Conference Session

Emerging Issues in Engineering Education Research and Pedagogy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Cady, National Academy of Engineering; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

NSFfunding for rigorous engineering education research. Overall, both the number of and the moneyawarded to grants for engineering education research have increased substantially over the past20 years, with most focused on teaching and learning. This analysis provides a global overviewof the NSF-funding environment for engineering education researchers.BackgroundEngineering education research has occurred in some form for many years, but only in the past20 years has it received significant funding support. Engineering education researchencompasses examination of not only teaching, learning and assessment, but also issuesassociated with faculty rewards and the organizational dynamics of engineering departments 1.However, studies of teaching and

Conference Session

Problem Solving and Misconceptions

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gerard Rowe, University of Auckland; Chris Smaill, University of Auckland

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

being maintained.One of the individuals responsible for popularizing the use of concept inventories in Physicseducation is Richard Hake, Professor Emeritus at Indiana University. In Hake’s words1 “I see noreason that student learning gains far larger than those in traditional courses could not eventuallybe achieved and documented in disciplines other than physics, from arts through philosophy tozoology if their practitioners would:1. reach a consensus on the crucial concepts that all beginning students should be brought to understand2. undertake the lengthy qualitative and quantitative research required to develop multiple- choice tests of higher-level learning of those concepts, so as to gauge the need for and effects of non

Conference Session

STEM Pipeline: Pre-College to Post-Baccalaureate

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chris Smaill, University of Auckland; Elizabeth Godfrey, University of Auckland; Gerard Rowe, University of Auckland

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

of the course itself. The course,compulsory for all first-year engineering students has long been perceived as “difficult”, witha higher fail rate than other first-year courses, and somewhat of a “gatekeeper” for passage tothe discipline-specific final three years.IntroductionDespite New Zealand’s reputation for innovative technology and its status as a developedcountry with a relatively high standard of living, amongst the OECD countries it has thelowest proportion of its university graduates in engineering. A potential mismatch existsbetween the increase in the number of engineering graduates demanded by industry and theprofession 1 and the decrease in the number of final-year high-school students studyingphysics and other engineering

Conference Session

Fostering and Assessing Effective Teaming

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Senay Purzer; Dale Baker, Arizona State University; Chell Roberts, Arizona State University; Stephen Krause, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

explore if such a relationship exists in the context ofengineering.Research QuestionsThe main goal of this study is to describe the characteristics of team interactions that relate toachievement and self-efficacy. However, before investigating these correlations, we establishedthe reliability and the validity of the instruments we developed. We investigated three researchquestions: 1. Is there a correlation between the self-efficacy scores, measured by the instrument designed for this study, and student achievement? Page 13.415.4 2. What type of team interactions correlate with self-efficacy? 3. What type of team

Conference Session

Design: Content and Context

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Melnyk, United States Military Academy; Daisie Boettner, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

tell if high orlow grades were a result of the grader’s predisposition or the quality of the team’s submissions. The other problem the faculty encountered was the inability of some advisors to objectivelygrade the work of a team with which they had such a strong association. As mentionedpreviously, each advisor worked closely with the design teams and tended to have at least asubconscious desire to see the team succeed. Some advisors appeared unable to give their team alow grade, perhaps because they felt that a low grade was indicative of a failure on their part asan advisor to mentor or assist the team appropriately. Therefore, the overall grades for thecourse were usually very high. Table 1 shows the mean grade point averages (GPA

Conference Session

Fostering and Assessing Effective Teaming

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diane Zemke, Gonzaga University; Steven Zemke, Gonzaga University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

successfully complete the task, degenerate into conflict, or both.A team’s leadership affects the team’s productivity and outcomes. 1, 2 Since student teamsfrequently operate without explicitly assigned roles or established authority their team leadershipis classed as “informal.” However, as with formal leadership, the quality of informal leadershipcan vary. LaFasto and Larson 3 noted that “a team without a formal leader eventually surfaces aleader from the available talent, but in ways that are not always predictable.” Thus, groupprocesses will generate a group leader, but not always the best leader. Since team leadershipaffects performance, the quality of the informal leader can add or detract from team success andlearning.One could argue that the

Conference Session

Cognitive and Motivational Issues in Student Performance I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

-servicesecondary math and science teachers. This latter course is part of a series of courses, offeredthrough the NSF-sponsored MSP (Math and Science Partnership): Project Pathways,1 designedto help integrate mathematics and science, and can be taken as partial fulfillment of a Master’sdegree in Science/Math Education. An attitude survey, based on the well-documented PFEAS(Pittsburgh Freshmen Engineering Attitude Survey),2 was taken by both sets of learners. Bothgroups completed the survey at the beginning and end of the Fall 2006 semester. Initial datashows a statistically significant difference between the two groups in attitudes about engineering.The greatest difference in the two groups’ attitudes at the beginning and end of the semester wasin the

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

variations are whether the course covers both continuous- anddiscrete-time systems, or only continuous-time, and whether the context of application is electriccircuitry. Despite these variations, a central theme that cuts across introductory signals andsystems courses is the study of continuous-time LTI systems, which constitutes the focus of thisresearch.It has been maintained in the science education literature that learners frequently expressconceptions that are in discord with expert understanding.1 Such conceptions could hinderstudent learning if not appropriately addressed and refined through instructional approaches.Research has shown that traditional modes of instruction which do not take into account students’initial knowledge state result

Conference Session

The Critical First Year in Engineering Education

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dan Budny, University of Pittsburgh; Alaine Allen, University of Pittsburgh; Jessica Quarcoo, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

student can select forthe first semester. This paper will discuss topics the freshman raised with their mentors and whatthe students think is important during the first year.Index Terms – Freshman Advising, Mentoring.IntroductionNumerous studies document the importance of educating new students about their new academicsetting [1 - 5]. Indeed, helping students anticipate and understand life changes can help theuniversity realize a significantly higher first-year student persistence rate [6]. For many years,university programs have incorporated these components via the implementation of pre-collegeorientation programs that include: 1. Raising the knowledge level of first-year undergraduate students with regard to lifestyle changes that can occur

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Collura, University of New Haven; Samuel Daniels, University of New Haven; Jean Nocito-Gobel, University of New Haven; W. David Harding, University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

a multidisciplinary perspective • three engineering courses available in the first year • focus on the development of specific professional skills common to all disciplines • spiral approach to develop engineering concepts from the major disciplines • vertical and horizontal integration of engineering courses • integration of engineering courses with science and math coursesDetails of the program and its development have been presented in a previous paper6 with someearly funding provided by the National Science Foundation.7 Figure 1 shows a comparison ofthis curriculum to a traditional engineering curriculum.One very important feature of this curricular model is the treatment of

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kevin O'Connor, University of Rochester; Daniel Amos, University of Washington; Tori Bailey, Stanford University; Gary Lichtenstein, Stanford University; Lari Garrison, University of Washington; Heidi Loshbaugh, Colorado School of Mines; Marcus Jones, Howard University; Derek Seward, University of Rochester; Lisa Perhamus, University of Rochester; Reed Stevens, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

students’interests and their decisions to persist in or leave their major. We argue that students’interests become differentially identified as “intrinsic” or “extrinsic” to engineeringthrough the work of powerful sponsors within the discipline. We argue further that a viewof identity as socially produced is necessary in order to avoid taking for granted crucialaspects of disciplinary practices of identifying engineers, and in particular ways in whichcertain kinds of interests might be sponsored over and above others.IntroductionRecent educational research has emphasized the centrality of identity to learning anddevelopment.1 In engineering education research and in SMET fields more broadly, formationof a professional identity is increasingly viewed as

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Danielle Amatore, Oregon State University; Edith Gummer, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory; Milo Koretsky, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

building blocks for thedevelopment of many capstone courses; these guidelines focus on the practice of engineering andinclude requirements for communication, teamwork, creativity, the synthesis of core engineering Page 12.904.2concepts applied to an open-ended project, incorporation of economic considerations, andinclusion of relevant health, safety, and ethical issues.1 Industrial needs have also shaped thedevelopment of capstone courses in a variety of ways, from reporting a perceived lack of hands-on-experience in recently graduated engineers to providing mentorship and projects for capstonecourse.2 In addition to providing students the

Conference Session

Student Diversity: attracting and retaining a diverse population of students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Haden, Northern Arizona University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

common knowledge in the field of engineering education that numbers of women andminorities obtaining engineering degrees is far below their representation in the U.S.population[1]. Many studies have sought to discern reasons for lack of representation of womenand minorities in science, mathematics and engineering degree programs. Studies related tominority students point to, among other factors, lack of pre-college academic preparation,financial difficulties, barriers related to being first generation college students [e.g. 2, 3, 4] and socio-cultural factors [5]. Studies related to female student underrepresentation in S&E fields havesuggested that women leave not from a lack of academic ability, but among other reasons,because of socio

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hillary Hart, University of Texas-Austin; Christy Moore, University of Texas-Austin

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Science Foundation(NSF), web-based educational materials that prepare graduate students for the ethical issues theywill encounter as academic and professional researchers. This paper describes the first stage ofthis project:1. assessing the need for graduate education in research ethics2. determining the appropriate issues to address and pedagogical techniques to employ inteaching graduate rather than undergraduate students.Gathering the data to proceed with this project entailed reviewing the literature on teachinggraduate engineering research ethics (especially our four focus topics), working with our multi-disciplinary team to identify appropriate issues and pedagogical techniques for graduate students,and reviewing the assessment we performed

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students, Part 2

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Russell Korte, University Of Minnesota; Karl Smith, University of Minnesota

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

interpersonal activities with faculty members, or with fellow students, built around substantive, academic work.A major component of the educational delivery system is teaching, which is also an importantvenue for faculty-student interaction. K. Patricia Cross7 offered five research-based assertionsabout college teaching in her 1991 ASEE ERM Distinguished Lecture. Selected assertionsrelevant to this paper are: (1) good teaching makes a difference in student learning; (2) teachersvary markedly in what they are trying to accomplish through their teaching; and (3) there aresome characteristics and teaching methods that are associated with good teaching – knowledgeof subject matter, enthusiasm, and understanding of the learning process. She

Conference Session

Use of Technology to Improve Teaching and Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

K-Y Daisy Fan, Cornell University; Clare van den Blink, Cornell University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

the question slides anddisplays the statistics of the student answers in real time.In a traditional lecture where the instructor does most of the talking, students are passive,especially in a large lecture hall where students have few opportunities or incentives toask or answer questions. Even when the instructor asks for responses from students,typically the same small number of students would choose to participate. “The large-lecture syndrome is well known: the professor solemnly expounds his materials, the classpassively absorbs it. The professor obtains no feedback and the students scribble notesmechanically…. The major problem to be overcome is the lack of two-waycommunication between the teacher and the students” 1 A proposed solution

Conference Session

Assessment and Evaluation in Engineering Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

intelligences that link to our individualstyles. (http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm) Page 12.289.3Fleming & Mills’ VARK Learning Styles lists only four categories whereas HowardGardner lists seven styles and suggests humans can be:1 Verbal-Linguistic2 Musical3 Logical-Mathematical4 Spatial5 Kinesthetic6 Interpersonal7 IntrapersonalHunter Boylan’s Research FindingsHunter R. Boylan is the Chairperson for American Council of Developmental EducationAssociations. In his book, What Works: Research-Based Best Practices inDevelopmental Education, Dr. Boylan gives tips for accommodating diversity throughinstruction. His tips are

Conference Session

Assessment and Evaluation in Engineering Education II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie Rivale, University of Texas-Austin; Taylor Martin, University of Texas-Austin; K. Diller, University of Texas-Austin

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

obtained with ademographic survey that was completed by 58 of the HPL students and 48 of the traditional students.Among the HPL group were 18 women and 40 men and the traditional group were 13 women and 35men.Instructional MethodsThe biotransport courses covered all three areas of transport phenomena: momentum (fluids), heat,and mass transfer. The two traditional courses were taught at different institutions. Both coursesfollowed a traditional lecture style with weekly problem sets and periodic in class quizzes and exams. Figure 1. The STAR.Legacy (SL) CycleThe two HPL courses were taught at different institutions. The professors collaborated prior to thestudy to design the challenges, but the classes were taught

Conference Session

Cognitive and Motivational Issues in Student Performance II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen Molina, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez; Asmaa Idrisu, George Mason University; Alexandra Medina-Borja, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Amelia Marian, West University of Timisoara

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

systems thinking (or the lackof) has affected large engineering problems.Amelia Marian, West University of Timisoara Amelia Marian is an instructor of Psychology at the West University of Timisoara in Romania. Her research interest is in cognitive processes to enhance adult education. Page 12.252.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 1 Are engineers also systems thinkers? Bringing up Holistic and Systematic Decision-Making in Engineering through a Systems-Centered Educational FrameworkAbstractEngineering is design, analysis and synthesis. Analytical and

Conference Session

Building Communities for Engineering Education Research

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robin Adams, Purdue University; Philip Bell, University of Washington; Cheryl Allendoerfer, University of Washington; Helen Chen, Stanford University; Larry Leifer, Stanford University; Lorraine Fleming, Howard University; Bayta Maring, University of Washington; Dawn Williams, Howard University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

. This is particularly relevant for theengineering education profession. By investing in the research infrastructure in engineeringeducation we can 1) advance the scholarship in teaching and learning and strengthen its capacity;2) build coherence and rigor within the community; 3) assist collaborative and interdisciplinaryresearch as well as relationships between practitioners and researchers; 4) promote professionaldevelopment of current and future faculty; and 5) facilitate distributed cognition within acommunity of practice2,3. Given this motivation, a researchable question is how to proceed tomeet this need: “how do we build capacity in engineering education research?”Strategies for building capacity are often linked to community of practice

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joachim Walther, University of Queensland; David Radcliffe, University of Queensland

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

model6, 7 or discussions on adopting an outcomes-based approach toaccreditation and mutual recognition within the framework of the European Bolognaprocess8.Similarly on the level of professional accreditation Engineers Australia employ acompetency-based approach to certify professional engineers. The system is based on thedefinition Stage 1 competencies for Graduate engineers9 and Stage 2 competencies forProfessional Engineers. The first level is achieved by obtaining a formal degree from anaccredited engineering program. The achievement of latter is demonstrated through criticalincident reports which show that the respective competencies were attained through workexperience.Preliminary results from an ongoing study at the University of

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students III

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Claudia Morrell, University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Anne Spence, University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

the limitedresources that universities, and particularly community colleges, often have, the project looked atthe following: Page 11.1107.3 1. An innovative yet inexpensive recruitment strategy that introduced high school students to STEM careers, but also aided in the retention of the UMBC undergraduate students who participated. 2. The relative effectiveness of a summer bridge program, a scholarship program, and an internship program on student retention in STEM compared to partial or no intervention. Both academic and economic supports have been shown to be effective in recruitment, enrollment, and retention at

Conference Session

Assessment

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faouzi Bouslama, Zayed University; Azzedine Lansari, Zayed University; Akram Al-Rawi, Zayed University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

their courses.1. IntroductionAcademic institutions, when moving to an outcome-based education, try to ensure that allstudents acquire appropriate skills to be effective and productive in the workplace. At ZayedUniversity (ZU), an all female laptop university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), theeducation model is based on Learning Outcomes (LOs). The Outcomes-Based Education (OBE)model at ZU is framed by two different sets of LOs1. One set is course embedded, the MAjorLearning Outcomes (MALOs), and another one is a set of higher intellectual outcomes called theZU Learning Outcomes (ZULOs). To fulfill their ZULO and MALOS requirements, studentscompile evidence of their achievement in electronic portfolios (ePortfolios), which are then

Conference Session

Innovative Classroom Techniques

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Lee, University of South Florida; Mernet Larson, University of South Florida; Jack Heller, University of South Florida; Douglas Lunsford, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

, there is a correlation between the value of“real object” incorporation and extent of previous industrial experience.IntroductionThe following is a passage from the 1997 movie Good Will Hunting , specifically from a scenewhere the psychologist (played by Robin Williams) is talking with his patient (played by MattDamon)1: So, if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo. You know a lot about him. Life's work, ... right? But I bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Turns, University of Washington; Steve Lappenbusch, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

subset of a larger study employing multipledata collection techniques including written reflections, audio-taped interviews, paper-and-pencilconcept mapping, written surveys, and video-taped think-aloud protocols. For this paper, we useonly the data provided in the weekly written process reflections completed by students. As aresult, the data pertinent to this paper and analysis consist of 60 written weekly processreflections from the six student participants in the two course sections. In each weekly processreflection students responded to the following three questions: 1) how would you describe whatyou have been doing over the past week? 2) what challenges have you encountered?, and 3) whatare you taking away? Though these questions do imply

Conference Session

Assessment and Evaluation in Engineering Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rose Marra, University of Missouri; Barbara Bogue, Pennsylvania State University; Demei Shen, University of Missouri; Kelly Rodgers, University of Missouri

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Engineering instrument is designed to meet this need. The authors make this instrument(available for download on AWEonline.org) and the initial data available so that MEP, WIE andengineering administrators can use it to design retention programming. More important, suchdata can be used to create a case for making changes in the engineering education curriculum andextra curricular activities that will alleviate the legitimate problems that students encounter.Research QuestionsWe explored the following research questions in our data analysis:1. What are predominant factors in students’ decision to leave engineering? Are there differences by GPA? Gender? Race/ethnicity?2. Are there relationships between perceived quality of high school preparation and

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Jonassen, University of Missouri; Sanjay Rebello, Kansas State University; Carlos Wexler, University of Missouri; Zdeslav Hrepic, Fort Hays State University; Gregory Triplett, University of Missouri

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

majors. We have developed a web-basedenvironment that presents pairs of problems and then asks questions about thoseproblems one at a time (see Figure 1 for sample questions related to work-energy). Page 12.1013.4Problem 1 (Giancoli 6-19) Problem 2 (Giancoli 6-23)A 0.088kg arrow is fired from a bow whose string A 0.25kg softball is pitched at 26m/s. By the time itexerts an average force of 110N over a distance of reaches the plate a distance 15m away it has slowed0.78m. to 23m/s.Neglecting air resistance, what is the speed of the Neglecting gravity, what is the

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students III

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Guili Zhang, University of Florida; YoungKyoung Min, University of Florida; Matthew Ohland, Clemson University; Timothy Anderson, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

eightsemesters with a GPA over 3.0, pointing to the need for qualitative research of that population tolearn if they are leaving because the early curriculum failed to give them an accurate impressionof what lay ahead. There is also evidence that students who are the least likely to succeed inengineering are the least aware of their predicament, which has implications for engineeringadvising and academic policymaking.II. Prior research on predicting engineering attritionThe graduation rate of undergraduate students who matriculate in engineering is not muchdifferent from that for the general student population, and the rate increases significantly afterstudents reach a ‘threshold’ of progress in engineering.1 The pool of students graduating highschool

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mica Hutchison, Purdue University; Deborah Follman, Purdue University; George Bodner, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

offered.Introduction As engineering educators become increasingly aware of the demand for a diverseengineering workforce of the future, retention issues plaguing the field have drawn addedattention. Focus has therefore been placed on the choices, achievement, and interests ofundergraduate engineering students. Researchers have suggested that students’ choices to pursueand persist in engineering, and their achievement and interest in the field, are significantlyinfluenced by their engineering self-efficacy beliefs – their confidence in their abilities toperform the tasks that they deem necessary to succeed in the field.1, 2 The richness of the literature surrounding the assessment of science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM

Conference Session

Building Communities for Engineering Education Research

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heidi Diefes-Dux, Purdue University; Robin Adams, Purdue University; Monica Cox, Purdue University; Deborah Follman, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

: COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVESAs a result of taking this course, the participants will develop the knowledge and skills to:1. Define engineering and the engineering method, and list attributes of engineering as a profession.2. Describe the context of engineering education in the US and globally3. Describe the history, the present, and the future scenarios of engineering and engineering education4. Summarize "state of the art" or "best" practices for teaching and learning engineering5. Describe drivers and opportunities that are enabling engineering education research6. Map the landscape of engineering education research at Purdue7. Describe the elements of an engineering education research study8. Articulate a clear personal teaching philosophy