Conference Session

Dimensions of Engineering Literacy and Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yuetong Lin, Indiana State University; A. Mehran Shahhosseini, Indiana State University; M. Affan Badar, University of Sharjah & Indiana State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

learningare collaborative learning, co-operative learning, and problem-based learning. Various studies,from using interactive, hands-on lessons and activities designed to teach research process toundergraduate engineering students 1 , to preparing manufacturing engineering students throughcompetitions, projects sponsored by industry, capstone projects, laboratory exercises or projectssimulating real-life scenarios 2 , have shown that active learning increases student performance inSTEM subjects.Critical thinking, identified by The U. S. Department of Labor as the raw material of a number ofkey workplace skills such as problem solving, decision making, organizational planning, and riskmanagement, is highly coveted by employers of engineering graduates

Conference Session

Engineering Literacy: Champions of Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert M. Briber, University of Maryland, College Park; Romel D Gomez P.E., University of Maryland, College Park

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

University of Maryland (UMD)was started in 2009 with the implementation of the new program beginning with the enteringfreshman class in fall 2012. The A. James Clark School of Engineering at UMD now plays asignificant role in GenEd and offers courses in a number of areas in the program, a significantdeparture from the previous general education program that had been in place for more than 25years and where the engineering college had played only a very minor role. When the Universityembarked on a redesign of the GenEd program, Provost Nariman Favardin and Associate Provostand Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Donna Hamilton recognized the need for all students to beexposed to the intellectual synthesis that occurs in applied disciplines [1-3]. As

Conference Session

Engineering Literacy: Champions of Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John R. Reisel, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

is important. Krupczak, et al.,1 discuss how the general populace needs tounderstand technology, including its creation and its impact on society. They also differentiatebetween technological literacy and engineering literacy. The American Association for theAdvancement of Science, and the National Academy of Engineering have weighed in on theimportance of everyone being literate with respect to technology and the role of engineering insociety.2,3 Klein and Balmer4 summarize some of the reasons for increasing technologicalliteracy, particularly among students majoring in the liberal arts. In the preface to itstechnological literacy standards, the International Technology Education Association points outthat while society is increasingly

Conference Session

Dimensions of Engineering Literacy and Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mani Mina, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

criticalthinking and decision making in technological scope. In this study we had 120 students in theFreshman Engineering class and 60 students in the technological literacy class. The dataprovided is selected to show the major points and trends that are observed in the answers. Weare in the process of a more detail analysis of the data. But for this paper we are focusing themajor trends that shows the various perspectives that exists in the answers.The questions and the intention of the surveyExhibit 1 shows the questions and Exhibit 2 shows the title of the questionnaire. The questionswere chosen based on studies and discussions by officers and some of the active members ofTechnological and Engineering Literacy and Philosophy of Engineering (TELPhE

Conference Session

Engineering Literacy: Champions of Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P Kirkmeyer, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

and intensity.2-4 A college course was created in2009 to examine how engineering design and technology developments have manifested inheavy metal’s evolution. While a complete description of the genre is excessive for this follow-up paper, a synopsis of the original paper’s1 examination of how the course accomplishes itsgoals is necessary to provide the framework for the new developments in the course.Goals and structure of the courseThe course outcomes, detailed in the original paper, are: 1. Students will describe the history of, culture of, and influences to heavy metal music. 2. Students will describe the engineering and technological developments that have enabled heavy metal music’s unique sound. 3. Students will explain how

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine Goodman, University of Colorado, Denver; Jean Hertzberg, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

large vessels. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2017 The Need for Measuring Transformative Experiences in Engineering EducationAbstractTransformative experiences (TE) are specific moments when students 1) apply practices and/orknowledge from their coursework to everyday experiences without prompting (also calledmotivated use); 2) view everyday objects or situations through the lens of course content(expanded perception); and 3) express value course content in new ways because it enricheseveryday experience (experiential value, which we also term affective value). This constructdraws heavily on John Dewey’s seminal work in education and experiential learning.Transformative experience has been

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

R. Alan Cheville, Bucknell University; John Heywood, Trinity College-Dublin

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

literacy” has a specificmeaning that is not generally found in fiction permits a qualitative view of the rise in use ofthe term over a time frame of decades, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Google NGram word frequency vs. time graph of the terms “technological literacy”, “science literacy”, and “information literacy” (value divided by five) for 2012 dataset of American English with a smoothing of 1 for the time period 1970 - 2008.The term technological literacy seems to have first come into use around the 1950’s where itwas used more by happenstance than deliberately. Before 1980 technological literacy mostoften referred to the benefits of, or need for: vocational education, skills for living in a worldwith rapid technological

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary P. Halada, Stony Brook University; Peter H. Khost, Stony Brook University

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

dictionary simply defines narrative as “the representation in art of an eventor story” 1. In a broader sense, we can think of narrative as a basic form of humancommunication, one through which “humans experience and comprehend life. 2” Narrative isnothing less than the context in which we all live and interact: people performing actions in timeand space, inevitably infused with conflict and attempts at resolution. Because it is universal assuch and also highly engaging of both logic and emotion, narrative is potentially transferableacross any contextual differences. As the first-century Roman poet and philosopher Horace putit, “Change the name, and you are the subject of the story” 3. Many prominent contemporarytheorists have similarly observed that

Conference Session

Engineering Literacy: Champions of Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Flath, Macalester College; Diane P Michelfelder, Macalester College

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

assessment) a final writing assignment. So we haveboth qualitative and quantitative assessments.[1] Pre/Post SurveyBecause one of our design projects linked our students with the students from one of TaylorAllen’s classes at Oberlin College, we decided to use the same three pre and post-course surveysthat he had chosen. They were: 1. The Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry Questionnaire (SUSSI) (Liang et al, 2008). We administered the eight survey questions from the two parts on "social and cultural influence on science" and "imagination and creativity in scientific investigations." 2. The Views on Science-Technology Society Questionnaire (VOSTS) (Aikenhead and Ryan, 1992). We administered five

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College-Dublin

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

“something” that turns our beliefs(attitudes and values) into action, that is the methods of teaching we use, and the content toowhich we subscribe, is what we call “philosophy.” All of us have a philosophical disposition,some weak, some strong. Since engineering educators are teachers, and since theirphilosophy drives their educational activities, its curriculum, delivery and evaluation, it isright that no less should be expected of them: namely, that they have a defensible philosophy.As Sherren and Long pointed out in Engineering Education engineering educators are likelyto find that their beliefs, explicit or implicit, and values are grounded in one of the great ism’sof philosophy e.g. realism, pragmatism, idealism and naturalism [1]). In the

Conference Session

Engineering Literacy: Champions of Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maria E. Garlock, Princeton University; Aatish Bhatia, Princeton University; Evelyn Hanna Laffey, Princeton University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

influence in society. Thus it is our obligationto graduate students who can question, think, and analyze for themselves, and are scientificallyand technically literate. Recognizing this, most universities require non-STEM students to takeat least one STEM class.The American Society for Engineering Education concurs by stating that “Engineering collegesshould accept responsibility for providing technical literacy programs to liberal arts students.”[1]. And the NAE report, “Educating the Engineer of 2020” [2] states: “It is in the enlightenedself-interest of engineering schools to help the public understand what engineers do and the rolethat engineering plays in ensuring their quality of life. Moreover, a country weak intechnological literacy will

Conference Session

Dimensions of Engineering Literacy and Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John W Blake PE, Austin Peay State University; John Krupczak Jr, Hope College

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

varying degrees at different institutions. Based on theexperiences of people in the TELPhE Division who push to teach non-engineers aboutengineering, here are some reasons why this has not become widespread at the college anduniversity level. Starting with the most difficult issue, the major issues are 1) Getting a Place for Technological and Engineering Literacy in the Curriculum, 2) Faculty to teach the course, and 3) Rewards for faculty who teach and administrators who support these courses.In addition, there is a need for 4) Resources and 5) Materials for teaching the course.Items 1-4 are related to institutional support; with sufficient support from higher levels, thesehurdles can be overcome. As noted earlier, item 5 has been

Conference Session

The Philosophy of Engineering and Technological Literacy

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn A. Neeley, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

, exhibit a great deal of diversity in their topics,approaches, and the dimensions of TELPhE that they illuminate. These differencesnotwithstanding, four consistent themes emerge from the papers; all four of these themesillustrate how the philosophical turn has manifested itself in technological literacy. The first twowere evident in the division’s discourse in 2006: 1. The complementary goals of STS and technological literacy 2. The connections among TL, democratic deliberation, and communication about technology and engineeringThe second two seem to have emerged more recently: 3. The relevance of research in TL to engineering education research more generally 4. The relevance of TL for

Conference Session

Aspects of Engineering Literacy and Community and Industry Engagement

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine Garner, West Virginia University; Karen E Rambo-Hernandez, West Virginia University ; Afrin Naz, West Virginia University Inst. of Tech.; Mingyu Lu, West Virginia University Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

rate their confidence inusing technology to enhance instruction and in using technology to improve student learning on ascale of 1-5 with 1 indicating no confidence and 5 indicating complete confidence. The teacherswere also asked to rate their confidence in incorporating computer science, electricalengineering, and mechanical engineering contents into their mathematics classrooms on the samescale of 1-5. After participating in the workshop, the teachers were asked to again rate the samestatements.Confidence in implementing and assessing project-based learning. The survey given to teachersprior to participation in the workshop and after participation in the workshop also asked teachersto rate their confidence in implementing project-based

Conference Session

Aspects of Engineering Literacy and Community and Industry Engagement

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mike Thomas Pitcher, University of Texas, El Paso; Pedro Arturo Espinoza, University of Texas, El Paso; Oscar Antonio Perez, University of Texas at El Paso; Hugo Gomez, University of Texas, El Paso; Randy Hazael Anaya, University of Texas, El Paso; Hector Erick Lugo Nevarez, University of Texas at El Paso; Peter Golding P.E., University of Texas at El Paso; Erik Lopez; Deena Mustin, UTEP Academic Technologies ; Robin Munoz, Academic Technologies; Jackeline Munoz; Sarah Huizar, UTEP Academic Technologies Learning Environments; Crystal Fernandez-Pena, Carnegie Mellon University; Celena Arreola; Tetyana Zhyvotovska, University of Texas at El Paso

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

same span of time. Much of the interdisciplinary collaboration between majors hashad a significant impact on such. Majors that wouldn’t normal collaborate such as graphic design andelectrical/computer engineering have shown to have had some of the most impressive outcomes in terms ofend design and function. Below are a few photos of the exhibits as they have progressed from year to year toget a conceptual idea of the final product(s), so the reader will have context in which to understand theassessment pieces.Figure 1. Photo of the project in 2011Figure 2. Photo of the project in 2013Figure 3. Photo of the project in 2014Figure 4. Photo of the project in 2016Figure 5. Photo of audience iPad control system (early design phases in Xcode

Conference Session

Aspects of Engineering Literacy and Community and Industry Engagement

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lina Trigg, William Mason High School; Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Purdue University, West Lafayette (College of Engineering)

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

theuniversity standards. In the ​Hart Research Associates ​study (2015), the researchers found twokey points that define the reason for the gap. 1. “Employers are more likely than college students to see room for colleges and universities to improve in ensuring graduates possess the full set of skills and knowledges needed for success.” (p. 9) 2. “Many employers feel that colleges graduates are falling short in their preparedness in several areas, including the ones employees deem most important for workplace success. College students are notably more optimistic about their level of preparedness across learning outcomes, however.” (9. 11)The top four skills that employers look for that cut across majors are oral

Conference Session

Dimensions of Engineering Literacy and Engineering in General Education

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Krupczak Jr, Hope College; Mani Mina, Iowa State University; Kate A Disney, Mission College

Tagged Divisions

Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering

be used with students who are not majoring in one of the STEM disciplines.IntroductionIt is widely recognized that our standard of living, economy, and way of life are dependent onthe use of technology created by engineers. However, the National Academy of Engineering(NAE) has drawn attention to the paradox that while most people acknowledge their dependenceupon technology, few have even rudimentary understanding of the underlying principles at workor the nature of engineering [1]. The NAE has long advocated that all citizens should possess anunderstanding of technology, how it is developed, how it works, how it affects society, and howsociety determines the path of technological developments.The NAE has made an effort to characterize