Conference Session

FPD 3: Retention

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter A Sable, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Sharon Liz Karackattu; Matthew J. Traum, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

aerospace engineering. In addition, he attended the University of Bristol, UK as a non-matriculating visiting scholar where he completed an M.Eng thesis in the Department of Aerospace Engineering [2000] on low-speed rotorcraft control. Prior to his appointment at MSOE, Dr. Traum was a founding faculty member of the Mechanical and En- ergy Engineering Department at the University of North Texas where he established an externally-funded researcher incubator that trained undergraduates how to perform experimental research and encouraged their matriculation to graduate school. Dr. Traum also serves as the founding Chief Technology Officer at EASENET, a start-up renewable energy company he co-founded with former students to

Conference Session

FPD 6: Course Content and Educational Strategies

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lydia Prendergast, Rutgers, School of Engineering; Eugenia Etkina, Rutgers University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

liberal arts subjects such subjects as calculus,physics, chemistry, and other general education requirements dominate the first year engineeringcurriculum, leaving students with very little exposure to engineering and a lack of opportunityfor seeing engineering as a dynamic field. In order to increase engineering exposure, to improveretention, and make a connection between the first year courses to engineering practice, wecreated an interactive project-based engineering design course, called Engineering Exploration,at Rutgers University – School of Engineering (RU-SOE) as a replacement to the traditionalfirst-year introductory course.9,10 The traditional course is an attendance based lecture typecourse that surveys the engineering majors. We

Conference Session

FPD 4: Peers and Perceptions

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff Johnson, LeTourneau University; Alan D. Niemi, LeTourneau University; Matthew G. Green, LeTourneau University; Lauren Elise Gentry, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

.  Maintains the role of academic advisor throughout the entire first year and will continue through the academic career of each FIG member in most cases (unless they change major).Peer Mentor  PMs (locally called peer advisors) are selected by the faculty mentors, FIG Director, and the Director of Student Achievement.  Each PM is compensated for about 5 hours/week for FIG work.  Attends the Success4Students seminar with the FIG members.  Meets with the FIG group once a week to facilitate accountability in the areas of class attendance, homework completion and time management.  Provides homework and study group assistance to FIG members at least once during the week.  Meets with the faculty mentor

Conference Session

FPD 8: Teaching Design in the First Year

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Scott Bates, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

goals, and have graduated at a high rate; however, there is nomechanism to allow students to explore majors in engineering. Therefore, there needed to be amechanism, which would allow students to explore engineering, while still gaining experience inengineering. The structure of the institution in question did not permit for a first-year course to be Page 24.47.3taught with the rigor implemented at other institutions. Furthermore, the course was nottransferrable to many of the departments. Therefore a 0.5 credit hour course was designed toprovide rigor and to give students an experience with the engineering design process. The coursewas

Conference Session

FPD 3: Retention

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sally J. Steadman, University of South Alabama; Gail D. Jefferson, University of South Alabama; Tom G. Thomas, University of South Alabama; Kuang-Ting Hsiao, University of South Alabama

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

engineeringand mechanical and materials engineering. LabVIEW™ and the LEGO MINDSTORMS®platform were selected as the tools for the program. LabVIEW is an especially useful tool,which engineering students repeatedly encounter during their undergraduate careers. LEGOMindstorms give students an intuitive approach to programming, with immediate, visual results.As a result of strong teaming experiences in the workshops, the students work more effectivelyand collaboratively in their coursework. The students also interact one-on-one withundergraduate and graduate engineering students who exhibit enthusiasm for engineering. Theserelationships continue into the academic year, providing a support community for the newstudents

Conference Session

FPD 1: The Path to Engineering

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine E. Brawner, Research Triangle Educational Consultants; Marisa K. Orr, Louisiana Tech University; Matthew W. Ohland, Purdue University and Central Queensland University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

American Evaluation Association affiliate organization and is a member of the Amer- ican Educational Research Association and American Evaluation Association, in addition to ASEE. Dr. Brawner is also an Extension Services Consultant for the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) and, in that role, advises computer science departments on diversifying their under- graduate student population. Dr. Brawner previously served as principal evaluator of the NSF-sponsored SUCCEED Coalition. She remains an active researcher with MIDFIELD, studying gender issues, trans- fers, and matriculation models in engineering.Dr. Marisa Kikendall Orr, Louisiana Tech UniversityDr. Matthew W. Ohland, Purdue University and

Conference Session

FPD 7: Beyond Course Content

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan F Freeman, Northeastern University; Beverly Kris Jaeger, Northeastern University; Richard Whalen, Northeastern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

beingaccomplished. Upon further investigation, we noticed that many students told us that they hadalready decided on their major, so the projects or activities did not influence that choice. NUhas approximately 40% of the incoming first-year class as undecided in a major, meaning 60%have made an advance commitment in some form. In addition, the survey was given at the endof the year, and it is likely that a combination of factors had helped students to decide already.For example, they are required to be in a one-credit course titled Introduction to the Study ofEngineering, for which they attend events and meetings designed to help them explore majorsand make informed decisions, along with the work we do in these two foundational 4-creditcourses