Conference Session

FPD2 - First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ida Ngambeki, Purdue University; Odesma Dalrymple, Purdue University; Demetra Evangelou, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2008-2255: DECISION-MAKING IN FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING:EXPLORING HOW STUDENTS DECIDE ABOUT FUTURE STUDIES ANDCAREER PATHWAYSIda Ngambeki, Purdue UniversityOdesma Dalrymple, Purdue UniversityDemetra Evangelou, Purdue University Page 13.351.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Decision-Making in First-Year Engineering: Exploring How Students Decide about Future Studies and Career PathwaysAbstractThe number of students enrolling in engineering has declined steadily over the last fifteen years,and the number of engineers joining certain fields in engineering has decreased even moredrastically. A number of studies have demonstrated a strong relationship

Conference Session

FPD9 - First Year Learning & Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jim Chamberlain, Clemson University; Lisa Benson, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Getting Students on the Right Track: Exit Surveys and Levels of Awareness in First Year Engineering StudentsAbstractThe goals of a first year engineering program are to both provide students with a soundacademic preparation for engineering study, and to allow them to explore variousengineering disciplines. Through academic advising and career counseling, our programhelps students discover the career path that is right for them. We find that about 30% ofstudents choose to leave engineering by the end of their first year of study. Thesestudents voluntarily complete an Exit Survey, which includes questions on their level ofcertainty upon entering the program, people with whom the decision to leave

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

increase theretention and graduation rates. A variety of strategies, including revision of teaching methodsand redesign of traditional classes are being implemented to improve freshmen experience as awhole. A recent nationwide survey by Brannan and Wankat10 indicate that more than two-thirdsof the engineering programs have a first-year introductory course to motivate students. Whilehelping students choose a career path has been a traditional goal 11, 12 , most such courses nowinclude computational tools 9, 13 and hands-on design projects 14-20 that emphasize activelearning.Unfavorable nationwide trends, particularly the declining graduation rates prompted the Collegeof Engineering (COE) to undertake a major initiative to improve retention. Current

Conference Session

1553 FPD3 - Computer & Programming Tools in First Year Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Robertson, Arizona State University; Sarah Roux, Arizona State University; Vivek Ramanathan, Arizona State University; Mark Rager, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2008-1508: PERSPECTIVES ON A FRESHMAN TREATMENT OFELECTRONIC SYSTEMSJohn Robertson, Arizona State University John Robertson is a Professor in the Electronic Systems Department at Arizona State University Polytechnic. He was formerly an executive with Motorola and now participates in many senior technical training programs with the JACMET consortium.Sarah Roux, Arizona State University Sarah Roux is a proud Texas native with a background in the Semiconductor industry in the US and France. She was in the 2006 class and is currently a Control Systems Major with an interest in Alternative Energy. Her career goal is to help develop a progressive national energy policy.Vivek Ramanathan, Arizona State

Conference Session

FPD6 - First Year Curricula Development

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laura Ruhala, University of Southern Indiana; Richard Ruhala, University of Southern Indiana; Eric Sprouls, University of Southern Indiana

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

degree program in Engineering was initiated at a regionaluniversity. Three freshman engineering courses were developed to allow incoming studentsimmediate contact with both the engineering program and faculty. Students take EngineeringSeminar during their first semester. The seminar is designed to expose students to engineering asa career, the various engineering specialties and details about the curriculum. The students alsoget to meet the faculty (and some upper class students) both during weekly presentations andduring the annual picnic. The two other freshmen courses, Introduction to Engineering andIntroduction to Design."ctg"qhhgtgf"fwtkpi"vjg"uvwfgpvuÓ"hktuv"cpf"ugeqpf"ugoguvgtu."tgurgevkxgn{0"Introduction to Engineering introduces

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

present in cornerstone courses aswell.It is also important that students gain confidence early in their college careers. They should workin a domain that is familiar and, in which, they can immediately contribute. This is important fortwo reasons. First, some suggest that self-esteem issues could be one of the reasons for the lowrepresentation and retention rates of women and minorities.15 In general, improving the firstexperiences of college life for freshman significantly increases retention rates.7 Second, it solves Page 13.715.3the pedagogical issue of teaching students with wide and varied backgrounds. For example,first-year Computer

Conference Session

FPD2 - First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kate Baxter, University of Southern California; Louise Yates, University of Southern California

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

high quality student support and services to students and two,creating academically driven courses that will engage and connect students early in theiracademic careers to the field of engineering. The USC Viterbi School has established a strongprogrammatic response to both of these areas and has seen significant increases in our freshmenreturn rate as a result.This paper will discuss at length the First Year Excellence (FYE) program developed to providehigh level student affairs related service and support programs for our undergraduates, as well asan academic course, the Freshmen Academy Program, implemented to introduce freshmenstudents to general concepts and issues. Using statistical and survey data over the past fouryears, we will

Conference Session

FPD2 - First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig Gunn, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

requires students to investigate the college ofengineering, the rationale is fairly clear. Students should be able to easily get to places withintheir environment. They should be able to access all the important places that may be needed inthe future for advising, counseling, and career exploration. Being comfortable with theirsurroundings makes for a much better existence and allows them to feel a part of thatenvironment. It is important to design the means to incorporate the environment into the life ofthe incoming student, not simply to expect that they will find their own way. This may beextremely important in the current student population that has been raised by parents who havealways been there to protect them. Freshmen who without their

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

in STEM graduation rates from 220 students per year to a sustainable 300students per year.As part of the FrEP, students enroll in a five-week program during the summer before theirfreshman year. This program consists of a three-credit-hour college algebra course, enrichmenttopics, and an optional three-credit-hour general education course. Enrichment topics for thesummer program include study skills, time management, career decision making and acclimationto the University. In addition, the students participate in many community-building activities,both structured and unstructured. The summer program, as a whole, establishes consistentexpectations of the intensity of college life and creates an immediate place of fit when thestudents return

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

about their particular degree program(s). These aregenerally 20 minute lectures by the department head but some departments also have studentstalk about their experiences in the cooperative education program. Approximately 25 minutes peracademic major is allocated and speakers are encouraged to focus on the types of things thatstudents will do with that major after they graduate. Guest speakers are asked not to talk aboutthe degree requirements but instead to focus on the types of experiences students will have in thework force following graduation. In addition, a representative from the Career Services officepresents the final lecture in the course after all engineering majors have been presented. Thisspeaker gives students information on

Conference Session

FPD6 - First Year Curricula Development

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kerry Meyers, University of Notre Dame; John Uhran, University of Notre Dame; Catherine Pieronek, University of Notre Dame; Dan Budny, University of Pittsburgh; John Ventura, Christian Brothers University; Patricia Ralston, University of Louisville; John K. Estell, Ohio Northern University; Constance Slaboch, University of Notre Dame; Brenda Hart, University of Louisville; Rebecca Ladewski, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

success. Students must be taught more than just calculus,physics and chemistry; they need to have opportunities to learn to be resourceful and resilient.Preparing First-Year Engineers to “Stay the Course”Many engineering programs provide introductory engineering courses in the first year so thatstudents can “experience engineering” early on in their academic careers and thereby make aneducated choice about their futures. The courses present engineering problems that emphasizethe use of math and science so that students learn to apply these subjects to solve realengineering-related problems. But educators of students in first-year programs find themselvesinvolved in a balancing act between nurturing the first-year students through the transition

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

indicate that while 34% of them did biographical presentations,only 6% of students said this type of presentation was their favorite. The fact that over half ofthe presentations this year (in the aggregate) were related to biographies may have loweredstudent enthusiasm somewhat.Two new questions were specifically added to the 2007 post-activity survey to investigate howstudents feel about learning about engineers. These questions were: • “Knowing about engineers makes me more interested in engineering as a career,” and • “Learning about engineers is more important than learning about devices.”The results of these questions are shown in Table 7. Table 7. Responses to Career/Devices Questions

Conference Session

FPD6 - First Year Curricula Development

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Wight, Norwich University; R. Danner Friend, Norwich University; Jacques Beneat, Norwich University; William Barry, Norwich University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

analysis. well as to analyze and interpret data Spreadsheets Fluids 8.To be able to describe the various (d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams Engineering Fields All projects engineering/management disciplines Engineering Functions (ME, CE, ECE, EMN), and the various engineering Careers/Jobs functions (research, development, testing, design, (i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability Guest speakers construction, etc

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

and Research. He holds the MS in Nuclear Science and Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. During his Air Force career he directed diverse research programs in modeling and testing of system performance, compositional mapping of submicron materials and machine translation of text. He was instrumental in establishing the college’s freshman program. Page 13.765.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Integrating Global Warming into a Freshman Engineering Introductory CourseAbstractManaging the problems that global warming is being forecast to

Conference Session

FPD5 - Teaming and Peer Performance

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arlisa Labrie Richardson, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Services in the NASA Center for Success in Math & Science at Estrella Mountain Community College, she utilizes her academic preparation and extensive engineering background to prepare students for successful careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields through student internships and summer research experiences. Page 13.1289.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Tinkering Self-Efficacy and Team Interaction on Freshman Engineering Design TeamsIntroductionIn the book Talking about Leaving, Seymour and Hewitt interviewed hundreds of

Conference Session

FPD4 - Teaching Methods for First Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Hall, Louisiana Tech University; Stan Cronk, Louisiana Tech University; Patricia Brackin, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Mark Barker, Louisiana Tech University; Kelly Crittenden, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Laboratory Improvement grant allowed us to extend the curriculum to all 280 freshman engineering students taking ENGR 120 in the fall of 2007. Approximately 400 freshman students have enrolled in the course sequences based on the Living with the Lab curriculum during the current 2007-2008 academic year. During efforts to develop a formal assessment plan to determine the effectiveness of the new courses, we realized that we needed a set of guideposts to help us determine if our strategies were effective not only in teaching students, but also in preparing them for their engineering careers. We realized that the work sponsored by the National Academy of Engineering to identify attributes of “The Engineer of 2020”17 aligned closely with our efforts

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

goals appear to be difficult to achieve, as explained by Gover and Hurayin their recent book3 that outlines some of the reasons for the decline in engineering enrolment.It is not within the power of academic institutions to change the underlying global economics butit may be possible to craft strategies for recruitment based on changing the public perception ofengineering careers. Recruitment however, is only one aspect of the problem. A very importantvariable over which individual institutions have more control over is retention. It is of vitalimportance, more than ever before, that students who choose the engineering path are nurturedand retained in the system. One of the major stumbling blocks in the retention based approach isthe enthusiasm

Conference Session

FPD10 - Freshman Engineering Introduction to Design

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phil Schlosser, Ohio State University; Michael Parke, Ohio State University; John Merrill, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Ohio State returned as Engineering students for Autumn 2007(compared to 92.4% for all majors and the national average of 77%, all majors). Anecdotally,faculty teaching upper level courses report that students who have completed the first-yearsequence are highly motivated, excited about engineering as a career, and better equipped toattack the challenges of upper-level courses.The first-year engineering program at The Ohio State University consists of two tracks, taken byall first-year students: a standard track and an honors track, with approximately 75% of studentsin the standard track. The standard track consists of two courses totaling six quarter-hours credit,and the honors track, three courses totaling twelve quarter-hours credit. Both

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

students enrolled in Pre-Calculus with anengineering course. The topics covered in the course were coordinated with the topics beingcovered in Pre-Calculus. For example, students apply the concepts learned regarding linear,power and exponential equations in pre-calculus to engineering applications in ENG1001. Thestudents enrolled in the course elected to participate in the program. Most of these students werepart of the Michigan Tech ExSEL program. ExSEL is a program that promotes students successthrough academic support services such as peer mentoring, study groups, study skills and timemanagement techniques, academic progress monitoring, campus resource referrals, campus andcommunity involvement events, and career and personal development

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

Research. He holds the MS in Nuclear Science and Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. During his Air Force career he directed diverse research programs in modeling and testing of system performance, compositional mapping of submicron materials and machine translation of text. He was instrumental in establishing the college’s freshman program. Page 13.625.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Freshman Engineering Student Perceptions on Global WarmingAbstract Managing the problems that global warming is being forecast to cause requires the educatedattention of many

Conference Session

FPD2 - First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jean Kampe, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Whitney Edmister, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Christi Boone, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Bevlee Watford, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She received her M.S. in Counselor Education, Student Affairs Administration from Radford University, and M.S. in Career and Technical Education and B.S. in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise both from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Christi Boone, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University C. L. BOONE is the Coordinator of Academic Support Services for the College Of Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She received her M.A. & B.A. degrees in English from Radford University.Bevlee Watford, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University DR. BEVLEE A. WATFORD, P.E. is the

Conference Session

FPD9 - First Year Learning & Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Johnson, Valparaiso University; Doug Tougaw, Valparaiso University; Kenneth Leitch, Valparaiso University; Barbara Engerer, Valparaiso University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

the course, with the possible inclusion of a mastery exam.29References1. P. Blowers, “A Course on Freshman Survival Skills,” Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (2002).2. Christopher J. Rowe, Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, “Module-based Freshman Engineering Course Development” Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (2004).3. W. K. LeBold, H. Diefes, W. C. Oakes, “Helping First Year Students Make Critical Career Decisions,” Proceedings of the 1999 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (1999).4. B. Engerer, M. Hagenberger, and D. Tougaw, “Revision of a First

Conference Session

FPD10 - Freshman Engineering Introduction to Design

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Montgomery, University of Michigan; Rodney Johnson, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

completed), 2 (Strong team member, got own work done and helped others when requested), 1(Completed own work only), 0 (Not a team player, seldom showed up to scheduled meetings, unprepared, or brought a negative attitude to team)Students are instructed that they will encounter this peer review process in their careers, so that itis important that they learn how to provide feedback professionally and diplomatically, and alsoto receive and learn from feedback. Each student receives copies of all evaluations about them,with the name of the evaluator kept private. These evaluations help strong team members feelappreciated for their efforts, and give weaker members an opportunity to improve theirperformance. Teaching staff review all peer

Conference Session

FPD4 - Teaching Methods for First Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J. Roger Parsons, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Rachel McCord, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; J. Elaine Seat, University of Tennessee-Knoxville; Thomas Scott, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

theremainder of the curriculum. Graduation rates increased more significantly for femalestudents, and for most MBTI designations, by 4-letter type, 2-letter temperament, orsingle letter preference.Use of the MBTI in Engineering EducationThere is a substantial history of the use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator inengineering education. This test, which classifies people into psychological subgroupsand is based on the theories of Carl Jung, is very popular for career counseling, workteam formation, and personal development. The summary of its use in engineeringeducation below is taken largely from our 2002 paper1. Another effective summary isgiven by Felder4. For the reader uninitiated with basic Myers-Briggs terminology anduse, a primer is attached

Conference Session

FPD9 - First Year Learning & Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joe Guarino, Boise State University; Janet Callahan, Boise State University; Seung Youn Chyung, Boise State University; Randi Walters, Boise State University; Bill Clement, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

DelineatorTM 3, was created to benchmark the effectiveness of thesimulations and to facilitate their continuous improvement. Results indicate that students likedusing the simulations and considered them to be enjoyable learning supplements. Students alsofelt that the simulations improved their confidence to take future engineering courses and werewilling to use more simulations in their academic careers. There was no significant correlationbetween dominant learning styles of the students and their perceptions of the simulations.Therefore, adaptations based upon learning styles may not be needed for effective use ofsimulations in learning environments similar to ENGR 110.IntroductionMost Freshman engineering students at our University take Precalculus

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

ĂǁĂƌĞŶĞƐƐ 'ůŽďĂů /ŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ĂǁĂƌĞŶĞƐƐFigure 3. Student survey results on perceived improvements in industry understanding and related environmentalconsiderations.The learning objective of gaining an understanding of the industry, its global nature, and itsincreasing environmental pressures, was perceived as highly successful. The vendor andprofessional interaction of the students at the Air Show generated a completely newunderstanding of their chosen career, and reinforced and motivated them for their academicchallenges. A project such as this, where first year students experience firsthand theprofessional environment of their chosen field of study, has generated beneficial

Conference Session

FPD9 - First Year Learning & Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Halada, State University of New York at Stony Brook

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

make lifelong learning a natural pursuit for thesuccessful engineering student throughout his or her career. 1. Development of assessment tools:Many assessment tools have been developed for undergraduate engineering courses andprograms, many of them in response to the assessment and feedback loop requirements of theABET guidelines for accreditation of engineering degree programs. The 2008-2009 ABETAccreditation Policy and Procedure Manual states that “Assessment is one or more processesthat identify, collect, and prepare data to evaluate the achievement of program outcomes andprogram educational objectives.”7 Assessment should be designed to provide actionablefeedback; in other words, the feedback provided should help program

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

Science from the University of Kansas in 1987. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and recipient of the Okawa Foundation Award, NSF Career Award, the MIT TR100 Innovation Award, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Early Career Award, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Service Award and Junior Research Award, the Provost's Center for Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship, and is featured in the documentary movie "Me & Isaac Newton." She is an associate editor of three major journals and has published extensively in various areas of robotics. Prof. Mataric' is actively involved in K-12 outreach, having received federal and corporate grants for