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

number ofstudies investigate how to teach and learn decision-making skills in engineering. Weconducted an in-depth content analysis of 1) first-year engineering textbooks and 2)instructional decision-support tools published in ASEE proceedings in the last decade.We discussed our findings in the light of research and theoretical frameworks on decisionmaking. The examination of fourteen books that are commonly used as a textbook infirst-year engineering courses revealed that half of these books discussed decisionmaking usually very briefly or as one step in the design process. Twenty-nine percentlinked engineering decision making to social and ethical issues (e. g., examination ofengineering disasters and historical decisions that led to failures

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

. ≠ 80% of the students who earned a grade of A in GNEG 1111 (which we believe indicates a reasonable work ethic) and attempted a MATH class in the Fall Semester of 2007 earned a passing grade in that MATH class. 52% of the students who earned a grade of B in GNEG 1111 (which we believe indicates a mediocre work ethic) and attempted a MATH class in the Fall Semester of 2007 earned a passing grade in that MATH class. 22% of the students who earned a grade of C or worse in or withdrew from GNEG 1111 (which we believe indicates a poor work ethic) and attempted a MATH class in the Fall Semester of 2007 earned a passing grade in that MATH class. ≠ 75% of students who attempted CHEM 1103 in the Fall

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

concepts, professional practice topics (such as teamwork, ethics, and projectmanagement), and a robot project. The second course, ICEE 1020, was taught in five one-hourlectures and one two-hour lab session per week and included statics, mechanics of materials,materials science, and engineering economics.In an “ideal” environment (all students beginning in fall semester at the same math level, allstudents highly motivated to learn engineering, and no transfer students), these freshman courses Page 15.210.2could probably be taught successfully. In practice, the six-credit freshman courses presentedseveral problems: ≠ Because there were no admission

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

desired. The goal of this project is for students to use basic engineering principles tomodel and study the current system and design a model filtering device. The project objectiveswere as follows: • Introduction to bioengineering and design in a medical context • Improve understanding of different engineering disciplines • Introduce engineering concepts - balance equations (mass and energy balances), Fick’s Law , Darcy’s Law, Hagen-Poiseuille • Improve data collection and experimental skills • Introduce students to engineering and medical ethics • Build student teamwork skills – conflict resolution, communication, time management • Improve both written and oral

Conference Session

Service Learning and Societal Issues in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Sevier, Boise State University; Seung Youn Chyung, Boise State University; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University; Janet Callahan, Boise State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

engineering schools have used SL as a method to achieve ABETEAC program outcomes.5, 6 The “a through k” 2009-2010 ABET EAC program outcomes that Page 15.446.3engineering programs must demonstrate that their students attain are listed below: 7 a. an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering b. an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data c. an ability to design a system, component or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability and sustainability d. an

Conference Session

Mentoring First Year Students

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steve Rippon, Arizona State University; James Collofello, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

meetingover lunch. The interaction with the mentors helps build student commitment to engineering.Creating opportunities for meaningful interaction between freshmen and facultyThrough the Global Workshop and the Grand Challenges Curriculum, students interact closelywith faculty members of the Engineering Freshman Teaching Academy during E2. The GlobalWorkshop, an activity facilitated by both peer mentors and faculty, presents the freshmenstudents with scenarios that pertain to global engineering challenges. One such challengeaddresses the technical as well as the cultural and ethical concerns of building a bridge in avillage in an under-developed country. Through the direction and collaboration of the faculty,students derive solutions to 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

graduates in the new world of work. This includes a greateremphasis to be placed on design-based courses, moving engineering away from its traditionalcomposition based on core scientific knowledge (such as that of physics, chemistry andmathematics) towards a more holistic curriculum that is representative of the true nature ofengineering design. This concern has also been voiced by industry employers, who wantengineers with better skills in teamwork, communication, social awareness, and ethics. This hasled to significant changes in accreditation requirements towards a greater importance onoutcomes based Engineering Criteria 2000.3 Page 15.589.4The

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

instructors of the course. The designsequences developed were: Biomechanics (graduate student), Wind Energy (upper-levelundergraduates as part of their Enterprise experience and under faculty guidance), andGeothermal Energy (first-year engineering faculty).The design sequences begin in ENG1001 where students design/construct a model of theirdesign. The designs are improved upon and analyzed further in ENG1100 and are integrated withother course topics (i.e.: sustainability, engineering ethics). This paper outlines the variousprojects and the activities developed. It will describe the challenges and advantages each groupencountered throughout the development process.IntroductionFirst-year engineering students enter programs with varying abilities and

Conference Session

Research on the First Year I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chirag Variawa, University of Toronto; Susan McCahan, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. This paper attempts to review the literature onthe subject of inclusivity with respect to these issues, within the context of first year post- Page 15.362.2secondary education, to create a practical framework that unites the different approaches into anup-to-date resource that is relevant for engineering.The Online Ethics Center at the National Academy of Engineering 1 has a collection of over 50abstracts that address teaching to diversity in engineering. Minority retention rates in post-secondary education, for instance, is a topic that also falls in this category. The 2008 annualreport by the National Action Council for Minorities in

Conference Session

Innovations in First Year Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Lewis, University of Louisville; Jeffrey Hieb, University of Louisville; David Wheatley, University of Louisville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

some aspects of the modern practice of engineering, namely:teamwork, problem and data analysis, design creation, presentation and defense of a designedsolution, and professional ethics. The Introduction to Engineering course is taken by allincoming students to the School of Engineering and the class is not separated by engineeringdiscipline. Because of this diverse student population and potential interests, efforts are made tomake the case study subjects as general as possible with detailed discipline specific technicalanalyses minimized. Generally, the case study work concentrates on the evaluative nature ofengineering work such as identifying important variables in a problem, project assessment, andsystem analysis. Highly technical aspects

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

the same product would in a well presented manner.” • “Presentation is everything. If two competing products are identical (or even similar in quality), the one that is presented better will nearly always be chosen.”whereas a small contingent of students construed either an ethical, social, or philosophicalpurpose behind the video: • “Service should be fair to all persons, otherwise it will let off a negative image.” • “It was showing the difference between certain people, due to job status.” • “Everything is not always fair, even if it seems to be on first glance.”When given the opportunity to make any comment they wished about the video, many studentscommented about the humor of the message: • “The humor

Conference Session

Service Learning and Societal Issues in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John K. Estell, Ohio Northern University; Kenneth Reid, Ohio Northern University; Jed Marquart, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

: • showing how an engineer can effect positive change for thousands, even millions, by designing for those who are impoverished; • presenting real world examples of the realistic constraints (economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health & safety, manufacturability, and sustainability) listed in ABET EAC Criterion 3c; and • developing an appreciation of the need for the “broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context,” as called for in ABET EAC Criterion 3h.Accordingly, a requirement was made for projects in the First-Year Engineering Capstone courseto focus on the design of a poverty alleviation device. The

Conference Session

Service Learning and Societal Issues in the First Year

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Savilonis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; David Spanagel, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Kristin Wobbe, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

seminars often introduce ethics and professionalresponsibility and cover some study survival skills. Intimacy of small group settings is preferredto provide student-faculty interaction. In rare cases, the seminars may have a liberal arts orinterdisciplinary backdrop. Stengel,10 for example, describes a Princeton seminar on space flightwhich exposes liberal arts students to details of technology and engineering students to societalimpacts of technology. Tryggvason and Apelian11 have argued that the engineer of the 21stcentury will be redefined. Advances in information technology have made all informationavailable to everyone everywhere with almost infinite speed and ease. A paradigm shift ineducation is indicated. Now, rather than merely to deliver

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

, written, graphical) d. Lifelong learning e. Project management f. Ethics g. Service to society 2. Technical a. Math i. Algebra ii. Trigonometry iii. Basic calculus iv. Rigor and systematic, methodical characteristics b. The balance concept (a transferable technical skill); flow, accumulation, and source i. Mass ii. Momentum (and Moments) iii. Energy iv. Charge c. Problem solving i. Define and understand problem ii. Sketching, including the general free-body diagram iii. Accumulate facts