applied probability itself, butalso for the nature of problems. They should understand structuring problems and posing problems.They should be informed that there is a spectrum of problems, ranging from well-structuredproblems with definite answers and clear boundaries, such as are found in traditional textbooks (andnowhere else), and open-ended, ill-structured problems, such as are found in the engineeringworkplace. The essential and unique point is that learners s must pose, clarify, and define problems,not simply solve them.And, at the same time, learners should practice metacognitive skills such as reflecting on how theyare building these schemes. Metacognitive activities are manifold and not easy to classify. Howeverthere is widespread
the MAI was used as a measuring tool in aresearch that examined the effects of teaching metacognitive strategies to 60 students in aphotography class. The results of the MAI exhibited an increase in the total mean score, from 65to 68 out of 100. The MAI was answered before and after assignments with instructions andpractice in reflection, planning and evaluation15.MAI has also been used at the faculty of Odontology in Malmö University in Sweden, for aproject focusing on students’ proficiency to learn in a problem-based curriculum. Students tookpart in different workshops; they watched a tutorial that was followed by discussions and workedin small groups designing cases. After the workshops the MAI-data from students taking part inthe project
in the faculty lunches, but in more depth and with moreopportunity for engagement and reflection. Others have been designed for administrators andother key (male) leaders in the college in an effort to educate them about gender and climateissues in a non-threatening environment. Topic selection is influenced by popular sessionsfrom the monthly luncheons, faculty requests, issues of interest that surface from evaluation ofother programs, as well as serendipitous opportunities.As suggested by the formative project assessment to date, this approach appears to haveencouraged changes in attitudes and behavior related to climate issues in both women andmen STEM faculty. For example, Dr. Scott Page delivered a lecture on diversity in October2012
found in Figure 1. For each task-specific self-concept, a nine-item scale was developed using the design process. The first item asked for the participant’sself-percept towards conducting engineering design as a whole (giving the engineering designscore) while the other eight items reflected each step of the engineering design process (averagedto be the engineering design process score)2. Page 23.30.3 Figure 1. Steps of the engineering design process12.Self-efficacy affects a person’s behavior towards an activity, and their self-percepts can affectthe thought patterns and neurophysiological reactions13. Those with high self
Page 23.8.6 program as intended and the program as actually implemented. The implementation of a program is reflected in concrete form in the program processes that it puts in place. An important evaluation function, therefore, is to assess the adequacy of program process: the program activities that actually take place and the services that are actually delivered in routine program operation (p. 170). In this work, the BMCA program fidelity is addressed by using onsite observations and aclear program description of program execution and delivery. In addition, empowermentevaluation approach is used throughout the evaluation process. Empowerment evaluation wascoined by David Fetterman in the early 1990s
device alone. Manufacturers usually provide libraries, header files, etc. that make interfacing to the specific hardware easier. However, it is becoming more common that these well- known languages are being modified or refined to contain commands or structures that are better suited with the hardware. Often times these modifications include commands whose name reflect the desired hardware-based outcome. For example, the command “analogRead(2)” reads the analog voltage at pin 2 on a certain embedded system. This is a built-in function which is pre-installed with the IDE for this device. Systems with built-in commands that intuitively describe the intended result generally allow the user to focus less on software challenges
informal networks provide the interview participants with access to help on homework,experiences of older students that inform decision making, guidance on the relative importanceof various courses and topics, and a host of related support issues.Discussion and ConclusionsThe findings from these interviews suggest that while overt experiences of gender stereotypes orsexism may be decreasing, some biases persist. Participants in this study demonstrated some ofthe same reluctance to talk about these gender biases seen in the work of earlier scholars such asTonso1 and Dryburgh4. At the same time, the women who participated in these interviews allenacted multiple strategies for negotiating those biases, some of which reflect shifts from
,students gave an average rating of 4.4 or above to the following: This course wassuccessful at helping me a) gain factual knowledge b) learn fundamental principles c)learn to apply course material d) learn how to use resources to answer questions and e)acquire an interest in learning more. The statement “overall I rate this course asexcellent” received an average 4.6 on the same scale. Student comments reflect theirsense that the course was well designed “The experiments we did in class were a greatway to see the theory we discussed come true”; “It was a great way to connect what wewere learning to the everyday life of cooking.”. The main criticism for the course wasthat it had no dedicated kitchen-laboratory space
engineering, structural engineering, transportationengineering, and water resources engineering). Mirroring the departments’ graduate studentpopulation, students in this course were drawn from a broad band of nationalities anddemonstrated varying degrees of proficiency with the English language. Six students (27%)were female, with the smaller number of females than males reflecting the reality that femalesare underrepresented in STEM disciplines8.At semester’s start, students provided self-descriptions of prior writing activities. Responsesrevealed that 13 students (59%) had authored or coauthored a published or submitted scholarlypaper, while 14 (64%) had authored or coauthored a conference paper. Six (27%) reported theyhad never contributed to
. The cadets have found these topicsengaging and have participated with excitement in the projects and discussions that centeraround the topics. The cadets enjoy discussing and learning about the various topics in computerscience, especially the discussions on networking. Using the networking project provided byNICERC, the cadets became the nodes and lines of communication while others acted as the“Man in the Middle” or the “Denial of Service.” This enhanced their understanding of sendingmessages through cyberspace and threats that exist.Cyber Science is one course which has been accepted readily and enthusiastically by both theCyber Science instructors and the NOMMA administration. This excitement is reflected in thecadets’ interest and desire
Muller 2013)3, reflecting the industry attitude thatengineering professionals need a foundational background in one of the traditional engineeringdisciplines, with the addition of practical experience to be effective as systems engineers.Undergraduate university programs in systems engineering are still relatively rare, with mostprograms being at the graduate level.Since we have already been teaching Systems Engineering graduate students at UTEP during thepast 5 years, we anticipate our teaching of undergraduate LE students will in some key ways besimilar. As is the case with SE, our teaching in LE courses will be more focused on skills,entrepreneurial thinking, critical thinking, and problem solving, and less on transferable facts.Our goal will
; one or more example problems; a short, multiple-choice “concept” quiz to test understanding (2-3 questions); a group problem-solving exercise; and a short, multiple-choice “attention” quiz to assess final understanding (2-3 questions).A mapping of these items and activities to the four elements of Kolb’s cycle (concreteexperience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation) isgiven in Reference 14.The developers have recommended a detailed implementation strategy for using their materialsin a 50-minute class14. After quickly running into time constraint problems, the first author ofthis paper modified this strategy as follows
? important EM fundamentals 4 4 1 Electrical and magnetic flux and field structure 6 2 1 Material properties – loss and dispersion 4 5 High-speed behavior of passive components 2 7 Wave propagation and reflection 5 4 Transmission lines – time domain analysis 6 3 Transmission lines – frequency domain analysis 5 4 Matching and termination 4 5 S-parameters
collective best guess atcurriculum and courses, understanding that updates would be needed as experience accumulated.The basic structure of the curriculum remains unchanged; however some content, courses, andprojects have changed.Unified Robotics I-IV have been tweaked, with a few minor topic additions, deletions orshifting of material; none serious enough to merit a change in course description.Robotics hardware and languages have been changed to reflect changes in robotics platformsused for homework, labs, and projects. Four of the five core courses originally used the VEXplatform with RBE 3001 Unified Robotics III using a custom-designed processor board based onthe Atmel AVR644P microcontroller. Neuron Robotics DyIO controllers and associated
applications are deduced)? 4) How does the student prefer to process information: actively (through engagement in physically activity or discussion), or reflectively (through introspection)? 5) How does the student progress through understanding: sequentially (in continual steps) or globally (in giant jumps, holistically)?The Remote Lab presented in this paper was used in the class of Material Balances (belonging tothe Chemical Engineering Department) during the August-December 2012 semester, at theTecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, specifically in three focus Chemical Engineeringsections with 35, 33 and 32 students in each class, respectively. The survey for the students’perception of their learning style was applied online to
the benefits of theseprograms. Various obstacles can prevent students from being able to participate in the informalprogram; reasons not to participate can range from logistical, time, or financial burdens. Theseparticular reasons do reflect a lack of interest in the activity; students may have the desire to join,but for one reason or another, they are unable to stay after school and participate. By integratingthe informal activity with the formal classroom environment, these otherwise unreached studentscan benefit from the program. Not only are these students able to participate in the activity, butbecause the time restraint is not as demanding, the students may be able to compete in theculminating event of the informal program since that
% students answering “strongly agreed” and 41% “agreed”, 9% “undecided” and 2%“disagree”. Once again, there were no students that selected the category of “strongly disagree”on the Likert scale. Both instructors felt that these synchronous chats did indeed engage theirstudents in the course according to their survey answers.Finally, students were asked how “connected” they felt to their fellow classmates and theirinstructor compared to that of a traditional face-to-face course given the online course containedthe synchronous chats. Table 8 reflects both student sections answers: Table 8. Student “Connectedness” Rate To Classmates To Instructor Less 32% 20% More
. Students only referred back to mentors when they had completed a taskand were looking for another, more experienced person to check their work. Students realizedmentors played a large role in FRC, but the students’ actions from creating an internal studentcouncil to the day-to-day work ensured the robotics club was student focused.Green Team Page 23.1130.7 The mentors installed a reflective approach that allowed students to find their placeamongst the team’s work and subgroups. Mentors and student leaders implemented preseasonand postseason interviews with every student to cover issues, desires, working relationships, andinput on the year
the course. A conceptual final exam was given at the end which coveredmaterial both from the lectures and the hand-on activities. The grade distribution of the course –40% homework and labs, 45% project and 15% final exam – reflect the importance of hands-onlearning as a key approach to this subject. A list of components purchased by each student at the beginning of the semester is shown inTable 1. It should be noted that a textbook was not required, and the lecture content came fromvarious academic and non-academic sources. A basic solderless breadboard is used for all circuit Page 23.1154.5making; LEDs are used for various Arduino
• Decision making • Managing meetings • Implementing decisions • Creating a healthy climateThe literature regarding team leadership in the academic setting12,13,14,15 is limited but doesprovide some useful insight.A checklist of attributes of informal leadership adapted to student teams has been reported12 • Exerts influence on group processes (task) • Maintains goal focus for self and group (task) • Creates a collaborative atmosphere (relational) • Exhibits technical competence (task) • Exhibits fairness, humility, and trust (relational) • Use creativity, reflection, and intuition (task and relational)Within a very limited examination of student teams, the authors noted that successful informal
the findings, and outlinesnext steps in this project.Summary of Key Findings-to-DateThe survey yielded 1,027 “usable case” respondents reflecting the following demographicprofile: 70% English; 30% non-English; responses received from all languages except French 80% Male; 20% Female 50% between ages of 40-60; balance over other age ranges 46% Academicians; 40% Practitioners; 10% Students; balance preferred not to answer Aerospace (17%); Computer Science (13%); and Electrical/Computer (13%) are largest Engineering Discipline response categories 64% reported having graduate-level Engineering degreeTop Attributes by Role, Importance, and ProficiencyEarly-Career Professionals: Importance and Proficiency Attributes by
the movie(s) by holding discussion sessions (held by the instructor, assistant, oramong students themselves) for those videos that had a pertaining assignment. Moreover,the instructor provided detailed assignment questions and requirements that directlytargeted the course objectives covered by the watched videos. This role was reflected Page 23.1193.5slightly by the students’ perceptions to the importance of holding post-video discussion sessions and by their performance on the written assignments. However, the analysis of this role will not be analyzed in depth in this study as it is beyond the main scope. Before responding to the questionnaire
industry or Page 23.758.4research relevant problems. This provides the “Concrete Experience” component of the cycle ina similar manner as a case study. The “Reflective Observation” part of the cycle may beaccomplished by providing key times for student questions, critique, and assessment questionsthroughout the learning modules. These observational opportunities may be designed toencourage the students to reflect on the innovation history, processes, problem, theoreticalframeworks, ideas, and / or decisions. The “Abstract Hypothesis and Conceptualization”component of the Kolb cycle may be addressed through the use of the course content
example, nature hasendowed bats, dolphins, and whales with the remarkable ability of echolocation to determinetheir distance to various objects through the reflection of high frequency acoustic signals. Batsare nocturnal and consequently work under very low light conditions. By using echolocation,they have the advantage of being able to detect their surroundings even in the dark. Like bats, Page 23.329.6whales and dolphins also operate in low light conditions due to their inability to follow normalsleep cycles like most mammalian species on land because of their need to consciously breathe.Specifically, dolphins and whales stay underwater for long
Enhancement (FIRE), is supportedby the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0969382. Any opinions, findings, andconclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.1.0 Project Activities1.1 Overall Goal Page 23.551.2The most specific and immediate goal of this project is to increase the School of Engineering andEngineering Technology (SEET) graduation rate from its 2009 five-year average of 42% to animproved five-year average of 65%.1 To achieve this target, 1-year retention of new studentsmust be increased to 85% from its 2009 level of 68
, first-generationstudents, and those with math skills at the pre-calculus level. Our internal data shows that thispre-calculus group has a lower retention rate even though they have aptitude sufficient tosucceed. This admission goal was not accomplished successfully during the first pilot programbecause the applicant pool itself did not reflect the desired diversity. It was also found to bedifficult to determine the math ability level. The admission to the summer transition programwas done before the students had taken the university’s math placement exam. The admittedEXCEED group ended up being in four different incoming math levels their first semester. Ofthe thirty-two admitted students, 26% were female, 10% African American, 23% Latino
that adistinction exists between their academic and social peer groups.2 Whereas, academic peergroups tend to reflect the majority represented in the engineering program, social groupsgenerally reflect personal ethnicities.2 Social peer groups not only address cultural needs, butalso meet personal needs, such as opportunities for relaxation and reflection.2,4 In other words,minority students often maintain separate academic and social peer networks, both of which playimportant roles in student persistence, for distinct reasons.2 For example, ethnic organizationsand residences contribute to maintaining ties to cultural heritage, while academic networks helpfacilitate academic achievement.2 Regardless of which network peers fall into, they serve
and were also aligned with the state curriculum standards.Guided reflections, team presentations of STEM Curriculum, and developed prototypes providedevidence associated with the objectives. Local System Change (LSC), Mathematics TeachingEfficacy and Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) and Science Teaching Efficacy and Beliefs Instrument(STEBI) surveys were administered to the in-service teachers prior to the program. Follow-upsurveys were administered to the 2012 cohort and will be administered to the in-service teachersduring the 2013 academic year to identify changes in attitudes, beliefs and practices. Classroomobservations of participants delivering developed STEM content provided details regardingtransference to K-12 classrooms. A focus group
general engineering (which is the required major for new transfers at one school until the students have successfully completed certain prerequisite courses).For survey participants contacted during the 2012-13 academic year (N=66), questions wereadded about the parents’ highest level of educational attainment and whether the student attendedschool on a full-time or part-time basis. Some responses were adjusted to reflect factors knownto the researchers but improperly reported by the respondents, such as whether a particularcommunity college had a formal 2+2 program with the MIDFIELD institution.Data on students’ most recent sending institutions were classified according to in- or out-of-statestatus (compared to the state in which the
computerengineering technology, have remained stable in their enrollment. This trend is not reflected inenrollments of engineering technology degrees across the United States. Since 2005,engineering technology programs have shown increasing enrollment.7 Figure 1: Fall Enrollment in Engineering Technology and Engineering Programs at SPSU from 2008 – 2012 ET Programs 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Apparel/Textile Eng Tech 32 38 42 45 41 Civil Engineering Technology 395 376 262 195 150 Computer Eng. Tech. 166 144 143 133 168 Electrical