Paper ID #43465Board #440: Effect of Reflection Exercises on Preparation for Exams: A CaseStudy in an ECE Machine Learning ClassDr. Ahmed Dallal, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Dallal is an associate professor at the department of electrical and computer engineering, Unversity of Pittsburgh. Dr. Dallal’s primary focus is on education development and innovation. His research interests include biomedical signal processing, biomedical image analysis, and computer vision, as well as machine learning, networked control systems, and human-machine learning. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2024
response to these trends, more engineering courses are being designed to incorporate moreinnovative, creative problem-solving skills2,3,4,5. Some examples include field trips or minicompetitions as a creative model to encourage creativity6. In addition, problem-based learningand critical thinking skills in the context of real-world problems have been integrated intoengineering education to facilitate students’ divergent thinking during the idea generation phase7.Among them, the most common instructional approach in engineering education is open-endeddesign projects, where the target product is not defined in order to allow creative opportunities3,5.One argument in favor of open-ended design projects is that students reflect on their owncreative
facets of knowledge inlearning activities. Additionally, Krathwohl's revision of Bloom's Taxonomy [14] emphasizes theevolution of the framework, underlining the significance of metacognitive knowledge. This newlyintroduced category reflects advancements in cognitive psychology, stressing the importance ofstudents' awareness of their own cognitive processes—an aspect crucial for effective learning.Building on Bloom's Taxonomy, which originated in 1956 [16], the end goal has always been tocontribute to the development of students’ learning facilitated through a taxonomy of educationalobjectives and in this case, specific to engineering education. The taxonomy not only classifieseducational goals but also provides precision in discussing curricular
, we developed the Plug -n- Play approach, a flexiblepedagogical approach which ensures instructors have a fixed core structure, flexibility inleveraging their own teaching style, and a mechanism for constant reflection which allows foradaptations to the course structure over time. The PNP approach focuses course design around thestudent experience, while acknowledging and supporting individual teaching styles and teachingmethods.To assess PNP, a classroom observation protocol was developed to evaluate student engagement,as well as examination of sixteen sections worth of grades and student evaluations. The resultsshow that students are highly engaged with the course material, peers in the class, and theinstructors. Finally, the PNP approach
analysisof the autoethnographic account of the first blind student to complete the introductory ECEcourse at our institution, Stanford University. This work also expands the role of the blindstudent to become a co-researcher, actively guiding the direction of this work while receivingmentorship from research team members on qualitative research methods.In this work, we begin with the analysis of seven reflection journal entries written by the blindstudent and relevant discussion session notes recorded by the lead researcher. These data weregenerated and collected via the autoethnography method and analyzed by applying the CAREmethodology, using a grounded theory approach, during which we completed open and focusedcoding. We then identify
you understand those concepts very well you won’t have to waste more time relearning it.” “Review your Physics II before you start the class.” “Do well in University Physics 2” Needs for Visualization “Bringing more visualization would be helpful.” “I would have preferred more visual aids, specifically animations of the fields.”Conditions and Constraints in Class EnvironmentThe class environment plays a pivotal role in fostering effective learning and holds significantimportance in shaping the educational experience for students. It is useful to clarify the classenvironment for both universities along with the constraints so that it reflects better howvisualization tools and trials work. Both institutions adopt typical university classes and
necessitate covering aspects from adiverse range of topics, including fundamentals of digital design, computer architecture, parallelprogramming, and systems thinking. Although such concepts naturally intersect within thediscipline of computer engineering, structural considerations within our master’s programs anddisparate prior knowledge within our cohort entail students inherently experience the subject asinterdisciplinary in nature. This presents numerous challenges in subject design but offers anopportunity for developing interdisciplinary competencies and an appreciation for otherdisciplinary ways of thinking. Based on instructor observations while teaching, we reflect on thesuccesses and shortcomings in the subject’s design that impact
different passives, sensors, andperipherals to the MKR Motor Carrier, including resistors, potentiometers, FSRs, motors, servos,encoders, accelerometers, Hall-effect sensors, ultrasonic sensors, infrared reflectance sensors,and photoresistors.Software DesignThe Arduino MKR was programmed to establish a wireless access point and await commandsover UDP from an external device (e.g., a student running MATLAB on a laptop or classroomdesktop). The MKR remains waiting, responding to commands as they are received.When a command is received to read from a peripheral device or a GPIO pin, for example, theArduino responds with the value. Several data streams have been established to facilitate datatransfer when several different data values are needed, which
designed toencourage students to consolidate their knowledge and foster a deeper understanding of thecourse material by visualizing and summarizing the relationships between key topics. This typeof active learning also empowers students to take ownership of their learning by creating andrevising their concept maps.A fundamental aspect of our course improvement work involved gathering feedback fromstudents regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of concept mapping in these courses. Ineach course, a survey was administered at the end of the semester to gauge students’ experiences,opinions, and reflections. Our findings from the surveys indicate that concept mapping isperceived positively by a significant proportion of the students
therepresentation of female students (28.3%) when compared to Electrical Engineering(14.4%) [14]. Further, in our experience, extra-curricular opportunities to engage with HEprojects, for example through student clubs, are often rooted in the civil and mechanicalengineering disciplines. For example, many Engineers without Borders student chapter projectsfocus on water access and building construction. While electrical engineering students mayparticipate in these experiences, not seeing their discipline reflected in the projects may limit theappeal. In short, there is at least the perception that electrical engineering students do not engagewith HE themes as often in their coursework or in extra-curricular ways as their peers in otherengineering disciplines
. By analyzingqualitative data from weekly blog post reflections and student interviews, this work aims to unpackthe complex ways global competencies are cultivated among undergraduate and graduateengineering students with varying degrees of prior research experience. The findings of thisresearch are expected to inform future engineering education practices, providing valuable insightsfor educators, policymakers, and institutions aiming to enhance the global competencies of theirstudents through international research collaborations.IntroductionGlobal competence has increasingly become a key differentiator in engineering, significantlyinfluencing an engineer’s employability and career progression [1], [2], [3], [4]. However, workingwith
, examinations, and attendance (for asynchronous/flippedmodalities only) are also given in Table 1 for each iteration. Average final grades range from79.33% to 86.47% which reflects that overall the groups are demonstrating good to very goodmastery of the course material. The average final examination grade, which is the finalindividual assessment of course material, ranges from 67.63% to 79.91% over this same perioddemonstrating satisfactory (with some weaknesses) to satisfactory performance.To determine if there were differences in student course performance between iterations from2018 to 2023 a one-way ANOVA was conducted using the average course grades in Table 1.This analysis reported that the final course grade between semesters was not
regulators, and data conversion circuits.Students obtained more accurate results, matching calculations, and simulations compared tousing breadboards. In addition, students gained time spent on additional testing and analysis.Students completed assignments using both the customized PCBAs and conventionalbreadboards. Quantitative and qualitative surveys have been conducted to assess the impact ofPCBAs on students' learning experience, technical effectiveness, and educational impact. Studentfeedback on using PCBAs compared to traditional breadboarding has been analyzed and sharedin this paper. The use of custom PCBAs addresses known breadboarding impediments, includingloose connections, noise, probing challenges, and cluttered layouts. They reflect
and reflectively. In essence, formative assessment is fundamentally concerned withnurturing students' learning and development [9], rendering it a vital component in the fusion ofassessment and teaching [3], [10].Brown [11] describes the formative assessment as the evaluation of learners in the process of"forming" their skills and competencies, facilitating their continuous growth. It encompasses allactivities conducted by instructors and learners alike, supplying information that can beharnessed as feedback to refine ongoing learning and teaching practices [12]. Importantly, thisdefinition underscores the active involvement of both students and teachers, making formativeassessment an integral component for enhancing students
electrical engineering course. The study is conducted in amultidisciplinary course, which includes students from various engineering majors, recognizingthe importance of interdisciplinary education which can better reflect the real-worldcollaboration and problem-solving skills needed in the semiconductor industry. Byunderstanding the current level of awareness and interest in semiconductors among engineeringstudents, we aim to identify areas of improvement to encourage and prepare the next generationof semiconductor professionals.Research QuestionsThe overarching aim of this study is to explore to what extent do students demonstrate theirexposure and motivation for semiconductor-related topics within the context of amultidisciplinary electrical
document quantifies care for electrical and computerengineering (ECE) undergraduate students according to the number of student meetings, numberof student concerns raised, and frequency of Academic Advising Topics [6]. The document alsopresented three themes that describe the value for care work. These three themes are “Reflect onand reevaluate the contributors to student success,” “Mutual empowerment of expertise”, and“Fostering a culture of collaboration, cooperation, and communication” [6].The document “introduces the academic-career advisors, shows all that they do, and it answers arequest from one of the advisors: `I feel there should be a stronger relationship between the facultyand the advisors. And I think that would be a direct
determining the most efficient route between points within a given space [30]. The objectivesfor this ongoing project in graph-based path planning are outlined as follows: • According to the provided algorithms and pseudocode, students are required to draw BOTH a flow-chart and pseudocode to explain graph-based path planning methods. • Students are suggested to carry out path planning by revising the provided algorithms to create and analyze various graph structure. They are encouraged to adjust the graph construction parameters by varying the locations of vertices and edges to reflect different lines of sight around obstacles. Students should experiment with the placement of seed points and the impact on different
soldering equipment. • A full week was given to complete each laboratory assignment. • At least 20 staffed laboratory hours were provided each week (split between teaching assistants and peer mentors).For each laboratory assignment, the desired outcome is first and foremost to create something.Therefore, less emphasis was placed on the laboratory report than on the building process. Thelaboratory report contained mostly photographs and brief explanations of the various steps in theproject. Additionally, students were asked to reflect on the entire experience for each assignment,which allowed students to exercise some metacognition, and also gave the course staff an idea ofwhere the main challenges lie. Finally, for each assignment
burgeoning expertise in the field. Now, as a graduate student majoring in Advanced Computing, Ejiga is not only expanding his academic horizons but also actively contributing to the evolving landscape of engineering education. His role in the pedagogy project reflects a keen interest in developing educational strategies that are more interactive and hands-on, a testament to his dedication to enhancing learning experiences in engineering. Ejiga’s background in computer science, combined with his current focus on advanced computing, positions him uniquely to contribute significantly to both his department and the broader academic community.Oluwapemiisin Gbemisola Akingbola, Morgan State University Masters student Of
-oriented skills into the curricula with our regular annual career-oriented departmental co-curricular events. And since these are under our direct control, the synchronization is not likelyto be broken without the knowledge of the departmental faculty.Thus, we believe we have set ourselves up to maintain this strategic reimagining of our EE andCMPE programs. This is because (1) professional formation is not relegated to a single coursethat could be discontinued under budgetary pressures or mostly avoided by some students, and(2) because it is not a loose suggestion that a few junior faculty handle some added material, buta careful plan that comes with ready-to-teach modules on relevant technical topics—owned byall, reflected in each set of our
Apprenticeship Environment for AspiringEngineers,” Advances in Engineering Education, November 2016.[10] S. D. Brookfield, “Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher,” John Wiley & Sons, 2017.[11] M. Hernández-de-Menéndez, A. Vallejo Guevara, J. C. Tudón Martínez et al., “Active learning in engineeringeducation. A review of fundamentals, best practices and experiences,” Int J Interact Des Manuf 13, 909–922 (2019).
Scaling up Learning for Sustained Impact. Springer, 2013, pp. 314–327. [9] A. Bruckman, E. Edwards, J. Elliott, and C. Jensen, “Uneven achievement in a constructionist learning environment,” in International Conference of the Learning Sciences: Facing the Challenges of Complex Real-world Settings, vol. 7, no. 17. Psychology Press, 2013, p. 157.[10] S. Charleer, J. Klerkx, J. L. Santos, and E. Duval, “Improving awareness and reflection through collaborative, interactive visualizations of badges,” in 3rd Workshop on Awareness and Reflection in Technology-Enhanced Learning, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1103/paper5.pdf[11] J. Young, “Badges earned online pose challenges to traditional college diplomas,” The
passenger well-being and minimize the risk of accidents. This collective effort reflects a commitment to caring for the safety and security of airline passengers and crew members. These cases illustrate the importance of incorporating care ethics principles into engineering practice to ensure that decisions prioritize the well-being and dignity of all individuals affected by technological developments. ➢ Contextualism: The idea that ethical decisions should consider the specific context and circumstances of each situation.Environmental Impact Assessment: In a project involving the construction of a hydroelectricdam, engineers must consider the potential environmental impact on the surrounding ecosystem,including
situations also improves, which is importantto developing students’ problem-solving repertoire. One study found that the general learningenvironment is also enhanced whereby instructors’ close interaction with students allow them tobetter pinpoint where weaknesses in student learning of course content lie [7]. Other benefits of oral assessments are that they may better reflect professional situationsthat students will encounter after graduating, such as job interviews where they must verballycommunicate ideas [4]. In this sense, oral exams may add depth to the range of communicationskills acquired by undergraduates [3]. They can also provide the opportunity for increasedinclusivity in the assessment process. A study showed that students with
their survey responses by answering thefollowing questions:1. Can a predictive model be trained on the survey responses with sufficient accuracy compared to the baseline (in this case 50% for a binary classification) in classifying student GPA groups as TRUE or FALSE?2. If the answer is yes to question 1, does the model trained only on pre-intervention action state surveys have quantifiable levels of difference in accuracy when tested on the post- intervention responses? 3. If the answer is yes to question 2, is this difference in accuracy reflected in explainable and modest changes in false-positive ratios between the models trained and tested on different populations?To start answering these questions, we need to be able
, data arecentered on tracking students' advancement and pinpointing areas where instructional methods,curriculum design, and classroom management can be enhanced. Instructors and educationalprofessionals employ this information to fine-tune their teaching strategies and aid students facingchallenges.On the other hand, capstone projects reflect a conclusion of students' academic experience andemphasize the practical knowledge and skills they acquired for their future professionaldevelopment. In addition, capstone projects require engaging students in the constraints of the realworld to understand what it takes to achieve social value for the proposed solution and, at the sametime, attain the promised performance and innovation aspects. The data
, reflection, teamwork, and communication skills [3]. And finally, from [6] “We knowfrom research that the more students engage with other students in the class, as well as withprofessors, the more likely they are going to stay and get their baccalaureate degrees.” Boud [3]also suggests that peer learning suits some students better than learning individually, particularlywomen and students from some cultural backgrounds.The approach here is to use CATE to enhance learning in a peer-learning environment. This isintended to provide the many benefits of peer learning without an increased time commitment forthe instructor.Figure 2. A randomly generated circuit and associated step-by-step analysis. The CATE systemincludes an algorithm to select component
]. Asset Driven Equitable Partnerships – ADEP in Practice (WIP)Participating faculty from the two IEC Core MSI schools were asked to reflect on theirexperiences in this program by applying the ADEP Rubric (see Appendix for more details on therubric).Petru Andrei, from FAMU, had the following response. “I think this was a wonderful project. Ithas also increased the collaboration between the PIs/universities more than I expected.“The 8 items in the rubric were clearly addressed during the project.“For instance, in our first couple of meetings we identified the strengths that each of the PIscould bring to the project in multiple online presentations and Zoom meetings and we decidedwhat each faculty was supposed to do throughout the project. We did it
descriptions of troubleshooting techniquesmore accurate and reflective of student actions. Tab. 1 summarizes the final codebook.3.3 Exercise DesignFollowing Van De Bogart et al. [17], we designed an authentic troubleshooting exercise with pre-set faults of varying difficulty. We started with a circuit similar to that used in [17], but addedcomponents and faults in an attempt to elicit a wider range of troubleshooting strategies.Fig. 1 depicts the correct circuit diagram. This circuit can be split into three main parts. The firststage is an operational amplifier (op amp) configured as a voltage follower, meaning the outputshould exactly track the input within the limits of operation. When functioning properly, this stagedoes nothing to the input
computing, and utilizing a unique large scalelocation dataset. In all these cases, the instructors were not the experts but acted more as guidesto graduate student learning.To foster co-created knowledge and a shared learning process, previous versions of this coursehad students add notes to a wiki during the semester. This shared recording space allowedstudents to reflect on and build off each other’s knowledge. Expanding on this constructivistapproach, the SCHOLAR model was introduced in the “emerging technologies” course for fallof 2023, focusing on generative AI. Instead of a wiki, each student built a tutorial about someaspect of generative AI and/or its use in scholarly research. Examples included: Gradio Library Tutorial