Conference Session

Poster Sessions for Unit Operations Lab Bazaar and Tenure-Track Faculty

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald P. Visco, Tennessee Technological University; Jason M. Keith, Michigan Technological University; Jeffrey A. Nason, Oregon State University; Roger C. Lo, Department of Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach; James P. Abulencia, Manhattan College; Sergio Mendez, California State University, Long Beach

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction, and the chemicalcomposition with FTIR spectroscopy. We demonstrated control over the mesoporosity,crystallinity, morphology and surface chemical composition. To quantify the photocatalyticactivity of the TIO2 particles, we measure the photodecomposition of a fluorescent dye underultraviolet irradiation. A parametric study was performed to find the optimum conditions formaximum photocatalytic activity.Teaching / Education InterestsIn the chemical engineering curriculum, students are taught about the fundamentals of heat andmomentum transfer. The teaching process involves classroom lectures and often correspondingundergraduate laboratory experiments. Another tool that can be used to reinforce the

Conference Session

Sustainability, Diversity, and STEM in Contemporary Energy Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey R. Seay, University of Kentucky; Wesley Allen Whipple, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

linking them with undergraduates workingon a multidisciplinary project to manufacture biodiesel from vegetable oil and convert theglycerol side product to marketable specialty chemical products. The high school seniorsparticipating in the project have worked with undergraduate researchers in chemical andmechanical engineering to operate a small scale biodiesel plant and glycerol conversion reactorat the Paducah Extended Campus of the University of Kentucky College of Engineering. Inaddition, the students operate a quality control laboratory and conduct research experimentsdesigned to improve the biodiesel manufacturing process and optimize the process for utilizingthe glycerol side product. Feedstocks utilized for the biodiesel process include

Conference Session

Unique Developments in Engineering Technology

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aleksandr Sergeyev, Michigan Technological University; Nasser Alaraje, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

., Proceedings of the 3rd national Conference, Teaching Informatics, University of Peloponnese.5. Piaget, J. “To Understand Is To Invent”, N.Y.: Basic Books, 1974.6. Sergeyev, A., Alaraje, N., “Partnership with industry to offer a professional certificate in robotics automation”, ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (ASEE 2010), AC 2010-9687. Sergeyev, A., Alaraje, N., “Promoting robotics education: curriculum and state-of-the-art robotics laboratory development”, The Technology Interface Journal, Vol. 10, #3, 2010. Page 22.9.8

Conference Session

Descriptions of Curricular and Model Development

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Hsiao, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

AC 2011-882: USING MATERIALS SCIENCE FOR COMMUNITY OUT-REACH, ENGINEERING EDUCATION, AND INNOVATIONAmy Hsiao, Memorial University of Newfoundland Dr. Amy Hsiao is associate professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and chair of the Master of Engineering Management program at Memorial University of Newfoundland. With also a cross-appointment in the Faculty of Business Administration, she teaches Entrepreneurship, Production and Operations Management, and Materials Science at the undergraduate level and Organizational Be- haviour and Engineering Management Topics at the graduate level. Her research interests are in materials characterization and magnetic materials processing (on the Engineering side

Conference Session

FPD X: First-Year Design with Projects, Modeling, and Simulation

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Clifford A. Whitfield, Ohio State University; Philip Schlosser, Ohio State University; John A Merrill, Ohio State University; Elizabeth Riter, Ohio State University; Kuldeep Agarwal, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2011-761: ADVANCED ENERGY VEHICLE DESIGN-BUILD PROJECTFOR FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTSClifford A. Whitfield, The Ohio State University Graduated from The Ohio State University with B.Sc., M.Sc., and PhD. in Aerospace Engineering and currently working as a Lecturer-BE and a Senior Research Associate for the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and the Engineering Education Innovation Center’s First-Year Engineering Pro- gram at The Ohio State University.Philip Schlosser, Ohio State University Dr. Schlosser teaches First-Year Engineering courses and Freshman Seminars at The Ohio State Univer- sity. He graduated from Ohio State University with B.Sc. degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering and

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sandra Shaw Courter, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Lauren Seabury, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Benjamin Lee; Gregory Alan Payne; John A. Hoopes, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

initiated the fluid mechanics course, as the principles of hydraulics were Page 22.373.2needed in the curriculum and no one was available to teach this course in the EM Department.Fluid mechanics courses are also offered in the Mechanical Engineering (ME) and the Chemical& Biological Engineering (CBE) Departments.As a basic, introductory course to the phenomena, concepts, principles and methods of fluidflow, CEE 310 is organized with two lectures and one two hour discussion/lab each week, threeexams, weekly homework and quizzes, and laboratory experiments. After defining andillustrating the nature and properties of fluids, the concepts and

Conference Session

Computational Tools

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thad B. Welch III P.E., Boise State University; Sam Shearman, National Instruments

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

within university communication systems classrooms,teaching laboratories, and their natural follow-on coursework (e.g., SDR, CR, DigitalCommunications, Wireless Communications, and Satellite Communications).This paper will discuss the utilization of National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW-based virtualinstrumentation with the USRP and a UHD-based software driver to rapidly create real-timecommunication systems demonstrations for the classroom and/or laboratory settings. Thecombination of the USRP, UHD, LabVIEW, and Windows support enables implementation andexploration of both foundational and more advanced concepts related to signal processing andcommunications.1 IntroductionUniversities have been teaching software defined radio (SDR) courses and

Conference Session

Assessment and Evaluation of K-12 Engineering Programs

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gisele Ragusa, Ph.D., University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy, K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

viaformation, nurturance and sustaining an important targeted school-university urban educationalpartnership. Our university has partnered with large urban school districts to plan, deliver andsustain a targeted inservice teacher professional development and a middle and high schoolSTEM curriculum intervention. The partnership goals are to assist inservice middle and highschool science teachers in: (1) designing and implementing integrated science and engineeringcurricula and (2) development of instructional methods and strategies that enable teachers toeffectively (a) teach challenging content and research skills in middle and high school asdemanded by state/national science standards; (b) generate knowledge and transform practice inhigh school STEM

Conference Session

Lessons for New Engineering Educators

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

challenge and encourage learning in today’s effective teaching programs.“Differentiated instruction, often referred to as universal design, is a teaching and learningstyle that is the result of neuroscience research on how the human brain processes and retainsnew information”. 1Introduction“Acknowledging that students learn at different speeds and that they differ in their ability tothink abstractly or understand complex ideas is like acknowledging that students at any givenage aren’t all the same height: It is not a statement of worth, but of reality”.2 In adifferentiated classroom and laboratory, the teacher proactively plans and carries out variedapproaches to content, process, and product in anticipation and response to student differencesin

Conference Session

Enhancing Instructional Effectiveness in Civil Engineering: Case Studies

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald W. Welch, University of Texas, Tyler; Clifton B. Farnsworth, University of Texas, Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

material on the white board versus PowerPoint to build board contentwhile using questioning techniques, etc. Then the faculty completed the same lessonusing Camtasia screen recorder software (voice over PP and/or a talking head). Thefaculty team assessed the quality of these techniques and determined what was missingfrom the ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Model within the distance education products. Basedon the assessment by the faculty, the team determined what adjustments in teaching stylewere needed to increase the quality of instruction using the available distance educationplatform. The ultimate goal was to provide the best quality instruction no matter themedium. The real challenge will be laboratory lessons where the students usually need tosee the

Conference Session

Communication: From Pecha Kucha to Bullets

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth R. Leitch, West Texas A&M University; Rhonda B Dittfurth, West Texas A&M University; Freddie J Davis P.E., West Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

in History (emphasize in Education and Material Culture)from West Texas A&M University; Bachelors of Science in Mass Communications/Journalism (emphasize in Public Relations) from West Texas State University. Outreach Coordinator for the WTAMU Department of Engineering and Computer Science, duties in- cluding the design and conducting of outreach to area primary and secondary schools, organization and coordination of a summer engineering camp along with workshops for secondary teachers and profes- sional engineers. Part time instructor for the WTAMU Department of Communications, duties including teaching of a basic communications class.Dr. Freddie J Davis P.E., West Texas A&M University

Conference Session

Computers in Education General Technical Session II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Willie K. Ofosu, Pennsylvania State University, Wilkes-Barre Campus

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

the students to effectivelyconceptualize electromagnetic radiations and be able to relate theory to practice. Students’experiences are also presented to demonstrate what they learned.References1. RF Circuit Design: Theory and Applications, 2nd Edition, Reinhold Ludwig and Gene Bogdanov, Prentice Hall, 2009, pp.1-96.2. Fundamentals of Engineering Electromagnetics, David K. Cheng, Addison Wesley, 1993, pp. 272-330.3. Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics, Fawwaz T. Ulaby, Prentice Hall, 2004, pp. 35-924. Lab-Volt, Data Acquisition and Management Software, Antenna Fundamentals Manuals. Lab-Volt Ltd., 1996.5. Khan, Hamid, “Enhancing Teaching Effectiveness and Laboratory Productivity by Computer

Conference Session

Industrial Collaboration and Applications

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Niaz Latif, Purdue University, Calumet; Nick L. Wilson, Morrison Container Handling Solutions

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

toprogrammable logic controllers (PLCs), conveyor systems, machine vision and servo motors,control and sensor logic as well as other technologies and various industry standards withprimary focus on packaging machinery technology. In past two years, successfulimplementation of the program is evidenced through enrollment growth and, receiving of twoNational Science Foundation (NSF) grants, ―A Mechatronics Curriculum and PackagingAutomation Laboratory Facility,‖ and ―Meeting Workforce Needs for MechatronicsTechnicians‖. The program established a knowledge and resource center to address the needs ofthe packaging machinery industry and the Mechatronics Engineering Technology programthrough learning, engagement, and discovery activities. An endowment has also

Conference Session

Session D: Panel Discussion on Fostering the Implementation of Best Practices

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aidsa I. Santiago-Roman, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; Christopher Papadopoulos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; Matthew W. Ohland, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Ruth A. Streveler, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Anna Dollar, Miami University; Cynthia J. Atman, University of Washington; Jennifer A. Turns, University of Washington; Sunil Saigal, P.E., New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

underrepresented populations. She also teaches introductory engineering courses such as Problem Solving and Computer Programming, Statics, and Mechanics.Christopher Papadopoulos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagez Christopher Papadopoulos is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Science and Ma- terials at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagez. He earned B.S. degrees in Civil Engineering and Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University (1993) and a Ph.D. in Theoretical & Applied Mechan- ics at Cornell University (1999). Prior to coming to UPRM, Papadopoulos served on the faculty in the Department of Civil Engineering & Mechanics at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Papadopoulos has primary

Conference Session

Recruitment, Retention, and First-Year Programs in ECE

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hector A. Ochoa, University of Texas, Tyler; Mukul Shirvaikar, University of Texas, Tyler

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

, October, 2001.18. W. S. Janna, J. I. Hochstein, M. Racer, A. Phillips, H. H. Lin, “Freshman-Senior Collaboration in a Capstone Design Course,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, 2002.19. A. E. Segall, “Science Fiction in the Engineering Classroom to Help Teach Basic Concepts and Promote the Profession,” Journal of Engineering Education, October, 2002.20. http://www.pearsoncustom.com/ Page 22.1455.12 Table 2. Semester schedule for the freshman electrical engineering courseWEEK TOPICS COVERED LECTURE (T) LECTURE (R) LABORATORY

Conference Session

Chemical Engineering in Silico

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Nippert, Widener University; Byung-Hwan Um, Widener University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

control group performed the actual hands-onexperiment and a test group performed a simulation using a Java applet that simulated the handson experiment. Students in both groups were given the same laboratory instruction andperformed the experiment either virtually or in reality. At the conclusion of the lab, they weregiven a brief multiple choice test about the experiment and the results of this test were compared.No difference was observed in the results of the tests. This appears to indicate that studentlearning immediately after the experiment was similar in both groups.Introduction and BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine if engineering students performing a simulation of anexperiment using Virtual Reality demonstrated similar

Conference Session

Modeling and Problem-Solving

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Morris M. Girgis, Central State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

further extended to an integrated teaching approachinvolving lectures, testing, laboratory projects, and case studies.In this paper, a comprehensive project for developing mathematical, conceptual, and problem- Page 22.159.2solving competencies has been developed. Two engineering mechanics problems consisting ofsprings, pulleys and/or a beam will be presented. One problem was chosen for implementation ina Strength of Materials course project. The features of the spring-pulley-beam system will bediscussed and specific domain concepts will be presented. A conceptual analysis was performedto develop sub-problems of the main project problem to

Conference Session

WIED Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Silvia Carreno-Castillo, Universidad de las Américas, Puebla; Aurelio Lopez-Malo, Universidad de las Américas, Puebla; Enrique Palou, Universidad de las Américas, Puebla

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

whole class that they didn’t have to have this o that knowledge, so they could stay. I remember that one of the students complained that her team was excluding her in the development of the class projects because she was studying industrial engineering… they set a meeting time and suddenly it was changed without notice, etc.” Page 22.1572.5Three of the ten teachers interviewed perceived that most teachers, who teach theory classes,underestimate the laboratory area, considering that what is taught in the laboratory is lessimportant than the theoretical base. Eight out of ten teachers feel that some of their new studentsare often

Conference Session

Public Policy in Engineering Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill Hutzel, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Tehri Parker, Midwest Renewable Energy Association

Tagged Divisions

Engineering and Public Policy

AC 2011-46: SOLAR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDWESTBill Hutzel, Purdue University, West Lafayette Bill Hutzel is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department at Purdue University. He manages the Applied Energy Laboratory that is used for teaching and applied research into High Performance Buildings.Tehri Parker, Midwest Renewable Energy Association Tehri Parker is the Executive Director of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA). Tehri has served as a member of the Focus on Energy renewable energy coordinating committee, an advisory group that developed Wisconsin’s statewide renewable energy incentive and training programs. She is also on the Milwaukee Shines Solar City

Conference Session

Faculty and Program Developments, Exchanges, and Partnerships

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sowmya Narayanan, VIT University; Muniratnam Adithan, VIT University, Vellore; Robert C. Creese, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

International

India is emerging as a Centre ofExcellence that caters to the training needs of newly recruited as well as in-service faculty of theUniversity. It was established as a nodal centre to coordinate all the training programs and itcaters to the training needs of the faculty who are expected to function as leaders and managersin the classrooms and laboratories to meet the challenges of internationalization andglobalization of education, especially technical and engineering education.. The mission of ASC is to provide continuous training that is effective, efficient,empowering faculty to become truly motivational in the classroom. The ASC fosters critical andinnovative thinking among its engineering and technology faculty and has aligned

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gene Liao, Wayne State University

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees

completed and delivered condensed course materials from Advanced EnergyStorage Systems and Power Management and Applications of Energy Storage Systems to assistMCC and HFCC faculty in developing the course and workshops. WSU faculty collaboratedwith MCC and HFCC faculty to develop appropriate teaching materials in community collegestudent level. WSU faculty also provided laboratory specifications for MCC and HFCC. Table 5lists the contents for the energy storage course in MCC and HFCC. Table 4. Course contents of the two energy storage courses in WSU-DET Power Management and Applications of Energy Advanced Energy Storage Systems

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations in College-Industry Partnerships

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles E. Baukal, John Zink Co. LLC; Geoffrey L. Price, University of Tulsa; John E. Matsson, Oral Roberts University; Wes Bussman, John Zink Co. LLC.; Sarah M. Olson, Northern Oklahoma College

Tagged Divisions

College Industry Partnerships

AC 2011-2248: INDUSTRY ADJUNCTS: LESSONS LEARNEDCharles E. Baukal, John Zink Co. LLC Dr. Baukal is the Director of the John Zink Institute which is the training organization for the John Zink Co. LLC in Tulsa, OK which is a leading manufacturer of industrial combustion equipment. Dr. Baukal has over 30 years of industrial experience and over 20 years of teaching experience. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, has authored or edited 8 books on industrial combustion, and is an inventor on 11 U.S. patents.Geoffrey L Price, University of TulsaJohn E Matsson, Oral Roberts University John E Matsson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chairman of the Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, and Mathematics

Conference Session

Computational Tools

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel Esposito, U.S. Naval Academy; Carl E. Wick, U.S. Naval Academy; Kenneth A. Knowles, U.S. Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

the robot’s functionality from within MATLAB’spowerful integrated development environment, which already includes numerical solvers, imageprocessing routines, neural network libraries, and control system design tools. We describe thedevelopment process and the toolbox’s features; and illustrate its capabilities with some projectsfrom our own Introductory Robotics class where it was beta tested. A student opinion surveyindicated that the toolbox was well received, but suggests its stability could be improved.1. IntroductionIt has been widely noted that engineering students benefit from a variety of teaching approaches,in particular visual and experiential learners prefer hands on laboratory experiences [1].Teaching robotics is no exception [2

Conference Session

Materials Experiments, Labs, Demos, and Hands-On Activities

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David S. Cottrell, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Chung-Suk Cho, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

Materials

in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1995. He is a reg- istered Professional Engineer with the Commonwealth of Virginia. With more than 13 years professorial experience, he has taught a large variety of courses including statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, graphic communications, engineering economy, and construction planning, scheduling, estimating, and management.Chung-Suk Cho, University of North Carolina, Charlotte Dr. Chung-Suk Cho is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Department of Engineering Technology. His teaching and research focus on project scope definition, pre-project planning, sustainable construction, project administration, construction safety, construction

Conference Session

Knowing Ourselves: Research on Engineering Education Researchers

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie M. Gillespie, University of Miami; Ann F. McKenna, Arizona State University, Polytechnic campus; Russell Pimmel, National Science Foundation

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

expertise in design and innovation, the impact and diffusion of education innovations, and teaching approaches of engineering faculty. Dr. McKenna received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.Russell Pimmel, National Science Foundation Russell Pimmel is the lead Program Director for the Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) Program and also is involved in the Advanced Technology Education (ATE) Program, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion (STEP) Program. He also works on the Stem Talent Enhancement Program (STEP) and the Advanced Technology (ATE) Program. He joined NSF

Conference Session

ELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gene Liao, Wayne State University; D. Fu, Wayne State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

AC 2011-295: EDUCATIONAL TOOL DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELEC-TRIC DRIVETRAIN BENCH UNITY. Gene Liao, Wayne State University Y. Gene Liao received the BSME from National Central University, Taiwan, Mechanical Engineer from Columbia University, and Doctor of Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is cur- rently an Associate Professor at Wayne State University. He has over 15 years of industrial practices in the automotive sector prior to becoming a faculty member. Dr. Liao has research and teaching interests in the areas of multi-body dynamics, hybrid vehicle powertrain, and CAE applications in products development and manufacturing.D Fu, Wayne State University

Conference Session

Computers in Education Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy D. Ropp, Purdue University, West Lafayette; David M. Whittinghill, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Raymond A. Hansen, Purdue University; Erin E. Bowen, Purdue University; Joshua L. Holmes

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

private pilot. Tim leads the AT Department’s Hangar of the Future Research Laboratory, a multi-disciplinary lab focused on technology and process innovations for air vehi- cle maintenance, aligning with U.S. Next Generation Air Transportation System philosophy of embedded safety risk management and human-in-the-loop technologies. He currently teaches a highly interactive senior level maintenance management capstone course, Aircraft Airworthiness Assurance (AT402), uti- lizing Purdue’s large transport aircraft, incorporating SMS and QMS principles, engaging his students through active learning challenges and applied research projects.Dr. David M Whittinghill, Purdue University, West LafayetteRaymond A. Hansen, Purdue

Conference Session

Experiential Learning in ECE

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathleen Meehan, Virginia Tech; Robert W. Hendricks, Virginia Tech; Cortney V. Martin, Virginia Tech; Peter Doolittle, Virginia Tech; Richadr Lee Clark, Virginia Western Community College

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

methodemployed at Virginia Tech when teaching the introductory circuits courses was lecture-based,highly mathematical and abstract in nature, there were no instructional activities for the visuallearners that would support their learning of the fundamental concepts in electrical and computerengineering.To balance the need to introduce hands-on learning early in the curriculum with the practicalissues associated with the creation of a laboratory course – cost of equipment, physical space,and staffing, a nontraditional laboratory course was piloted at Virginia Tech in 2004.Experiments were developed that students would conduct outside of a laboratory classroomusing set of equipment, known as Lab-in-a-Box (LiaB). The LiaB kit contains an analog

Conference Session

ECE Division Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kevin P. Pintong, Binghamton University; Douglas H. Summerville, Binghamton University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

with minimum modification. The summer 2010 course therefore served as a trial to collectand evaluate data to determine what aspects of the course, such as lecture, laboratory, andhomework, need to be changed. From analysis of the data collected, we believe that the summer2010 online circuits course delivered an experience somewhat comparable to an on-campusversion of the course.This initial report provides qualitative analysis of the initial run of the online circuits from theperspective of teaching staff and students. Recommendations are based on staff observations andprior research in online education. More quantitative analysis will take place after summer 2011,at which point we will have data from both the spring 2011 circuits and online

Conference Session

FPD I: Attacking the Problems of Retention in the First Year

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arturo A Fuentes, University of Texas, Pan American; Horacio Vasquez, University of Texas, Pan American; Robert A. Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

.Challenge Based InstructionThe selected pedagogical approach was Challenge Based Instruction (CBI) based on theprinciples of “How People Learn” (HPL) and the STAR Legacy cycle (LC). CBI, as project-based learning (PBL), is a form of inductive learning. CBI has been shown to be a more effectiveapproach to the learning process than the traditional deductive pedagogy4-6 and incorporatescognitive and affective elements recommended for retaining underrepresented students7-9. CBIprovides a real life learning environment where the challenge/problem is introduced first and thesupporting theory/principles second (i.e. traditional teaching backwards)10. Thus, by directlyaddressing students’ need to see Relevance of Studies to the Real World and creating