Conference Session

Student Misconceptions and Problem Solving Abiltiy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Prince, Bucknell University; Margot Vigeant, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

. Ongoingwork will refine the existing activities, as well as test the effectiveness of new activities for Page 11.1390.2thermodynamics courses designed to reduce misconceptions about entropy.IntroductionRecent research emphasizes the critical importance of conceptual learning. Indeed, of three keyfindings in the National Research Council’s study on how people learn [1], the first finding is theneed to draw out and engage student preconceptions and the second finding highlights the needfor students to understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework. In short,meaningful learning in science and engineering requires that students master

Conference Session

Student Teams and Design Skills

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tamara Moore, Purdue University; Heidi Diefes-Dux, Purdue University; P.K. Imbrie, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

in Table 1. The MEA wascompleted in a computer laboratory setting with the students working both individually and inteams of 3 to 4 students. The students had twenty minutes to do the individual portion and onehour to complete the team portion of the MEA. The students begin by reading the entire MEAindividually. When students work this problem, the individual warm-up activity (the last sectionof Table 1) requires that the students think about the problem and provides the students time toorganize their thoughts before setting out to solve the problem with their team members. Thestudent teams then re-read the problem statement and develop the model for their procedure. Table 1. Factory Layout MEA

Conference Session

Student Teams and Design Skills

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Durward Sobek, Montana State University; Joshua Ruder, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

effortassociates positively with productivity and design quality. System-level design pertains toquestions of product or system architecture, configuration, and layout; and as such, provides animportant bridge between conceptual design work and detailed design decisions. While priorresearch indicates that this phase of design seems important to successful outcomes of designprocesses, it is not well understood and we have not yet established a causal link. To do this, wedeveloped a tool designed to elicit system-level design work from the user. We then conductedan experiment to test whether use of the tool improves design performance among studentdesigners.Many methods and tools have been developed to teach good practices and assist the designprocess.1

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

identify and strengthen program areas that need improvement or revision.MethodsDuring the spring and summer semesters of 2005, IPRO students, tenured faculty and IPROfaculty, worked together to develop an outline of the LO body of knowledge, LO studydocuments and references, and LO proficiency tests. See exhibit 2 for the Fall 2005 and Spring2006 test questions. From the body of knowledge a multiple choice 15 to 25 question test per LOwas developed and administered to a small sample [8] of IPRO students in Summer 2005. TheIPRO Program established a minimum competency goal, as measured by test results, as: 80%correct answers on each LO test by the end of the semester. The results of the Summer 2005 pilottest (see Table 1 in Results) was 42% correct

Conference Session

Curricula of the Past, Present, and Future

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cristina Pomales-Garcia, University of Michigan; Yili Liu, University of Michigan; Virginia Soto, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Excellence in Engineering Education and Educational Technology: Views of Undergraduate Engineering StudentsAbstractDuring the 1990’s and continuing today there has been an increased attention to understand theissues that may affect the quality of engineering education. According to the National Academyof Engineering 1 and programs such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology(ABET), many universities around the world have been making major efforts to recognize thechallenges faced by engineering educational programs and making changes to achieve“Excellence in Engineering Education”. The purpose of the study reported in this paper is tounderstand the views and

Conference Session

Building Communities for Engineering Education Research

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sally Fincher, University of Kent at Canterbury; Josh Tenenberg, University of Washington-Tacoma

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

• bootstrapping the wider CSEd research community by establishing a critical mass of researchers with rigorous practices and standards for carrying out and evaluating CSEd research.We viewed the community of practice, the second of these three levels, as the most important, abridge from the individual to the emergent discipline as a whole. But how does one create acommunity of practice when none exists?In Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning & Identity, Wenger1 identifies “threedimensions of the relation by which practice is the source of coherence of a community” (p72/3).We used these as key design principles. These dimensions are: 1. mutual engagement: membership in communities of practice is enacted through the dynamic and

Conference Session

Student Teams and Design Skills

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gül Okudan, Pennsylvania State University; Madara Ogot, Pennsylvania State University; Girish Rao, SPRINT

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

generating critical values in place of tedious hand calculations, and (iii) ensureconsistency in integration of critical information, etc., designer error will be minimized aswell as mental load and time demands on the designer reduced. This set of hypotheses isproven by way of studying the design outcomes of novice designers in a designedexperiment.The experiment is conducted in two stages: (1) conceptual design with no design informationsoftware, and (2) conceptual design with design information software. The first phase is usedto document the potential designer errors as well as mental load and time demands when adesign information software is not used. During the second phase, the performance of eightdesign teams equipped with the design

Conference Session

Student Teams and Design Skills

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Mohammed, Pennsylvania State University; Gül Okudan, Pennsylvania State University; Madara Ogot, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

thebeneficial effects of higher tolerance for ambiguity on increased efficacy, satisfaction, andconflict resolution in the context of an open-ended, team-based, industry-sponsored engineeringdesign project.Keywords: Design teams, tolerance for ambiguity, efficacy, design performance.1. IntroductionBecause “engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have: …an ability todesign a system, component, or process to meet desired needs,” and “an ability to function inmulti-disciplinary teams….”1, design is integrated to the engineering curricula through the use ofdesign teams. In many cases, this integration also uses industry-sponsored design projects. Mostof the industry-sponsored design project applications are at the capstone design level

Conference Session

Student Misconceptions and Problem Solving Abiltiy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ruth Streveler, Colorado School of Mines; Monica Geist, University of Northern Colorado; Ravel Ammerman, Colorado School of Mines; Candace Sulzbach, Colorado School of Mines; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines; Barbara Olds, National Science Foundation and Colorado School of Mines; Mary Nelson, University of Colorado

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

concepts in electric circuits andengineering mechanics do students find difficult to learn?” and “How can we describe students’mental models of the concepts identified in question 1?” This paper discusses the process used toidentify difficult concepts in engineering mechanics and electric circuits, the results of thatidentification process, and the results of interviews to uncover the mental models engineeringstudents use to explain these concepts. This study, part of the Center for the Advancement inEngineering Education’s “Scholarship of Learning Engineering” element, builds on previouswork in thermal and transport science and allows comparisons among difficult concepts inchemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical

Conference Session

K-12 Activities

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Omolola Adedokun, Purdue University; Roger Tormoehlen, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

computer-based instruction, others have argued that the effectiveness can bebetter harnessed if used in conjunction with traditional methods of instruction.This study explores the effect of providing a supplemental paper-based worksheet to a self-instructional interactive CD ROM on the performance of students in an elementary science class.Data were collected by means of a pre- and post-test experiment on a 5th grade science class(N=91). The school’s administration had previously divided the class into four periods on thebasis of the students’ academic abilities. Period 1 is the group of least achieving students andPeriod 4 the most achieving students.The specific objectives of the study were to determine if a supplemental paper-based

Conference Session

Use of Technology to Improve Teaching and Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Chen, Rowan University; Jennifer Kadlowec, Rowan University; Dexter Whittinghill, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

tests. All of these techniques, however, suffer the faults ofbeing too slow, too late, and too tedious to apply frequently. Freeman and McKenzie 1 discussseveral issues that inhibit better student learning in higher education. For students, there is a lack Page 11.1402.2of individual feedback on learning; few opportunities for dialogue to improve learning; and afeeling that the subject is impersonal. From the faculty members’ perspective, the difficulties liein knowing what students are really learning, providing individualized feedback, addressingstudents’ specific misconceptions, attending to diverse learning styles, and engaging students

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

alearning tool, and offers suggestions for future implementations of this strategy. Page 11.988.2IntroductionEngineers are charged with designing systems that must serve the public. These systems must bedesigned, sometimes without prototype, to first and foremost maintain the public’s safety, i.e. notto fail. Getting it right is critical! This is a fact that has been recognized since the earliestwritten laws: Hammurabi’s code stated as early as 1780 BCE in law 299, “If a builder build a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death” [1

Conference Session

K-12 Activities

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leilah Lyons, University of Michigan; Zbigniew Pasek, University of Windsor

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

interactive computer game as well as through hands-on exhibitcomponents. The computer games were designed to be deployable both within thephysical exhibit as well as online, to extend the outreach beyond the exhibit’s physicallocation (see Figure 1).The first game in the series, Design Station, invites the visitor to help employees of adesign firm as they attempt to design a pen that will sell well. The visitor engages inmarket research and uses the results of that research to select pen components likely toplease members of the market. The second game in the series, Some Assembly Required,introduces visitors to several characters engaged in different occupational roles related tomanufacturing, such as a manufacturing engineer, a machine technician

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Turns, University of Washington; Jessica Yellin, University of Washington; Yi-Min Huang, University of Washington; Kathleen Gygi, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

of learning. Appendix 1 provides a more detailed account of the coding that resulted in thedescription below. In particular, the appendix identifies the exact codes we used and providesexamples of participant interaction illustrating each of the codes.Audience. Participants discussed a number of issues related to audience, including discussions of Page 11.1446.4the intended reader (e.g., characteristics, attributes), the identification of context of that readerand the portfolio (e.g., how a participant's teaching philosophy statement might be more suited toa research extensive institution rather than a teaching focused institution or a

Conference Session

Assessment

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa McNair, Virginia Tech; Tamara Knott, Virginia Tech; Mary Leigh Wolfe, Virginia Tech; Marie Paretti, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

classificatory schemes of how people learn. We willprovide examples of how selected faculty in our College of Engineering are developing ways tointegrate ePortfolio into undergraduate curricula as a device that (1) guides students tounderstand and take ownership of their education, (2) helps faculty define and teach the ABETprogram outcomes (both technical and professional), and (3) enables departments to assessspecific programs and archive materials for outside assessment.Rationale: E-Portfolio Tools for Assessing Professional SkillsAs part of a larger NSF-funded Department-Level Reform (DLR) grant, we are developingmechanisms for using electronic portfolios to document and assess engineering outcomes. Thispaper reports the first phases of this project

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maura Borrego, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

collaboration. Page 12.714.2The purpose of this survey research was to better understand cross-disciplinary collaborationacross a wide range of disciplines with respect to disciplinary differences, common strategies,and reported difficulties. The research questions addressed are: 1. What, if any, are the correlations between disciplinary background and expectations for collaboration? 2. What strategies do successful researchers employ in cross-disciplinary collaboration? 3. What difficulties do successful researchers report from their experiences in cross- disciplinary collaboration? 4. What recommendations can be made to help

Conference Session

Curricular Innovations

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maura Borrego, Virginia Tech; Lynette Osborne, National Academy of Engineering; Ruth Streveler, Purdue University; Karl Smith, University of Minnesota; Ronald Miller, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

of the program since 2004. Implications aredrawn and specific assessment methods presented for those interested in buildingengineering education research capacity.1. IntroductionFor the past three years, the National Science Foundation has funded “Rigorous Researchin Engineering Education: Creating a Community of Practice” (DUE-0341127) torespond to recent calls for embracing more rigorous research in engineering education1-5.The goals of this project are to:• Create and present workshops for engineering faculty on conducting rigorous research in engineering education. Five-day workshops are held in Golden, Colorado each summer from 2004 through 2006 to train faculty participants. For more details see the project website6 and

Conference Session

Student Teams and Project-Based Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan Cheville, Oklahoma State University; Christine Co, Oklahoma State University; Bear Turner, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

inwhich students design, build, and test a complex project. These programs are increasinglyindustry sponsored 1, and expose students to many of the real constraints engineers face.Capstone courses are the primary mechanism used by many universities for integratingcommunication, and teamwork skills and social, economic, and ethical issues into theengineering curriculum 2. The capstone concept has been extended by other schools such as theDesign4Practice program at Northern Arizona University and the projects program at WorcesterPolytechnic Institute 3-5 in which dedicated design courses are integrated into all four years of theundergraduate curriculum. Improvements in student performance following capstone programshave been observed in several

Conference Session

Cognitive and Motivational Issues in Student Performance II

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey Froyd, Texas A&M University; Larissa Pchenitchnaia, Texas A&M University; Debra Fowler, Texas A&M University; Nancy Simpson, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

. For the set of student outcomes, each programmust have processes that demonstrate that (1) program performance with respect to itsoutcomes is being assessed, (2) results of program evaluation are being used to developand improve the program, and (3) results and processes are being documented. As aresult, engineering faculty members must develop methodologies for assessingperformance with respect to outcomes in competency in addition to developing newcurriculum9. Need for these methodologies has created increased interest in developingand identifying relevant assessment instruments10. However, only a handful of tools andmethodologies are publicly available11,12. Meeting ABET Engineering Criteria createdsignificant challenges for almost every

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching and Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benson Tongue, University of California-Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

climate of reduced resources and support infrastructure,where will students find their answers? Advising by faculty advisors is a catch as catch canproposition and is notorious for its uneven level of quality. Beyond the simple question ofexpertise, there is the problem of actually finding an advisor when needed.Our solution to this problem is an electronically available resource that’s accessible 24 hoursa day (assuming no network server failures, of course). Electronic learning has been an objectof steadily growing interest [1], [2], [3], [11], [12], and the present project falls within thisgeneral area - an expandable program that enables learning to progress at the user’s paceand convenience.The concern over education of this sort isn’t

Conference Session

Cognitive and Motivational Issues in Student Performance I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Steif, Carnegie Mellon University; Jamie LoBue, Carnegie Mellon University; Anne Fay, Carnegie Mellon University; Burak Kara, Carnegie Mellon University; Steve Spencer, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

problems; the control groupreceives instruction with the same examples as the experimental group, but without thequestions that induce body-centered thinking. Problems used for this study include thoseshown in Figure 1. The participant is asked to determine the loads (interactions or forces)acting on various bodies. All problems involve multiple bodies connected in various waysand require many critical concepts in statics. E F 2m E A D 30 cm 30 cm 40 cm 2m B

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah Henrickson, Harvard University; Rumi Chunara, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Iahn Cajigas, HST Division, Harvard and MIT; Heather Gunter, HST Division, Harvard and MIT; Joseph Bonventre, HST Division, Harvard and MIT

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

University, Northwestern University, University ofTexas and HST) Biomedical Engineering Education Research Center (Fig. 1). We present thefundamental concepts and the clinical case for the students to consider using both graphics and text, andthroughout the module they are prompted to answer questions on which they receive immediate feedback.The feedback is customized to address common patterns of incorrect responses. A second form offeedback occurs during the lecture. The lecturer uses data from student responses collected during thefirst online exercise to inform the focus of the lecture. The computer simulation is used during the lectureto demonstrate examples and probe student reasoning (Fig. 2). Manipulation of the input variables usingthe

Conference Session

Assessment and Evaluation in Engineering Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelley Racicot, Washington State University; Charles Pezeshki, Washington State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

major challenge for faculty is how to develop a “culture of evidence” in the classroom thatsupports student-centered formative learning and aligns with program and accreditation goals.Another challenge is the development of assessment tools that lighten, rather than add to, facultyworkload. In this paper, we analyze a systems approach for gathering evidence centered on thedevelopment of group artifacts. Specifically, online project management (PM) and knowledgemanagement (KM) resources are purposefully developed by students at the intersection ofworking, learning, and assessment. The KM and PM archives are assessed using a multi-methodapproach, with three goals in mind: 1) ease of implementation, 2) real-time documentation ofimprovements, and 3

Conference Session

Engineering Identity 2

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John C. Chen, California Polytechnic State University; Susan M Lord, University of San Diego; Karen J McGaughey, Cal Poly State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

modern teaching practices.The instruments under study are appealing in that both are based on educational psychologyresearch, psychometrically sound, and brief, taking less than 10 minutes to complete both.Macaskill and Taylor’s 12-item instrument2 aims to measure two subscales – independence oflearning and study habits – that characterize an autonomous learner, which arguably forms theact of being a lifelong learner. Kirby et al.1 claims to directly measure lifelong learning asconceptualized through five traits: goal setting, applying appropriate knowledge and skills,engaging in self-direction and self-evaluation, locating information, and adapting learningstrategies to different conditions. This instrument contains 14 questions. We

Conference Session

Educational Research and Methods (ERM) Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diana Bairaktarova, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Mary K. Pilotte, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Demetra Evangelou, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Monica Farmer Cox, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

for follow up research were proposed indirections of how to refocus and improve outreach engineering programs and their effectivenessand improve recruiting activities according to the main themes of Changing the Conversation.I. IntroductionOutreach programs are extremely important in increasing the percent of students interested inpursuing engineering. There are many examples of engineering outreach activities designed toeducate students about the wide variety of jobs available to those with an engineering degree,demonstrate the accessibility of engineering knowledge, and encourage students who wouldotherwise have steered clear of engineering to take another look [1, 2, 3,4]. Early outreach alsoallows students to start thinking about the

Conference Session

First Year Engineering

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Irene B Mena, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Sarah E Zappe, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Thomas A. Litzinger, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

-year engineering experience at the University. Itanswers the following research questions: (1) How do students define engineering? (2) Why arestudents planning to major in engineering? (3) What are some of the positive experiences instudents’ first year of engineering? and (4) What are students’ perceptions of the followingengineer of 2020 skills and attributes: communication, creativity, global and multidisciplinaryteamwork, and ethics?Data for this study was collected using surveys and interviews. A total of 665 first-yearengineering students completed a survey in the fall 2011 semester. Forty first-year engineeringstudents who completed the survey participated in one one-hour semi-structured interview in thespring 2012 semester. The results

Conference Session

Issues in Advising and Mentoring

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Zunkel, Iowa State University; Jason Pontius; Thomas J Brumm, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

teachers or college instructors, as well as high school students taking college courses on the college campus) Credit from passing Advanced Placement (AP) [1] or International Baccalaureate (IB) [2] examinations at certain levels after taking AP or IB courses in high school. Courses taken directly from a 2- or 4-year institution (either on the college campus or on- line) Placement testing, including College Level Examination Program (CLEP) [3] or institutional exams/processes.According to National Center for Education Statistics”, [4] in 2002-2003 school year, 72% of Page 23.578.2public high schools

Conference Session

Retention and Persistence in Engineering

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, University of New Haven; Amy E Thompson, University of New Haven; Terance Joshua Thomas, University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Question 1: How important are specific socializers, interest, and external influencers when selecting or changing engineering majors for UNH engineering students?The Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science,Engineering and Technology1 found that there are four important eras in girls’ lives when theystart losing interest in STEM disciplines: while entering middle school, during late high school,college and graduate school, and in their professional lives. This study focuses upon one of themost important indicators of interest, the choice of major decision. Research Question 2: Do important influencers on the choice of engineering major affect male and female UNH engineering students

Conference Session

Issues in Advising and Mentoring

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gillian M. Nicholls, University of Alabama in Huntsville

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

2005 through 2015 isestimated at nearly 3,000 students.The data collection will start by studying the course enrollment and success rates for a subset ofgateway courses at UAHuntsville to measure the probabilities of successful completion (earningan A, B, or C), unsuccessful completion (earning a D or F), and withdrawal for students given atheir individual sets of characteristics and factors. The gateway class sizes at UAHuntsville aresizeable enough to provide an extensive set of records over the anticipated 10 year period. Forexample, during the 2011-2012 academic year student enrollment figures for the Calculus A – Csequence were 608, 486, and 483 students, respectively. Similarly, the total 2011-2012enrollment for the Physics 1 and 2

Conference Session

Culture, Race, and Gender Issues

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard F. Vaz, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Paula Quinn, Quinn Evaluation Consulting; Arthur C Heinricher, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Kent J Rissmiller, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods