Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Research in Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marie Lopez del Puerto, University of Saint Thomas; Jeff Jalkio, University of Saint Thomas; Paul R. Ohmann, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

. Then we either derive or write out the equation,maybe do an example, and finally students answer conceptual questions and/or solve problems.What is missing is the piece where students reflect on the meaning of the equations. Redish4 Page 25.477.2suggests that we need to “find activities that help our students build knowledge intointuitions/understanding.” This is what we are trying to achieve through having students writeequations in their own words. Our hypothesis is that by giving the students continuous practice inwriting they will gain conceptual understanding that will be reflected in their problem solving.MethodologyWe are conducting

Conference Session

Design Cognition II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cyrus Habibi P.E., Minnesota State University, Mankato; Ronald R. Ulseth, Itasca Community College

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

well as teachesstudents professional skills and technical content 5,14. These professional skills include:communication (written, verbal, presentation), organization and time management, research andinquiry, self-assessment and reflection, group participation and leadership skills 14,15.With guidance from some of the most respected leaders in engineering education, a new model,Iron Range Engineering (IRE), has been developed to utilize industry-based PBL for design,outcome-based assessment, just-in-time interventions, self-directed learning, and emphasis onreflection 16. This new model for engineering education has been funded and began delivery inJanuary 2010. This model is a complete PBL program in which students work with industry ondesign

Conference Session

Android TA: Course Automation and the Fate of the Professor

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pil-Won On, University of Missouri, Columbia; Hani A. Salim, University of Missouri, Columbia

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

videos, and web resources. Andthen, they reflect on their understanding of main concepts by trying out a reading quiz that hasbeen revised to focus on main concepts of the week. When they complete the reading quiz with100% success, the access to an assignment is released. The second part of learning materialssuch as instructor’s notes about important points, problem-solving demonstration videos, andpublisher’s resources is tied into a problem-solving activity through an assignment inBlackboardTM. When students achieve at least 50% of success on the assignment, the access to aweekly test is released. The 50% success on the weekly assignment is determined so that amoderate level of understanding is accomplished without making it prohibitive for

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Ethics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College, Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Page 25.1039.3continually return”[14]. Statements about aims naturally reflect the belief and value systems ofthose that make them so it is not to be expected that there will be a set of aims that will satisfy alloutcomes even within the education of engineers [15]. But this does not deny the importance oftrying to formulate aims because to cite Noddings again “we need to talk about aims becauseaims provide criteria by which we judge our choices of goals, objectives, and subject content.” Ifwe change the direction of the discussion such that developing aims is “directed (moregenerally) at the larger society and its policies” then “as we ask deeper questions about ouraims- why are we doing X? – we uncover new problems and new possibilities for

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Transportation and Geotechnical Engineering

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Conrad, Portland State University; Timothy James Pfeiffer P.E., Foundation Engineering, Inc.; Tom Szymoniak, Portland State University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

they are a typical workplace writing task, but research rarely explicitly addresses howwriting tips reflect what practitioners actually write. Some instructors have substantialexperience in industry, but others do not.As Donnell, Aller, Alley, and Kedrowicz have argued, a much-needed step in improvinginstruction concerns determining the specific characteristics of successful engineeringcommunication for different settings, whether in academia or industry. 9 They warn about thedifficulties of interpreting what is said by managers in surveys. A more direct route tounderstanding the features of workplace writing is to study the writing itself. We therefore haveundertaken a project to collect writing from numerous civil engineering firms and

Conference Session

Factors Impacting Engineering Career Choices, Including Engaging Families

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David R. Heil, David Heil & Associates, Inc.; Neil Hutzler, Michigan Technological University; Christine M. Cunningham, Museum of Science; Mia Jackson, Foundation for Family Science & Engineering; Joan F. Chadde, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

, rural, and minority communities. Family Math and Family Science offerpublications and program delivery in both English and Spanish to assist in reaching diverseaudiences.In its report Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding ofEngineering9, the National Academy of Engineering concluded the public image ofengineering needed to reflect the optimism and aspirations of students and needed to beinclusive. Some common misconceptions include: (1) engineering work is a sedentary deskjob, (2) engineering is strongly linked to math and science, but not to other vital aspects, suchas creativity, teamwork, and communication, and (3) engineers are not seen as directly helpingpeople. NAE observed that many kids want a well

Conference Session

FPD V: Increasing Engagement and Motivation of First-year Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine S. Zerda, University of Houston; Diana G. de la Rosa-Pohl, University of Houston; Stuart A. Long, University of Houston; Fritz J. Claydon, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

oftenhave college-educated parents who can help them navigate the transition into university.Regardless of this apparent advantage, our experience is that Honors students too often leavewithout completing an engineering degree. Thus HEP students, just like their PROMEScounterparts, benefit from participation in a community of peers and supportive faculty and staffirrespective of family support or financial circumstances. Page 25.749.2 Participation in both of these communities is voluntary and therefore one might argue that anydifferences in outcomes for participating students are a reflection of self-selection. Our dataindicate that there is no

Conference Session

Capstone Courses in Construction

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohsin K. Siddiqui, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals; Sulaiman Dawood Alrasheed, Saudi Aramco; Abdul Rahman Mohammed, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals; Azfar Amaan, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals; Waheed Hussain Aljaroudi P.E.; Abdullah Ahmed Al-Jughaiman, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals; Fayez Mohsen Alsaikhan, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals; Bahir Mohamad Alhashem

Tagged Divisions

Construction

during andat the end of project, and hidden costs associated with building green. Page 25.810.5In additional to the project management challenges, awareness about sustainability is lackingamong the general public as well as the practitioners. In a survey12 conducted to exploreawareness about sustainability, out of a sample of 693 Saudi Arabian Engineers, 52.2% of theparticipants were not aware of the issue of sustainability and had not heard of the term before.However, more than 70% of the participants agreed that sustainable housing will save energyand will reduce the bills 12. This further reflects the limited availability of local expertise

Conference Session

Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Mueller PE P.E., Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Corey M. Taylor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Patricia Brackin, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Richard A. House, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Kathleen Toohey, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Michael S. DeVasher, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Rebecca Booth DeVasher Ph.D., Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Mark H. Minster, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

; despite enrolling in a sustainability-themed first-year program, theyproved susceptible to the belief that an overemphasis on sustainability might prove detrimental totheir overall learning.Student feedback also reflected positively on the extracurricular activities hosted during the firsthalf of the academic year. These included a welcome cookout, field trips to nearby state parksand other wilderness areas, weekly faculty-student lunches, decision-making meetings and guestpresentations at Blumberg Residence Hall, and participation in the campus Day of Service. Topromote community involvement and professional development in sustainability, several HEREstudents and faculty attended a local Greentown conference where speakers and workshopsfocused

Conference Session

Capstone Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Martin Edin Grimheden, Royal Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. This is due to the emphasis onearly prototyping, quick feedback and incremental development. It still might not be thefavorable method for use in large scale industrial development projects where formalprocedures might still be preferred, but the pedagogical advantages in mechatronics educationare valuable. Incremental development and rapid prototyping for example gives manyopportunities to reflect and improve. The Scrum focus on self-organizing teams also providesa platform to practice project organization, by empowering students to take responsibility forthe product development process.Among the results of this study, it is shown that it is possible and favorable to integrate Scrumin a mechatronics capstone course and that this can enhance

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine; William R. Marshall, Alief Independent School District

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

. The more ways we find toprocess information the stronger learning (i.e., neural connections between brain cells) becomes.Research is proving that to enhance learning, we should be involving students in lessons by Page 25.469.2providing a non-threatening environment which allows them time to ask questions, seek solutions,reflect, share thinking about a theme or topic, and respond to other's viewpoints.In short, as teachers, we need to be able to accomplish learning by doing. Action helps to growthe brain. The real value of subject matter can be heightened for students through activitiesthat combine the classroom instructional context with real

Conference Session

Best of Computers in Education Division

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aditya Johri, Virginia Tech; Hon Jie Teo, Virginia Tech; Jenny L. Lo, Virginia Tech; Asta B. Schram, Virginia Tech; Monique S. Dufour, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

their instruments publicly available9, 17. In addition, one of the authors of the paperhas access to an instrument from a similar study by having worked as part of the research teamthat conducted that study2. Given the advances in technology, only the overall design of thesurvey was replicated but the exact questions were changed to reflect newer technologies. Surveyquestions were based on a Likert Scale and coded so that positive outcomes were represented byhigher response values. Two separate groups of students participated in the survey which washosted on a commercial survey-hosting website which the host university maintains a license.The survey was administered on two separate occasions, once in April 2010 and then again inMay 2010. In

Conference Session

Advances in Communication Instruction

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth A. DeBartolo, Rochester Institute of Technology; Margaret B. Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology; Risa Robinson, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

Observation constructive feedback to other student teachers, receive constructive feedback on your own teaching, reflect on how you can use the feedback you receive to improve your teaching.The first one-hour session begins with an introduction to The TEAK Project and motivation forthe overall workshop. Participants are given time during the session to consider what topic theywould like to address for their 15 minute microteaching exercise, as well as who their targetaudience will be. Depending on the workshop participants, the target audience may range fromelementary school students (for participants who will be teaching at summer camps or outreachprograms) to college students (for

Conference Session

Pedagogical Approaches for Software Engineering

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kevin A. Gary, Arizona State University, Polytechnic; Yegeneswari Nagappan, Unicon, Inc.; Supreet Verma, Delasoft, Inc.; Russell J. Branaghan, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

are quite similar to mind maps8, though the context of application is different.Mind mapping activities are often done during discovery, where one is trying to understand anew domain. As examples, students may create a mind map to diagram comprehension ofreading a textbook chapter, or business analysts might create a mind map as part of an ideageneration or business modeling activity during requirements elicitation. Concept mapping, atleast in our context, is an activity that attempts to reflect the structural aspects of a student’sevolving conceptual understanding. Note in this description that we do not say that concept mapsthemselves are an assessment of any kind; indeed they can be interpreted in many ways. Forinstance, student teams

Conference Session

Assessment and Impact

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Raber, Michigan Technological University; Susan L. Amato-Henderson, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

communication skills), accounted for11.49% of the variance.A similar factor analysis procedure conducted with only Senior Design students resulted in thesame factor components and structure; therefore, mean factors scores were also calculated forSenior Design students on each of the 4 factors. Because Senior Design students were all 4th or5th year students (while Enterprise participants included freshman through seniors), differencesin factor scores between Senior Design and Enterprise students (seniors only) were examinedwith ANOVA. Table 1 provides the mean factor scores for senior-standing Enterprise andSenior Design students across the four factors (6 point scale, ranging from -3 to +3, withnegative numbers reflecting disagreement that program

Conference Session

Retention of Women Students II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heidi M. Steinhauer, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

developed the Academic Self-Efficacy Scaleand the Professional Self-Efficacy Scale. The Likert survey responses were used to generate thesemi-structured interview protocol to more fully investigate the impact of their participation ontheir perception of engineering.Two areas of particular interest are: 1) what professional skills were gained as a result ofparticipating, and 2) the impact of CDS on persistence to pursue engineering professionally. Allparticipants were interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of their survey responses. Closeexamination of their surveys and interviews may provide a key to motivating more youngwomen to persist in engineering as a career.The construct of perceived Self-Efficacy reflects an optimistic self-belief15

Conference Session

Spatial Visualization

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diarmaid Lane, University of Limerick; AJ Hamlin, Michigan Technological University; Norma L. Veurink, Michigan Technological University; Niall Seery, University of Limerick

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Design Graphics

about orthographic projection. Studentsurveys and classroom observations were recorded by the teachers.High levels of student motivation were observed during both phases and the studentsevidenced a clear understanding of the picture plane and its relationship with perspectivedrawings. The paper also reports that a number of ergonomic improvements which weremade to the sketching equipment (subsequent to ‘Phase One’) were beneficial and that theseenabled more controlled and reflective exploration of complex geometries. The manner inwhich students completed the activity during both phases of the study varied. Some studentsperformed the exercise in a slow, controlled and reflective manner, resulting in sketcheswhich were precise, with significant

Conference Session

Accreditation and Outcomes-based Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy E. Slaton, Drexel University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

instructors and students, or of the leaders of such influential bodies as ABET, theNational Academy of Engineering, or the American Society for Engineering Education, are not Page 25.1348.2in question. We cannot presume to know what any individual thinks without asking her or him,nor whether the pronouncements one might make in a professional capacity reflect one's ownbeliefs. Instead, this paper considers how the formal expression of professional aims embodied inABET's accreditation criteria, in university engineering department documents, and in writing onthose criteria by educators, helps to promote certain, ideologically narrowed approaches

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward F. Glynn P.E., Villanova University; Frank E. Falcone, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

to determine the oral presentation grade. Near the completion of the course, the attributes and characteristics sheets originally prepared and submitted by each student, but now including all of the comments from their group members evaluating the student‟s performance as PM, are complied and given back to the students. Therefore, at the conclusion of the course, students have a clear record of their individual performance as PMs as measured against their own initial list of the attributes and characteristics of a ‘good’ PM. This seems to be an extremely effective summary document as part of this approach to introducing, stressing and measuring project management performance.Student Reflections

Conference Session

Improving IE Course Content

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hung-da Wan, University of Texas, San Antonio; Yi-Ching Liao, University of Texas, San Antonio; Glenn Kuriger, University of Texas, San Antonio

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering

impact the lean tools can bring about. Consequently, lean simulation games havegained a special role in training workshops and educational programs of lean manufacturing.A lean simulation game typically contains a series of operations that reflect real-world tasks ofwork. In a simulation, several phases of lean implementation are carried out step by step todemonstrate the impact of lean. The simplified tasks allow the participants to learn the leanconcepts and skills in a reasonably short time. Many lean simulation games have been developedin the past. Verma5 reviewed 17 popular lean simulation games, such as the TimeWiseSimulation of the Lean 101 training program, Aircraft Simulation developed by Lean AerospaceInitiative (LAI), and some games

Conference Session

Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Evelyn Hanna Laffey, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Kimberly A Cook-Chennault, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Linda S. Hirsch, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

STEM professionals.The 2006 report, Investing in America’s Future 12 , discussed the need to develop collaborationsbetween engineers and K-12 educators to provide authentic opportunities to build scientific andtechnological knowledge. RU RET-E aimed to provide such an opportunity by immersingteachers in engineering research during the six week summer program. Approximately 80% ofteachers’ time was spent in the research component.A review of adult learning theories5,6 suggests recognizing adult learners as experiencedindividuals who have valued knowledge, utilizing experience as a learning tool, promotinglearning through reflection and inquiry, and providing situated learning contexts. As such, RURET-E provides opportunity for teachers to share

Conference Session

Collaborative Projects in Architectural Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James B Guthrie P.E., California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Tagged Divisions

Architectural

concrete gravity systems, an understanding oftimber, steel and concrete lateral systems, structural material finishes and connections, tallbuildings, long span structures, cladding and deep and shallow foundation systems.These course learning outcomes and outlines reflect a rigorous architectural engineeringapproach that the ARCE faculty believes is appropriate for the course. However the classes havetypically also included content and approaches intended to both inspire the ARCH and CMstudents and provide skills specific to their future careers. This is reflected in the methodologiesused by individual instructors.Methodologies. Several types of classroom methodologies have been used by instructors. Allhave been successful in meeting the learning

Conference Session

Tablets Large and Small

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tonya Lynn Lauriski-Karriker, Colorado School of Mines; Emma Nicoletti, Colorado School of Mines; Barbara M. Moskal, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

the tablets with them at the end of class. A graduate student wasassigned to support the instructors with the software and technology during the first few weeksof the semester. The five instructors had varying titles and levels of teaching experience, whichare summarized in Table 1.As is reflected in Table 1, there were two graduate teaching fellows or graduate students whohad the appropriate background in probability and statistics to teach the course. These studentshad expressed an interest in learning how to teach at the college level. Both had taught thiscourse in the previous semester. There were two adjunct or part-time teaching faculty who taughtthe course. One had three years of experience and had previously taught this course four

Conference Session

Preparing Engineering Students for the Global Workplace

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine T. Amelink, Virginia Tech; Nicole P. Sanderlin, Virginia Tech; Elizabeth M. Tront, Virginia Tech; Joseph G. Tront, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

International

incorporated international or liberal artscourses into their curriculum. Lastly, participation in RSAP also impacted future career goalsand broader ideas about what it means to be a ‘global engineer’. As one student explained, “themain thing I’ve noticed [after the program] is I have considered more employment abroad…Iwould not have done that otherwise.” Students also expressed a strong awareness of the globalaspects of engineering as they reflected on their disciplines. As one student described, “it’s justanother day in the office when you are talking to people in India and getting items fromShanghai. You definitely need to be open to it and know not to be afraid to interact with othercultures…you just never when it’s going to pop up, you just have

Conference Session

NSF Grantees' Poster Session

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Noe Vargas Hernandez, University of Texas, El Paso; Linda C. Schmidt, University of Maryland, College Park; Gül E. Okudan Kremer, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Electrical Resistance Combiination Tribology Microgeometry Optical Reflection Figure 3. Merged Genealogy Tree for the Traffic Light Redesign Problem.Figure 4 presents the data collected at UTEP and Maryland for both groups: Control and TRIZ.The numbers indicate the total number of ideas at each branch in the Genealogy Tree. Page 25.612.10 UTEP UTEP UMD UMD

Conference Session

Engineering Technology Curriculum Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Larry Alfonso Villasmil Urdaneta, Rochester Institute of Technology; Rob Garrick, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

, and ‘reasonable’ explanations for howand why things work, over many years of experience. It should be expected that they wouldnaturally ‘resist’ any contradiction or ‘discrepancy’ when presented correct but conflictinginformation. Page 25.734.3In his review, Zacharia2 points to previous research that concluded that fostering conceptualchange requires challenging students with ‘discrepant events’ to contradict their conceptionsprovoking a cognitive conflict that causes reflection and resolution. These discrepant events andsignificant experience can be provided both through the use of laboratory inquiry-basedexperimentation and through the

Conference Session

Mentoring Graduate Students - Diversity and Assessment

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jiabin Zhu, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Monica Farmer Cox, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Demetra Evangelou, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Cyndi Lynch, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Minorities in Engineering

Purpose of This Element 1 Setting the Context Introduces the theme of the module along with what students should be able to do by the end of the module; Encourages students to reflect upon their values and attitudes about the topic (e.g., the best traits of a good mentor) 2 Warm-Up An often light-hearted activity that gets students to think about a topic without

Conference Session

Preparing Engineering Students for the Global Workplace

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian D. Koehler, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

International

to almost every question we asked always concluded with you must be able to write and communicate properly with others if you want to keep your job.” o “Our findings also reflected the previous CIW report indicating that oral and written communication were part of the employees’ job performance appraisals. The communication process was also considered to be an integral part of every activity in the workplace, as found in the last CIW report.” o “Each representative could not stress enough how important communication is in the workplace and how being able to communicate properly is one of the most valuable assets an

Conference Session

Information Literacy in Context: Enabling Real World Problem Solving

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adriana Popescu, Princeton University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

closely with our colleagues fromsocial sciences to ensure that our academic collections reflect and support the global aspects ofthe engineering curriculum?Moving into actionIn an attempt to answer these questions, the Engineering Library at Princeton University hasembarked on an initiative of raising awareness with all university library departments about theglobal engineering education efforts and to partner and cooperate with library departmentsoutside the Engineering Library to bring all relevant resources and services to the engineeringstudents. By analyzing the elements of the existing educational process for engineering students,the library has identified new areas of involvement. While the Engineering Library already hadin place services

Conference Session

Capstone Design I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Walter W. Schilling Jr., Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

within this environment. Class sizes must be small, or else it is possible for anindividual’s contribution to be lost to the team atmosphere. Even with small class sizes, asidefrom an exit survey, it can be difficult to assess the design skill of any given student.Design Outcome DistinctionTrue design requires open ended problem solvers, exhibiting the following attributes8,9:  Are willing to spend time reading, gathering information, and defining the problem.  Uses processes, as well as a variety of tactics and heuristics to tackle problems  Monitor their problem solving process and reflect upon its effectiveness  Emphasize accuracy rather than speed  Write down ideas and create charts / figures, while solving a problem  Are