Conference Session

1553 FPD3 - Computer & Programming Tools in First Year Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

W. David Harding, University of New Haven; Samuel Daniels, University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2008-2194: USING MICROSOFT OUTLOOK FOR PERSONAL AND PROJECTPLANNING IN A FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING COURSEW. David Harding, University of New HavenSamuel Daniels, University of New Haven Page 13.1347.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Using Microsoft Outlook for Personal & Project Planning in a Freshman Year Engineering CourseAbstractA great variety of tools are available for use in the planning and organizing of project work.This paper discusses the use of Microsoft Outlook (Outlook) as a primary planning andorganizational tool for a first year engineering course; “Project Planning and Development.” Inthe course, Outlook is

Conference Session

FPD10 - Freshman Engineering Introduction to Design

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Silas Bernardoni, University of Wisconsin- Madison; Amit Nimunkar, University of Wisconsin - Madison; John Murphy, University of Wisconsin- Madison; Sandra Courter, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2008-2627: STUDENT-INITIATED DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OFSUPPLEMENTAL HANDS-ON FABRICATION TRAINING CURRICULUM IN ANINTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE: A TQM APPROACHSilas Bernardoni, University of Wisconsin- Madison Silas Bernardoni is a fifth year senior studying Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin Madison, College of Engineering. Design and fabrication has been one of his main activities and hobbies his entire life while growing up on a farm in rural Wisconsin. He has been on the Intro to Engineering Design teaching team for two years and is currently the Lead Student Assistant in charge of planning and coordinating all fabrication training and

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

intervention as needed.In this paper, we provide details on the teaching of our course, and share insights that shouldhelp others planning to teach a similar course in the future.Course overviewThe outcomes that all students in the “Introduction to Engineering” course are expected toachieve are outlined in Table 1 and shown in more detail in the Appendix.It is worth noting that most of these outcomes do not lend themselves well to a purely cognitiveapproach—that is one that focuses on transferring knowledge from instructor to student. In fact,it is sometimes difficult to specify exactly what the “knowledge” component of design,teamwork or communication should be. Instead, we focus on developing students’ skill andconfidence as practitioners in these

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

, notjust in engineering but in every sector of business, government and professional services.A change in University policy in 2004 introduced lower division programs for a campus that hadpreviously relied exclusively on Community College transfers into upper division classes withina 2 + 2 structure. For the electronics program, the change was an opportunity to take a top-down systems view of the subject and therefore more accurately represent the applications thatincreasingly provide employment for the graduates. The planning process started with astatement of expectations and constraints. They are represented in figure 1. Future industry roadmap and careers 4xx Expectations

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

activities in the course would have to supportone or more of the outcomes. Assessments done on the course would also be based upon theoutcomes. The ten outcomes are: 1. To be able to perform well in multidisciplinary, multi person, complex team projects. 2. To be able to apply the technical project design steps including library research, project planning and management to subsequent engineering projects. 3. To be able to apply problem solving steps when solving a mathematical, science or engineering problem. 4. To be able to use a CAD software to construct a 2d, three-view representation (i.e. front, top, side) of a 2d object, complete with dimensions, annotations, etc., as well as an isometric

Conference Session

FPD8 - Early Intervention & Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joyce Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jacob Marszalek, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Annel Medina, California Polytechnic State University; Susan Linnemeyer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

increased student diversityas one of the major goals within its strategic plan (Adesida, 2007; University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign Strategic Plan, 2007). However, the percentages of students who areAfrican American and Latino/a in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign have remained consistently low in comparison to the other top engineeringschools in the nation and the national average as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 below(Engineering and technology enrollments, 2005). Page 13.1104.4Figure 1. Percentage of African Americans in B.S. Programs at Top Engineering Schools in theNation (Engineering and

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

, learning styles, communication skills and timemanagement. In addition, students are required to examine the required courses in their intendedengineering major and develop a semester-by-semester schedule indicating which courses theywill take until they can graduate. The students are required to pay particular attention to coursepre-requisites and consider the pre-requisites in planning their course of study. This schedule isused during an in-class advising session to help students plan their following semester ofcoursework.The second category of class lecture deals with introducing each of MSU’s ten engineeringmajors. Department heads and/or undergraduate coordinators for each department are invited tocome and share with students information

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

-Year Pr ogr amready for college-level mathematics ctg"tghgttgf"vq"cu"Ðrtg-gpikpggtkpiÑ"uvwfgpvu."cpf"must passintermediate algebra before they are eligible for the five-year program. Unfortunately it ishighly unusual that pre-engineers are able to successfully complete the engineering curriculum6.Note that all math classes mentioned require a C to proceed.While developing the curriculum, five freshmen engineering courses were specifically designedto bring students into immediate contact with both the engineering faculty and student peers7.Two courses were designed exclusively for students on the five-year plan. These are ENGR103, Principles of Problem Solving, and ENGR 104, Applied Problem Solving5.Three courses were designed for all students

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

very different for transferstudents, and so too are their motivations. So, in the presentation of course content, adjustmentswere made from the basic freshman plans to teach at a somewhat higher level but to maintain thefreshman expectations when grading work. In the design of assignments, it was important tomake strong links between class time activities/content and assigned homework. Also, makinglinks between course efforts and real-life engineering was mandatory to keep students engaged.For the team-based design project, we needed to create a project that would be interesting andchallenging, but also one that would ensure a team effort from these students who had so littlebeyond the class connecting them. The project statement for

Conference Session

FPD5 - Teaming and Peer Performance

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jon Carson, Pennsylvania State University - Wilkes-Barre

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

dislikes. The instructor may find themselves as a conflict mediator.Classroom group operations do not save instructor time5,6. Insufficient structure or explanation ofworking in groups can lead to dysfunctional team processes, poor team performance, and ageneral reduction in the interest in team operations by the student.6ConclusionsEvaluation of individual effort on group projects requires significant planning, testing, andimplementation by the instructor. Students receive the greatest benefit from working in groupswhen they are fully informed about how groups work and the roles and responsibilities of groupmembers. Qualitative methods of data collection including daily reports and close observation ofclass can be used with quantitative methods

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

year included two women and one Hispanic-American.The program expenditures for the 2006-2007 academic year were $36,955. This was 25% lowerthan the previous year. The 2006-2007 program survey showed that 47 engineering students tookadvantage of the program. Of these, 17 were electrical engineering majors, resulting in a cost perof $2,174 per student, which is consistent with the original plan, and much below the 2005-2006cost per student. The expenditures over the first two years of the program totaled $82,998. Thisamount is below the original projected expenditure of $125,000 over two years and leaves abalance of roughly $42,000. This can be attributed mainly to the decreased number of enteringstudents in the program. The program project

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

do with lifestyle orientation. This preference has perhapsthe least descriptive names, because it has nothing to do with being judgmental orperceptive. Judgers are scheduled. They prefer life to be planned and orderly. Theydon’t like change, and are anxious to get things executed and finished. They aredependable and responsible. Perceivers are spontaneous, flexible and adaptable. In fact,they won’t make a decision until the very last minute so that they can gather all theiroptions and make the best decision. Page 13.314.12The Myers-Briggs TypesThe Myers-Briggs Types are made up of combinations of the preferences, one for eachpreference continuum

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

, increasing ESL student achievement, and meeting the needs of secondary ESL students in the content areas. Current interests include, developing programs which ensure university success for ESL students, integrated curriculum at an aviation focused university, and accreditation processes.Hemdeep Dulthummon, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University Hemdeep Dulthummon is an undergraduate student at Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University. He is currently doing a B.Sc. in Flight and Aviation Management but plans to switch to Aerospace Engineering. Page 13.629.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008

Conference Session

FPD9 - First Year Learning & Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Whalen, Northeastern University; Susan Freeman, Northeastern University; Beverly Jaeger, Susan Freeman and Beverly Jaeger are members of Northeastern University's

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

or interesting they were. Not all of the activities were used by every Professor, in whichcase students were instructed to place an ’n/a’.While Engineering Design sections are taught by individual instructors, the course is conducted with a Page 13.164.3team-planning approach. All three of the authors were involved in co-coordinating this course over thesemesters of interest. Team meetings were conducted for all instructors every two weeks throughout thesemester. It was established that instructors of this course conduct the learning modes in a similar fashion.Accordingly, the results across the sections were combined to yield

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

universities will necessarily have different challenges than small private colleges.Whether large or small, public or private, elite or more mainstream, each type of institution canbring something to the discussion. Therefore, when planning panel discussions andpresentations, care should be taken to include representatives from a range of institutions. Page 13.977.9Finally, much of the best engagement in a dialogue-focused workshop occurs outside of theorganized sessions; it occurs at meals, informally in the hallways, and when milling aroundbetween sessions. Thus, such a workshop should leave plenty of time for the participants to talkwith each other

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

FPD1 - Early Success and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Bell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Moshe Kam, Drexel University; Joan Carletta, University of Akron; Douglas Gorham, IEEE

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

completing the beginning questionnaire. The first lecture in the new version of the course described all of the projects to be investigated during the semester—and the impact of each project’s problem/solution on people/society was explicitly described. Page 13.683.7FutureIEEE EA will issue the second call for proposals in spring 2008. By the end of 2008, the RWEPwill have completed its $400,000 startup phase and become a sustained program within IEEEEA. IEEE plans to increase the resources it allocates to its education initiatives so that RWEP isfunded under the normal EA operating budget. In addition to acquiring and disseminating

Conference Session

FPD2 - First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig Gunn, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

achieves this goal by creating exceptional and memorable interactive events throughout the Chicago land area ranging from Interactive Summer Outings and Amazing Races to Deep Skills Team Building Events. No matter what the occasion, WCF accommodates your every need by matching and customizing its programs to fit your unique mission and objectives while providing you with a hassle-free planning experience. Windy City Fieldhouse creates, organizes and leads your group on an exciting and creative “ Mission Impossible” Scavenger Hunt and/or Amazing Race taking place at locations such as downtown Chicago, Lincoln Park, Navy Pier, suburban resorts, museums or amusement parks. Groups first

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

friction, the energy losses invertical loops, and the approximate angle at which the ball will start sliding as well as rolling.This last is important because sliding friction is much higher than rolling friction. They then usethese results plus an estimate of air resistance to estimate the speed of the ball at key points intheir initial coaster design using an Excel spreadsheet. This initial model is used to look fordesign problems, such as not having enough speed to reach the top of a vertical loop, flying offthe track at a bump, or having excessively high speeds in a horizontal turn. Students must comeup with a plan to revise their coaster design to fix these issues before they are allowed to build.The design spreadsheet only includes estimates

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

civil engineers. These presentations were spaced throughout thefirst half of the semester in ENG1100.It was during this module that the semester design project was introduced. The design projectconsisted of designing a safe snowball launcher. Students developed a management plan andtimeline for their project (using MS Visio and Word) and a general 3D concept model usingUGNX. As a class, they analyzed the elasticity of the launcher cords to determine how thespring force in the cord is related to how much the cord is stretched. This activity served toreview basic spreadsheet skills from ENG1001. At this point in ENG1100, students wereintroduced to functions using Visual Basic (VBA) Programming. To add to their spreadsheet

Conference Session

FPD7 - Global Warming & Sustainability for First-Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University; Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; David Shonnard, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. Inthe second semester course, ENG1102, students complete a semester-long design project withinan engineering team of 3-5 people. In the past, these design projects have included: anautonomous robot, a human-hybrid vehicle, a New Orleans flood management plan, amicrobrewery and a super mileage concept vehicle.Beginning in the spring semester of 2008 is the alternative fuels design project where studentswill examine the viability of a biomass-to-ethanol process using regional timber resources(logging residues or energy crops such as hybrid poplar). With increasing pressure to reduceforeign oil consumption and the U.S. Department of Energy looking to increase the biofuelsusage from 3% to 30% by 2025, this is a current problem graduating engineers

Conference Session

1553 FPD3 - Computer & Programming Tools in First Year Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jess Everett, Rowan University; John Chen, Rowan University; Stephanie Farrell, Rowan University; Jennifer Kadlowec, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, content, and accessibility of information could be directly evaluated by askingquestions that tested directly a student’s ability to retrieve information from his or her portfolio.This method of evaluation is much less time-intensive than the spot-checking method usedpreviously; in addition, professors have increased confidence that the earned scores reflect thequality of the portfolio. Student portfolios were observed to improve between the time of themidterm and final evaluations.Overall, the three professors using clickers in Freshman Clinic I at Rowan University in Fall2007 had favorable experiences. Each plans to continue to use clickers.A survey of five professors using clickers in seven separate classes (including courses other

Conference Session

FPD2 - First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Romkey, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

(upper year student) and us allowed a more informal procedure to understanding material. The smaller sizes encouraged us to ask more questions and discuss the course material until we fully understood.” “Past students were able to provide helpful learning techniques, strategies for learning; learning with peers allowed one to work out complex concepts together, talk about them and share difficulties together to understand them.”However, some students found problems with the method, which will need to be considered forfuture planning and implementation. Some students cited that unprepared classmates impactedthe quality of the study group: “(the study groups) are mainly geared towards students having

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

” question, and table 2 shows the fraction (expressed as an integralpercentage) that answered ‘yes’ to a given question.The results suggest that the students are broadly enthusiastic about Computer Science as a careeroption. Of the 31 students that took the final exam, 81% answered either 4 or 5 (on a scale of 1–5)in answer to the question, “What is your opinion of Computer Science as a career?” Additionally,77% answered either 4 or 5 in response to the question “Do you plan to continue as a computerscience major?” All thirty-one respondents indicated that they liked working with others in thecourse’s projects.On one hand, there’s no doubt that computer science remains intimidating. At the beginning ofthe class, 55% believed computer science to be

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

80% male, and about 75% intended to become or continueas engineering majors. Interestingly, the increase in respondents to the post-assessment waslargely a result of greater numbers of students from Hispanic and Asian ethnicities responding tothe post-assessment. There does not appear to be any clear reason for this difference.Revisions of the SEASWhile the initial study involved survey questions of generalized tasks incorporating science,technology, engineering and mathematics, revisions are planned to include content that is moreclosely aligned with class activities. In this way, measurements of self-belief can be moreclosely correlated to actual content knowledge gained through the active learning methods used.For example, the SEAS will

Conference Session

FPD8 - Early Intervention & Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robin Hensel, West Virginia University; J. Ryan Sigler, West Virginia University; Andrew Lowery, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

to at least a C. Figure 1 illustrates this result. Grade Recovery Program Data Improved to C or Better 25% Did Not Improve to C 75% Figure 1. Calculus 1 Grade Recovery Program DataAnecdotally, several students indicated they were planning to withdraw from Calculus 1, butdecided to persevere if there was the hope of earning a C or better. That hope motivated severalof the students; and one-fourth of that population persisted and succeeded in

Conference Session

FPD5 - Teaming and Peer Performance

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arlisa Labrie Richardson, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

collegestudents whose high-school SAT math scores were at least 650 and who started their collegecareers in natural science, mathematics or engineering. The interviewees were selectedrandomly by the participating colleges and universities. Approximately half of those interviewedhad switched majors out of science-math-engineering (SME) programs by their senior years. Theother half of those interviewed were still SME majors as seniors and planned to graduate with adegree in natural science, mathematics or engineering. They found that the greatest contributionto the loss of students in Science, Math and Engineering fields was due to problems associatedwith the structure of the educational experience and the culture of the disciplines. They alsofound that