experience. He received his BSME and MSME degrees from Michigan Technological University.Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University THOMAS F. WOLFF is Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Studies at Michigan State University. From 1970 to 1985, he was a geotechnical engineer with the St. Louis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since 1985, on the faculty of MSU, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in geotechnical engineering and reliability analysis. His research and consulting has focused on the design and evaluation of dams, levees and hydraulic structures, and he has been involved in several studies related to the failure of New
. Her interests are in quantitative and qualitative research and data analysis.Jacquelyn F. Sullivan Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder Jacquelyn Sullivan is founding co-director of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program and the General Engineering Plus degree program at the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. She has been intimately involved in the retention-promoting First Year Engineering Projects course since its inception, and has recently become a driver for spatial visualization skill building through the course. She is currently launching CU Teach Engineering, a unique initiative to produce secondary science or math teachers through a new design-based
commercialize residential scale waste-to-energy biomass processor systems. Page 24.613.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014 First-Year Student Persistence and Retention Influenced by Early Exposure to Engineering Practitioners Co-Teaching Entry-Level Courses: A Four-Year Indirect AssessmentAbstractThe engineering education literature lacks long-term studies on persistence and retention impactsrealized by teaching first-year engineering students about possible post-graduate career optionsvia exposure to practicing engineers. At the University of North Texas (UNT
learning.The DYP ProgramAn innovative, best practices approach, called the “Design Your Process for Becoming a ‘World-Class’ Engineering Student” (DYP) program, has been developed by Raymond B. Landis14 toincrease the quality of the educational experience of first-year engineering undergraduatestudents. Typically, approaches to increase the nature and quality of undergraduate educationexperience are focused on instructional and/or curricular changes. The DYP program is differentin that it focuses on what the students can do themselves to become self-regulated students andtherefore are not only more likely to graduate with an engineering degree but also with a higherquality, i.e. with a higher GPA. Self-regulated learning (SRL) is the process that a
project-based curriculum to more fully Page 26.751.3engage first-year students.Project Descriptions The projects in spring 2013 were selected by the engineering Graduate Teaching Assistants(GTAs), who work within the first-year program. Each GTA represents one of the engineeringdisciplines within the Watson School: Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Systems Science andIndustrial, and Biomedical engineering departments. Each GTA submitted three ideas andpresented them to the Engineering Design Division faculty, who made the final decisions. Theengineering faculty then wrote a brief summary of each project for the students. Each GTAserves as an
-0836861). This project requires students to design, build, test, and analyze a lab-scalehorizontal axis wind turbine. The goals of this project were to create project modules that couldbe easily adaptable to various curriculums and applications, including K-12 programs.1In 2010 – 2012, three project modules were integrated into the first-year curriculum at MichiganTech: aquaculture, biomechanics, and wind energy. For the aquaculture module, students built,tested, and analyzed their own aerator or used 3D modeling to develop a new impeller for anexisting pump to use in water circulation. Students working on the biomechanics module createda prosthetic leg device and analyzed the motion and forces generated during the kickingmovement. Students
generalacademic success and personal skills development. The emphasis of the curriculum element ison experiential, hands-on learning. Students have the opportunity to develop competency inengineering design principles, basic project management, basic programming, teamwork andinterpersonal skills, time management—all while forming a community of practice that willsupport them throughout their undergraduate studies. Many studies relate persistence of studentsin science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) majors to levels of student engagement inthe classroom.2,3,4,5 Hake reported on the impact of Interactive-Engagement (IE) strategies in thephysics classroom compared with more traditional instructional methods, concluding that IEmethods enhance
confident intheir ability to do well in their major.IntroductionThis paper describes the Engineering Freshmen Intensive Transition (E-FIT) program, which is aweek-long summer boot camp designed based on best practices for retaining students [1] and theBiology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS) program at Louisiana State University (LSU)[2]. Studies have shown that difficulty adjusting to college life for new students can lead to lowgrades and issues with persistence in completing a degree. [3], [4]. Stress can also negativelyaffect first-year students and in some cases lead to students dropping out of college [5], [6].Furthermore, studies show that students who are academically unprepared for the rigors ofuniversity courses leave school
-ended problem solving environments.MethodsThe data collected and analyzed for this study was based on the completion of projects in a first-year engineering course in spring 2015 and began with research conducted by Rodgers (2016).2Participants and SettingTwo sequential required first-year engineering courses at a large Midwestern university utilizeopen-ended mathematical modeling problems and design challenges along with scaffoldingthrough feedback to encourage student learning of modeling and design. This study is set in thesecond course. This course facilitated students’ achievement of four course learning objectives, asstated on the course syllabus:1. Practice making evidence-based engineering decisions on diverse teams, guided by
: first-year seminars and experiences,7-12 writing intensive courses,13collaborative assignments and projects,14, 15 undergraduate research,16, 17 diversity/globallearning,18, 19 and learning communities.20-22 In additions to these practices, some authors havereported other interventions designed to improve retention, including peer and facultymentoring,23, 24 bridge or college preparatory programs,24-26 and mandatory math tutoring.27In this study we explore the effectiveness of a variation of a learning community – namely aliving-learning community (LLC) of first-year engineering students that was started at ouruniversity in the fall of 2013 and is now in its second year. Loosely defined, an LLC is a groupof students who live together in a dorm
Engineering Club Excellence in Teaching" Fellowship award for the years 2003-2004 and 2007-2008. He has also been cited in multiple publications of the "Who's Who" series. His research interests include Similitude and Scaling Theory, System Dynamics, Non-Linear Dimensional Analysis and Rapid Prototyping with specific emphasis in Selective Laser Sintering and applications in Product Design.Mitch Pryor, University of Texas, Austin Mitch Pryor graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University in 1993. After teaching high school for two years, he completed his PhD in 2002 at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin where he now works as a Research Scientist in the
questions to assess the impact ofboth course design as well as other factors which affect the complex issue of self-efficacy.Clearly, combinations of new online methods such as SEAS and the user-modified SALG whichprovide quantitative data with qualitative information from student reflection papers haveprovided the best insight so far into the correlation between course design and overallperceptions of student self-efficacy.v) Finally, I have observed that there is a proportional tendency between the amount ofassessment done and students’ negative impression of the value of assessment (“assessmentburnout”). This has taught me an important cautionary lesson for future assessment efforts. Also,the more “informal” and directly linked to classroom
., University of North Carolina, Charlotte Patricia A. Tolley, Ph.D., P.E., is Associate Dean for undergraduate experiences in the Lee College of En- gineering at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Her responsibilities include the introductory en- gineering and engineering technology courses, a large freshman residential learning community and peer retention program, a junior/senior multidisciplinary professional development course, student leadership academy, employer relations and industry-sponsored senior design, and ABET and SACS accreditation. Her research focuses on engineering education research using quantitative methodologies.Dr. Kimberly Warren, University of North Carolina, Charlotte Kimberly Warren is
Paper ID #30812Extended Exam Wrappers: A Comparison of Approaches in a LearningStrategies CourseMs. Abigail T Stephan, Clemson University Abby is a doctoral student in the Learning Sciences program at Clemson University. Broadly, her research interests include intergenerational learning in informal settings, self-directed learning, and cultural influ- ences on the learning process. Abby currently works as a graduate assistant for the General Engineering Learning Community (GELC), a program that supports first-year engineering students in their develop- ment of self-regulation and time management skills, effective
Education Department, Purdue University Syafiah Johari is currently a senior in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. She did research under supervision of Dr. Monica Cox (Associate Professor) and Nikitha Sambamurthy (Graduate Stu- dent) in Engineering Education Department for the 11-week Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow- ship (SURF) program in summer 2014. Her research interests include heat and mass transfer, energy and environment. She was the recipient of Mechanical Engineering Scholarship Award of Purdue University in 2013 in recognition of her outstanding achievement in academic and co-curricular activities and Best Engineering Design Award for the excellent class design project in spring 2013
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue Univer- sity. She is a member of Purdue’s Teaching Academy. Since 1999, she has been a faculty member within the First-Year Engineering Program at Purdue, the gateway for all first-year students entering the College of Engineering. She has coordinated and taught in a required first-year engineering course that engages students in open-ended problem solving and design. Her research focuses on the development, implemen- tation, and assessment of model-eliciting activities with realistic engineering contexts. She is currently the Director of Teacher Professional Development for the Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning (INSPIRE
, and published an Engineering Thermodynamics textbook in 1990. His current research includes engineering education pedagogical research, the study of electrostatic energy generation in moving dielectric materials, and general applications of non-equilibrium thermodynamics.William Keat, Union College William D. Keat is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Union College. Professor Keat earned BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has taught numerous courses in design from the freshman to the graduate level and conducts research in the area
. Since 2006, entering freshman take an “Introduction to Engineering” course, a two credithour course that meets the university’s “freshman experience” requirement. The course also givesfreshman engineers an introduction to the engineering profession, engineering design, differentengineering disciplines, and critical thinking. In the fall of 2011, there were 450 students in 12 sectionstaught by an instruction team of four faculty and six graduate teaching assistants. Critical Thinkingbecame an explicit part of the course in response to the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP),and the introduction to engineering course is responsible for teaching students the critical thinkingframework adopted by the university. Another significant
Paper ID #18109Helping First-Year Engineering Students Select a MajorDr. Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland Dr. Tammy VanDeGrift is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Portland. Her research interests include computer science education, pedagogy, and best practices for retention and engagement.Miss Sherry Liao, University of Portland A rising software engineer inspired by the ability of technology to connect the world together and make a positive impact on a global level. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2017 Helping First-Year
entering the sophomore year for all students in the College ofEngineering. An optional summer video site was created that would extend some of thepractices of the first year course throughout the summer. Thus, setting up the summer as an idealpreparation time for students where discipline-specific content can now be delivered. In thisprogram, the first year class can continue to serve students using best practices for common firstyear experience courses, but students who are either not confident or lack competence indiscipline-specific skills have a chance to address this before being academically responsible. Inthis paper, we describe the major research questions for this project, the video project design, ourimplementation plan, and briefly
Professor for the Department of Engineering Fundamentals at Univer- sity of Louisville. She is investigating nontraditional student pathways in engineering. She finished her PhD in December 2014, titled, ”Engineering Faculty Views of Teaching Quality, Accreditation, and In- stitutional Climate and How They Influence Teaching Practices.” Her research is focused on engineering faculty perceptions of quality and on nontraditional students in engineering. McNeil received her mas- ter’s degree in Engineering Management from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT) in August 2011. She was a mentor and tutor for American Indian students at SDSMT during that time. She worked as a mining engineer in industry between
Engineering from LeTourneau University in 1986 and an M.S. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1994. He joined the LeTourneau faculty in 2003 following 17 years of experience in industry, consulting, and applied research and development. In addition to his work in student retention, he currently teaches and consults in the areas of materials engineering, welding metallurgy, and structural weldment design and assessment. Page 22.701.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 Facing our Retention Challenge: a Self
incorporate best practices from the National Science Foundation’s Engineering EducationCoalitions.1 Among these best practices was the “Implementation of ‘engineering up front’: theexposure of freshmen to hands-on, real world engineering practice early in their undergraduateeducation, ranging from ‘professional level’ laboratory facilities to realistic design projects.”2Two freshman courses designed to provide students early exposure to engineering concepts werecreated. Both were six-credit courses. The first, ICEE 1010 (ICEE stands for IntegratedCollaborative Engineering Environment), was taught in three one-hour lectures and three two-hour lab sessions per week. Topics included graphics, introductions to mechanical and electricalengineering
fit all institutions, a set of rubrics thatidentify both areas to measure and ways of articulating performance levels could provide a usefulstarting point for developing a community of practice and a shared discussion around theseissues.These two issues – the relative lack of consensus on learning outcomes beyond retention (andpotentially design) and the lack of instruments that can be used across contexts – point to keyareas for further research and discussion among first-year educators. The sheer number ofarticles written about first-year programs indicates both the importance of these course and thepassion that faculty have for effectively engaging and supporting students at this criticaljunctions. Building a strong community of practice
) and later at different stages (post andmid-first-year) in the first-year program. Specifically, the goal of this research was to determineif the student scores could elucidate deficiencies in their math skills, and whether or not it mightbe feasible to use these results to develop interventions to deal with these deficiencies and/orguide instructors in best teaching practices.The overall pre-university math assessment averages indicate that the students are not ready forfirst-year engineering, since the averages for both groups are only 50%. The data also shows thatthese scores are not consistent with students’ overall high school averages of 80%. This studysuggests that high school averages and first-year GPA have a weak correlation with the
training of mathematics teachers that is at the core of this problem. Since enrollment at UIC, Janet had dedicated her studies and research efforts on Mathematics Socialization and identity amongst pre-service elementary teachers, an effort at understanding the reasons for lack of interest in the subject with a view to proffer solution and engender/motivate interest amongst this group that will eventually reflect in their classroom practices. She is currently a Graduate Assistant with UIC Engage, a commu- nity focused project that provides help for less-privileged students from K-8 in mathematics, reading and writing. She continues to work as a substitute teacher occasionally to keep abreast with current practices
engineering undergraduate students into the College’sscholarship – such as conducting research and presenting the findings. In this paper theprograms implemented for each strategy are presented followed by results documenting theimpact of the strategy on retention and student success. Finally, the conclusion sectionsummarizes the highlights of the accomplishments and the challenges faced. This paper willhelp serve as a resource for others planning similar programs for engineering undergraduatestudents. The University of Cincinnati (UC) is an urban, comprehensive, research-intensive, publicinstitution with over 42,000 students. The UC College of Engineering and Applied Science(CEAS) has over 3,000 undergraduate and 650 graduate students, and grants
Paper ID #25985A Qualitative Investigation of Students’ Problem Solving Strategies in a Spa-tial Visualization CourseMrs. Adetoun Yeaman, Virginia Tech Adetoun Yeaman is a PhD candidate in Engineering Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). She received her MS degree in 2013 in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering and her BS degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2011, both from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Her research interests include empathy, design education, spatial visualization and multimedia learning. Address: Virginia
of a problem-based learning module called the BiosystemsEngineering Design Challenge. The focus of the module is on designing and building a working,bench-scale device that solves a practical problem relevant to Biosystems Engineering. Itprovides an early opportunity for students to learn about engineering design, project managementand teamwork. The module aligns well with the academic policy of University College Dublin tointroduce alternative teaching and learning strategies compared to the conventional lecture.While the original aim of the module was to enhance the learning experience specifically forBiosystems Engineering students, it was considered beneficial to adopt a multi-disciplinaryapproach by allowing students from a wide variety
AC 2007-1021: THE AQUARIUM PROJECT: TEACHING ENGINEERINGPRINCIPLES AND SUSTAINABILITYKauser Jahan, Rowan University Kauser Jahan is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University. She completed her Ph.D. studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 1993. After completion of her graduate studies, she worked as an environmental engineer for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). Her research interests include bioremediation of contaminated groundwater and soils; the fate and transport of pollutants in the environment; and applied microbiology in environmental engineering. She is