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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

to the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, the American Institute of Constructors AssociateConstructor (AC) exam is taken by students during their senior year of a construction managementbachelor’s degree program. It is considered the first level for certification towards becoming aCertified Professional Constructor. It is often utilized by university construction programs as anassessment tool, providing insight into the effectiveness of course curriculum and instruction. Theeight hour AC exam covers the following subject categories and is weighted by percentage of totalexam as shown in Table 1.Table 1: AC exam categories and weightsI. COMMUNICATION SKILLS  5.5% II. ENGINEERING CONCEPTS

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Collection

2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Warren Rosen

lessons learned. Inaddition, we describe three student projects that were based on the Z80 system.IntroductionUndergraduate courses in microprocessors are typically based on simple training kits orsimulators based on processors such as the 6800 or 8085 connected to system components suchas memory, clock, etc.1 In these courses, the internal architecture as well as the remaining systemcomponents and interconnects (memory, clocks, buses, etc.) were described conceptually and theemphasis, in terms of the hardware usage, was on learning and using the instruction set andinterfacing peripheral devices. Since those early times, microprocessor technology hasprogressed to the point that a trainer employing a Pentium or Core 2 device would

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Todd Holden; Vazgen Shekoyan; Sunil Dehipawala; George Tremberger; David Lieberman; Tak Cheung

) is illustrated with a representative model that shows a latent variable“Hands-on Aptitude” having manifestations in kinematics and laboratory grades, and hasa 100% loading on another latent variable “Concept Theory Aptitude”. Extension toother pre-engineering course grades is discussed briefly.Keywords: structural equation model, LISREL software, educational researchIntroductionStructural equation models (SEM) have been used to probe the aspects that concerncausative hypotheses/elements contained in engineering and technology educationalresearch datasets 1. The causative hypotheses/elements would convey causal assumptions,but not necessarily a model that would generate validated causal conclusions. Structuralequation model analysis is an

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Yacob Astatke; Craig Scott; Kemi Ladeji-Osias; Petronella James

degree programs have been growing substantially faster than overall highereducation enrollment. A survey of online learning conducted in 2009 by the Sloan Consortiumindicated that enrollment in one or more online courses reached 4.6 million students in 2008 [1]The 17 percent growth rate for online enrollments is significantly higher than the 1.2 percentgrowth rate of the overall higher education student population during the same time period [2].The authors of the survey entitled, “Learning on Demand: Online Education in the UnitedStates, 2009″ [1] conclude their report by stating that “online enrollments in U.S. highereducation show no signs of slowing.” One discipline that has lagged behind all others in thedevelopment and delivery of online

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Todd Holden; P. Schneider; E. Cheung; J. Prayor; R. Duran; J. Ye; George Tremberger; David Lieberman; Tak Cheung

well. A simple lizard projectile motion numericalexample is provided for educational purpose such that the interested readers can verifytheir operation of the free student version of LISREL.Keywords: Shannon entropy, structural equation model, LISREL software,bioinformatics, fractal dimension, lizard motion data for educational purposeIntroductionStructural equation models (SEM) have been used to probe the aspects that concerncausative hypotheses/elements contained in datasets 1, 2. The causativehypotheses/elements would convey causal assumptions, but not necessarily a model that Copyright ASEE Middle Atlantic Regional Conference Delaware April 20-21 2012would generate validated causal conclusions. The acceptance and consistency within aSEM

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Wenli Guo; Vazgen Shekoyan

However, very few students actually do this (you caneducation introductory physics course focusing on use Blackboard to track the number of students whoconcepts with minimum math requirements for non- have opened the solution file), although we know thatscience majors. Every semester it impacts about 180 majority of them had difficulties with homeworkQCC students. The overwhelming majority of students problems. Other researchers have found similar resultsin this course intend to become licensed teachers. [1].Schoolteachers play a critical role in inspiring and Educational literature in various disciplines such astraining the next generation of

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Bruce Char; Jeremy Johnson; David Augenblick

Computation Lab for Freshman Engineering Students ∗ Bruce Char, Jeremy Johnson and David Augenblick Keywords: Introductory computing, computer-based training, technical computation, mathematical mod-eling, Extended Abstract1 IntroductionComputation Lab has been offered for the past five years to 800-1,000 Drexel freshmen including mostfreshmen engineering students. Course objectives include: 1. To introduce students to desktop computational tools that can handle numeric, symbolic, and visual- ization needs for technical

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Mauro J. Caputi; George DeMarco; Jacqueline Pierson; Brittney Schmidt; Evan Sick

tube Hot glue sticks Poster board Twine Elmer’s glue Paper Rubber bands Masking tape Wooden dowel Scotch tape Each Team must also stay within a budget credit of $15 to procure these materials, up tothe maximum allowable quantity of each material. More details about materials and budget areshown in a full GDC example project discussed later in this paper. 1 The GDC projects have been designed with a difficulty level sufficiently high toroutinely surpass the brainstorming capacity of an individual Team. This strongly motivates theTeam to seek out not only the help

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Mauro J. Caputi; Tiffany LaBozzetta; Michelle Llanos; Mary Kate Sirianni; Necol Habib

Department challenged the primaryauthor with transforming the previous ENGG 9A - Introduction to Engineering, a 2 creditlecture-only course meeting twice a week, into a course that would better meet the needs of thestudents and the Department. The new course, ENGG 15 – Designing the Human-Made World, is a 3 credit coursecombining a much needed Project Lab component to a revised classroom Lecture component,with 2 lecture meetings and 1 two-hour lab meeting per week.PROJECT LAB STRUCTURE The Project Lab consists of 12 two-hour meetings during the semester. Initially, the Labwas comprised of six projects and one student presentation. This structure remained in place forthe first five Seasons of DESIGN 15, from 2005 to 2008. Each Lab Team

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Wenli Guo

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Robert T. Bailey

University Maryland, Statics (EG301) is taught to first-semester sophomores as one oftheir foundational engineering courses. The popular textbook by Hibbeler [1] has been used forsome time, and prior to 2010, instructors taught this course using a traditional lecture/whiteboardapproach. Overall student performance was generally good, but in an attempt to improve studentlearning, the author adopted a modified version of the PowerPoint® slides that accompanyHibbeler’s textbook beginning in 2010. This paper describes the impact of using these slides(and the attendant instructional approach) on student performance and perceived learning.Two student cohorts were considered: (1) the 2005 and 2009 classes (47 students), who weretaught by the author using

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Muhammad Faysal Islam; Mohammed Nazrul Islam

Incorporating Systems Engineering and Project Management Concepts in First Year Engineering Curriculum Muhammad Faysal Islam1 and Mohammed Nazrul Islam2 1 Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC 2 Department of Security Systems, State University of New York, Farmingdale, New York AbstractDuring the first and second years of undergraduate engineering programs, most students focustheir studies to build a solid foundation of mathematics, writing composition, engineeringgraphics, programming languages, economics, and other social

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Laura-Ann S. Chin; Kenneth A. Kroos; Justinus A. Satrio

,  Kenneth  A.  Kroos2,  and  Justinus  A.  Satrio1   1  Department  of  Chemical  Engineering   &   2Department  of  Mechanical  Engineering   Villanova  University   Villanova,  PA  19085

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Jesse E. Jaeger; Jibin T. Chacko; Richard A. Maier; James Patrick Abulencia

students can relate to. The goals were to 1) generate a scenario wherestudents can better learn course material by requiring them to teach their peers, and 2) create arepository of videos that can be used in subsequent iterations of the course.Surveys were given out to the student participants at the conclusion of the project, and consistedof five questions evaluated using a five level Likert rating scale, as well as three free responseprompts. The major conclusions derived from the data are: 1) this assignment was enjoyable toexecute, and useful for participating student to learn major concepts in the course, 2) the videosgenerated were useful in teaching their classmates, and 3) this assignment can be extended toother courses. Overall, the paper

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

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Martene Stanberry

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Yacob Astatke; Craig Scott; Kemi Ladeji-Osias; Grace Mack

, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students at our university. The paper will alsoprovide a brief analysis of the results from the use of the math placement method for the FOMprogram participants, as well as a comparison of these results versus students who did notparticipate in any summer enrichment program.Key words: Online math course, summer enrichment program, improve engineering retention I. Introduction According to government data, about half of the students who enter college in the UnitedStates will not make it to graduation. Although several factors are causing students to leavecollege without a degree, most surveys have shown that the two main reasons are poor academicperformance and financial hardship [1]. Courses in

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Warren Rosen

takes place on a figure-8 track about 18’ on a side. Part of the course in shownin Figure 1. The central feature is a 2’-wide crossover bridge built from plywood. The bridge has6’ ramps and a 2’-long deck section. Building the car with sufficient torque to climb theapproach ramp while still achieving high top speed is one of the key challenges for the students.The starting line can be seen toward the upper left of the figure. The course is outlined with ducttape and flag posts mark the turning points.Students begin the competition with a short lecture on torque and gear ratios. They are alsoshown short videos of the course and starting sequence. Next, they are given car kits andchallenged to build the fastest car for the course. The kits

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Qinghai Gao

fingerprints. Then thesubtemplates constructed through randomized selection will be matched against thesupertemplate. These methods have two advantages: (1) it protects the privacy of a user’sfingerprint data; (2) it increases the number of available biometrics for a user. Our preliminaryexperiments show promising results.Keywords: Verification, partial fingerprint, minutiae, supertemplate, subtemplate, privacyIntroduction Currently, a majority of fingerprint verification systems utilize minutiae points (ridgeending and ridge bifurcation) as the distinguishing characteristics. Deformation factors, such astranslation, rotation, and skin wetness and elasticity, can significantly change these minutiae andresult in false non-match. Verification

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

M. Nazrul Islam

security technology program would be very attractive to themilitary, federal agencies as well as private industries.Curriculum GoalsThe proposed security technology curriculum will prepare the students with knowledge and skillin state-of-the-art technologies and related social and legal aspects that are applicable to thesecurity and forensic fields. Graduates of this program are expected to design, install andmaintain technical systems for security and forensic applications. The goals of the securitytechnology curriculum can be outlined as below. (1) Introduce the students to the fundamental concepts of digital technology. (2) Introduce the students to the advanced technologies for security applications. (3) Train the students on

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Raenita A. Fenner; Suzanne Keilson

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Jumoke Ladeji-Osias; Gbekeloluwa Oguntimein; John Wheatland; Craig Scott; Yacob Astatke

United States, our retention and graduate rates are below those ofinstitutions in our state and around the nation. The most widely provided reason by our non-returning students is financial, and includes inability to pay, inadequate aid and level of debtaccumulation.This scholarship program creates a supportive community of undergraduate and graduatescholars in electrical, civil and industrial engineering that is focused on academic achievement.The goals of the Scholars in Engineering program are to 1) cultivate a focus on academicexcellence in early-stage bachelor’s and master’s students, 2) improve student retention anddegree completion, 3) enhance student retention and support programs in the school ofengineering, 4) improve graduate school

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2012 ASEE Zone 1 Conference

Authors

Orla LoPiccolo

Testing Jigsaw Learning In a Freshman Laboratory CourseAbstract:In Jigsaw Learning,1 a peer-to-peer teaching method developed by Elliot Aronson and hiscolleagues, every student in the class is placed in 2 sequential groups – an “expert” group tolearn a section of a course topic (a jigsaw puzzle piece) and a jigsaw puzzle group where theyjoin with different course topic “experts” to share and learn from each other,– thus completingthe course topic as a whole in a group (the completed jigsaw puzzle). The class is then tested onthe complete course topic. In prior research2, which was part of a Students First grant to improvestudent retention, the author tested Jigsaw Learning against traditional individual studenttraditional