memory.” This question was left open-ended so that students could respond with individual values they ascribed to their experiences.The remaining six questions on the questionnaire provided further details for three selected casestudy narratives illuminating the students’ holistic perspective on their program experience.A distinguishing feature of the program was the value-added activities offered with the purposeof creating a social learning community involving interns, industry professionals, faculty, andsupport staff. Value-added program activities included Socials, Distinguished Speaker Series,and an annual Symposium. These activities reflected the integration of varied communities ofpractice (in this case, the business world and the
College of Engineering. Using students work experiences, she instructs students in the development of career portfolios to illus- trate their skills and achievements to potential employers. She also currently serves as a consultant to the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program at Northeastern University where she is writing curriculum to develop and expand students’ leadership skills in the workplace. Karen has presented on a local and national level at the Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration and the American Society of Engineering Education on a variety of topics including, Co-op Reflection, Electronic Portfolios and Cre- ative Job Development. In fall, 2004, Karen was also awarded the Camp Dresser and
activities and challenges in the previous academic year andaccording to the agenda the participants discuss new topics. Finally, the timetable for the nextsemester is presented and all participants can consult each other about changes and updates.The internal lecturers meet as a group every week and reflects respectively discusses theimpact of changes in the time schedule and curriculum as often as possible. Page 15.967.8Figure 8: Distribution of the internal and external lecturers by semesterSharing the resources – human and machines – of the test beds also requires careful andprecise planning. Students, teachers, engineers and project customers use
lesslikely to say that their mentors were always available for questions. In discussing their learning,females were more likely to cite improved professional communication skills and timemanagement skills, while males were more likely to describe improved technical skills. Thesefindings suggest that students should reflect on what they hope to learn within cooperativeexperiences in order to find a best fit for them and suggest learning experiences to their mentors.Additionally these findings imply that cooperative program coordinators and mentor engineersshould ensure broad based experiences for interns in order to best meet diverse needs and wants.Key words: cooperative education, internship, gender differences, values, learningIntroduction
with workplace competencies is experientialeducation10. They stated that “experiential education can be broadly defined as aphilosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners indirect experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills,and clarify values” 10 (p. 2). Brumm et al. further narrowed down this definition, arguingthat “it is work experience in an engineering setting, outside of the academic classroom,and before graduation” 10 (p. 2) and suggested that “Engineering experiential education Page 24.505.5programs, such as cooperative education and internships, present the best place to
into Page 15.574.3the subsequent year-group. Flexibility of subject choice is reflected within the projectsundertaken by undergraduates in the 2nd through 6th semesters, the industrial placement (in the7th semester) and finally in the choice of diploma thesis.English in the Department of Vehicle TechnologyAs well as the courses which would be expected in such a degree programme (for example inareas such as mathematics, computer aided design, strength of materials, thermodynamicsetc.) English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes also make up a major component, being amandatory subject in the syllabus, required in six out of the eight total
desire to infuse even moreindustry practice in the engineering programs led to the introduction of industry based andsponsored capstone projects. The projects are intentionally selected to provide challenging,interdisciplinary problems. The academic majors and industry skill sets of the students on eachteam reflect the needs of the project.The regular interaction between the engineering faculty and our industrial partners providesexcellent opportunities to identify appropriate projects for the capstone program. In addition, theknowledge of the student capabilities and confidence in faculty insight into industrial practicesand expectations allows companies to propose meaningful projects that benefit both the studentsand the sponsor.It is common
through a series of assignments and the narrative will bebased on a series of reflective questions.The intention is for the curriculum to not only allow students to track and articulate thedevelopment of the selected attributes but to also enable them to acquire a deeper understandingof how their work place experiences contributed to their professional growth with respect to theattributes.The paper includes a summary of the pilot study of the initial curriculum design, a description ofthe current iteration of the curriculum, an outline of the implementation strategy and a shortdiscussion of several operational challenges associated with implementation.Initial Work Term Curriculum Pilot StudyThe Faculty of Engineering has been examining ways to
different disciplines (electrical, mechanical, etc.) to work in anenvironment that reflects how engineers work in the real world. Our vertical integration methodenables sub-cohorts from different years to work together on different stages of projects in a PBLsetting. The objectives of the SPIRIT program will ensure an interdisciplinary environment thatenhances technical competency through learning outcomes that seek to improve critical skillssuch as intentional learning, problem solving, teamwork, management, interpersonalcommunications, and leadership.Support for the student scholars participating in this program incorporates several existingsupport services offered by the host institution and school, including a university productdevelopment
available to both the student and their Page 12.528.10Faculty Coordinator. This will be of use in counseling the student and helping them toself-reflect upon the previous term’s practical learning experience. Additionally, FacultyCoordinators will have access to the student’s evaluation of the work term. Differentialsbetween the supervisor and the self-evaluation should provide indications of perceptiveerror on the part of either the student or supervisor. While the Faculty Coordinator willhave to engage in a credibility evaluation at this point, the information provided willcertainly identify areas of concern for the individual. Over time, it will be
to group participants[29].Co-op work term reports from IEEQ participants fulfill a written requirement of the IEEQprogram and are submitted to the program director upon completion of the work term. Theydescribe the nature of the work carried out and are also a reflective account from the student’sperspective of how the term fulfilled their professional and personal goals. Four of the sixparticipants submitted co-op reports for our analysis. This study complied with the university’sethics review process ensuring respondents’ anonymity, confidentiality and opportunity towithdraw without penalty, and was approved by the university’s human ethics committee. Eachparticipant in the research group has been assigned a pseudonym. For the purposes of
portion of the student’s college or universitycareer and allowing the progression in complexity of both the academic studies and the workexperiences is fundamental to cooperative education6. Employer and student performanceevaluation data have traditionally been used to reflect on and improve student or employerperformance in an informal way. An emphasis has been placed on developing evaluation criteriathrough learning outcomes that meet the needs of the cooperative education programs and theAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) or the Canadian EngineeringAccreditation Board (CEAB).Research on cooperative education and engineering students has shown a positive impact onearnings and grade point averages at the cost of extended
deemedundesirable by the IABs: 1) the program was offered only in the summer sessions; 2) it requiredconsiderable academic supervisor oversight; 3) the internship grade was mostly determined bythe academic supervisor; and, 4) as a writing intensive course, some of the program requirementswere consuming students’ working hours in a manner that was inefficient. Specifically, theinterns had been required to prepare daily logs that painstakingly described the details of workengagement by the hour and an equally tedious, descriptive account of reflections of the studentson those activities. The summer-based, five-week long regimen could not permit the industry toaccomplish much of substance with an intern. The department’s industrial partners also had todeal
the opportunity to forge a strongerrelationship. This is viewed as another opportunity for improvement.Question: Do you believe an organized relationship with a MENTOR would have beenhelpful when you were a First Year Engineer? Year-2 Year-1 9 Yes, it would have been helpful 39.5% 38.5% 9 Yes, somewhat helpful 39.5% 33.9% 9 Maybe, for other students 12.6% 21.1% 9 No, not at all 8.4% 6.4%Analysis: Most of Year-2 mentors did not have a MENTOR Program available whenthey were first-semester engineers. On reflection, almost 80% believe it would have beenhelpful to have a mentor during their first semester
Page 13.1220.2academic learning. These programs comprise co-op jobs, internships, apprenticeships, and othermethods that integrate experience in the world with experience in the classroom. Theseapproaches are becoming increasingly relevant in a work culture characterized by the need tocontinuously reflect and learn from ongoing experience.2 A 1998 census of cooperativeeducation found that approximately 250,000 U.S. students were placed in cooperative educationjobs that year.3 In 2006, the career publisher Vault.com. reported in its third Internship Surveythat some 62% of undergraduate students completed an internship that year.4In terms of outcome studies from co-op, the majority of research was conducted in the 1970’sand 1980’s due to the
complete increasingly more difficult assignments with lesssupervision. The experts in the field model the characteristics of an engineer in industry,not the characteristics of an engineering professor, so the student can observe and attemptto mimic these behaviors until she gains mastery. Because the co-op student is still astudent and not a full-fledged engineer, she has more flexibility to experiment withdifferent methodologies to accomplish tasks, and through reflection she can construct theknowledge of what works and what does not. Through this experience she understandsand builds a framework about what it takes to be successful.Significantly, however, current research suggests that the experiential learning providedin a co-op experience is
Work Experience: Factoring in Pre-work Academic Performance. Journal of Engineering Education (April) 97(2): 207-212.12. Van Gyn, G. (1995). Reflective Practice: The Needs of Professions and the Promise of Cooperative Education. The Journal of Cooperative Education 31(2-3): 103-131.Acknowledgement: The authors wish to acknowledge Ms. Maxine Sugarman, Director, of theuniversity’s Cooperative Education and Career Services and her staff for the provision ofprogram data. Page 14.1220.13
the public who have allowed theengineering profession to get by working quietly and diligently, but not putting all their skills tothe best use of humanity.AcknowledgmentsThis material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant#1158863. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in thismaterial are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.Bibliography1. National Academy of Engineering. The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century. (National Academies Press, 2004).2. National Academy of Engineering. Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding
readers of student text is the flat dull quality that comes from much of thetext that is produced by students. This quality reflects a lack of flow in the wording, a conditionsimilar to reading a list that indicates no apparent connection among the various parts of the list.This lack of connection makes a reader quickly begin to wander, sometimes becoming lost inpersonal thoughts far from the actual text. The three items that may help improve all student text area focus on outlines, a review of simple paragraphing with topic sentences and supportinginformation, and an overview of the transitions that can be placed in a piece of writing to make thetext flow. These relatively easy elements in writing can make a great difference in the quality of
as succinct aspossible. Too much fluff and beating around the bush could make communication muddy. Writedown the points you absolutely have to address, along with how much information you need toprovide to ensure you're clear in what you're conveying. Any other information that is notnecessary, unless it can help clarify a point, should be left out.Interestingly, we can gain from this in our own programs. Each of the items reflects not onlywhat the student must do but the program itself must do through workshops, sessions, andmaterials given to students.ConclusionsMany programs try various means to give their students experiences with the creation of text orpractice in speaking or finding a happy medium to provide enough information to put
the value theirorganization places on preparation in that area. Figure 1 shows the results for each area.” “With the exception of ‘Math and Science’ there appears to be a wide discrepancybetween the value expectations of the employer and the extent to which their employees are seento be well prepared. This would further appear to reflect on the mismatch between curricularemphasis and employer expectation. It must be recognized, of course, that math and science arewithout argument the key ingredients—at least in the lower division—of an undergraduateengineering education.” These research findings are, more than ever, valid today. For proof of this one canGoogle search “engineering soft skills” and find hundreds of articles
studentsaccept full-time employment with their co-op employers. Page 15.1245.2Curricular education prepares students for the co-op experience and the co-opexperience prepares students for additional curricular education. For example,Grunther et al.2 discuss how students with co-op, or other industrial experience,have greater knowledge of design versus student with no such experience, thoughthis knowledge gap can be reduced by the capstone design course. Further, El-Sayed and Stodola3 discuss the need for a formal way of ensuring that co-op andclassroom education reinforce each other.Documentation of the co-op experience, and the self-reflection required to prepareit, is
rigorous accordingto Ohland and McNeil (2015) and Guest (2012).In this partnership, SOCHE collects free-form student responses obtained in in-depth studentpre-surveys and in-depth student post-surveys in 2012 (48 students, 18 responses to post-survey), 2013 (43 students, 8 responses to post-survey), 2014 (49 students, 33 responses topost-survey), and 2015 (34 students; 17 responses to post-survey). AFIT collects free-formThe views expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position ofthe United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. This document has been approvedfor public release; distribution unlimited
Program will bediscussed, and the results and findings will be compared with results from the 2012 Program.The views expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Page 24.1279.4IntroductionTo meet the technology needs of our increasingly complex global society, engineers in the 21stcentury are now expected to exhibit key attributes to ensure their success and the success of theengineering profession, according to the National Academy of Sciences in their groundbreaking2004 report entitled The Engineer of 2020
. International practical training isessential for educating tomorrow’s engineering leaders. The need for globally-minded engineersis no longer the question; the new question is how to prepare today’s engineering students for theworkplace. International engineering co-op and internship programs allow students to gain globalcompetencies required by today’s industry. Such programs assume various forms but sharemany of the same benefits and challenges.IntroductionABET criteria for accrediting engineering programs specifically states that students must attain“the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global,economic, environmental, and societal context.”1 A reflection of the changing role ofengineering, such
experience and focused reflection in order toincrease knowledge, develop skills, and clarify values” 6 (p. 2). Brumm et al. further narroweddown this definition, arguing that “it is work experience in an engineering setting, outside ofthe academic classroom, and before graduation” 6 (p. 2) and suggested that “Engineeringexperiential education programs, such as cooperative education and internships, present thebest place to directly observe and measure students developing and demonstratingcompetencies while engaged in the practice of engineering at the professional level” 6 (p. 2).One typical experiential learning program is co-op program. Garavan and Murphy (2001)defined cooperative education as “a unique form of education and experiential learning
% (751/4,712) of engineering degreesand 21% (193/927) of computer science/information science degrees in 2009-10 (the most recentdata year available)8. Approximately 23% of the population in the state in 2011 wasHispanic/Latino9 which is also reflected in the enrollment numbers of this demographic at theuniversity and within the college. In CECS, the undergraduate Hispanic and African Americanstudents represent 22% and 7% respectively of the total undergraduate enrollment in the college(double the national rate of 10% for Hispanics, and higher than the national rate of 5% forAfrican Americans)4. CECS ranks 20th in the number of undergraduate engineering andcomputer science degrees awarded, 8th to Hispanics, 16th to African Americans, and 35th
participate regularly, though to alesser degree, and another six students have helped out occasionally. When HPVC leaders wereasked to rate the ease of meaningful contribution as described for the Aero Design project above,the response averaged 2.5. Both leaders added a comment that it would have been even easierhad they been asked earlier in the year. “This is a very young, inexperienced team so newcomerswould not be that far away from the more ‘seasoned’ ones.”Level of participation in the Robotic Football Competition, being a formal capstone projectassigned to a certain group of students, is less a reflection of commitment. The hours devoted by
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National ScienceFoundation. Page 24.532.9Bibliography1. Rossetti, M. Clausen, E., Gattis, C. S., Hale, M., & Needy, K. L. (2013) On the development of a student integrated intern research experience as a pathway to graduate studies. 2013 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings. Atlanta, GA.2. Peppas, Nicholas A. “Student Preparation for Graduate School Through Undergraduate Research.” Chemical Engineering Education, V15 (3), pp135-137, Summer, 1981
Synthesize Support What Data is from Exhibiting Literature Survey Generate Page 22.258.15 Informative Graphs Experimentation Modeling AnalysisHypothesis Scientific Inference Method Research Verification Observation Page 22.258.16 Metacognitive Learning Reflective Learning