could not cope with such an environment withdrew from the course. d. Comparison of the term papers of the pre-Connect2U semesters and post-Connect2U showed an increase in the diversity of the term paper topics and an improvement in the paper writing. The diversity in the topics was either due to the discussion in the “icebreaker minutes” or due to the students’ interest in choosing water topics related to their own disciplines. Table 6 provides a few term topics that the students picked related to their majors in the post-Connect2U period . The final classroom presentations by the students to their peers helped the class become informed on a variety of water issues that the instructor could not cover in the
and Management at Arizona State University, Cornell University’s Science of Earth Systems major, the University of New Hampshire’s Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, and the Center for Integrated Earth System Science at the University of Texas at Austin.5,6,14,17 Resources for modeling the Chesapeake Bay were developed from various peer-reviewed literature sources and information reported
solution.However, students often come into the design course without mastery of the prerequisitematerial. Faculty then use class time to review this material, reducing the time that can be spenton the objectives of the course such as engineering design, professional correspondence, andimproving technical writing and presentations skills. To solve this problem, we have created aset of online instructional materials that can be used by students in an EnvironmentalEngineering capstone course to ensure that they have mastered the prerequisite material beforeand while engaging on the design project.In this case the students designed a water treatment system to remediate acid mine drainageentering the headwaters of a local river. This design required knowledge
IEEE and is a member of ASME, SIAM, ASEE and AGU. He is actively involved in CELT activities and regularly participates and presents at the Lilly Conference. He has been the recipient of several Faculty Learning Community awards. He is also very active in assessment activities and has presented more than thirty five papers at various conferences and Assessment Institutes. His posters in the areas of Assessment, Bloom’s Taxonomy and Socratic Inquisition have received widespread acclaim from several scholars in the area of Cognitive Science and Educational Methodologies. He has received the Assessment of Critical Thinking Award twice and is currently working towards incorporating writing
. Page 23.943.9 Preparation of sustainability research: Structure and write a research proposal (e.g. Honors College grant application, NSF graduate fellowship application or thesis proposal); Deliverable: Research proposal Structure and write an undergraduate thesis (i.e., abstract, introduction and previous work, statement of problem, objectives, methods, data and data representation, discussion, references, along with methods for appropriate attribution (citation), data visualization (charts, graphs, tables, etc.); Deliverable: Thesis outline Write a research abstract for a research conference, conference paper, or journal paper; Deliverable: Abstract suitable for submission Prepare a research
hold the chain and another student to apply a tensile force to the chain to turn it into asemicircle. We note that the tensile force applied to turn the chain into a semicircle is analogousto the compressive force applied to the arch by the fill above the arch, which changes the flow offorces into one that fits within the geometric confines of the semicircular arch (see Figure 1).Figure 1. Line of action of a uniformly distributed load through a freestanding semicircular arch (left)and through a semicircular arch with lateral forces due to fill (right) 2 Others include Think-Pair-Share, one-minute papers, and peer editing of draft writing assignments.Eventually the Roman arch made
end of this more in depth discussion, afew students were asked to rephrase what was discussed. If they could not make the links ormissed a concept, they were teamed up with another student and received peer help. The varioussteps of knowledge and links between concepts in this topic were as follows: Step 1: Lime (Ca(OH)2) is a base. Linkage 1: Addition of lime raises the pH. Step 2: Carbonates in water occur in various species (e.g., H2CO3, HCO3- and CO32-) Linkage 2: Raising the pH causes CO32- to be the dominant species. Step 3: Precipitation of CaCO3 is based on solubility where the product of concentrations of Ca and CO32- is always a constant. Linkage 3: When CO32- becomes
and all students should present part of the video uploaded to YouTube (5%).The final choice of a project was made in consultation with the instructor to ensure proper scopeand feasibility. The deliverables for the group project include: (1) forming a group, (2) projectpre-approval (3) project proposal; (4) progress report; (5) final report and (6) an individualnewsletter or group video (all students opted to do the group video). The group project alsoincluded a peer-evaluation component to ensure accountability and fair grading of individual andgroup efforts.Upon forming groups and getting pre-approval for a project idea, groups were tasked with theproject proposal assignment. This assignment entails a presentation
engineering.Prefer thesis-based: • Thesis forces students to develop independent thinking skills including the ability to identify and acquire any necessary resources and new skills largely on their own. • Communication (technical writing, presentation, team management) and time management skills developed during a thesis are beneficial in the work environment. • A thesis allows us to see and evaluate a body of work.What skills (technical and nontechnical) do you expect Master of Environmental Engineeringgraduates to possess over those of their B.S. Civil Engineering peers? • Solid understanding of basic concepts/technologies in the field with ability to design systems from problem to solution. • Advanced fundamental
methods allow the individual student to learn from the instructor, peers, and as anindividual student researching and mastering material. Active learners could benefit by activelyparticipating in lab, hands-on activities. Reflective learners can use the PBL and case studies toreflect over the problem or the framework story associated to the module activities. The researchor fact gathering opportunity the students conduct while developing their environmentalsustainability projects would facilitate learning for students who are sensing learners. Intuitivelearners can use the case studies and PBL to investigate “what if” scenarios in their projects.Visual and verbal learners receive both types of learning styles using PBL and case studies.Sequential
: Study Individual Our Stolen DW Time Future book Evaluation: Biofuel LCA management review Group Ethics Case Ethics: case studies, moral exemplar, student honor code vs. Ethics Study NSPE Code of Ethics Course plan to GraduationDrinking watertreatment plant Team Project: Solid Waste – LandGEM – Waste-to-Energy tour write-upGuest Speaker Guest
Tampa, which is currently beautifying three of its stormwater ponds.The Environmental Engineering Laboratory at USF is a required 1 unit course offered in the Falland Spring semester each year with a total enrollment of 60 students each semester. Studentswork in teams of 3 to conduct experiments and write reports for a series of labs that explorewater quality measurements (e.g. pH, turbidity, DO, hardness, phosphorous) and treatmentprocesses (e.g. chemical precipitation, flocculation and settling, sorption, photocatalyticoxidation). Class lectures not only cover experimental approaches, but also used online videosthat addressed issues of sustainability. After the videos, students brainstormed on sustainabilityas it applies to the laboratory
Foundation, with a $6.4 million research funding participation from external sources. He has been directing/co-directing an NSF/Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site on interdisciplinary water sciences and engineering at VT since 2007. This site has 95 alumni to date. He also leads an NSF/Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) site on interdisciplinary water research and have 10 alumni. He also leads an NSF-funded cybersecurity education project and serves as a co-PI on two International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) projects funded by the NSF. He has published over 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. American c
worked on adifferent project, and in many cases the teams were multi-disciplinary. This approach has thebenefit of encouraging students to be more diligent in their presentation, because of the audienceof peers, faculty from across campus, and industry sponsors who may be hiring graduates.A different design competition model is to promote internal-competitions among students withina single course. At the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), the Civil Engineering capstonecourse has always used only one or two projects and therefore multiple teams all work on thesame project. This engenders a degree of competition among teams, but competition was notdirectly encouraged until 2009. In that year the course was re-designed with a local
introductory environmental engineering courses14 and in environmentalsampling and analysis laboratory courses.17 The most common measurements appear to beparticulate matter (PM), CO, CO2, and aerosols (Table 1). One air pollution project at theUniversity of Utah examined the outdoor concentrations of PM and the students’ work resultedin peer-reviewed publication.22An example of a previously published IAP project was described by Eschenbach and Cashman(2004), who reported on students’ use of CO2 meters to determine the ventilation rate of a spaceof their choosing. The instructor provided a website and associated readings that explain the useof the CO2 meters, the proper data collection methods, as well as describe the use of regressionto determine the
that theirparticipation in EWB helped them to develop new skills not taught in the classroom, such asproposal writing, project management, multi-disciplinary collaboration, assessment of social andeconomic impact, and social responsibility. They also assert that EWB has provided a uniqueopportunity for them to refine their grasp of concepts learned in class by applying theirengineering and professionalism skills to important problems in real environments.Introduction Page 12.1184.2Engineers Without Borders (EWB-USA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization that partnerswith developing communities worldwide in order to improve their health and
-recorded argumentation. Group I focused on the ILO “Independentlyidentify a WSP in the context of one’s future profession and describe why it is a WSP” (ILOcategory 2b in table 1). They suggested that each student in the class should choose a WSP fromthe context of their future profession. They should then write a short note to the teacher in whichthey report which problem they have chosen, including one argument for why they think it is aWSP. The teacher either approves the students’ choices, or provides feedback for why the chosenproblem may not be seen as a WSP. Once students have received approval from the teacher, theywork in pairs. Each pair records a short video in which each student describes his/her chosenproblem to the other student, and
Engineering Seminar. LTC Starke has published over 10 peer reviewed research arti- cles and has presented his research at national and international meetings (most recently Portugal). Most recently, he led a service learning project with 5 students to build a latrine-based biogas system in west- ern Uganda for an elementary school of 1400 students. LTC Starke is a registered Professional Engineer (Delaware), member of several professional associations, and is a member of the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES). c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to thank Dr. Ed Bouwer (Johns Hopkins
their research, complete the application and write a brief project proposal detailing theirresearch. A committee reviews all proposals based on their merit with a primary objective ofselecting high caliber undergraduate engineering students (with a GPA of 3.5 or higher) whohave the desire and aptitude to pursue graduate studies (preferably in sustainable engineering).These students must also have an interest in completing an inter-disciplinary and cross-culturalexperience. Students are notified in March prior to the summer internship regarding the awarddecision. Shortly thereafter, students begin preparations for study in Brazil including applyingfor passports and visas. The Pitt IRES program provided finances for student travel, living
learning outcomesevaluated via student feedback questionnaires, peer reviews, supervisor comments and employersurveys. The student feedback questionnaire was administered pre- and post- in a design projectclass. Sustainability learning outcomes were assessed based on the relative importance studentsassigned sustainability between the pre- and post-questionnaires to the other factors involved inproject implementation. The peer reviews included sustainability as a measurement of projectachievement – reinforcing students’ belief in sustainability issues18.The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has developed a university level course forsustainability education with a goal of integrating environmental, social, and economicsustainable
the information is presented seems valuable.” “Posted lectures with comment great for review and homework, but trying to listen to them before class was overwhelming. Good tool but I prefer in-class lectures.”Instructor PerspectiveFrom an instructor perspective, making the lectures in advance took time and the resulting fileswere very large. Creating additional problems for in-class work also took additional time.However, I found it more enjoyable to spend class time interactively working problems. Peer-to-peer instruction was observed. Students questions while
. Four original case studies were developed using the Herreid(1997) definition of the components for a good case study used in the sciences.12, 13 TheNational Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS) model recommends several keyfactors for developing a good case.12 These are: 1) the case tells a story; 2) it focuses on aninteresting-arousing issue; 3) the case is set within the past five years and can be real or fictionalas long as it is factual; 4) it creates empathy with the central characters; 5) the case must havepedagogic utility; and 5) the case is short. Cases submitted to NCCSTS are peer reviewed andpublished in a database. Table 1 lists the four cases and tour developed for the educational studyto be used in the laboratory
develops thestudents’ lifelong learning skills, self-evaluations, self-discovery, and peer instruction in thedesign’s creation, critique, and justification. Students learn to understand and make use of themanufacturer data sheets, application notes, and technical manuals when developing their designprojects. The experience, which would be difficult to complete individually, gives the students asense of satisfaction and the accomplishment that is often lacking in many engineering courses,using traditional teaching approaches. Furthermore, the design experience motivates studentlearning and develops skills required in industry. This paper discusses the development of astudent project involving a number of senior undergraduate students at our
(median 18-19%) and total choice (65-81%), and lower technical requirements (median47-54%), as compared to engineering degrees. The results demonstrate that environmentalengineering students have comparatively less choice and curricular balance that peers in naturalscience and math. However, there are accredited and highly ranked environmental engineeringprograms that allow both choice and greater curricular balance. These programs serve asexamples to others who may want to design programs that allow students to exercise their innateneed for autonomy and also balance their educational experience.IntroductionSelf-determination theory indicates that human beings have an innate psychological need forautonomy, satisfied through choice.1,2 Choice is
) changes over time.7 In fact, in another publication, Chua claims that the morea student participates in project-based learning, the better the student grows in critical thinkingand generates better project-related products.5 For similar reasons, Rasul et al. advocate early,deliberate preparation of a student before their senior year capstone project.8 The importance of capstone design courses in an engineering education is well-documented.9Ward writes that capstone projects “bring all aspects of an undergraduate student’s experiencetogether”.10 Ward further notes that the completion of capstone projects do not only benefit thestudent but also serve as validation by potential employers of the student’s ability to applyknowledge and generate
students with deadlines allowing for development ofstudent project and time management skills. Peer and self evaluations were due at the end of thesemester providing students with the opportunity to assess how they perceived each groupmember performed throughout the course. Group evaluations focused on teamwork and groupcommunication during the semester.Project updates were given by student teams bimonthly, totaling six updates, throughout thesemester allowing students the opportunity to develop their oral skills. Project updates were fiveminute presentations covering the team’s progress and the next tasks the teams would addressregarding the proposed upgrades to the WWTP. Project updates were given to faculty membersin a conference room setting
conducts research in engineering education, related to classroom and innovative pedagogical strategies. Her own intersectionality led to her passion in promoting and researching pathways into STEM especially for underrepresented minority groups.Ms. Nihal Sarikaya, Northern Arizona University Nihal A. Sarikaya is a student in the Department of Business and Administration at Northern Arizona University. She is working toward a Master of Administration degree, with Professional Writing empha- sis. Her goal is to become a medical/scientific writer. Sarikaya received her BS in biological sciences from the University of Southern California. Also, she has worked in academic research for five years and biopharmaceutical
well established student-centered approach which promotesapplication-based learning, enhances problem solving skills and fosters peer learning. This paperdescribes implementation of a PBL lab within a junior-level course on environmentalengineering processes. The PBL exercise was an open-ended, two-hour lab, where student teamsdesigned, built and tested a prototype water treatment system to achieve stated water qualitycriteria (UV transmittance and turbidity). Each team was given a scope of work that outlined theproblem, objectives, design criteria, available materials, constraints, effluent quality testingprotocol (using a synthetic influent) and evaluation criteria. Students were given no priorinformation about the lab, and the PBL lab was
questions have been posted by the moderator, the participants arerequired to write a 200-250 word response on the discussion board the night before class. Theyare also tasked with responding to the post of one other participant before the start of class. The online preparation for course discussion has a couple of important functions. First, itencourages the students to read the assigned materials. Though certainly students can try toimprovise their way through readings and discussions, having to post their thoughts publicly fortheir peers typically keeps them on task. They also recognize that they will be asked to orallyshare their thoughts in group discussion which similarly keeps them engaged. The onlinepostings help students
Development. In addition, she has developed numerous tools to mentor young women considering engineering as a career and has been involved in the development of a women in engineering role model book for K-12 students.Patricia Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology PATRICIA A. CARLSON is professor of rhetoric at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She is a long-time advocate of writing in engineering education. Carlson has been a National Research Council Senior Fellow for the U. S. Air Force, as well as having had several research fellowships with NASA (Langley and Goddard) and the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground. She has also been a research fellow at NASA's Classroom