Conference Session

FPD2 -- Highlighting First-Year Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Burton, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. Page 12.1395.2An Interactive Teaching StyleWalking about the lecture theatre, posing questions to the students, engaging them in thesubject matter, encouraging their questions and answering them is, in the author’s experience,an integral part of successful freshmen lectures, although this undoubtedly places moredemands on the lecturer. In an article entitled ‘Large Classes versus Small: Does it make aDifference?’1 the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State University indicatesthat creating a small class atmosphere in a large class setting is critical for success and thatthis is in part fostered by the lecturer moving about the lecture theatre or classroomAlthough PowerPoint slides are very popular and a very valuable teaching

Conference Session

FPD8 - Early Intervention & Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

included.IntroductionFor the past seven years, Michigan Technological University has had a common first yearengineering program.1 To meet the needs of the entering engineering students, this program Page 13.156.2provides two tracks: Calculus ready students and students enrolled in Pre-Calculus. Entering firstyear students are placed in Calculus of Pre-Calculus based on their ACT or SAT score. Table 1shows the math placement data for students entering Michigan Tech without transfer or APcredits for math. Approximately 75% of the entering first year students within the College ofEngineering (COE) are calculus ready. Of the remaining students, over 90% are enrolled

Conference Session

FPD7 - Global Warming & Sustainability for First-Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University; Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; David Shonnard, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

may be called toinvestigate.1 The goals of this new design project are to: a) encourage the development ofengineering skills (graphical and technical communication, and computer proficiency) b)introduce students to a “real-world” engineering problem and c) apply the concepts ofsustainability toward an engineering solution. Upon completion of the project, students willhave: Page 13.36.2 1. Evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of a biomass-to-ethanol facility in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, 2. Calculated the resource requirements of the facility to quantify the sustainable timber harvest from the local forests, 3

Conference Session

FPD4 - Teaching Methods for First Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Haungs, California Polytechnic State University; John Clements, California Polytechnic State University; David Janzen, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

paper, we present a model for an introductory freshman-level course that helps addressstudent enrollment and retention issues. Our course is based on three tenets: (1) the course drawsproblems from, and teaches about, an interesting and relevant domain in which students alreadyare familiar, (2) the course encourages teamwork and peer communication, (3) the student isactively responsible for their education. To address these, the class teaches game design in acollaborative environment in which students are given open-ended assignments to promotecreativity. We address instructor grading concerns, various student skill levels, and individualassessment. In our approach, we encourage the implicit acquisition of basic computer scienceconcepts and

Conference Session

FPD1 - Early Success and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alicia Boudreaux, Louisiana Tech University; Kelly Crittenden, Louisiana Tech University; James Nelson, Louisiana Tech University; Galen Turner, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Page 13.739.2in undergraduate engineering and science programs decreased sharply during the 1980s,followed by slower declines in the 1990s.1 Since 2000, enrollment numbers have begun toincrease again; but the report also indicates that, of those students who do enroll in engineeringand science programs, fewer than 50% earn an engineering or science degree within six years.Clearly, there is a continued need for increased enrollment and retention in science andengineering. In The Science and Engineering Workforce: Realizing America’s Potential, theBoard strongly recommends national-level action to provide an adequate number of science andengineering graduates to ensure competitiveness in the ever changing global economy (NSB2003). 2When

Conference Session

FPD5 - Teaming and Peer Performance

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arlisa Labrie Richardson, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

SME academic programs had a more significant negative impact on female and malestudents of color and white women 32. Henes, Bland, Darby, and McDonald reported that theresults of a University of California Davis survey of 419 male and female engineering studentsindicated five major reasons why women leave or become discouraged with engineering: (1)Isolation, (2) not seeing relevance of highly theoretical basic courses, (3) negative experiences inlaboratory courses, (4) the “cold classroom climate” and (5) lack of role models 17.The first-year of engineering curriculum is critical in students’ decision to persist in engineering.A six-year longitudinal study of undergraduate female engineering students at the University ofWashington found that

Conference Session

FPD1 - Early Success and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Reese, Mississippi State University; Robert Green, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

designed to provide students with more information about what types ofopportunities are available in each of our ten engineering majors so these students make earlierdecisions about the appropriateness of their major choice. Secondly the course attempts to helpstudents realize the magnitude of the academic challenge they were undertaking. About 1/3 ofthese students start in our pre-college intermediate algebra class upon entry to Mississippi State.These students have three semesters of mathematics that must be completed before they can evenbegin the calculus sequence required of engineering majors. Although the intent is not to scarethese students off, the students do need to have realistic expectations about the time to degreeimplications of

Conference Session

FPD5 - Teaming and Peer Performance

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kerry Meyers, University of Notre Dame; Stephen Silliman, University of Notre Dame; Matthew Ohland, Purdue Engineering Education; Leo McWilliams, University of Notre Dame; Tracy Kijewski-Correa, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

MethodsAll data collected for the student survey of the two instruments were collected usingSurvey Monkey16 during a two week period in October of 2007. The analysis of thesedata was conducted on the raw data and includes descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-squared, correlation, multiple regression, and decomposition of variance. The descriptivestatistics and t-tests were considered for the overall data collected, by method (on-line orpaper-pencil), and by instructor and these methods are the presented in this paper. Allanalysis was conducted using a statistical software package, STATA17.Table 1 provides a summary of the various variables involved in evaluating the individualinstruments and additional grouping variables used in our analysis. The

Conference Session

FPD7 - Global Warming & Sustainability for First-Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alex Friess; Carol Briam, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University; Linda Thompson, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University; Hemdeep Dulthummon, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Freshman Project: Discovering Global Trends – a Survey of Environmental Strategies of the Aerospace Industry A first semester student project that surveys the initiatives of the commercial aerospaceindustry to address increasing global environmental concerns is presented here. The projectmotivation stems from a twofold need for students of the region, and for all participants (whowere non-native English speakers): (1) to start developing at an early stage the process skillsrequired to successfully operate in the global environment of the aerospace industry, and (2)to gain exposure to the growing importance of environmental concerns within the industry,both from a technical and a business perspective.The students were organized in

Conference Session

FPD5 - Teaming and Peer Performance

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Frank, Queen's University; James Mason, Queen's University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Conference Session

FPD1 - Early Success and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jale Tezcan, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; John Nicklow, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; James Mathias, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Lalit Gupta, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Rhonda Kowalchuk, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, including students’perceptions of the course and their academic performance strongly indicate that the course willimprove retention and graduation rates in the COE.Introduction:Retention of engineering students is critical to ensuring the adequacy of engineers to meet thedemands of the industry. Recent statistics indicate a concerning decrease in the graduation rates,accelerating the research into engineering persistence 1.Several researchers have attempted to identify early indicators of engineering persistence 1-4.Daempfle 5 and Pascarella et al. 6 propose a variety of interdependent factors relating to thelevel of preparation of the incoming student, academic environment, and expectations aboutwork and family. Many studies stress the importance

Conference Session

FPD7 - Global Warming & Sustainability for First-Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Blair Rowley, Wright State University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Central Michigan University; Thomas Bazzoli, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

13.625.2 1MethodologyThe perception instrument presented in Figure.1 has twenty questions and was given to thestudents during their first and last lecture periods. Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15, and 17 provideinsights in areas that are negative towards global warming. Questions 8 and 18 were included tosee if elected officials or their parents might have had some influence on their thinking.Questions 6, 7, 10, and 16 involved intuitive thinking on the part of the students. Question 19was included to see how interested students are to learn about global warming. The rest of thequestions involved various global warming issues that appeared to be real from the data beingpresented through the common text

Conference Session

FPD5 -- Placement & Early Success

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos; Karen Brucks, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Eric Key, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Ethan Munson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; K Vairavan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

activated on the condition that theyattempt to attain calculus placement prior to matriculation. We present data that demonstratemoderate effectiveness of these methods in fostering diversity among our scholars andreasonably encouraging retention and estimated graduation rates. We discuss areas ofimprovement for future program years, such as forging new partnerships with local Project LeadThe Way high schools to recruit higher numbers of females and minorities, and developing newmentoring opportunities to reduce attrition, especially among underrepresented minoritystudents.1. IntroductionThe Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarship (CSEMS) Program wasauthorized by Congress as part of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Act

Conference Session

FPD2 -- Highlighting First-Year Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lynnane George, U.S. Air Force Academy; Robert Brown, U.S. Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

and tools from each engineering discipline tobuild their final project. There is also a focus on exposing the freshmen to science andtechnology in the real world. Students are given briefings by personnel serving in engineeringjobs. In addition, this year space wing officers from nearby Schriever Air Force Base visitedEngineering 100 to observe and provide feedback to the students on their designs. The intent isthat this interaction and the motivational aspects of the course will help encourage more studentsto major in one of USAFA’s engineering majors.The course objectives for Engineering 100 are for students to: 1. … know the steps of the engineering method. 2. … apply the systems engineering approach to meet a given customer need

Conference Session

1553 FPD3 - Computer & Programming Tools in First Year Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maja Mataric; Juan Fasola; David Feil-Seifer

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Conference Session

FPD4 - Teaching Methods for First Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John K. Estell, Ohio Northern University; Laurie Laird, Ohio Northern University; John-David Yoder, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

presented information were identified for the“Verbal Rhetoric” performance criteria. Finally, the “Physical” category was used to discouragestudents from reading directly off of note cards and to evaluate them on the level of comfortdisplayed. Three explicit performance levels were developed for each criterion, and a biasedweighting system was associated for these levels, with “practitioner” rated as a score of 3,“intermediate” rated as a score of 2, and “novice” as a score of 0. While a “minimal” level wasnot explicitly stated on the rubric, if an evaluator felt that the performance in a particularcriterion rated between intermediate and novice, a score of 1 could then be assigned. Amaximum of three points could be scored in each one of the five

Conference Session

FPD8 - Early Intervention & Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mukul Shirvaikar, University of Texas at Tyler; David Beams, University of Texas at Tyler; Sagun Shrestha, University of Texas at Tyler

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

MATH E 12:00PM STATICS MATH STATICS MATH F 1:00PM STATICS MATH STATICS MATH MATH MATH STATICS MATH STATICS 2:00PM PROG PROG PROG PROG MATH STATICS PHYSICS MATH STATICS 3:00PM PROG PROG PROG PROG STATICS PHYSICS MATH STATICS PHYSICS 4:00PM PROG PROG PROG PROG 5:00PM PHYSICS PHYSICS PHYSICS 6:00PM PHYSICS 7:00PM B2B SPRING 2007

Conference Session

FPD10 -- Pre-Engineering and Bridge Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Blair Rowley, Wright State University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Wright State University; Cory Miller, Wright State University; Thomas L. Bazzoli, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

their perceptionsfrom pre-enrollment choices, to academic activities support, to why they dropped out. Anin-depth analysis of attrition and retention reported on by Shuman, et. al. included fivemain areas, two at the freshmen level and three at the upper-departmental level.1 At thefreshman level those who transferred out or resigned, and those that left while onacademic probation were studied. At the upper level those that transferred out in goodstanding, not in good standing, or went inactive were studied. The two main reasons thatfreshmen and upper classmen left their programs were due to developing a dislike orloosing interest in engineering. The reasons for this appeared to be dissatisfaction withtheir “science and math courses” and a

Conference Session

FPD2 -- Highlighting First-Year Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Schimmels, Marquette University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

course sequence was that it act as anabstract (or “roadmap”) of the engineering curriculum as well as an abstract for a generalengineering career. Other design objectives, related to the program-level objectives providedabove, are that the courses: 1) engage students in activities similar to those performed bypracticing engineers to allow them to make informed decisions regarding persistence inengineering, 2) motivate the need for the analysis skills that are the focus of subsequentcoursework; 3) motivate, define, and exercise the skills and characteristics of an experiencedengineer related to design, communication, and teamwork, 4) demonstrate the importance ofthese not-exclusively-analysis skills and characteristics to students, and 5) instill

Conference Session

FPD3 -- Professional Issues for First-Year Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Mathias, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Lalit Gupta, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Jale Tezcan, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Ronald Caffey, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Bruce Chrisman, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Chris Pearson, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; John Nicklow, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Ernest Lewis, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Rhonda Kowalchuk, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Kathy Pericak-Spector, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Hasan Sevim, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

is mainly due to the poor retention rates of 66% and 69% in the freshmen andsophomore years, respectively. The retention rates of the junior and senior students are muchhigher at 89% and 94%, respectively. The challenge, therefore, is to improve the freshmen andsophomore retention rates to 80% and 90%, respectively, so that the overall retention rateincreases from 37% to 67%. Table 1 shows the current and projected yearly and total retentionrates for SIUC College of Engineering. With help from a grant from the National ScienceFoundation, the retention of students in SIUC College of Engineering will be increased throughthe introduction of innovative academic and non-academic programs.Table 1. Current and Projected Yearly and Total Retention

Conference Session

FPD6 -- Early Intervention & Retention Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ken Yasuhara, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. Our conclusion discusses the challenge undergraduate CSE education faces in addressingthese perceptions and concerns in order to help students make more informed decisions aboutmajoring in CSE.IntroductionAfter years of booming interest, enrollment in computer science and engineering (CSE) is nowsuffering a startling, rapid drop in North America. Between 2000 and 2004, the fraction ofincoming undergraduates planning to major in computer science fell by over 60%, and,historically, this statistic has accurately predicted bachelor’s degree production.1 Likelyconsequences include a shortage of qualified, domestic candidates for computing-related jobsand the downsizing or even elimination of CSE programs and departments.Having recognized the

Conference Session

FPD6 -- Early Intervention & Retention Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Knight, University of Colorado at Boulder; Jacquelyn Sullivan, University of Colorado at Boulder; Beverly Louie, University of Colorado at Boulder

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Styles AssessmentThe retention of first-year engineering students and the development of their teamwork skills areboth important concerns in engineering education.[1, 2] Factors that have been found to helppredict retention and success in teams are student characteristics known as “style” (e.g., learningstyle, cognitive style). [3-5] One criticism of these types of assessment is that they are potentiallyinaccurate due to their self-reporting format. [6] The authors seek to deepen understanding of therelationship between student style, retention and team effectiveness through peer assessments ofstudents’ social styles. To that end, social style assessment and team training are discussedwithin the context of a first

Conference Session

FPD9 -- Teaching Methods & Technology

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anthony Dean, Old Dominion University; Bonita Anthony, Old Dominion University; Linda Vahala, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. Institutions are developing innovative ways to maintaininterest of freshmen students in their disciplines and the desire to continue.The Engineering Fundamentals Division at the Old Dominion University has been in existencefor several years. The Division prepares intended Engineering majors for admission to a degree-granting Department in the College of Engineering. Central to the Division is a two-coursesequence for first-year students with the objective of providing an authentic engineering designexperience and an introduction to engineering. The concept of “engineering up-front” withhands-on, team-oriented introduction to engineering is the philosophy behind the course.1 Theenhancement of the Division with these courses to enhance interest in

Conference Session

FPD7 -- Service Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dan Cordon, University of Idaho; Barbara Williams, University of Idaho; Steven Beyerlein, University of Idaho; Donald Elger, University of Idaho

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

authors emphasize that designshould be taught so that students can experience the steps as a process. Atman et al.11 concludethat there are several general characteristics of a successful design process: (1) the use of aprescribed methodology that allows for flexibility and opportunistic design, (2) the effective useof transitions among design steps; and (3) the development of good conceptual models, includingeffective scoping of the problem. Iteration is frequently mentioned as critical to design, andimportant to emphasize with novice engineers who may believe that linear thinking leading toone correct endpoint is a desirable course of action.Methods of (basic) research are usually reserved for graduate study. When research principlesare

Conference Session

FPD8 -- Systems, Nanotechnology & Programming

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Robertson, Arizona State University; Richard Newman, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

novelty of the analysis as in providing acontribution to the body of knowledge on how to do the job. This paper can be seen as asolution within a new set of boundary conditions. By systematically examining theexperience of others, the academic community can gradually build up some robustguidelines that will give consistent and reliable results for new course design for modestexpenditure of effort.Systems engineering strategyA system is difficult to define as an abstract entity but it is much easier to recognize by itsattributes, constraints and management methodology. These features are represented infigure 1. Attributes Constraints • Multiple goals

Conference Session

FPD4 -- Real-World Case Studies & Projects

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roth Elliot, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; Phillip Jacob, Northwestern University; Stacy Benjamin, Northwestern University; Bruce Ankenman, Northwestern University; James Colgate, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

andCommunication (EDC), has partnered with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago toprovide interesting, useful, and challenging projects for freshman engineers. The goal ofthe partnership was twofold: 1) To develop innovative products to help rehabilitationpatients to accomplish everyday tasks such as tying shoes, reading books, cutting meatwith a knife, playing video games, and operating an exercise machine. 2) To have astable and well supported source of interesting, educational, and challenging projects for100 student teams per year.This paper will discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and lessons learned over the two yearsof the partnership. Having students work with rehabilitation professionals and patientshas led to many rewarding experiences for all

Conference Session

FPD8 -- Systems, Nanotechnology & Programming

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Scott Moor, Indiana University Purdue University-Fort Wayne (ET)

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

analogue phenomenon, sound, signal processing, analogue/digital conversionand bit resolution.These projects have added an interesting variation into the course. The students have foundthese projects challenging, and it has been important to develop aids to help them understandworking with sound. Particularly important is providing materials to help students who havelittle or no musical training. This paper includes a discussion of the various problems andprojects used and the lessons learned in implementing them.IntroductionIn a recent assessment of their first-year engineering program, Notre Dame found that theirgreatest student attrition coincided with a first semester programming module.1 This result isnot unusual. First-year students often

Conference Session

FPD9 -- Technology & Textbooks

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

year we added theuse of a Personal Response System (PRS or “clickers”) to encourage student preparation andparticipation. For middle and high performing students, there are no differences in outcomes.However, low performing students in the Friday section performed significantly better than thelow ability students in the Monday section in total points, midterm exams, and individualquizzes. Comparing women to men showed no differences in the Monday section, but womenperformed significantly better than men in the Friday section. The results of this study haveimplications for improving outcomes and retention for at-risk populations in engineering.IntroductionThis is the follow-on paper to research reported at ASEE 2005 1. In the earlier work, we

Conference Session

FPD12 -- Novel Approaches to First Year Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Rowe, Vanderbilt University; Stacy Klein-Gardner

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Vanderbilt-Northwestern-Harvard-MIT Engineering Research Center for BioengineeringEducational Technologies (VaNTH ERC) is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSFEEC 9876363) as one of the several engineering research centers. Much of the work done inVaNTH has been based upon the text, How People Learn (HPL)1.HPL learning theory incorporates four “centerednesses” that work synergistically to optimizelearning. When these four are in place, studies show that students increase both their contentknowledge and their ability to apply that knowledge in new situations – i.e., their adaptiveexpertise2-6. First, the learning environment must be knowledge-centered -- appropriateinformation should be presented in an appropriately sequenced and organized

Conference Session

FPD1 -- Implementing a First-Year Engineering Course

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Hagenberger, Valparaiso University; Barbara Engerer, Valparaiso University; Doug Tougaw, Valparaiso University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

their feedback and were extensively debated inthe committee.Several criteria emerged from the discussion:• Students should not have to select their engineering major before they arrive on campus.• The course must continue to include a lab/project component.• If possible, the large lectures should be eliminated.• The teaching load credits for the course should not be significantly increased.• The course should emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of engineering.From this input, the nine initial possibilities were reduced to the five shown below, each ofwhich would correspond to a total of three credit hours:Option 1: Large lecture two days a week and small labs once a week. Three weeks spent on each engineering major. (Current model