Conference Session

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Education Technical Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Danielle Bellmer, Oklahoma State University; Mary E. Rezac, Kansas State University; Danielle Julie Carrier, University of Arkansas; Daniel Humburg, South Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

commonadministrative platform, which allows students to enroll at their home institution, take onlinecourses from any of the institutions participating in the program, and receive academiccredentials from their home institution. Courses are cross-listed at each of the participatinginstitutions, and all of the institutions agree to charge students the same price per credit hour.The tuition generated is apportioned between the teaching institution, the enrolling institution,and a portion is used for operating costs of the Great Plains IDEA consortium.Program DevelopmentThe program was developed through funding from a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant.Faculty involved on the planning team included 35 faculty members representing each of thefour participating

Conference Session

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Education Technical Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kumar Mallikarjunan, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

experiments.The course was offered with a new syllabus in Fall 2009 and we worked on the planning the courseactivities during the Summer 2009.The implementation process started with the developmental work in association with technical helpfrom Mathworks, Inc. First we identified concepts for laboratory modules that could be able to workthrough a spiraling framework: Introduction of electrical voltage measurement to measurement usingadvanced sensing systems. Each laboratory module was planned to build on the skills learned from theprevious laboratory exercise. For example, the second lab involved temperature measurement usingthermocouple and thermistor that involved measurement of voltage either directly or using a voltagedivider circuit. The flow

Conference Session

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Education Technical Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George E. Meyer, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Kim Cluff, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Jeyamkondan Subbiah P.E., University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

Hall, East Campus of UNL. The main building with a total of 61,700 ft2 was built in1917. The building was completely renovated in 1981, and is now one of the better classroom-laboratory buildings on campus, with high outside demand for course instruction. Classes areheld in various sized lecture halls with capacities of 16, 24, 40, 46, and 112 seats. Theseclassrooms were constructed during the 1981 renovation, and have served the department withcontinued improvement made possible by financial support from the National ScienceFoundation and UNL. Plans have been developed and some funding identified to remodel thelargest lecture hall to change its configuration, to improve the learning environment, and toupgrade the presentation technology. That

Conference Session

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Education Technical Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Evan T. Curtis, Univeristy of Nebraska, Lincoln; Abby M. Kelly, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Johnathan Ian Edward McCoy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; David Jones, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Dennis D. Schulte P.E., University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

improvement is used toenhance the quality of skills each graduate possesses and the pathways in which he or sheacquires these skills. However, continuous improvement is not a procedure that can be conductedad hoc. Rather, it requires careful planning, documentation, review, and adjustment to makeprogress toward the desired improvement. Furthermore, many institution and program oversight groups have placed an emphasis onhaving a continuous improvement system in place to as part of accreditation. For example,ABET, Inc. which is the principal accreditation authority of engineering programs has requiredthat evidence of continuous improvement is a mandatory criterion for accreditation1. To demonstrate the improvement process institutions

Conference Session

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Education Technical Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

. These portfolios are gauged, graded, evaluated and assessed using avariety of rubrics and assessment tools. The author has previously presented some ofthese results in a form at the 114th ASEE Annual Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. The author plans to generate and utilize a similar rubric for purposes ofassessment. Furthermore, it should be recognized that each topic or subject matter may bedifferent and the difference may be huge and significant. Each instructor’s delivery styleis different and one may even arrive at two different sets of data for the same subject andtopic when two different instructors are involved (Narayanan, 2007). The principles of VARK as outlined by Fleming and Mills could also be used todocument