Conference Session

Assessing Literacies in Engineering Education

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia R Backer, San Jose State University; Laura E Sullivan-Green, San Jose State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

Paper ID #16272Integration of General Education into the Senior Capstone Class in Engineer-ingDr. Patricia R Backer, San Jose State University Dr. Backer been a faculty at SJSU since 1990 and held positions as an assistant professor, associate professor, professor, department chair, and director. Since coming to San Jose State University in 1990, I have been involved in the General Education program. Currently, Dr. Backer serves as the PI for two SJSU grants: the AANAPISI grant and the Title III Strengthening grant both from the U.S. Department of Education.Dr. Laura E Sullivan-Green, San Jose State University Dr

Conference Session

Pedagogies of Making and Design

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anneliese Watt, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Ashley Bernal, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Scott Kirkpatrick, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

was ready earlier), even more substantive improvementsmight be made.And in fact, we saw students introduce those further improvements inspired by the usabilitytesting after the summer was over. One of us teaches an engineering capstone design course, andone of our summer students is a member of that course (taking place during the regular academicyear). The carry-over student is part of a capstone design project team that continues to workwith our non-profit client on refinements to the design developed over the summer. The posterfound below shows the team’s current thoughts about the design. Figure 5: Poster from 2015-2016 capstone design team that continues to work on the projectLooking under “Design limitations” on the left-hand side of

Conference Session

Writing and Communication II

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah Liggett, Louisiana State University; Boz Bowles, Louisiana State University; Annemarie Galeucia, Louisiana State University; Warren R Hull Sr. P.E., Louisiana State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

senior design projects, which we anticipatedwould comprise much of the discussion for the actual study since our study participants were inthe process of completing their capstone courses. Additionally, only a few students in the pilotstudy had experienced in-depth internships in their fields. Participants in the study, bycomparison, had completed their senior projects for their capstone courses and where preparingto graduate. Furthermore, all had undergone experiential learning in their chosen professions,either during internships or their capstone courses, which by design engage industryprofessionals for feedback.Nevertheless, the pilot study served as a trial run for our protocol and questions and to gauge ifthe hour allotted for the

Conference Session

Pedagogies of Making and Design

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; James W. Malazita, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

humanistic orientation directly relevant toengineering students’ intellectual development and professional identity formation.For the purposes of this paper, the authors wish to highlight the impact that early Making asCritical Inquiry initiatives have had when integrated into the late stages of the Programs inDesign and Innovation at Rensselaer. Both humanistic inquiry and making activities have longbeen a part of PDI; however, these two have not yet been theorized as complementary, norexplicitly taught and assigned as a synthesized series of making projects or activities. Over thepast three semesters, Making as Critical Inquiry has been iterated into our STS Senior Projectcourse, a requirement for all PDI students at Rensselaer. While the Capstone

Conference Session

Writing and Communication I

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nancy B. Barr, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

students improve their technical writing skills. Thispaper details a comprehensive study of a GTA training program implemented in a largemechanical engineering department. Situated within the field of Writing Across theCurriculum/Writing in the Disciplines, the program was developed to meet the unique needs ofthe department’s GTAs and address perceived deficiencies in undergraduate student writing byteaching best practices in writing evaluation. Two methods were used to assess the efficacy ofthis program: 1) Qualitative methods such as interviews and an open-ended survey were used togain the perspective of the GTAs and their students on a variety of issues; and 2) A summativeassessment compared Senior Capstone Design final reports completed prior

Conference Session

Writing and Communication II

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nadiye O. Erdil, University of New Haven; Ronald S Harichandran P.E., University of New Haven; Michael A. Collura, University of New Haven; Jean Nocito-Gobel, University of New Haven; David J. Adams, Technical Communications Consultant; Amanda Simson, The University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

– engineering situation. Some decisions are Design a pumping system to fill a rooftop Sophomore, Fall required to develop the model or use the water storage tank, optimizing pipe size model to optimize a design. with economic constraints. ELEC 3371: Computer 2 project reports documenting project Interface microcontrollers for serial Engineering Lab work done in course. Projects involve communication and interrupt based timer. Course – Junior Year, microcontroller interfacing. Fall ELEC 4497: Capstone Collaboratively authored engineering Design audio amplifier, quad-copter, Design Course – Senior design proposal in the fall. wireless power

Conference Session

Social Responsibility and Social Justice II: From Classroom to Community

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jessica Mary Smith, Colorado School of Mines; Carrie J. McClelland P.E., Colorado School of Mines; Nicole M. Smith, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

more and use “flowery” language when they areuncertain about what they are discussing. In addition, after the unit, students were more familiarwith more specific language regarding CSR, and thus were able to express their thoughts moreconcisely.Overall, this exercise was valuable for the students. The professor of the course observed thatthis group of students appears to understand that CSR is a part of their job, and that engineeringprojects involve many more stakeholders beyond the company and the client. One fourth of thestudents enrolled in the course for this study are now enrolled in a capstone project course withthe same professor. After a visit from the community relations engineer from the clientcompany, many students expressed

Conference Session

Communication Across the Divisions I

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn A. Neeley, University of Virginia; Judith Shaul Norback, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

Proceedings, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, INFORMS Transactions on Education, and the International Journal of Engineering Ed- ucation, and others. She authored the book Oral Communication Excellence for Engineers and Scientists, published in summer 2013. Over the past 15 years Dr. Norback has given over 40 conference presen- tations and workshops at nation-wide conferences such as ASEE, where she has served as chair of the Liberal Education/Engineering & Society (LEES) Division. She has been an officer for the Education Forum of INFORMS and has served as Associate Chair for the National Capstone Design Conference. Dr. Norback has a Bachelors’ degree from Cornell University and a Masters and PhD from

Conference Session

Writing and Communication II

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Natascha Trellinger Buswell, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Brent K Jesiek, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Cary Troy, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Josh Boyd, Purdue University; Rebecca R Essig, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

students and collecting survey data from multiple institutions.IntroductionWriting is an important skill for engineers, but it is not necessarily thought about or taught as an“engineering skill.” Because of this, and despite ABET accreditation criteria directly related towriting,1 the inclusion of writing in engineering programs varies widely from program toprogram and course to course. While writing in engineering practice varies in scope frominformal emails and memos to large scope reports and proposals, writing in engineering coursesis often limited to formal laboratory or project reports, if it is included at all. This often causes adisconnect, leaving engineering graduates lacking in writing knowledge and skills, including asrelated to

Conference Session

Communication as Performance

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lydia Wilkinson, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

between the multiple perspectives shared in ourclassroom activities, and the possibility for multiple approaches to engineering and designchallenges in her other courses. Later in the interview she noted that she had been encouragingher group for a capstone project to look beyond the most obvious ‘engineering’ problems andsolutions to uncover latent issues and non-obvious approaches. Her experience in this coursecontributed to this student’s epistemological development in both disciplines, as she haddeveloped an understanding and acceptance of multiple perspectives.DiscussionThere are a few recurring themes that standout in written responses to the Performing Engineerassignment and the interviews. First, students noted that they discovered the

Conference Session

Exploring Student Affairs, Identities, and the Professional Persona

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jillian Seniuk Cicek, University of Manitoba; Sandra Ingram, University of Manitoba; Marcia R. Friesen, University of Manitoba

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

dominant dimension in the data.4.1.1 Change and learning (as opposed to being stuck and static) Students recognized that learning can grow and improve over time, and understood thatthis requires effort. They were willing to take steps to expand their own learning skills, and wereable to recognize their learning achievements.• The extent to which students see themselves grow as learners “…it’s dependent [students’ ability to learn from Capstone project] on your desire to put forward a really honest effort…” (FG 4, student 3) “I feel ready to tackle an engineering problem...” (I 2) “Like our project, I’m rather excited, they’re actually going to, they are building it, they’re making it better, but they’re building

Conference Session

Assessing Literacies in Engineering Education

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Leslie, New York University Tandon School of Engineering ; Lindsay Anderberg, New York University Tandon School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

feel engaged in the engineering program, or are they more likely to use primary sources infuture research, such as capstone projects? While our study cannot answer these larger questions,it shows that these interventions can be integrated into an STS course without being “tacked on,”and that engineering students who are exposed to methodologies of liberal education, such asarchival research, feel more confident about engaging with primary source materials in thefuture.ConclusionThe archival interventions in this Science and Technology Studies course related to current andproposed ABET student outcomes. Students were exposed to a different type of raw data thanthey might normally encounter in engineering classrooms. The raw data of the

Conference Session

Pedagogies of Making and Design

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Geetanjali R. Date, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; Sanjay Chandrasekharan, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

courses in Sustainability, Humanitiesand Social Sciences, Ethics, as well as soft skills such as writing, communication and teamwork.7,8,9 Strategies for pedagogical reforms included cornerstone and capstone courses, projectand problem-based learning, active participatory learning opportunities, instructionallaboratories, learning a second language, and foreign country internships.10,11,12,13Nevertheless, most engineering education programs continue to emphasize the technical aspects,while the social and environmental aspects remain externalized.14 Barbara Olds15 notes that “theeducation of science and engineering students has for too long been merely “technical”, oftenneglecting human complexity in order to achieve quantifiable correctness

Conference Session

Research on Diversification, Inclusion, and Empathy I

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George D. Catalano, Binghamton University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

decisionsabout scientific and technical training.The author has previously presented a design paradigm based on a morally deep worldview.3,4After teaching this methodology to several capstone design classes, it seemed important to addseveral additional elements to the design process. That which seemed missing occurred at theoutset and at the conclusion of the process including: (1) a beginning with an open mind freefrom pre-conceived notion, biases and prejudices; (2) an explicit challenge to the designer toconsider the plight of the Earth; and (3) an exploration of the values and purposes associatedboth with the design and the designer. The challenge at hand then is to bring these three newelements into the morally deep design paradigm already

Conference Session

Assessing Literacies in Engineering Education

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xiaofeng Tang, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Qin Zhu, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Haishao Pang, Beijing Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

education for more than 30 years. As a manager, teacher and researcher, she has served many departments, including Office of BIT President, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Law, etc. In 2011, she built the Center for Faculty Development (CFD) of BIT, which has been named as the National Demonstrational Center by the Ministry of Education of China. Now, professor Pang is the head of Graduate School of Educational and the director of CFD at BIT. Her teaching, research, and writing focused on general education and suzhi education, faculty de- velopment, and higher education management. She has published 8 books, more than 50 papers, and undertook around 15 research projects. Her monograph ”General

Conference Session

Trends in Accreditation and Assessment

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna M. Riley, Virginia Tech

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

society.As a practical consideration, there is a high likelihood that in many institutions, the newlyproposed Student Outcomes 4, 5, and 7 (addressing communication, ethics/social context, andteaming/project management, respectively) will all be relegated to capstone courses, perhapswith a cursory introduction in the first year, but with little or no emphasis in the middle years.Our community knows this is a “worst practice,” as many scholars have been building ethicsacross the curriculum, communication across the curriculum, and design across the curriculumefforts for decades.54, 55, 56 The ways in which these disparate skills are lumped together (whyelse would you put teaming, risk assessment, uncertainty analysis, and project managementtogether

Conference Session

Communication Across the Divisions I

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lori Breslow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Christina Kay White, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Daniel E. Hastings, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

. [4] Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2005). Definition and Selection of Competencies (DeSeCo) Project. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/41529556.pdf [5] Williams, J. (2002). The engineering portfolio: Communication, reflection, and student learning outcomes assessment. International Journal of Engineering Education, 18(2), 199–207. [6] Boiarsky, C. (2004). Teaching engineering students to communicate effectively: A metacognitive approach. International Journal of Engineering Education, 20 (2), 251–60. [7] Gömleksi˙ z, M. N. (2007). Effectiveness of cooperative learning (jigsaw II) method in teaching English as a foreign language to

Conference Session

Communication as Performance

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie Pulford, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT); Cibele V. Falkenberg, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

theatre. If we reframe day-to-dayinteractions as offers, it’s easy to spot effortless ungenerous offers and their effects. We all knowthe feeling of being asked, “How was your day?” and reluctantly trying to create and edit asatisfying narrative of our day for another’s entertainment and edification; our return offer ismost frequently an uninspired “fine”.When we reframe ours’ and our students’ interactions together as offers, a litany of activelearning stumbling blocks take on new clarity. An excellent example of this was shared by Dr.Raquell Holmes, who led a group of four students to write a book on cell modeling over multiplesemesters. Intentionally, this project required a lot of stretching on the part of the undergraduategroups. They were