betaking the course. In general, since this knowledge did not come from specific users, insightsapplied to the entire group of students, or the potential variation in the group. Their focus wasinsights in two areas: student preparedness for learning and factors that could affect interest andmotivation. The team sought a general understanding such that they could plan content andactivities that were appropriate and engaging for the entire class.This technique may have stemmed from deep knowledge of prior students that has grown into acomposite image over time, and the assumption that future students will fit into this composite.For example, the instructor’s insights came from having taught the same class several times inthe past. However, since
circuits Concepts Targeted: logic design skills with digital circuitsWind Energy: A company is considering investing in a wind energy farm in one of several re-gions. The team must pick the most economical location, considering long term demand for elec-tricity using price and cost estimates. In addition, the team must consider locating the farm off-shore versus on land; and, if offshore – whether it should be close in, or further out so as to notblock the view of those with shoreline homes. Issues of technical feasibility should also be ad-dressed. Concepts targeted: long term planning, forecasting, and economic analysis. Ethical Issues: The consideration of both the potential benefits and harm caused by the wind energy including, if
48 7.3 I do not plan to get a bachelor’s degree 2 0.3 Other 121 18.3ResultsAn important decision in exploratory factor analysis is specifying how many factors to extract. Indetermining the number of factors, we use parallel analysis and Velicer’s minimum averagepartial (MAP) test. Although these tests are less common than other popular methods todetermine the number of factors, such as the Kaiser’s eigenvalue > 1 rule [25], research showsthat the eigenvalue > 1 rule almost always overestimates the number of factors to extract [26].The methods we use in this study are
Projects: Students’ Perceptions of Time and TasksIntroductionTeam-based design projects are common in foundational engineering courses for many reasons.From a professional development perspective, team-based design projects offer studentsscaffolded apprenticeship with opportunities to engage in collaborative planning and work akinto that of the workforce. From a pedagogical perspective, they require students to think criticallyabout a wide range of engineering concepts and to complete a variety of practical tasks related tolearning objectives. Despite potential benefits, there are some formidable challenges—theoretical and methodological—to understanding how team-based projects shape individuals’ideas about
initiative?), (2) barriers to change (what will makeit hard for you to reach your goals?), (3) foci for change (what parts of the system will you seekto change?), and (4) strategies for change (what is the big picture of how you plan to bring aboutthe change?). Page 13.906.2GoalsGoals for change convey expectations for desired conditions at the conclusion of a changeinitiative. Change agents should start with their goals for change, since clearly articulated,compelling, widely supported goals for change will facilitate explicit decision-making processes.For example, some engineering departments across the country are facing the challenge to reducethe
. Meetingslasted 1–2 hours and featured discussion of the course to be redesigned, negotiation of coursecontent, planning assessments and pedagogy, and collaborative decision-making and artifactbuilding. While not every team member participated in each meeting, at least three teammembers participated in all meetings. We focused on meetings during the month preceding andthe month and a half after the beginning of the semester due the heavier focus on planning anddesign of the course (later meetings tended to discuss logistics of implementation and feedbackon planned activities). In total, we analyzed 15 meeting transcripts from 17.6 hours of audio, plusdetailed notes from an additional 6 meetings that were not audio-recorded. Interviews,reflections, design
students), then integrate that advice into an action plan. • Students in a difficult circumstance are not always good at integrating and acting on advice. The UGO staff discovered that students often did not follow up with ODOS (which was always part of our advice), or if they did, subsequent follow-up with the UGO or ODOS was lacking. Students struggled to manage and act on the on-going conversations across the UGO and ODOS offices, especially when they are in a Page 26.1049.4 compromised state due to their circumstances. • ODOS was not near the engineering precinct. The ODOS offices are centrally located on
. Screencasts can be created by instructors or by students, and they can be used in a variety of ways. In this interactive session, we will share successful examples and discuss best practices for creating and using screencasts in and out of your classroom. It's time for action: Creating a plan to engage students in active learning is sometimes challenging. Generating an active learning In this workshop, participants will learn about a variety of active learning plan techniques and then formulate a plan for implementing active learning in their own course or for an advanced practice teaching
Page 26.331.16EngineeringGraduation Baseline 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017Rate 5-year averageSix Year 44% 44% 45% 47% 50% 54%MethodologyAn evaluation plan utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data was implemented usinginternal evaluation tasks focused on data collection via surveys. The quantitative data wasanalyzed utilizing descriptive statistics while the qualitative questions were analyzed usingcoding and themes. The following evaluation questions were addressed: (1) How have projectactivities impacted retention and performance of engineering undergraduate students? (2) Howhave the project’s mentoring activities impacted the mentors
the third week of the fall semester at the end of aclass meeting of an upper level required technical communications class (ECOM) at a westernpublic land-grant institution. Surveys were administered over the span of a week and responseswere collected in class after participants finished the paper survey. The population consisted ofengineering majors who have taken at least two years of engineering courses. The class isdependent on a four year plan and has prerequisites that restrict students from taking the courseuntil their third year of engineering. A total of 202 survey responses (96% response rate) wereturned in from the participants. A 96% response rate was obtained for this survey administrationdue in part to the instructor’s mandatory
doctoral programs, could beaccentuated for students enrolled in a novel program and entering a field that is small andfragmented. ENE 595A faculty desired to establish a network of support for its students, wherestudents would know and support one another, develop strong relationships with engineeringeducation faculty, and be introduced to the national and international engineering educationcommunity.INTRO Course ImplementationThe course was offered in a three-hour block (with a break after 90 minutes) once per week.Typically two to three content areas or activities were planned for each class, with the faculty (allof whom attended each class) taking turns leading the discussion or learning activities. Asdepicted in Figure 1 and presented in
the analysis of this project’s data, to be described below, we have drawnheavily on the “epistemic frame elements” introduced by the Epistemic Games research group(epistemicgames.org). This group develops then researches games designed to help school-agedchildren learn to “think like a professional,” developing games for engineering, urban planning,and journalism. The epistemic frame helps researchers think through what “thinking like aprofessional” actually means in the context of people’s speech and actions. Shaffer andcolleagues19 argue (p. 4): The epistemic frame hypothesis suggests that any community of practice has a culture [...] and that culture has a grammar, a structure composed of: • Skills: the things that people within the
authors plan to test the feasibility of integrating data visualization ethics andteam science components into the design of the data visualization activity worksheet.Data Visualization Activity WorksheetsThe design process is a non-trivial process which requires more than one week to master. In theinterest of introducing a complex process in a short period of time, a series of data visualizationactivity worksheets were used to facilitate the process. The data visualization worksheetapproach has been used in many platforms for teaching the design process for data visualization[4] - [5]. The goal of these methods are to develop data visualization systems. It was beyond thescope and unrealistic to expect a visualization system as a deliverable for
The project was completed as part of a course. Two teams of four people each worked through semester.Product Realization Capstone Working in multidisciplinary design teams from engineering Project and business, students take a product from concept to business plan. In doing this, they address issues of market analysis, design, manufacturing design, and production planning. Two teams of five people worked on the project for a semester.Two student teams per project were taped. The tapes were then experimentally observed withtwo sets of raters observing
. Page 12.586.2Since Polya’s seminal work in mathematics,2 the utility of learning and using a sequence of stepsduring problem-solving has been widely accepted. Although several specific models exist, ageneric 4-step model captures most: (1) Represent the Problem, (2) Goal Setting and Planning,(3) Execute the Plan, and (4) Evaluate the Solution. In the first step, problem representation, thestudent must read the problem statement and discern the objective. There are instructionalinterventions for engineering education that are grounded in this theoretical model of problem-solving. For example, Gray et al.3 developed a systematic approach to solving Statics andDynamics problems. In this intervention, it is recommended that students be taught the
asynchronous discussions. It was found that the majorityof messages were related to resolving or solving the problem as compared to problemformulation.6 This may indicate that students tend to move to the solution process prematurely.A similar phenomenon was observed by Kelsey, who found that discussions about problemsfocused primarily on finding the solution as opposed to problem formulation.7 Volkemaobserved that problem formulation occurs early in planning and design activities (core activitiesin engineering).8 He suggested that factors contributing to poor problem solving performanceinclude problem complexity, expertise, problem solving environment, and processes used by the
, which has many other priorities. For example, the future ofone of our centerpiece efforts, supplemental instruction in math, is on hold. The extensiveassessment yielded evidence of success on the part of the participating students, student surveysindicated this was their favored method of supplemental support (as opposed to the traditionaltutoring center, going to the professor's office hours, and other methods) and that it boosted theirconfidence in math. Yet this SI program is expensive (at least $50,000 a year to support Pre-calculus through Calculus II). Still, the tutorial services director is an advocate of this programand the associate vice president for undergraduate studies has already funded training for SIdirectors and plans to move
atthe end of the semester. Students enrolled for the equivalent of an independent study or researchand design thesis course. Informational meetings were held before travel to prepare students forthe visit to South Africa. Students were also expected to review and procure material andequipment required for projects.A schedule was formulated for the visit that provided students time to work on their projects incollaboration with South African students and faculty, and time to embark on planned travelexcursions to different parts of the KwaZulu-Natal province to experience African cultures andenvironment. On arrival in South Africa the planned schedule was followed fairly closely and atthe end of the visit student teams presented their work to
problem-solving processes: (1) represent the problem, (2)goal setting and planning, (3) execute the plan, and (4) evaluate the solution. In the first step,problem representation, the student must read the problem statement and discern the objective.There are instructional interventions for engineering education that are grounded in thistheoretical model of problem-solving. For example, Gray et al.9 developed a systematicapproach to solving Statics and Dynamics problems. Their intervention recommends thatstudents be taught the sequence of: Road Map (Planning), Modeling (Representation), GoverningEquations (Representation), Computation (Execution), and Discussion and Verification(Evaluation). Don Woods completed some of the most thorough work that
. Design Applies to initial solution concepts as well as to the final design. Step Feasibility Assessing and passing judgment on a possible or planned solution to the problem. Determineworkability, does it meet constraints, criteria, etc.? Evaluation Comparing and contrasting two (or more) solutions to the problem on a particular dimension (or set of dimensions) such as strength or cost. Decision Selecting one idea or solution to the problem (or parts of the problem) from
present a thorough overview of the technical plans for the project to an IndependentReview Team, which used a mixed set of technical expertise to assess the project 2. This CDRdiffered somewhat from traditional CDRs because some subsystems were known to still needadditional work, which is a consequence of the development timing and schedule constraints.Additionally, CubeSats for exploration beyond Earth orbit are relatively new within NASAhistory, and this particular project was targeting flight on a launch vehicle that is still indevelopment. The goal of the BioSentinel project is to measure the effects of radiation on DNA in deepspace in preparation for sending humans to Mars (NASA, n.d.). It will carry speciallydesigned strains of
Paper ID #27399Engineering Graduate Students’ Salient Identities as Predictors of PerceivedTask DifficultyMr. Derrick James Satterfield, University of Nevada, Reno Derrick Satterfield is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education and Chemical Engineering at the Uni- versity of Nevada, Reno. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in May 2017, and plans to pursue a career in academia in the future. His research interests are in graduate student attrition rates within academia, engineering identity development and the factors that influence decision making on persistence.Ms. Marissa A. Tsugawa, University of Nevada
typical communities of practice, one approachhas been to enable the community to engage using the internet, or virtually. Aside from thecrucial aspect of online communities meeting in a virtual setting to develop their practice throughcollaboration without the limitations of travel cost (time and money),10 they have other keyfeatures not indicative of face-to-face or co-located communities. They are typically designedtop-down, members do not typically know each other, leadership is chosen or recruited,communication is generally through the use of computers, development of the community takestime, and they require technological support for effective community.14 These communities,therefore, require a fair amount of planning and organizing. Finding
inunderstanding how engineering helps people address real world issues. Figure 2 provides asummary of responses to the questions related to student affect.Class impact on your attitudes 3. As a result of your work in this class, what GAINS DID no gains a little gain moderate gain good gain great gain not applicable YOU MAKE in the following? 3.1 Enthusiasm for the subject 3.2 Interest in discussing the subject area with friends or family 3.3 Interest in taking or planning to take additional classes in this subject 3.4 Confidence that you understand the material 3.5 Willingness to seek help from others (teacher, peers, TA) when working on academic problems 3.6 Possess an aesthetic and technical appreciation for bridges, towers, shells, and other
face 17.Challenges include an increased workload for faculty, at least initially, cultural and technicalbarriers, working in dual environments, and the need for student self-discipline 16.Further StudyThis is a study in progress. There are several avenues of further study planned. First, we intendto dig still deeper to find causes for the differences we have found. One way to do this is to lookat results by course and delivery type to see if any courses are contributing disproportionally tothe differences we see. We also plan to look at end of course student evaluations. One problemthat we have encountered here is that a different instrument was used for online evaluations. Wewill create a cross walk and match questions in the survey where we
responsibilities without reducing the teaching load and quality ofinstruction. For example, George stated that he needed some efficiency in undergraduateteaching because he had heavy research and administrative duties, and hybrid learning was agood solution to balance all the work he had. Instructors also mentioned how hybrid format created flexibilities in students’ schedule.According to John, knowing that there would be fewer contact hours; students can plan theirpersonal life accordingly which is especially helpful for non-traditional students, students whohave part-time jobs or students who commute. This advantage was also highlighted by studentsin a previous research study conducted by the authors13. Self-paced learning is defined in
plausible.Maxwell4 makes recommendations for ways in which researchers can protect against thesevalidity threats, and several of those are particularly useful for observational data. The first isplanning for intensive, long-term involvement with the research study10. Little interpretation canbe made from one or two cases, but several observations made over and over again with similarpopulations can lead to trends and potential theories. Second, researchers should plan to collect“rich” data to get a full picture of what is happening in the observations11. Observers may verywell be effective at capturing all that is happening during an observation, but observationsbacked up with audio or video recordings allow researchers to go back and reexamine what
. Many of the university’s STEMdegree programs, including seven engineering programs, computer science, and chemistry, arehoused within the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science (EMS), which has anenrollment of approximately 2,700 students.In 2013, with a desire to improve retention and persistence of students in the college, aninterdisciplinary team of faculty and staff obtained a National Science Foundation STEM TalentExpansion Program grant. The primary purpose of the grant is to increase undergraduate studentengagement and to plan, market, and advance programs that support recruitment and retentionefforts in STEM with special efforts toward women and underrepresented student populations.As part of achieving this purpose, a study
hypothesis 1D. Develop a research plan 2. Collect information 2A. Gather existing background information on the topic from literature and other relevant sources 2B. Synthesize existing information 2C. Perform a critical review of a research paper or article 3. Define a research methodology 3A. Identify protocols, strategies or methods for investigation 3B. Select and combine appropriate research methodologies 3C. Construct and describe a research methodology 3D. Identify necessary resources to carry out the methodology 3E. Identify assumptions of the research methodology 3F. State the limitations of the research methodology 4. Follow a research methodology