Conference Session

First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

last semester in high school was about two orthree hours. Many engineering freshmen do not put in the time that they should be in learningtheir classes until they hit the first quizzes or a midterm and suddenly realize that they have a lotof learning to make up to be on top of the class material. Many students do not know how tolearn material.This paper will explore the transition from high school to college relative to the number of studyhours a freshman engineering student devotes each week and the “solutions” that have been usedto help with this problem through a literature search. The paper will discuss how muchengineering students study their last year in high school, how much the students plan to “study”in college, and the reasons

Conference Session

Learning as a Community

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Hinds, Michigan State University; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Amanda Idema, Michigan State University; Cynthia Helman, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

related to the failure of New Orleans levees in hurricane Katrina. As Associate Dean, he oversees curriculum, advising, career planning, study abroad, early engineering and other related initiatives.Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University NEERAJ BUCH is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University. He is also the Director of Cornerstone Engineering and Residential Experience program at Michigan State University. He earned his M.S. degree in pavement engineering in 1988 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and his Ph.D. in pavement and materials engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, in 1995. Dr. Buch began his

Conference Session

Learning as a Community

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Janet Meyer, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Patrick Gee, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Laura Masterson, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

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First-Year Programs

that students who participate in a LC at IUPUI have higher firstyear retention rates than students who do not participate. In Fall 2007, 88% of the entering firstyear cohort was enrolled in a LC and one year retention for LC students was 70% as compared tostudents not enrolled in a LC (65%). Differences in retention among participants and non-participants are significant for regular admits to IUPUI 7.Themed Learning Communities (TLCs), which were piloted at IUPUI in 2004, build on theconcepts already present in a regular learning community by adding linked courses that cover acommon topic. A TLC is a group of 3-5 classes connected by a theme in which students enrolltogether. Through planned teamwork, TLC faculty and instructional team members

Conference Session

Exploring Retention

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian DeJong, Central Michigan University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Central Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

incorporated more hands-on weekly projects in the course (made easier by the smaller class sizes), with emphasis on learning, design, and improving society.Finally, in the future we plan to have upperclassmen as advisors the EGR120 project groups,so the freshman students better understand what it takes to be an engineering student.The retention rates may also improve as the program gains recognition. As mentionedearlier, we have not yet marketed our (not-yet-accredited) program, and so the majority ofthe students in it chose engineering after coming to CMU, rather than the other way around.Advertising the program should target students more likely to stay in engineering.In the coming years, we will see if these changes have improved retention. We

Conference Session

Goal Specific First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

after introducing themodel to the students and making the language and process clear to them, their post-assessmentwill show an improvement in their critical thinking. In the future, as students progress throughthe engineering program, periodic critical thinking assessments as part of the QEP will be doneto track the impact of ―Introduction to Engineering‖ on future critical thinking behavior. Page 14.611.21. IntroductionAs part of the University of Louisville’s effort to maintain quality teaching and learning andprepare students to meet the challenges they will face throughout their lives, a qualityenhancement plan (QEP) was adopted in 2007

Conference Session

Retention Tools and Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Jan Collins-Eaglin, Michigan State University; Nathaniel Ehrlich, Michigan State University; Denise Fleming, Michigan State University; Timothy Hinds, Michigan State University; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University

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First-Year Programs

responsible for providing vision, direction, planning and implementation regarding the use of technology in instruction of mathematics and science. Mark's research interests are in theories of cognition, how these theories inform the design of instruction, how we might best design instructional technology within those frameworks, and how the research and development of instructional technologies can inform our theories of cognition.Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University Dr. THOMAS F. WOLFF is Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Studies at Michigan State University and a faculty member in Civil and Environmental Engineering. In the fall of 2005, he was a member of the ASCE Levee Assessment

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald Welch, University of Texas, Tyler

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

complete design to include procedures used, lessons learned,hand-drawn plans and material costs must be part of the lab report. Students are informedabout the need to draw plans for their final design project using PC paint or somethingequivalent. Many teams choose to draw the plans of their bridges using a drawingpackage even in this first laboratory. Some students will take apart a working bridge ifthere is time left to go for a more efficient design that carries the full 7 books…passionateengineers, future civil engineers? Most student groups focus their lessons learned on thefact that triangular shapes are more stable and stronger, shorter members make thestructure more stable, and connection design is critical (note: the purple connectors

Conference Session

Projects and Problems in First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vinod Lohani, Virginia Tech; Ganesh Balasubramanian, Virginia Tech; Ishwar Puri, Virginia Tech; Scott Case, Virginia Tech; Roop Mahajan, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

engineeringeducation experts. In this paper, we discuss the proposed modules that are being/alreadyimplemented in support of the spiral theory based nanotechnology option within the ESMprogram. Additionally, we cover implementation details of a freshman module that is targeted atintroducing basic nanotechnology concepts. This module, which sits at the bottom of the spiralframework, was successfully implemented in a freshman engineering course with ~1500 studentsin Fall 2008. Finally, we discuss our plans for implementing the remaining components of thenanotechnology spiral. Page 14.1192.4   Nanotechnology Option

Conference Session

Learning as a Community

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sondra Miller, Boise State University; Pat Pyke, Boise State University; Amy Moll, Boise State University; Melissa Wintrow, Boise State University; Cheryl Schrader, Boise State University; Janet Callahan, Boise State University

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First-Year Programs

scholarship were provided with additionalfunding for University Housing costs to encourage participation in the ERC because communitybuilding is one of the scholarship’s tenets. Academic eligibility for this scholarship is relativelymoderate, giving financially needy students with diverse backgrounds the opportunity to attendcollege. In this way, students participating in the ERC and NSF scholarship recipients arerepresentative of our engineering student population. Participation in the ERC by NSFscholarship recipients included: 10 of 28 in the fall 2007 semester, 9 of 26 in the spring 2008semester, and 6 of 22 in the fall 2008 semester).Each RC community is supported by a program assistant (PA) who works in close relationshipwith the FiR in planning

Conference Session

Assessment and Curriculum Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tom Bramald, Newcastle University; Sean Wilkinson, Newcastle University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

world) ≠ Environmental ≠ Social ≠ Financial ≠ ManufacturedThe remainder of the lecture identifies and explains the RAE’s 12 guiding principles as they arepresented and explained in the document. The authors would encourage anybody interested inteaching sustainability in any engineering discipline to review the document. Its 12 guidingprinciples are given below: Look beyond your own locality and local future Innovate and be creative Seek a balanced solution Seek engagement from all stakeholders Make sure you know the needs and wants Plan and manage effectively Give sustainability the benefit of any doubt If polluters must pollute ... then they must pay as well Adopt a

Conference Session

Exploring Retention

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeong Hwan Choi, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Jacob Marszalek, University of Missouri, Kansas City; Joyce Lee, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Susan Linnemeyer, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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First-Year Programs

-3,2 -0.469 -3.721 * 2.965 5. 1,2-3,2 -0.467 -3.710 * 2.965 6. 2,1-3,1 -0.372 -2.956 * 2.965 7. 2,3-3,3 -0.352 -2.794 2.833 8. 1,1-2,1 0.322 2.553 2.833 18. 1,2-2,2 0.001 0.010 −Table 4. Summary of sequential Bonferroni planned contrasts ( = .05). The first number of eachpair member indicates group membership (1 = program, 2 = comparison, 3 = NESP), and thesecond number indicates semester (1 = Fall 2007, 2 = Spring 2008, and 3 = Fall 2008). Contrastsare sorted in order of observed magnitude as

Conference Session

First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles McDowell, University of California, Santa Cruz; Adrienne Harrell, University of California, Santa Cruz

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

good 100% 76.9% understanding of the requirements for my major and what (7/7) (10/13) courses I should be taking in my first quarter at UCSC.Table 2: Percentage of students responding either "Strongly agree" or "Agree." Otheroptions were "Neutral", "Disagree," and "Strongly disagree." There were responses from7 out of 10 ETTP participants and 13 out of 45 Non-ETTP participants. Actual counts areshown in parenthesis.We plan to follow-up with the current ETTP students to find out how we can change the programso that they would all be able to agree with the questions in the survey. We were most surprisedthat one ETTP student indicated that he or she did not know where to go for academic advisingand support

Conference Session

The Ever-Changing Course

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Thompson, University of New Haven; Jean Nocito-Gobel, University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

amount oftime to the discussion period for each project. In addition, by improving some of the projectmethods using a system engineering approach, instructors have observed reductions in timepreviously spent in frustration by students approaching projects in a non-systematic way.Instructors gain some additional class time to introduce system engineering concepts byconsolidating a fuel cell project from a series of three experiments into a concurrent,multidisciplinary design project where the series of experiments now occur simultaneously inone class period, instead of in series over two class periods. In addition, the course objectivesand planned course outcomes do not change, only individual student outcomes are expected toimprove, as far as

Conference Session

Exploring Retention

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

program by name such as “SpaceCamp – Sophomore year”, or “FIRST Robotics”.Now, what about the students who are not sure, the 1’s and 2’s? Since there are so few of these,the data is not very informative; however, their comments provide the most insight. Severalstudents stated that they like the courses and even find engineering interesting, but are not surethey love the field. They state that it will get them a good job, with high pay, or that they cantransfer or do other careers with an engineering background. One student stated being forced intoit by parents; another plans to change majors immediately. Several positive responses say theylike what they know so far, hope to find it interesting, but also realize that there are a lot of fieldsto go

Conference Session

Potpourri

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jean Nocito-Gobel, University of New Haven; Amy Thompson, University of New Haven; Carl Barratt, University of New Haven; Michael Collura, University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

courses.This paper discusses our experience at the University of New Haven in addressing issues thatarise when running multiple sections of a first semester freshman engineering course. Some ofthe management issues that occur involve scheduling time of teaching assistants, planning andpurchasing materials, scheduling classrooms, recruiting and training full time faculty and adjunctfaculty and planning for their schedules, and managing the dissemination of information undertight budget constraints.IntroductionMany changes in engineering education over the past 20 years have focused on enhancing thefirst year experience to improve the academic performance and persistence of engineering

Conference Session

Goal Specific First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Taryn Bayles, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

ofcommunication during the design process. Therefore, in the fall 2008 semester the teams werealso evaluated on their ability to effectively communicate their design with their team membersand with other teams in their discussion session. The class consists of 210 students; broken intoseven discussion sessions, with five teams each – for a total of 35 design teams. Thecommunication criteria was assessed in addition to the design project criteria. Each team wasrequired to complete their design, mathematical model and testing plans well in advance to theirscheduled testing date. Each team gave their design project construction materials and designplans (which include CAD drawings and instructions) to another team in the class whichconstructed the design

Conference Session

Beyond the Engineering Classroom

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Bailey, North Carolina A&T State University; Cindy Waters, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

and or processes. Finally,we discuss and plan simple experiments noting whether the experiment was controlled oruncontrolled, and identifying the independent and dependant variables.The skill-set found in Subgroup III is also developed by UNST 130 when topics of logicand more specifically arguments are explored. An educated engineer should be able torecognize and employ both deductive and inductive methods and arguments, and evaluate Page 14.1137.3arguments in terms of their validity, truth, soundness, strength, and cogency. They shouldalso have the ability to recognize fallacies in arguments and in ordinary language, both ofwhich will enhance the

Conference Session

The Ever-Changing Course

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathleen Harper, Denison University; Richard Freuler, Ohio State University; Stuart Brand, Ohio State University; Craig Morin, Ohio State University; Patrick Wensing, Ohio State University; John Demel, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

group were ME majors and twowere ChBE majors. There were five women in the pilot group but only one in the control group. Page 14.345.6AssessmentThe assessment plan was two-pronged. The first was to compare student performance oncommon questions on the final exams. The second was to administer a programming beliefssurvey both pre-course and post-course.I. Exam Performance -- The final exams contained two styles of problems that were of interestfor this study. Two problems on the final exam asked the students to write programs toaccomplish specified tasks. These problems were worded identically and were graded on verysimilar scales. Statistically

Conference Session

Goal Specific First-Year Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Srikanth Tadepalli, University of Texas, Austin; Mitchell Pryor; Cameron Booth, University of Texas, Austin

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First-Year Programs

and formal instrument for engagingpresence, we incorporated a countdown clock on our main page (see Figure 7) both as aninformative tool and device for assessing personal time investment. Students are providedcontinuous updates about impending deadlines thus instigating a sense a personalinvolvement in the course without excessive external regulation – one of the features ofPSI.Future implementation plans include creating “virtual study groups”, where the coursecan be subdivided into smaller sections so that students can get better acquainted withsome of their classmates and can help and encourage each other to complete the course.The concept of using performance based test generation to progress students either morequickly, or more slowly

Conference Session

First-Year Advising and Transition

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maria Sanchez, California State University, Fresno; Ira Sorensen, California State University, Fresno; Walter Mizuno, California State University, Fresno; Satya Mahanty, California State University, Fresno

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First-Year Programs

colleges and the university.Bibliographic Information Page 14.311.11 1. Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning at California State University, Fresno Report, prepared for Ira Sorensen, 2009.

Conference Session

The Ever-Changing Course

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Gustafson, Duke University; Rebecca Simmons, Duke University; W. Neal Simmons, Duke University; Michael Ehrenfried, Kent Denver School; Tod Laursen, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Page 14.33.2mandate that all engineering students take the new course - neither computer science courses norAP credits can be used to replace it. What follows is a discussion of the redesign of the course,information about the addition of hands-on laboratories, and an assessment of the success ofthose laboratory experiences.RedesignAs a first step in the redesign process, eight years ago, the associate dean for the school formed acommittee to evaluate the curriculum of the freshman EGR 53L class. Faculty members werepolled as to the future usability of the language being taught in EGR 53L. At the time, studentswould learn either C or C++. While the faculty generally agreed that students planning to pursuegraduate school in most engineering

Conference Session

The Ever-Changing Course

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; Jean Kampe, Michigan Technological University; Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

music automatically. From the beginning of the design process to the final construction of the prototype, students considered the environmental impact of this engineering activity. Most of the materials used in the prototype were reclaimed from post-consumer waste streams, and no prefabricated sound making devices or objects were used. Design analysis incorporated life cycle thinking: embodied energy in component materials, virtual water, toxicity, and end-of-life cycle planning (re-use, re- manufacture, and recycling, and design for disassembly). Microbrewing

Conference Session

Retention Tools and Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University; Amy Hamlin, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

interdisciplinary design project that focuseson bringing real-world examples into the classroom. Past students have investigated alternativefuels, autonomous robots, human-hybrid and supermileage concept vehicles, New Orleans floodmanagement plans, microbrewery systems, and vending machines.According to a study completed by Hertel and Hamlin on the incoming student population of fallof 2000 at Michigan Tech, only 40% of students graduated in their originally declared majorwith the majority of these changes occurring during the first or second year. 2 There are severalfactors that contribute to student persistence in their chosen major, one of which is self-efficacy.Women in particular have been shown to be particularly influenced by their efficacy beliefs

Conference Session

Retention Tools and Programs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University; Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University; Wolfgang Bauer, Michigan State University; Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Neeraj Buch, Michigan State University; Nathaniel Ehrlich, Michigan State University; John Courtney, Michigan State University; Ruth Heckman, Lansing Community College; Denise Fleming, Michigan State University; Louise Paquette, Lansing Community College; Renee Mickelson, Lansing Community College; Mark Urban-Lurain; Clifford Weil, Michigan State University

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First-Year Programs

in hurricane Katrina. As Associate Dean, he oversees curriculum, advising, career planning, study abroad, early engineering and other related initiatives.Wolfgang Bauer, Michigan State University Wolfgang Bauer is University Distinguished Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University, as well as Founding Director of the Institute for Cyber-Enabled Discovery. He has pioneered internet-based distance learning classes for college and advanced placement high school audiences and has been a co-PI on the MSU Lon-Capa project, a course management and automated individualized homework system. He is MSU’s representative for the Science &

Conference Session

Learning as a Community

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Ricks, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Rhonda Kowalchuk, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; John Nicklow, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Loen Graceson-Martin, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Lalit Gupta, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; James Mathias, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Jale Tezcan, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Kathy Pericak-Spector, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

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First-Year Programs

Conference Session

Assessment and Curriculum Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Godfrey, University of Auckland; Rosalind Archer, University of Auckland; Paul Denny, University of Auckland; Margaret Hyland, University of Auckland; Chris Smaill, University of Auckland; Karl Stol, University of Auckland

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

conducted in every course in every semester.These are considereda “quick and dirty” monitoring system, but do allow a fast response where difficulties orweaknesses are identified. The results from these surveys are not used for staff promotionpurposes, and evaluative instruments are tailored by the Centre for Academic Developmentwhere a staff member wishes to seek feedback of a personal nature or to evaluate a specificinitiative in teaching or assessment. The School of Engineering also complies with theUniversity-wide three-year rolling plan of course evaluation. There is a perception thatcourses are comprehensively evaluated, and in fact there is some talk of “survey overload”.ChallengesOver the period of thirteen years that this program has run