ofa given field.2 As a result, some students make uninformed decisions when choosing a major and are less likely topersist in their engineering program.3 One approach to this problem is to provide a common first-year engineering(FYE) program that all engineering students are required to complete, regardless of whether or not they arrive with aparticular engineering major in mind. This approach has been widely adopted and nearly 60% of engineeringprograms in the U.S. have established a FYE course sequence.4With the increasing popularity of FYE programs, it is important to understand how they affect students’ major choiceand their intention to remain in engineering majors. FYE courses are typically the first courses that students enroll inwith
, because I work best when I know what Ineed to be doing, my mind is settled, and I am not distracted.” Although Mary intended to solveher distraction problem by studying alone, cutting herself off from others, working ineffectivelywith others, or not attempting her homework alone first, these strategies may have prevented herfrom learning from others what she did not realize she did not know. Mary is able to connecther work as a student broadly to her future career as an engineer when prompted and expresses adesire to use her Industrial Engineering degree to do good in the world. Mary received Bs innon-STEM courses, Ds in engineering and chemistry, and a failing grade in math.Geoffrey: Geoffrey initially had difficulty adjusting to the pace of the
college. The University tries tokeep a finger on the pulse of its entering classes. In addition, the University would like toconnect students to their new community. As it recognizes the newest trends, it must adjust itsstructure and curricula to accommodate. This research aims to help with this continuousimprovement.The Cornerstone course has, since its origin, been trying to provide what the students are lookingfor in their first engineering course. A cornerstone course at McMaster University was developedwith this quote in mind, “The objective of the Cornerstone is to instill in first-year engineersenjoyment from learning, motivation to continue learning, and genuine intellectual curiosityabout the engineering in the world around them [16
Paper ID #21825A Conceptual Design Activity for a First-year Mechanical Engineering CourseDr. Oziel Rios, University of Texas, Dallas Dr. Oziel Rios earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 where his research focused on design of robotic systems with an emphasis on kinematic and dynamic modeling for analysis and control. Dr. Rios teaches the first-year and CAD courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Rios has also taught kinematics and dynamics of machines and graduate-level CAD courses. Dr. Rios’ research and teaching
program. I would recommend it to the new freshman students, because you learn a good deal of useful information from the program that will become handy in the next semester. As for changes, I would recommend just two things, more breaks between classes to rest the mind from all the acquired information, and adding more time to the most complex classes so the hard topics can be explained and understood by the students. This program was an excellent opportunity for me to get an introduction to core courses of the engineering curriculum. This program allowed me to get a glimpse of the topics and the work load required of the mechatronics program. Although this program was effective in introducing the
Paper ID #21696Work in Progress: Assessing the Impact of the First-year Summer ExperienceProgram on Engineering Student Development and Transfer into Engineer-ingDr. Elizabeth R. Kurban, University of Maryland, College Park Elizabeth Kurban serves as the Assistant Director of Retention for the Women in Engineering Program at the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering. Elizabeth’s professional and research interests broadly surround STEM-field access and persistence for women and underrepresented minoritized student populations. She is passionate about equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education
Future CitiesThe focus of The Engineering Place programs, curricula, publications, and materials isconsistent with the goals of the strategic plan relative to messaging. Approaches include: Promoting competency while making engineering fun, Focus on the process-oriented nature of engineering (engineering design cycle, engineering habits of mind [7]), Represent diverse populations and problem-types in engineering, Focus on the innovation and creativity aspects of engineering, Utilize the NAE construct for engineering as a means to communicate that engineers make the world a better place through helping people.The 2009 NAE report Engineering in K-12 Education [8] defined the
the lens through which we analyzed identity in thecourse detailed.BackgroundSeeing is thinking. We live in a very visual-centric society. Visual thinking is not housed only inthe ‘artist’s mind’ but in the engineer’s as well [7]. When we see, imagine, and draw things, weare thinking visually. These three types of visual thinking cannot exist in silos, for with increasedflexibility, they interact, which denotes an expert designer [7]. Expert engineers almost alwayssketch in their work, even with the adoption of computer software [8]. A study on expertengineers shows that sketching on paper is used by 90% of interviewed German engineers beforeand during their CAD work [8]. Engineering design is highly dependent on collaborations amongteams for
Paper ID #22983First-year Engineering Teaching Assistant Training: Examining DifferentTraining Models and Teaching Assistant EmpowermentAndrew Phillips, Ohio State University Andrew H. Phillips graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University in May 2016 with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and with Honors Research Distinction. He is currently fin- ishing his M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and then he will pursue a Ph.D. in Engineering Education. His engineering education interests include first-year engineering, active learning, learning theory, and teaching design, programming, and
greatestsense of community for respondents, 93% of students stated that this course contributed to theirsense of community, as small groups and like-minded classmates aided in their transition fromhigh school to college. The definition of self-efficacy was given to students, and they weresubsequently asked if this course contributed to their sense of engineering self-efficacy. Onehundred percent of students said that the course contributed positively to their self-efficacy as itincreased their confidence in their engineering abilities, they gained key technical skills that theycan apply to future coursework, and it provided the real-world engineering experience that theyhoped to gain. Students were asked to list the three most important things they
with evening midterm exams.DiscussionStudents surveys consistently show that the Peer Advisers are the strength of the first-yearseminar. The average score when students are asked to agree with the statement “Your peeradviser provided support to you in your transition to the University and School of Engineering”are greater than 4.2/5 in every quarter (Table 3). With this in mind, much of the effort of theengineering academic advising team has focused on increasing Peer Adviser satisfaction. Theposition of the PA Coordinator was created to help coordinate communication between NewStudents and Family Programs, engineering academic advising, and PAs. The PA Coordinator isan additional resource for PAs looking for help with content, students of
et. al. (1994) [27] have found that 3D solid modeling systems help enhance spatialvisualization skills in engineering graphics students. Other research involving youth aged 11 to15 has shown that the process of 3D modeling helps develop spatial awareness skills [4]. Thespatial abilities include perception of objects from different angles, mental construction andmaintenance of visuals, and rotation and changing of shapes in the mind [15], [16]. Many of themost powerful 3D modeling tools are difficult for new learners to approach due to issues likeconfusing terminology and having to deal with complex geometries. Tools like Tinkercadprovide a much low barrier to entry with fewer unfamiliar words and simpler geometry [5], [6].This in turn makes
scientific oral presentationMethodsConcept maps organize information graphically. They were first developed and used as apedagogical tool in biology by Stewart et al. [2]. In developing a concept map, a student writesdown terms that come to mind as the result of a prompt and connects them with directionalarrows and text describing the nature of the connections. If the concept maps are to be used toassess or evaluate student learning, the instructor must decide not only how to construct theassignment prompt but also how to evaluate the map. Per [1], in engineering education, conceptmaps have been used to assess knowledge integration across an engineering program [3],conceptual understanding in a engineering
Paper ID #21516Reactions from First-year Engineering Students to an In-depth Growth Mind-set InterventionDr. Emily Dringenberg, Ohio State University Dr. Dringenberg is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Ohio State University. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering (Kansas State ’08), a MS in Industrial Engi- neering (Purdue ’14) and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education (Purdue ’15). Her research is focused on decision-making within the context of engineering design. She is working to leverage engineering edu- cation research to shift the culture of engineering to be more inclusive of
module, as it is cost-effective (approximately $25 perboard), widely used, and open source, with an active community of educators and hobbyistssharing content online [9]. The fully online Arduino module has the benefit of having minimalimpact on the overall course format, and it allows students to work at their own pace through thelessons, as there is likely a wide range of incoming knowledge for students in this first yearcourse. As there have been urgent calls for post-secondary institutions to produce engineers whonot only have a sound technical background but are also entrepreneurially minded and criticalthinkers [10], [11], this module was designed not only to provide students with technical skills,but also to inspire curiosity about other
to evaluate new exercises, which has beenshown to help increase interest in engineering professions [1]. The outcome of the yearlyprogram helped modify and enhance our formal offering for the college students.Program StructureThis program is structured as a pilot for curriculum development and is designed with flexibilityin mind to create a cohesive cohort through team-based learning. It aims to offer our teachingstaff the ability to select the topics they aim to pilot and test during the summer before they areimplemented in our school curriculum. While topics may change in different years, the generaloutcome continues to be a rich selection of multiple engineering and applied sciences topics thatbecome available for the summer pre
engineering to 25,000 quality students by the year 2025. This 25 x 25Initiative, as it is called, was developed to positively and significantly contribute to the needs ofthe global engineering workforce by graduating many more highly skilled engineers. In supportof that goal, professors from that university are pursuing research funded by the National ScienceFoundation to study the enculturation of students to the engineering profession. Enculturation isthe process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates itspractices and values (Richard et al., 2016, 2017; Merriam-Webster, 2016). In the study, webegan by being mindful of the culture, norms and behaviors of the university and engineeringdepartment. From the
Paper ID #23392Bridges and Barriers: A Multi-year Study of Workload-related Learning Ex-periences from Diverse Student and Instructor Perspectives in First-year En-gineering EducationMs. Darlee Gerrard, University of Toronto Darlee Gerrard is a Ph.D. candidate in Engineering Education at the University of Toronto. She received her Hon. B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, B.Ed. from Brock University, and Masters degree from Memorial University. She coordinates leadership and community outreach programs in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include STEM
Education, 2018IntroductionIn 2013, the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan launched the CommonReading Experience (Edington, Holmes Jr., & Reinke, 2015). This program was developed forincoming first-year engineering students with three goals in mind: 1. Students build and develop a sense of community (including a sense of belonging and engineering student identity) 2. Students broaden their thinking about the skills (both technical and non-technical) that they need to be a successful engineer in the 21st century 3. Model intellectual engagementThroughout the history of the Common Reading Experience (CRE), program evaluations havebeen compiled annually. However, to determine if the program was meeting its
Paper ID #22007Work in Progress: Institutional Context and the Implementation of the Red-shirt in Engineering Model at Six UniversitiesDr. Emily Knaphus-Soran, University of Washington Emily Knaphus-Soran is a Research Associate at the Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) at the University of Washington. She works on the evaluation of several projects aimed at improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. She also conducts research on the social- psychological and institutional forces that contribute to the persistence of race and class inequalities in the United States. Emily earned a
Paper ID #21161The Effects of Professional Development and Coaching on Teaching PracticesDr. Eugene Judson, Arizona State University Eugene Judson is an Associate Professor of for the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. He also serves as an Extension Services Consultant for the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT). His past experiences include having been a middle school science teacher, Director of Academic and Instructional Support for the Arizona Department of Education, a research scientist for the Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering
Paper ID #21999Developing a Coding Rubric for Students’ Spatial Visualization StrategiesMrs. Adetoun Oludara Yeaman, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Adetoun Yeaman is a second year PhD student in Engineering Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). She received here MS in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering and her BS in Biomedical Engineering both from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently a Graduate Research Assistant. In her first year, she taught two semesters of a freshman engineering course series, Foundations of Engineering. Her research
Paper ID #23985Growing Character Strengths Across BoundariesDr. Peter Golding, University of Texas, El Paso Professor and Engineering Leadership Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Engineering and Leadership at UTEP, Director for the Center for Research in Engineering and Technology Education, and Provost Faculty Fellow in Residence at the Center for Faculty Leadership and Development at UTEP.Celena Arreola, University of Texas, El Paso Celena Arreola graduated on May 13, 2017 with Bachelors of Science in Engineering Leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso with a concentration in Mathematics and
Paper ID #23636A Second Year Review of a New FYE ProgramDr. George D. Ricco, University of Kentucky George D. Ricco is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Kentucky. He focuses his work between teaching in the first-year engineering program at UK and research in student progression. Previously, he was the KEEN Program Coordinator at Gonzaga University in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. He completed his doctorate in engineering education from Purdue University’s School of Engineering Education. Previously, he received an M.S. in earth and planetary sciences
Paper ID #22582Using Design Challenges to Develop Empathy in First-year CoursesJordan Orion James, University of New Mexico Jordan O. James is a Native American Ph.D. learning sciences student and lecturer at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning in the Community & Regional Planning program. He has served as a graduate research assistant on an NSF-funded project, Revolutionizing Engineering De- partments, and has been recognized as a Graduate Studies student spotlight recipient and teaching scholar. Jordan studies learning in authentic, real-world conditions utilizing Design Based Research
learningsupport center at our university. Together, these programs support around 120 courses across theuniversity. Most of these are freshman-level courses in areas of mathematics, accounting,chemistry, physics, and engineering. This makes our services one of the main academic supportresources for first-year students. With this population in mind, our vision for course support is toequip and encourage students to take ownership of their learning.To accomplish this goal, we provide students with a variety of services from drop-in tutoring, tocollaborative Peer-Assisted Learning sessions as well as MATHLab. We hire over 150undergraduate students to serve as peer leaders for our programs. These students have previouslytaken and been successful in the