areprovided opportunities to participate in the activities of the university multicultural studentservice center, student chapter of American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and otherlocal NA organizations. The TCC faculty and teachers work with university professors todevelop lesson plans for the Sunday Academy sessions and high school summer camps. One ofthe unique features of this camp is both tribal college faculty and the students come together onthe university campus. Though the faculty
Page 22.932.4Technologist. One expert was enlisted via an e-mail request; the other via a long-termresearch collaboration. These experts provided comments and suggestions on reports and alsoserved as external reviewers during project presentations and a follow-on oral examinationportion of the senior capstone project. Expert feedback also provided both encouragement andconfirmation of students‟ efforts during the course of the semester. Faculty reported that thementors and experts complemented the learning and design processes of the student teams.The System Engineering tools improved project outcomes and are planned for future use aspart of the continuous improvement plan.The fourth class was an integrated product development course. The aim
to the class. Page 22.1388.3The REDUCE project is considered a service learning project, the students are expected andencouraged to gain input and feedback on their proposal from contractors, vendors, and materialssuppliers; however, students are not permitted to earn wages for participation on the project. Studentteams are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner in all aspects of the project.Student teams are expected to plan visits and phone calls with clients in a professional manner that isnot disruptive to the activities of the client. To motivate students to keep on task, the followingmilestones are required for
AC 2011-617: TOMORROW’S UNIVERSITY GRADUATE: CONSTRUC-TION INDUSTRY NEEDS AND CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENTJohn Walewski, Texas A&M University John A. Walewski, Ph.D., is an assistant professor with the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University with research interests in sustainable design and construction techniques, risk management and insurance, pre-project planning, and the use of alternative project delivery and procure- ment methods. John is a Board member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Central Texas-Balcones Chapter. Dr. Walewski obtained a Civil Engineering Ph.D. (Construction Engineering and Project Man- agement focus) at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) in May 2005, and
Engineering Students and Critical Thinking: A Preliminary AnalysisAbstractIn 2007, the University of Louisville began implementation of their multi-year QualityEnhancement Plan (QEP) Ideas to Action (i2a): Using Critical Thinking to Foster StudentLearning and Community Engagement, whichfocuses on improving the critical thinking skills ofundergraduate students and more effectively preparing them to contribute to society and theworkforce. The Paul-Elder critical thinking framework was selected to serve as the structure fori2a initiatives. In addition to the QEP, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology(ABET) revised the accreditation criteria in 2000 to require program assessment according toeleven outcomes that
. The decisionsupport tools are basically the brain of the system that makes intelligent and sometimes complexdecisions. Some of these tools are: 1) Diagnostic and Outage analysis 2) Switch coordination 3) Repair planning 4) Restoration time 5) Catastrophic analysis 6) Network integration decisions 7) Load analysis 8) Phase analysis 9) Load dispatching 10) Facility management 11) Crew scheduling 12) Network reconfigurationSimulation and ModelingA well defined “modeling paradigm” for electric power management network is an importanttask that must be accomplished initially. A modeling paradigm is the language with which onecan represent the system models. This will allow to express the
individual and group training sessions for theeducators involved in curriculum development and design. Each session included a detaileddescription of the project's curriculum design goals, and involved discussions on factual,conceptual and procedural knowledge, knowledge application, and student reflection. Handoutswere provided on methodology, instrumentation, procedure and assessing learning outcomes.The sessions gave instructors an opportunity to state their questions and concerns, and discusstheir long term curriculum development plans. The goal of the project is to develop students’ higher order thinking skills, problemsolving, technical visualization skills, and decision making skills in the context of a data-richlearning environment
and improvements in the US graduate engineering educationsystem, better student planning, and increased enrollment of quality international graduatestudents. International engineering graduate students and alumni studying at US universitieswere invited to complete an online survey. Results from the survey indicate that perception ofinternational graduate students slightly differ when compared between current students andalumni. Survey findings also shows that US institutions have been making progress by providingenhanced funding, comparable safety/ security, and information to make the students wellprepared for post graduation job.Introduction Providing higher educational degrees is a major industry for several countries includingUSA
Hands-on research component for many participants Stanford Engineering Research Experience for Teachers Interactive Seminars on Professional Practices (SERET) Supporting Transfer to the Classroom Analyzing and Synthesizing Literature Education Transfer Plan with IISME Collaborating Peer coach to support teachers funded by IISME Synthesizing Data and Communicating Results Subject-specific
characteristics, will be presented along with future plans for thedevelopment of flexible structures on plastic substrates.IntroductionThe invention of the transistor and the development of silicon planar technology ushered in anew age of synthetic materials. New materials are produced by a variety of processes including,but not limited to: molecular-beam epitaxy; sputtering (rf, dc and magnetron); chemical,physical and plasma-assisted vapor deposition; laser ablation; vacuum evaporation, hot-wiredecomposition, and many others. The materials are combined into innovative structures toproduce the better, smaller, faster electronic devices that everyone has become accustomed to.From a pedagogical perspective, the deposition equipment is expensive and
of a set of structured activities to help increase education and research inrenewable energy systems.For the education component, a systems approach for curriculum development is used. The newcurriculum on Energy Sustainability provides an overview of the major energy flows and theissues associated with production and end-use. Major current sources of energy include fossilfuel, hydroelectric, nuclear power, and wind energy. In the research component, a Pair-2-learn(PAL) model is used to form teams of undergraduate and graduate students to work in specificresearch projects. In the outreach component, different lesson plans are developed for highschool teachers participating in the UTeach Miners program. The products provided under
. Projects include “largearchitecture/engineering and construction projects that include infrastructure design,environmental planning, facilities management, corridor planning, residential and commercialdevelopment master plans, and natural resource management.”1Colonel Hooper of the United States Army comments on the effect of geospatial technologywithin engineering in the military: “Exploitation of geospatial information is revolutionizingbusiness, science, and government. Aerial and satellite remotely sensed imagery, GlobalPositioning Systems, and computerized Geographic Information Systems (GISs) are increasinglybecoming the driving force for decision making across the local to global continuum. ” 2The growth of the geospatial industry creates a
infrastructure of the United States is exceeding its design capacity and is aging, requiringmaintenance and renovation. In order to meet this challenge, a need exists to produce civil andenvironmental engineers who have a broad understanding of the pressing needs of the infrastruc-ture of the United States. With this in mind, the faculty of the Civil and Environmental Engi-neering (CEE) Department at [institution] reviewed the program curricula (for the first time in atleast 20 years) and decided to redesign the curricula with an infrastructure theme. A DepartmentLevel Reform planning grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) was used to plan anoverhaul of the curriculum that infuses an infrastructure theme throughout.Once the curriculum planning
undergraduate research assistants from CalPoly, have been working on this project for over two years. The project ends in September 2012.The research involves the use of both centrifuge experiments and analytical modeling toinvestigate soil-foundation-structure interaction effects occurring in dense urban areas duringearthquakes. In support of this project, undergraduate students have participated primarily in thecentrifuge modeling aspect of the research. Six centrifuge experiments are planned for thisproject, with three completed to date. As research assistants, the undergraduates' primary tasksinclude calibrating and placing model instrumentation, constructing the models, helping toconduct the centrifuge tests, documenting experimental activities
part of thisworkshop, it was expected that the faculty should propose plans to implement any ideas andinnovation principles learned during this workshop and bring those to the classroom.As one of the outcomes of the workshop, namely, the implementation plan, the author discusseda few case studies on innovation and entrepreneurship and how those topics can be related to theregular course material. Practically every course can include a discussion of these topics Page 22.924.2(innovation and entrepreneurship) to promote the mindset in students. The course that the authorattempted is Machine Design, which usually involves open-endedness and
effective collaboration between STEMs andmiddle school science teachers. The goals for the model are shown in Table 1. The table alsoshows the specific objectives for meeting each goal. Our research plan measured howeffectively the project met the objectives.Table 1. Goals and Objectives Goal 1: Impact teachers’ understandings of the work-lives of scientists and engineers, and via that impact teachers’ abilities to connect classroom science instruction to real life science. Goal 2: Impact students’ understandings of the work-lives of scientists and engineers, and via that elevate student interest in pursuing science-related careers. Below are the objectives for Goals 1 and 2. Teachers and students will: have a
(which accounted for 17% of total transfers) will becancelled just in the next few years.Effects of the Eroding Core on Community College Engineering StudentsThe diversification of lower-division engineering requirements has negatively impacted transferstudents in a number of ways, as evidenced in the results of recent studies by the RP Group (TheResearch and Planning Group for California Community Colleges). This group is currentlyengaged in a large-scale research project studying factors that affect transfer in Career andTechnical Education (CTE) disciplines, which include Engineering.9 Phase I of the researchproject included both forward-mapping and backward-mapping quantitative analyses of CTEstudent cohorts over multiple years, as well as
-based service learning, and engineering education reform. Prof. Paterson teaches courses on cre- ativity, engineering with developing communities, and community-inspired innovation. He has served the American Society for Engineering Education in numerous capacities, as a member of the Interna- tional Strategic Planning Task Force, the International Advisory Committee, and Global Task Force, and as Chair of the International Division. He actively serves Engineers Without Borders-USA, as a chapter co-advisor, education committee chair, and lead on EWB’s efforts to examine its educational impacts. He is currently leading several NSF-funded projects involving the design and assessment of service learn- ing in engineering
and math (STEM). Student participants work in teams onautomotive and energy-related research projects in mechanical engineering and also take part inother activities such as industrial research lab and facilities tours, meetings with workingengineers, conferences and seminars. To date, a total of 37 students– more than half of whomwere female - from 30 different universities have taken part in the program since its inception in2006.The purpose of this paper is to present some of the lessons learned from the first four years of theprogram. Some of the planning, logistics, procedures and outcomes will be described andanalyzed based on the results from the pre- and post-surveys conducted to assess the program.We believe that this type of