Conference Session

Institutional and Curricular Reform

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Froyd, Texas A&M University; Charles Henderson, Western Michigan University; Jean Layne, Texas A&M University; Andrea Beach, Western Michigan University; Noah Finkelstein, University of Colorado; R. Sam Larson, Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

between collective r esponsibility cpf"vjg"hcewnv{"ogodgtÓu"fguktg"vq" maximize his/her autonomy; ‚ The tension between collective r esponsibility and faculty collegiality0ÑThe challenges inherent in the curricular change process often lead to conversations that defaultto issues of content. This is understandable because it reflects faculty interest and expertise in Page 13.906.4general and their point of frustration in terms of student performance. It also demonstrates theirmental models and ladders of inference44 as well as the curse of knowledge45 Î all of theautomatic and largely invisible patterns of thinking in which experts

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 1

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mia Clark, Stanford University; Lorraine Fleming, Howard University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; Cynthia Atman, University of Washington; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines; Ruth Streveler, Purdue University; Reed Stevens, University of Washington; Karl Smith, University of Minnesota

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

conducted a three-year study of 460 students at seven institutions,investigating why students leave or persist in science, mathematics and engineering (SME)majors8. Using ethnographic interviews, Seymour and Hewitt studied attrition among SME Page 13.137.4majors, with the aim of deriving a set of testable hypotheses from student reflections. Theyevaluated how students weighed numerous factors in deciding to leave SME for non-SMEmajors or, conversely, to persist in SME majors despite challenges and setbacks. Seymour andHewitt's work suggests that students are leaving engineering not for lack of ability, but becauseof structural and cultural factors

Conference Session

SPECIAL SESSION: Describing the Engineering Student Learning Experience Based on CAEE Findings: Part 2

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Debbie Chachra, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Deborah Kilgore, University of Washington; Heidi Loshbaugh, Colorado School of Mines; Janice McCain, Howard University; Helen Chen, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

taken within the major, lackof course choice, and interconnectivity of courses with many prerequisites [Nespor 1990, Tonso2006]. In addition, the rigor of many engineering programs and the need for collaborative workfosters a strong sense of camaraderie [Dryburgh 1999]. All of these factors are reflected in theconstructed culture of engineering schools; in order to foster the development of an engineeringidentity, the culture of engineering schools frequently revolves around the idea that engineeringstudents are ‘different’ from other students. This manifests in ways such as overt displays ofgroup belonging (such as school jackets or t-shirts) or pride in isolation from the rest of theacademy [Dryburgh 1999, Godfrey 2001].Given the gendered

Conference Session

Student Learning

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Jablokow, Pennsylvania State University-Great Valley; Pamela Vercellone-Smith, Penn State Great Valley; Sally Sue Richmond, Penn State Great Valley

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

14.613.9Figure 4: KAI score distribution for male students only Page 14.613.10Figure 5: KAI score distribution for female students onlyIn considering the sub-groups sorted by gender, the male students contained both the mostAdaptive and the most Innovative students in the total sample (as expected from generalpopulation studies19), but the female student group also contained individuals with highlyAdaptive and highly Innovative cognitive styles (within a total range of 79 points). While themale students reflected a distribution similar to that of the general male population (mean of 98),the female students (on average) showed a slight skew towards Innovation when compared to thegeneral female

Conference Session

Changing the Engineering Classroom

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rachel McCord Ellestad, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Holly M. Matusovich, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

and following those changes in strategy.Data Analysis Through deep immersion in the culture and data, themes and connections to theAdaptable Learning model were generated 18. Focused coding 20 was conducted to identifyinstances where participants engaged in appraisal statements. Using contextual clues, theseappraisal examples were then classified as mastery or performance mode examples. Thedescriptions of events developed reflect a discussion of observed learning and study sessionstrategies and observed utterances of appraisals that occurred before and after changes instrategy.Results These findings focus on descriptions of events from the two selected observations. Thefirst observation represents mastery intention evidenced by

Conference Session

Diversity and Inclusion

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janet Y. Tsai, University of Colorado, Boulder; Jacquelyn F. Sullivan, University of Colorado, Boulder; Beth A. Myers, University of Colorado Boulder; Kevin O'Connor, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

movingforward/being stalled in the engineering undergraduate pathway.This perspective shift is further reflected in Sara’s statement that Pre-Calc students are “notthrilled” to be in a course “below where they need to be starting,” which is a surprisingly deficit-based statement about where the Pre-Calc students are in relation to their peers who areapparently superior by virtue of their initial positions (Calculus I or beyond) in the mathsequence. Sara’s words partially confirm Liza’s belief, presented above, that Pre-Calc is a“weed-out” class designed to filter out those who are not worthy of proceeding through theengineering math curriculum and in conjunction, engineering degrees. Again, this is incongruouswith the initial goals of the GS Program

Conference Session

Instrument Development

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nelson S. Pearson, University of Nevada, Reno; Allison Godwin, Purdue University; Adam Kirn, University of Nevada, Reno

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

experiments and assignments. This sample and the teamingenvironment reflected several similarities to the first-year engineering programs for which thisinstrument was intended. An email introducing and containing a link to the online survey wassent to all students during the final days of the course. Response rates were extremely low (≈7%) due to the timing of the survey and lack of in-class announcements. However, the fewresults that were obtained demonstrated that students would identify others outside of their teamsand even their sections, through use of the free-response questions.The final version of the survey consisted of a cover letter describing the purpose of the researchand data collection, a prompt asking the students to indicate all

Conference Session

Learning from Industry

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pryce Davis, University of Nottingham; Alexandra Vinson, Northwestern University; Reed Stevens, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

theengineering workforce as a social context—making sure you succeed by ensuring you receivethe credit you are due. It is only at this point that the interaction moves from passive supervisingto active mentoring.We can also say something about the nature of Will’s stance toward mentoring in this vignette. Itwould seem that Will was not actively positioning himself in a mentoring role until the needarose. The long pause Will takes between the giving praise and giving advice could suggest it isan afterthought. Furthermore, his cursing about Gary might suggest this advice reflects hisfrustrations with Gary more than a desire to mentor Curtis. The reasons behind this passiveattitude toward Curtis is unclear, but we should point out that Curtis had only

Conference Session

Design Thinking and Creativity

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Catherine T. Amelink, Virginia Tech; Kirsten A. Davis, Virginia Tech; Barbara G. Ryder, Virginia Tech; Margaret O'Neil Ellis, Virginia Tech

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

for universities toidentify methods for attracting and retaining students, particularly women, in computer science.Interactionalist theory which suggests student retention to a degree is based on personal andenvironmental factors provided the framework guiding our study. In addition, career certaintymodels allowed us to investigate how experiences at the undergraduate level influenced careerinterest in computer science. Questions included prompts to reflect on environmental andpersonal factors that sustained or diminished interest in continuing within a computer sciencedegree and ultimately a career. Significant results suggest that females and males have a similarundergraduate experience and our results indicate that across institutions

Conference Session

Motivation, Identity, and Belongingness

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan D. Stolk, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Yevgeniya V. Zastavker, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Michael D. Gross, Wake Forest University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

environments with the goal of improving learning opportunities for students and equipping faculty with the knowledge and skills necessary to create such opportunities. One of the founding faculty at Olin Col- lege, Dr. Zastavker has been engaged in development and implementation of project-based experiences in fields ranging from science to engineering and design to social sciences (e.g., Critical Reflective Writing; Teaching and Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering, etc.) All of these activities share a common goal of creating curricular and pedagogical structures as well as academic cultures that facilitate students’ interests, motivation, and desire to persist in engineering. Through this work, outreach, and

Conference Session

ERM Technical Session 18: Student Learning and Problem Solving

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jessica E. S. Swenson, University of Michigan; Aaron W. Johnson, University of Michigan; Timothy G. Chambers, University of Michigan; Laura Hirshfield, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

evaluating their model--whether they were considering their model tobe good or bad based on the conditions in the real world or the requirements of the course.Table III: Evaluation of Open-ended Modeling Problem OneEvaluation Frameof Model Course Real WorldGood Broderick: The model used all Broderick: His model reflects his personal experience with the of the course content that he behavior of people and weather (his representative elements) in had learned up to the point at Michigan during the winter. which OEMP1 was given

Conference Session

Engineering Cultures and Identity

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Secules, University of Maryland, College Park; Andrew Elby, University of Maryland, College Park; Ayush Gupta, University of Maryland, College Park

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee, Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

pseudonyms), was much slower than the class norm (e.g., in labprogramming assignments), and two students appeared to particularly excel. By the end of terminterviews, the professor and other students could pick out who in particular was struggling andslow, as could Isaac himself, who reflected “I just don’t think I have the brain for programming.”This happened, in spite of the fact that programming in the professional world is rarely a timedactivity with “winners” easily noticed, and in spite of the fact that the students with whom hecompared himself arguably did not belong in an introductory programming class. Specifically,two out of the five students arrived through non-traditional pathways (a second bachelor’sdegree, a community college transfer

Conference Session

Beyond the Classroom

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Denise Rutledge Simmons PE, Virginia Tech; Chosang Tendhar, Virginia Tech; Rongrong Yu, Virginia Tech; Eric A. Vance, Virginia Tech; Catherine T. Amelink, Virginia Tech

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

scale.However, there are a number of sub-components within each factor. For example, sub-components of Level of Academic Challenge are higher-order learning, reflective and integrativelearning, learning strategies, and quantitative reasoning. Overall, the NSSE measures a wholehost of students’ experiences. However, the primary focus of PosSES is on students’ engagementin out-of-class activities. One other difference between the two instruments is that the NSSE isadministered to first-year students and senior-year students, while PosSES can be administeredto first-year through senior-year students. PosSES includes all of these high impact activitiesalong with others we identified through reviews of the literature, web searches, and a Q-studyusing focus

Conference Session

Survey and Assessment Development

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David L. Little II, Oregon State University; Kathleen Quardokus Fisher, Oregon State University; Shane A. Brown P.E., Oregon State University; Milo Koretsky, Oregon State University; Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

expressed concerns that students may consider just getting feedbackon "if they did the problem right" as pertaining to these questions. Again, these are issues relatedto student interpretations of the items, so the cognitive interview data was assessed for anysimilar discrepancies; however, none seemed apparent. Hence, these items were seen asfunctioning as intended.As for overall functioning and validity of the SCAEI, all of the content experts stated that theSCAEI would be informative for guiding self-reflection on their own teaching. Some of thecontent experts also said they could see themselves using the SCAEI for education researchpurposes.During the item alignment study, one content expert initially interpreted the "active" dimensionof the

Conference Session

Working in Teams: ERM Roundtable

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gina M Quan, University of Maryland, College Park; Ayush Gupta, University of Maryland, College Park; Andrew Elby, University of Maryland, College Park

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

, unsuccessfully. Hazel then completes the task alone. After this, Page 26.1256.6Hazel does more checking in with Olive, asking her if ideas make sense. Hazel’s explanations toOlive are presented colloquially, reflecting Hazel’s awareness of Olive’s lack of experience. Foralmost all of the coding in the first two days, Hazel types the code while Olive looks onattentively, sometimes with Hazel narrating her actions. Olive’s contributions are mainlybrainstorming ideas for the final project and helping to Google questions.On the second day, they begin putting together the mechanical arm. Olive immediately takes thelead in constructing it, though Hazel

Conference Session

Student Experiences and Motivation: ERM Roundtable

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jillian Seniuk Cicek, University of Manitoba; Marcia R Friesen P.Eng., University of Manitoba; Sandra Ingram, University of Manitoba; Douglas Warren Ruth

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

’ communication and teamwork skills4. It can also enhance students’ intrapersonal skills by promoting self-efficacy, character building, and resilience5. All of these traits are commonly cited desired attributes of a global engineer working in a multi-disciplinary world, and are reflected in engineering accreditation requirements today6-8. Project-based learning in particular can simulate an industry-like environment for students, to facilitate the development of the skills required for practicing professional engineers. In project-based learning, students are formally instructed to ensure they have the foundation of knowledge needed to work on and complete the project assigned9,10. Emphasis is

Conference Session

Works in Progress: Learning and Engagement

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nicholas D. Fila, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Senay Purzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

communitiescommunity?”Pragmatic “Concepts Transparency “Knowledge Present results to designValidation – “Do underlying research Empathy produced… educators andthe concepts and design… Open-ended and meaningful in the researchers and discussknowledge claims compatible with non-leading social context applications and utilitywithstand reality in the field” questions underexposure to the investigation”realityinvestigated?”Ethical Validation Interview conducted Relaxed and Study results reflect Potential

Conference Session

Instruments and Methods for Studying Student Experiences and Outcomes

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Zhen Zhao, Arizona State University; Adam R. Carberry, Arizona State University; Alison Cook-Davis, Arizona State University; Jean S. Larson, Arizona State University; Michelle Jordan, Arizona State University; Wendy M. Barnard, Arizona State University; Megan O'Donnell, Arizona State University; Wilhelmina C. Savenye, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

reflect on your understanding of the NSF-funded Engineering ResearchCenter (ERC). Rate your present level of understanding, as well as your level of understandingprior to participating in the ERC for each of the items below.” No items in this section wereshown to be highly correlated with one another (see Appendix A).A two-factor structure emerged through EFA (Table 1): 1) present understanding, and 2) priorunderstanding. Both factors achieved good reliability levels; Cronbach’s alpha of 0.909 forpresent understanding and 0.907 for prior understanding.Table 1. Factor structure and factor loadings for understanding the ERC Item Present Prior

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reem Nasr, Boston University; Steven Hall, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Peter Garik, Boston University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

version of yt (t) as defined over 0 ≤ t ≤ 1, hence obtaining the answer(2 − 2e−2t )σ(t). The following excerpts clearly reflect how participants S61 and S67 invoked theinterval matching readout when justifying that the step response of the system is Page 12.1317.8gs (t) = (2 − 2e−2t )σ(t): S61: Well, I’m thinking you only use only the yt (t) on the range from 0 to 1? Yeah, I ... I: Yeah, but you have to tell me what happens for t > 1 then. S61: Oh, for t greater . . . [ . . . ] this y(t) is for t > 0 like all time. For t > 1 this is true. For t is 1000 this is true. Umm . . . I: Okay, so in the problem

Conference Session

Assessment

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joanne Mathews, Illinois Institute of Technology; Daniel Ferguson, Illinois Institute of Technology; Margaret Huyck, Illinois Institute of Technology; Abhinav Pamulaparthy, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

the additional training scored a mean of 56.4% correct vs. the all teammean of 48% correct, a 16% test score improvement. Those five teams involved in trainingexercises also improved their beginning BOS to end of semester EOS test scores from 48.2% to56.4% correct, a significant improvement if not a satisfactory test score. These same teams arealso engaged in a pilot test of a reflection exercise that also may have contributed to theirknowledge gain.Table 4: Pre- and post- test results for the Learning Objectives (LO) assessment for two IPROteams that participated in the training sessions.Sample of IPRO Teams that participated in LO TrainingIPRO Team Pre-test Average of LO Test (% Post-test Average of the LO Test (%Number

Conference Session

Factors Affecting Student Performance

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Hamilton, U.S. Military Academy; Leslie Brunell, Stevens Institute of Technology; Gunnar Tamm, U.S. Military Academy; Ozer Arnas, U.S. Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

upon graduation. “University courses are the preparatory stage to a profession and should therefore encourage learning that reflects the way in which professionals continue to learn and work.”[2]It was observed that students do not exercise the level of care with their assignments that shouldbe required of young engineers. Not to suggest that the consequences of submitting an incorrectacademic assignment are dire, but it seems reasonable that an elevated level of effort should beput forth, especially from students near the end of their undergraduate studies as juniors andseniors. Students often regard their homework submissions as simply a product to be handed in,and the accuracy of their solutions is of minimal concern. This is an

Conference Session

Active and Inquiry-Based Learning

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elliot P. Douglas, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

that “no researcher is neutral because language confersform and meaning on observed realities. Specific use of language reflects views and values…Wemay think our codes capture empirical reality. Yet it is our view: we choose the words thatconstitute our codes. Thus we define what we see as significant in the data and describe what wethink is happening (italics in original, p. 46-47).”30 What is important is not that we get the codes“right”, that it matches someone else’s codes, but that the description rings true, that it has good“fit” with the data. As such, the concept of inter-rater reliability has no meaning in aconstructivist study. Codes are situated in time, within a particular context, and based on aparticular researcher’s construction

Conference Session

Fostering Student Learning

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christel Heylen, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; Herman Buelens, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; Jos Vander Sloten, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

‘Contribution to independent learning’ is constructed in the two semesters of the academic year 2006-2007, based on the items ‘Through the teamwork I learned to work more independently.’ and ‘Through the teamwork I learned how to master new information independently.’ The reliability coefficients indicate a good scale and the mean scores reflect that the students feel they are able to learn more independently through the P&O courses. 5) The next scale ‘Transfer of competencies beyond introductory seminar’ is based on the statements: ‘What I learned during the introductory lecture about the design Page 22.1150.7

Conference Session

Educational Research and Methods Potpourri I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raghavi Merugureddy, Purdue University ; Amani Salim, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Monica E. Cardella, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

makesthem, more than ever to us, what Seymour calls “partners in innovation”18. Their reflections onteaching through MEAs will likely lead to transformations in MEA implementation, TAprofessional development, TA mentoring, and MEA generic and task specific support materials -all to the benefit of students’ learning through open-ended problems.II. Research QuestionsIn this study, we examine UGTAs’ experience with assessing student team work on MEAs. Theevaluation tool used by all TAs is the four-dimension MEA Rubric which assesses the studentteams’ mathematical model and its generalizability (i.e. share-ability, re-usability andmodifiability).The research questions guiding this study are: 1) What are UGTAs’ self-reported ability to apply the four

Conference Session

Student Attitudes and Perceptions

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tuba Yildirim, University of Pittsburgh; Mary Besterfield-Sacre, University of Pittsburgh; Larry Shuman, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

given, etc., but rather fromstudents’ hard to observe internal mechanisms. Such mechanisms regulate the extent to whichstudents can comprehend the complexities of a real system and how much of this complexitythey can reflect in a conceptual and calculational model.Self-efficacy is one such mechanism that has been shown to regulate learning, motivation andacademic performance of students. It is defined as personal judgments of one’s capabilities toorganize and execute courses of action to attain designated goals [1]. Individuals have high self-efficacy for a task when they believe they possess the capabilities necessary to successfullyperform the task and low self-efficacy if they believe that they do not have the necessarycapabilities. Hence

Conference Session

Teaching Assistants, Supplemental Instruction, and Classroom Support

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

David John Orser, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Kyle Dukart, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Changhyun Choi, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Frances Wood, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

? – Multiple Choice: 0, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 letter gradesThe responses to both of these questions reflect very favorably on the PLA program (shown inFigure 3). There is a clear positive bias in the responses with the mean at 5.1, 76% >5, and 90%>4 on a 6-point Likert-like scale. The median response indicates that students, in general, feltPLAs contributed to their success, resulting in a perceived net improvement in studentperformance by at least half a letter grade (79% of responses.) To reiterate, the students indicatethey feel the peer assistants provide a positive impact on their learning. The authors did notattempt to obtain individually identifiable grades. Figure 3: Student responses to Q3 (left) and Q4 (right)An even

Conference Session

Classroom Practice I: Active and Collaborative Learning

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dawn Laux, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Andrew Jackson, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Nathan Mentzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

considerations in the design of the course. This sociable environment and desirable community represent the next factors in themodel, Campus Connectedness and Sense of Community. Lee and Robbins have identified socialconnectedness as an aspect of the self that reflects individual awareness of interpersonalcloseness with the social world as a whole28-30. Campus connectedness is the characteristic ofsocial connectedness relating to a student’s connectedness and feelings of belonging with theirpeers in the context of a college environment31. While the collaboration that occurs in learninggroups is found to be an important factor to student persistence, it is the responsibility of aninstitution to provide an encouraging environment beyond the

Conference Session

New Models for Teaching and Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malgorzata Zywno, Ryerson University; Mary Frances Stewart

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

learners may result in poor achievement, increased dropout ratesand a loss of diversity among future engineers that would greatly benefit the profession. Hesuggests a balanced teaching style addressing a wide range of learner preferences as mosteffective1, 2. In 1988 Felder developed, with help of psychologist Linda Silverman, a learningmodel that focuses on aspects of learning styles particularly significant in engineering education2,3 . The model classifies characteristics of the learners along four bipolar dimensions: Perception(Sensing-Intuitive), Input (Visual-Verbal), Processing (Active-Reflective) and Understanding(Sequential-Global). The Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS), a psychometricinstrument associated with the model, is

Conference Session

The Critical First Year in Engineering Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Linda Lindsley, Arizona State University; Veronica Burrows, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

encourage design process thinking, not to find a “right” answer, that goal wasaccomplished in the alpha test. Most students spent time explaining their design process for eachsection and “rethinking” that process in the later sections after reading the “expert” solutions.Though this study captured design process thinking from only a single problem, it showed thatthe students learned new skills from the online interactive text, even though they had both beeninstructed in these skills in class and produced an assignment covering the same basic material.When asked to reflect on their learning, each participating student stated at least one aspect ofthe process that they had not been explicitly aware of prior to the completion of this chapter ofthe

Conference Session

Student Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer VanAntwerp, Calvin College; Rachel Reed, Calvin College; Crystal Bruxvoort, Calvin College; Neil Carlson, Calvin College

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

personalexperiences and attributes among engineering students to influence retention among all students;of particular interest is retention of females, since this population of engineering students hasconsistently reflected higher attrition from the field of study. The role of context in thedevelopment of instruments for retention studies needs to be studied more thoroughly.For this work, we are developing a new survey instrument to explore the effects of context onengineering retention; this article describes the pilot test of the instrument. Seven factors relatedto retention, as reported in engineering education, science education, and educational psychologyliterature, were identified as relevant to measuring educational context and therefore selected