like Page 11.1140.2to take. Courses with hands-on experiments and laboratories were the least favored by thesestudents. Besterfield-Sacre et al5 found that students who left engineering in good academicstanding had lower confidence in their “engineering skills” than those who were retained. Whiledeveloping hands-on skills may be an important goal of a first-year course, faculty membersshould bear in mind that many students are intimidated by hands-on projects.Engineering Graphics, Solid Modeling, and DesignEngineering graphics is a subject that is normally taught in the freshman year, either as a part ofan introduction to engineering course or
of computational fracture mechanics. Page 11.429.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Developing a Freshman Introduction to Engineering TextbookAbstract What should a freshman introduction to engineering course achieve and how will anappropriate textbook help meet the course goals? In this paper, we summarize our experiencessearching for a text and ultimately how and why we decided to write our own book. It can be said that the primary purpose of a first year introduction to an engineeringcourse is to win the hearts and minds of first year college students who are considering anengineering
2006-1150: INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING THROUGH REAL-WORLDCASE STUDIESChetan Sankar, Auburn UniversityP.K. Raju, Auburn University Page 11.842.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Introduction to Engineering through Real-World Case StudiesIntroduction By the year 2020, the world population will approach 8 billion people, and muchof that increase will be among groups that today are outside of developed nationsi. Themarketplace for engineering services will be worldwide, and jobs will move freely.Information sharing allowed by the Internet, broadband communication links, and highspeed computers has the effect of tying cultures, knowledge
2006-1117: HOW DO STUDENTS IN A PROJECT-BASED FIRST-YEARENGINEERING CURRICULUM PERFORM IN A SOPHOMORE ENGINEERINGMECHANICS COURSE?Jefferey Froyd, Texas A&M University Jeff Froyd is a Research Professor in the Center for Teaching Excellence and Director of Academic Development at Texas A&M University. He was Project Director for the Foundation Coalition, one of the NSF Engineering Education Coalitions and now serves as Project Director for “Changing Faculty through Learning Communities,” a project sponsored by the NSF Research on Gender in Science and Engineering Program.Xiafeng Li, Texas A&M University Xiafeng Li is a PhD student of computer science at Texas A&M
mandate of EC2000 is that students be able to workeffectively in multidisciplinary teams, which has led preeminent universities such as Purdue tocreate courses that explicitly build interdisciplinary connections in their students’ minds.13Many emerging philosophies in first-year engineering education have grown out of fundamentalpedagogical research that supports a holistic approach to engineering education. For example, agreat deal of work has been done to investigate and confirm the usefulness of learningcommunities, which are being implemented at several universities.5,14 Other universities, such asTexas A&M and the Air Force Academy, are working very hard to provide their students with anintegrated curriculum that combines engineering
2006-1362: THE SHOW MUST GO ON - REFLECTIONS ON THE PURSUIT OFENGINEERING THROUGH INTER-DISCIPLINARY DESIGN CHALLENGESBenjamin Kidd, University of Virginia Benjamin holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, also from the University of Virginia. His current research involves a project called "ecoMOD", a collaborative effort between the University's Engineering and Architecture schools to design and build energy efficient affordable housing. Benjamin is also the recipient of the 2004-2005 Outstanding GTA Award for the Electrical Engineering Department, and a recipient of the All-University Teaching Assistant Award. His interests include Amateur Radio (Call sign KG4EIF), stage lighting, pyrotechnics
final approval. OME presentations should be short (one minute ideally…three minutes maximum for pairs). You are encouraged to use physical and visual aids in your presentations, but if you elect to do so, you are still expected to be mindful of the time constraints imposed on the exercise. Once you have established a potential topic, e-mail your professor 24 hours or more before class time for approval and an exchange of ideas for the OME presentation. Your OME may deal with a topic in one of the following categories of topics, or you may suggest an additional engineering category for approval: Product or Device Presentation: “The Demo Minute” Demonstrate a device or product and the engineering principles used in its operation
significant role in the recruitment and retention of underrepresentedstudents. It was with these concepts in mind that the author introduced a service-learningcurriculum into a required introductory engineering course at the University of Michigan. Page 11.185.3Engineering 100 Course objectivesIntroduction to Engineering, at the University of Michigan, is a required first-year coursedesigned to introduce students to their career choice through practice in the overall workexperience of professional engineers. The course topics, as written in the college bulletin are: “Focused team projects dealing with technical, economic, safety
2006-1278: USING REFLECTIVE ESSAYS AS PART OF A MIXED METHODAPPROACH FOR EVALUATING A FRESHMAN LIVING-LEARNINGCOMMUNITY FOR ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE STUDENTSJennifer Light, University of Washington Jennifer Light is a 2005 Ph.D. graduate in Engineering Education from Washington State University and was recently awarded a National Academy of Engineering post doctoral appointment with the University of Washington Center for Engineering Education. She is the author of several publications on engineering learning communities and assessment.Laura Girardeau, Washington State University Laura Girardeau, M.S., is a Learning Designer at Washington State University’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and
including graphics, mechanical engineering,electrical engineering, as well as engineering professional practice and ethics in order to achieveprogram and learning objectives. The course is structured into two parallel tracks, designated Aand B. While Track B deals with engineering graphics and spans the entire semester, Track Aoffers students a solid foundation in the general engineering disciplines of mechanical andelectrical, as well as concepts of professional practice, in multi-week modules. Designing andbuilding robots requires skills from all these disciplines and inherently helps to integrate them instudents’ minds. A robot project and competition was defined to integrate together thesecomponents, provide the students opportunities to learn
2006-1936: LESSONS LEARNED: IMPLEMENTING A LARGE-SCALE PEERMENTORING PROGRAMBevlee Watford, Virginia Tech DR. BEVELEE A. WATFORD, P.E. is the founding Director of the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity, established in 1992. Watford received the ASEE 2003 Minorities in Engineering award due to her efforts to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of under-represented students in engineering. She is currently working for the National Science Foundation as a rotator in the Division of Undergraduate Education.Carrie Slater, Virginia Tech CARRIE R. SLATER is a graduate assistant in the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity at Virginia
2006-1001: ACTIVE TEACHING, ACTIVE LEARNING: INFUSING THE DESIGNPROCESS IN A FIRST-YEAR COURSESusan Freeman, Northeastern University Susan Freeman, Beverly Jaeger and Richard Whalen are members of Northeastern University's Gateway Team, a selected group of faculty expressly devoted to the first-year Engineering Program. The focus of this team is on providing a consistent, comprehensive, and constructive educational experience in engineering that endorses the student-centered and professionally-oriented mission of Northeastern University.Beverly Jaeger, Northeastern UniversityRichard Whalen, Northeastern University
use of PRS and lecture as wrap up demands that studentsengage and prepare themselves, and when they come to lecture, promotes the development of aknowledge framework.References1. Sticklen J, Urban-Lurain M, Hinds T, Eskil T, Amey M. Multi-section Freshman Classes with Laboratories: Lecture as Intro vs. Lecture as Wrap-up. 2005; Portland, OR. American Society for Engineering Education. p paper #2005-1601.2. Bransford JD, Brown AL, Cocking RR. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Academy Press; 1999.3. Hall SR, Waitz I, Brodeur DR, Soderholm DH