Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dan G. Dimitriu, San Antonio College; Simona Dana Dimitriu, Pat Neff Middle School - Northside Independent School District (NISD); Thomas Gadsden Jr., Our Lady of the Lake University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

by 2010 [4].The problem presented by these new facts is not new but has becoame more pressing with thedevelopment of a global economy. So, how do we help the teachers find new ideas and newmethods that will attract and excite students to learn difficult subjects such as Math and Science?How do we empower them to take initiative and develop new projects and lesson plans that willhelp students accept and overcome the modern world’s technical challenges?In the 1950s, a famous French mathematician, Hadamard [5], found a massive disconnectbetween how we teach math and science and how mathematicians and scientists actually work.He concluded that what the intellectual tools mathematicians and scientistsy used to accomplishtheir work was more

Conference Session

Engineering and Technological Literacy: Past and Future

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven R. Walk, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

MethodologyQuantitative technology forecasting is the process of projecting in time the intersection of socialneeds and technological capabilities using quantitative methods. In QTF, technology is definedas any human creation that provides a compelling advantage to sustain or improve that creation,such as materials, methods, or systems that displace, support, amplify, or enable human activity.By this broad definition, technologies include not only the usual hardware and software we allrecognize such as computers, automobiles, telecommunications systems, etc., but also suchdevelopments as accounting, law, learning systems, etc. It has been shown that rates of newtechnology adoption and rates of change in technology performance take on characteristicpatterns in

Conference Session

Engineering and Technological Literacy: Past and Future

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John W. Blake P.E., Austin Peay State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

technological risks and benefits.In the area of capabilities, majors are expected to reach a much higher level. Majors areexpected to be able to be useful members of project teams which will design, build, and managecomplex technological systems. The curriculum and the related program learning objectives inan engineering or engineering technology degree program can be linked to a specific list ofcapabilities.With experience, our graduates are expected to be able to lead project teams and manage large,complex engineering projects. To do this, they need the capabilities associated with their major.They also need attributes listed here in the areas of knowledge and ways of thinking and acting.Expectations for majors will be different, at least for some

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Zbigniew J. Pasek, University of Windsor

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

contributions to society shown or hinted?The process of film content analysis is usually based on the intersection of two analyticalapproaches: the content analysis and the discourse analysis. The traditional content analysismethodologies, which is a study of recorded human communications, have been in use inhumanities and social sciences for over three decades23 and are well developed and documented.Their use, however, in this project has to be adjusted to take into account the visual nature of theresearched materials. Recent advances in visual communication analysis24 offer some guidanceon how these approaches can be used in analysis of a dynamic medium, such as film.While the traditional content analysis provides a summarizing, quantitative

Conference Session

Engineering and Technological Literacy: Past and Future

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College; John W. Blake P.E., Austin Peay State University; Kate A. Disney, Mission College; Carl O. Hilgarth, Shawnee State University; Randy Libros, Community College of Philadelphia; Mani Mina, Iowa State University; Steven R. Walk, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

of those providing the resources to carry out the project. Incarcerated individualsmight be compelled to create a particular technological device with no knowledge of theintended use of that device. If the device functioned as intended and met all specified designrequirements it would be difficult to argue that the creators were not engineering literate.However without knowledge about why the particular design requirements were chosen, andwhat use the device served, it could be said that the prisoner-engineers did not fully understandthe technology and were therefore not technologically literate.Evolution or Change Over TimeIt may be helpful to consider how the understanding of engineering or technology may evolve orchange over time. It can

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lawrence E. Whitman, Wichita State University; Mandy C. Phelps, Wichita State University; Karen V. Reynolds, Wichita State University; Barbara S. Chaparro Ph.D.

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

, 2012 Assessing Technological Literacy of Middle School StudentsAbstractProject Lead the Way (PLTW) is a rigorous and relevant pre-engineering curriculumimplemented in middle schools and high schools throughout the United States. PLTW has ahands-on approach using activities and project-based learning. The College of Engineering atWichita State University has partnered with three local school districts to implement the PLTWprogram to increase interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).This study begins to assess the impact of the PLTW program on student perceptions and attitudestoward engineering and technology as part of an ongoing three-year assessment.A pre- and post-assessment were administered to middle

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and the Non-science College Student

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert M. Brooks, Temple University; Jyothsna Kavuturu; Mehmet Cetin, Temple University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

closer look at the topic, “What does history tell us about globalwarming’s potential consequences for people?” The students are asked to familiarize themselveswith the technical jargon (e.g. climatic systems, green house gases, climate models,anthropogenic climate change, ice-albedo feedback, intergovernmental panel on climate change)through extensive reading of science newspaper articles. Projected carbon dioxide levels for thenext two decades are worked out in the class using qualitative and quantitative reasoning.Students are taught that 1) several decades of valuable time has already been lost (time lag) inacting on solutions on global warming; 2) fossil fuel burning has caused irreversibleconsequence of global warming; 3) the global warming

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and Technological Policy

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Zachary Foltz, Iowa State University; Amanpreet Kaur, Iowa State University; William Henry Tushaus, Iowa State University; Christopher Sears Mikelson, Iowa State University; Brian Vincent Skalak; Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

” bill to congress as well as administers many of the environmental and energy laws. Organizations, special interests groups, and even entire industries are spending a large amount of money on lobbyists in order to influence politicians to support particular legislation. The nuclear industry, which spent some $71,405,955 lobbying Capitol Hill in 2004, would get $7.37 billion in tax breaks and projects, including federal funds to construct a $1 billion nuclear plant in Idaho. After a bill is passed, the EPA is then authorized to implement the law by creating regulations that apply to individual, business, state or local government. A study by the nonpartisan General Accounting Office last year found that Vice President Dick Vice President

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and Technological Policy

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Boz Bowles, Louisiana State University; Paige Davis, Louisiana State University; Warren N. Waggenspack Jr., Louisiana State University; Barbara A. Heifferon, Louisiana State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

lectures providedstudents the opportunity to learn about current research and projects being conducted inGermany. In addition, the tours included hands-on learning, where students not only receiveddemonstrations of machinery and robots, but also were allowed to test some of the equipment inthe laboratories. The demonstrations enriched learning for the engineering students because theywere not only able to hear and see technology, but they were able to experience it, too. All toooften, students recognize technology, but don’t quite understand and appreciate it. The E3program took students out of the classroom and into the environment where technology is beingused, researched and developed. This created an environment rich for learning and

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and the Non-science College Student

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak, Hope College; Mani Mina, Iowa State University; Robert J. Gustafson, Ohio State University; James F. Young P.E., Rice University; Scott VanderStoep, Hope College

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

, or advertisedto indicate its potential appeal or value to non-engineering majors?" Would someone in yourmajor be attracted to a minor? What types of majors would be attracted to this? What are someof the potential benefits to a student who chooses a minor? Can you see any drawbacks to aminor from engineering? Would the minor be more attractive if one of the electives could besatisfied by a practical experience such as a summer internship with an engineering company, Page 25.939.10working on an Engineers Without Borders project, or working on a senior design team withengineering students? 9It was

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and Technological Policy

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert A. Heard, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

25.1268.6References 1. Oosthoek J, Teaching science in a humanities context , Final project report , School of Historical Studies, HaSS Faculty Teaching Fellowship , Newcastle University, 2007 2. Critical Thinking Rubric from Assessing Outcomes and Improving Achievement: Tips and tools for Using Rubrics, edited by Terrel L. Rhodes. Copyright 2010 by the Association of American Colleges and Universities.” last accessed 3/13/2012, http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/pdf/CriticalThinking.pdf Page 25.1268.7

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J. Douglass Klein, Union College

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

tools that dwarf human abilities. Page 25.476.3 Moore’s law, which states that the number of transistors on a standard chip will double everytwo years, has held since 1970. It is, of course, a law in neither the political nor the scientificsense, but rather is a pattern of technological evolution, spurred by human ingenuity andcompetitive spirit. The human genome project, predicted to take 15 years to complete in 1990,was finished in only ten and the life-cycle of technology products gets shorter and shorter.McKibben talks about our moment in technological history as being at the “knee of the curve” ofexponential growth in technological

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William R. Loendorf, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

. Initiallythe teaching methods included lectures, discussions, videos, exams, and written projects(Loendorf6, 2004). Over time the teaching methods have been expanded to include recreatedartifacts (Loendorf & Geyer9, 2008), demonstrations (Loendorf & Geyer10, 2009), othercollections of technologies (Loendorf & Geyer11, 2010), and innovative visual content(Loendorf8, 2011).An additional teaching method was incorporated right from the very beginnings of the course butwas so tightly integrated into the course that it was almost overlooked. That method wasstorytelling. Stories with a historical perspective as well as personal experiences abouttechnology are intertwined throughout the entire course. These stories, in many ways, help thestudent

Conference Session

Technological Literacy and Technological Policy

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College, Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

2015. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an11% growth in the need for nuclear engineers in the period up to 2018” [16]. A parallel examplecomes from the UK where in respect of a large underground rail development in London(Crossrail) the contractor reported that it will require 1000 tunnellers. But there were only 500tunnellers in the whole of the UK whose average age is 55 years. Unfortunately it did not saywhat qualifications were required [17].More generally in the United States recent evidence on the demand for personnel seems tosuggest that the pattern of demand is changing. So is there a changing pattern in the demand forpersonnel with technological skills

Conference Session

Innovations in Promoting Technological Literacy II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vazgen Shekoyan, Queensborough Community College, CUNY; Todd Holden, Queensborough Community College, CUNY; Raul Armendariz Ph.D., Queensborough Community College, CUNY; Helio Takai, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Sunil Dehipawala, Queensborough Community College, CUNY; Dimitrios S. Kokkinos Ph.D., Queensborough Community College, CUNY; Regina Sullivan, Queensborough Community College, CUNY; George Tremberger Jr, Queensborough Community College, CUNY; Paul J. Marchese, Queensborough Community College, CUNY; David H. Lieberman, Queensborough Community College, CUNY; Tak Cheung, Queensborough Community College, CUNY

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

. Lieberman, Queensborough Community College, CUNYProf. Tak Cheung, Queensborough Community College, CUNY Tak Cheung, Ph.D., professor of physics, teaches in CUNY Queensborough Community College. He also conducts research and mentors student research projects. Page 25.1267.2 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012Technological literacy in required science courses for non-STEM students in acommunity college with extension to junior high school environmentAbstractTechnological literacy is an important outcome for a non-STEM student taking a requiredscience course to function effectively in our