Conference Session

Research on the First Year I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Senay Purzer, Purdue University; Jing Chen, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2010-479: TEACHING DECISION-MAKING IN ENGINEERING: A REVIEWOF TEXTBOOKS AND TEACHING APPROACHESSenay Purzer, Purdue University Senay Purzer is an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. She is also the Co-Director of Assessment Research for the Institute for P-12 Engineering Research and Learning (INSPIRE). She received a Ph.D. and a M.A in Science Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. Her creative research focuses on collaborative learning, design & decision-making, and the role of engineering self-efficacy on student achievement.Jing Chen, Purdue University Jing Chen is a graduate student in the

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary First Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Hinds, Michigan State University; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University; Amanda Idema, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Carmellia Davis-King, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

meetonce per week for 110 minutes each. The instructional team is composed of faculty membersfrom each of the nine engineering programs in the College. Each member of the team develops Page 15.589.10and presents at least one of the lecture sessions during the semester. In addition, graduatestudent teaching assistants are charged with conducting the laboratory sessions. A group of threeundergraduate mentors per lab section (juniors and seniors in their respective majors) aid thestudents with homework and projects during the laboratory sessions. Lectures are held in atraditional auditorium, whereas the laboratory sessions are held in a

Conference Session

Research on The First Year II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Odesma Dalrymple, ASU Polytechnic; David Sears, Purdue University; Demetra Evangelou, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2010-2027: EVALUATING THE MOTIVATIONAL AND LEARNINGPOTENTIAL OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE FOR USE WITH FIRSTYEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTSOdesma Dalrymple, ASU PolytechnicDavid Sears, Purdue UniversityDemetra Evangelou, Purdue University Page 15.533.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Evaluating the Motivational and Learning Potential of an Instructional Practice for use with First Year Engineering StudentsAbstractAn experiment was conducted within a first-year engineering laboratory to provide empiricalevidence to support the pedagogical viability of Disassemble/Analyze/Assemble (DAA)activities, such as

Conference Session

Potpourri of First-Year Issues

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Scott Moor, Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

educational materials and learning spaces that stimulate serious play. © American Page 15.470.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Engaging Spaces for First-year Engineering: A Tale of Two ClassroomsAbstractEngaging students in learning through the use of active and cooperative approaches has beenrecognized as an effective way to improve their educational experience. These approaches areparticularly important in the first year where student engagement is an important factor instudents success and retention. Engineering education has used these approaches in laboratories

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary First Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ismail Jouny, Lafayette College; Polly Piergiovanni, Lafayette College

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

afashion that lends itself to a sequential presentation of mathematical concepts that evolveover the 14 week semester.Lab Structure:There are eight laboratory sessions that were set up to achieve two goals: emphasizemathematical concepts, and introduce an aspect or two of the engineering disciplines.These two-hour lab sessions were developed with two constraints in mind; portability andminimal use of computers. Portability is needed because of the desire that anyengineering faculty member should be able to teach this course in any classroom in theengineering building or on campus. The second constraint is to enhance the courseportability, and to limit computer use to outside classroom assignments, and homework.So, even though the course includes

Conference Session

Research on The First Year II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Bamberg, University of Utah; Debra Mascaro, University of Utah; Robert Roemer, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Page 15.789.6shifts to electromagnetic actuators, and we plan to again include oversized class demonstrations.We will continue our efforts to include small group problem solving on a regular basis tostimulate discussion, as this was successful in the first semester.Hands-on Laboratories: Hands-on laboratories planned for the spring include hand-drawing (todevelop this valuable skill), motor characterization (to determine the torque-speed curve for aDC permanent magnet motor), introductory circuits and sensor labs to teach the students theskills required for their design project, and metrology labs to prepare them for more advancedmanufacturing labs during the second year.Team-Based Design Projects: In this second-semester course, we assign a

Conference Session

Design in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Pacella, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2010-2021: A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE ON FRESHMAN ENGINEERINGDESIGN PROJECTS: DEVELOPING CORE SKILLS IN YOUNG ENGINEERSMichael Pacella, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Michael Pacella will graduate Summa Cum Laude in May 2010 with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering [Bioengineering track] from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He currently is a finalist for the 2010 UMBC Valedictorian. Michael has spent the last two years serving as a Teaching Fellow for the Introduction to Engineering Design Course at UMBC. In addition, he has been doing undergraduate research on developing and testing a kinetic model of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii (a species of single-celled green algae

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary First Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Lowery, West Virginia University; Steve Kane, West Virginia University; Vicki Kane, West Virginia University; Robin Hensel, West Virginia University; Gary Ganser, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

often perform poorly in their first calculus course. Working from the perceptionthat first year engineering students do not make the connection between what they learn incalculus and the problems they solve in freshman engineering, the faculty who teach theengineering sections of first semester calculus and the faculty who teach freshman engineeringworked together to define projects that span both classes.The primary goal of these projects was to show students how the concepts and techniques theywere learning in math class were relevant to their future career in engineering. It was proposedand believed that if the students understood the connection between the two subjects, they wouldunderstand both subjects better and be motivated to work

Conference Session

Design in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Noelle Comolli, Villanova University; William Kelly, Villanova University; Qianhong Wu, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

instructor with the assistance of one ortwo undergraduate teaching assistants for the laboratory portion. This would allow a moresustainable staffing solution for the college. Possible improvements to the course could be to guide the students more on theirprojects. Specifically, the students should be told to use their standard curve to estimate saltconcentration from conductivity data, that mass balances should be conducted and the resultsshown in report, and to refer to equations and theory when explaining designs and data. Theinstructors also found within the confines of a seven week time-frame expecting freshman tocomplete a complex design, test it, prepare an oral and written report may have been asking toomuch. The project may simply be

Conference Session

Introducing Programming in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Gordon, The Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

-based or problem-and project-based learning. Inductive teaching is a style that includes both problem and project-based instructional methods. The literature shows that inductive methods promote activelearning in order to advance intellectual development by encouraging students to confront thechallenges provided by real situations. 5,6,7,8 Problem and project-based learning promotes thedevelopment of the conceptual understanding, retention of knowledge, cognitive reasoning, andproblem-solving skills necessary to apply the material to the situation. It has been shown toimprove class attendance while enhancing the skills necessary to solve the logistical andinterpersonal problems that predictably occur when students work in teams. 9,10,11 Being

Conference Session

Potpourri of First-Year Issues

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rod Paton, University of Auckland; Chris Smaill, University of Auckland; Gerard Rowe, University of Auckland

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2010-1079: FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF AHIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER.Rod Paton, University of Auckland Rod Paton holds BSc and MSc degrees in physics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He has been teaching high-school science and physics since the start of 1994. For the past 12 years he has been Head of Physics at Westlake Boys’ High School, Auckland, New Zealand. Rod has integrated ICT into the school’s physics programs and developed problem-solving books and practical manuals to enhance the skills and abilities of all students. His main research interests are centred on implementing steps to improve the problem-solving and academic-writing abilities of high-school

Conference Session

Potpourri of First-Year Issues

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benjamin Flores, UTEP; James Becvar, UTEP; Ann Darnell, UTEP; Helmut Knaust, UTEP; Jorge Lopez, UTEP; Josefina Tinajero, UTEP

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2010-1659: IMPLEMENTING PEER LED TEAM LEARNING IN GATEWAYSCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS COURSES FOR ENGINEERING MAJORSBenjamin Flores, UTEPJames Becvar, UTEPAnn Darnell, UTEPHelmut Knaust, UTEPJorge Lopez, UTEPJosefina Tinajero, UTEP Page 15.685.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Implementing Peer Led Team Learning in Gateway Science and Mathematics Courses for Engineering MajorsAbstractThe large lecture format found in most introductory mathematics and science courses isgenerally not conducive to a teaching-learning process that would allow for the development ofprofessional skills such as team work, oral and written communication, and time

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary First Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Dinehart, Villanova University; Joseph Yost, Villanova University; Shawn Gross, Villanova University; Aleksandra Radlinska, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

), theCenter for Nonlinear Dynamics and Control (CENDAC), and the Villanova Center for theAdvancement of Sustainability in Engineering (VCASE). There are a total of 68 full-timefaculty members that teach in the CoEVU, 58 of which are tenured or tenure-track. The CoEVU Page 15.1253.2is committed to an educational program that emphasizes technical excellence and a liberaleducation within the framework of the University's Augustinian and Catholic traditions.Engineering programs throughout the country continue to modify their curriculums in an effortto be more innovative, integrated and inclusive of “real world” hands-on experiences andexamples1-5

Conference Session

Introducing Programming in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Bucks, Purdue University; William Oakes, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Page 15.781.5 Figure 2: Example of a LabVIEW Block DiagramThe computing concepts covered in LabVIEW were first introduced in the lecture period andreinforced through activities in the laboratory period. Overall, it took 6 lecture and lab periods tointroduce students to all of the fundamental concepts covered in the course.In order to tie the design and computing aspects of the course together, a service-learning projectwas presented in the middle of the semester. Students were required to develop a program inLabVIEW that would teach a concept from the Indiana State math or science curriculum for the7th grade. Students were provided with the Indiana State standards for math and science andwere allowed to choose the

Conference Session

Administering First-Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Parker, University of Wisconsin, Platteville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

improvement based on several modifications. Its creation has been guided bybest practices in the research, most notably the experience of Hoit and Ohland (1998). Hoit and Page 15.392.3Ohland developed a new freshman engineering course at the University of Florida that wasextremely successful in terms of retention and student attitudes. Their course, which was theinspiration for the revised GE1030 at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, was a laboratory-basedcourse which gave students hands-on experiences. Each section of the new course at University of Wisconsin-Platteville is team taught byseven faculty members, one from each engineering program

Conference Session

Administering First-Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University; Susan Amato-Henderson, Michigan Technological University; Jason Keith, Michigan Technological University; Melissa Roberts, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

communication).As part of a National Science Foundation CCLI Phase 1 grant, DUE: 0836861, three designactivities are being developed and incorporated in the first-year engineering program at MichiganTech. For this project, three groups (undergraduate, graduate and faculty) with differenteducational backgrounds developed learning modules. The student groups were selected to helpwith the development because it would give a fresh perspective on the design projects. Theundergraduate students would gain some ownership in the education of their peers. The graduatestudent would learn more about teaching through the development of a design project. Theutilization of the student groups to develop design projects would permit more design projects tobe available

Conference Session

Administering First-Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Caverly, Villanova University; Howard Fulmer, Villanova University; Sridhar Santhanam, Villanova University; James O’Brien, Villanova University; Gerard Jones, Villanova University; Edward Char, Villanova University; Frank Mercede, Villanova University; Pritpal Singh, Villanova University; Randy Weinstein, Villanova University; Joseph Yost, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2010-146: PROJECT-BASED FRESHMAN ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE:THE CORE COURSERobert Caverly, Villanova University Dr. Caverly is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In addition to teaching the freshman engineering experience, he also teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in electromagnetics and RF and microwave engineering. He is the author of the book 'CMOS RFIC Design Principles'.Howard Fulmer, Villanova University Prof. Fulmer is an Instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has taught a variety of classes, including Freshman-level Engineering (Analysis, Computation, Graphics, Interdisciplinary Projects I/II), Senior-level

Conference Session

Research on the First Year I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Cassady, University of Arkansas; Gigi Secuban, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

students. This program was introduced during the 2007-2008 academic year. Dr. Cassady is an elected member of the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy, and he has received numerous teaching awards including the Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award from the University of Arkansas (2006) and the inaugural Imhoff Outstanding Teacher Award from the College of Engineering (2005). Dr. Cassady is a Fellow of SRE, a Senior Member of IIE and a member of Tau Beta Pi, Alpha Pi Mu, and ASEE. Dr. Cassady received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D., all in Industrial and Systems Engineering, from Virginia Tech.Gigi Secuban, University of Arkansas Gigi Secuban currently serves as Manager of the Freshman

Conference Session

Research on The First Year II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Melissa Dagley-Falls, University of Central Florida; Michael Georgiopoulos, University of Central Florida; Cynthia Young, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, communications, medical field, manufacturing, transportation engineering, amongst others. Dr. Georgiopoulos is a Director of the Machine Learning Laboratory at UCF.Cynthia Young, University of Central Florida Cynthia Young is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics in the UCF College of Sciences and a Co-PI of the NSF-funded S-STEM program at UCF entitled the "Young Entrepreneur and Scholar(YES) Scholarship Program" as well as the NSF-funded STEP program entitled "EXCEL:UCF-STEP Pathways to STEM: From Promise to Prominence." Dr. Young's research interests are in the mathematical modeling of atmospheric effects on laser beams. She currently has projects with the Office of Naval Research

Conference Session

Administering First-Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rick Williams, East Carolina University; William Howard, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

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

Conference Session

Potpourri of First-Year Issues

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John K. Estell, Ohio Northern University; Kenneth Reid, Ohio Northern University; Laurie Laird, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

University Laurie Laird is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Corporate & Alumni Relations for the College of Engineering at Ohio Northern University. She received her Masters in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. After working in the aerospace industry for several years, she then moved on to ONU in 1993. She currently teaches first-year engineering courses, works with students and employers in the engineering co-op program, develops continuing education programs for alumni and is director of several middle- and high-school outreach programs within the college. In addition to being a member of ASEE, Prof. Laird is a member of the

Conference Session

Mentoring First Year Students

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daina Briedis, Michigan State Univesity; Nathaniel Ehrlich, Michigan State University; Colleen McDonough, Michigan State University; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

has lead a laboratory in knowledge-based systems focused on task specific approaches to problem solving. Over the last decade, Dr. Sticklen has pursued engineering education research focused on early engineering; his current research is supported by NSF/DUE and NSF/CISE.Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University Dr. Thomas F. Wolff is Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Studies at Michigan State University. He is principal investigator on several NSF grants related to retention of engineering students. As a faculty member in civil engineering, he co-teaches a large introductory