Bootstrapping a New Graduate Curriculum through an Engineering Research CenterAbstract NSF Generation-3 Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) are charged both withadvancing the state-of-the-art in terms of engineering and scientific research as well as training awell-qualified workforce in the domain of expertise. Such an ERC was awarded in 2008 to NorthCarolina A&T State University (NCAT), with the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and theUniversity of Cincinnati (UC) as the core US research partner institutions. The focus of thisERC, the ERC for Revolutionizing Metallic Biomaterials (RMB) is the development of advancedmaterials and processes targeted at the biomedical implant and device industry. NCAT has strongresearch
Paper ID #12271Application of Active Learning Techniques in Undergraduate Civil Engineer-ing CurriculumDr. Dimitra Michalaka, The Citadel Dr. Dimitra Michalaka is an Assistant Professor at the department of civil and environmental engineering at The Citadel. Dr. Michalaka received her undergraduate diploma in civil engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), after which she entered into the transportation engineering grad- uate program at UF. She graduated with a Master’s of Science in May 2009 and with a Ph.D. in August 2012. Her research is primarily focused on traffic operations, congestion
AC 2009-2050: EVALUATING ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION IN APERSONALIZED SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION-BASED CURRICULUMSrikanth Tadepalli, University of Texas, Austin Srikanth Tadepalli is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas. After recieving his BS in Mechanical Engineering from India, he moved to UT where obtained his MSE in Manufacturing Systems Engineering specializing in Design for Manufacturing. He has worked as a Teaching Assistant and as an Assistant Instructor for the Computers and Programming course over a period of 3 years at The University of Texas at Austin and was awarded "The H. Grady Rylander Longhorn Mechanical Engineering Club Excellence in Teaching
Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was then a Senior Sensors Engineer with the MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA from 2011 to 2013. Since 2013 he has been an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. His research interests include ultrawideband antenna arrays, electrically small antennas, Radar systems, analog circuits, and engineering education.Dr. Jennifer L Bonniwell, Milwaukee School of Engineering Dr. Jennifer L. Bonniwell joined the Milwaukee School of Engineering faculty as an assistant professor in 2016. She earned her BS in Electrical Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and her MS and PhD in Electrical
what you were taught. Go through the book, e.g., a chapter a week. Go through a list of topics, e.g., a topic a week.Ideally, course content is determined by planning the program’s curriculum so that the content ofeach course plays its part in achieving the program’s educational objectives [5], [6], [7]. This isunlikely to translate to any of the above bullets. Neither academic freedom nor faculty purviewimplies that the faculty member can teach whatever they want to [8], [9]. See Figure 1. In a well-functioning department, e.g., fully accredited with complete ABET approved syllabi, the newfaculty member should be able to focus on interpreting the bases of each pyramid in Figures 1and 2. In an imperfect scenario, e.g., the faculty
AC 2007-2062: DISTINGUISHING THE ART FROM THE SCIENCE OFTEACHING WITHIN RESEARCH-BASED CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENTWendy James, Oklahoma State University Wendy James is a PhD student in the College of Education at Oklahoma State University. Currently she has a fellowship promoting collaboration between the College of Education and OSU's Electrical and Computer Engineering department on an NSF funded curriculum reform project called Engineering Students for the 21st Century. She has her M.S. in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership from OSU, and her B.B.S. in Mathematics Education from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. She has taught math and math education classes at both the high
Paper ID #8774What Can Reflections From an ”Innovation in Engineering Education” Work-shop Teach New Faculty?Emily Dringenberg, Purdue University, West Lafayette Emily Dringenberg is an NSF-funded PhD student in Engineering Education at Purdue University with a background in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. Her interests include qualitatively exploring the experience of engineering students, impacts of personal epistemology, and curriculum and pedagogical design. She also enjoys engaging with engineering outreach.Mel Chua, Purdue University Mel Chua is a contagiously enthusiastic hacker, writer, and educator with over
Paper ID #12167What makes an undergraduate course impactful? An examination of stu-dents’ perceptions of instructional environmentsDr. Alexandra Emelina Coso, Georgia Institute of Technology Alexandra Coso is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. She completed her Ph.D. in 2014 in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech. Prior to her time at Georgia Tech, she received her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from MIT and her M.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia. Her research interests include graduate student experiences in engineering programs, engineering
technical courses. Vast numbers of articles and books have suggestedways to ensure that at least the outward look of a writer's effort conforms to acceptable norms.Classes are required, papers are assigned, some comments are voiced; but in so many cases the Page 22.1263.2retention of communication skill is not assured and does not become an integral part of theengineer's existence. Engineers need to understand the bond between their technical knowledge andtheir communication skills. This bond must be accomplished in the most efficient amount of time sothat it creates a lasting awareness of technical communication and its importance in every
leadership (Facione, 1990, 2011;Viswanathan & Radhakrishnan, 2015). I would assert that professional engineering is defined bythese same characteristics and skills. As such, critical thinking skills are an essential aspect of anengineering curriculum that intends to prepare students to become effective professionals(Lafayette, 2014; Ralston & Bays, 2010; Romkey & Cheng, 2009; Viswanathan &Radhakrishnan, 2015).While some may feel that critical thinking is inherently included in engineering curriculum(Ralston & Bays, 2010; Romkey & Cheng, 2009; Schafersman, 1991), most studies agree thatdeliberate instruction in, and reinforcement of, critical thinking skills is the most effective way toencourage development of those skills
2006-1826: CAREER OPTIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATIONAndrew Rose, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown ANDREW T. ROSE is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Technology at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ). Before joining the faculty at UPJ, he was a Staff Engineer with GAI Consultants in Pittsburgh. He holds a BS and MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Connecticut and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. His teaching interests include soil mechanics, foundation design, structural steel design, structural analysis, and incorporating practical design experience into the undergraduate civil engineering technology curriculum. His research interests include soil behavior and
chair of the Educational Research and Methods Division of ASEE. She founded the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering at University of Michigan in 2003 and served as its Director for 12 years. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2017 Responsive Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering CoursesAbstractFormative assessment is often conceptualized as an ongoing, informal process whereininstructors elicit and assess student thinking within the context of existing classwork. They canthen use this feedback to make adjustments to their teaching. Some researchers, while agreeingwith this definition, argue that much of the existing formative assessment research focuses onwhat
, Page 25.602.2 integrating oral and written communication into all facets of the discipline, and providing training in “soft skills” such as leadership, management, creative problem solving, etc.All the while schools are reducing the total number of hours in the engineering curriculum toallow the average student to graduate in four years. 5 Accomplishing all of this is an impressiveundertaking, considering the approach to educating engineers since the 1950s.6Add to this mix the desire of Baylor University to grow in its various research areas, and it isclear that unless emphasis continues to be on quality undergraduate teaching, the demands of theresearch paradigm – graduate resources, labs, facilities, students – will
at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, working under the mentorship of Prof. Lawrence Angrave. Prior to this, I was working as a Research Fellow at Microsoft Research in the Technology for Emerging Markets (TEM) group.David Mussulman, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Dave is an Instructional Technology Facilitator with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Engineering IT Shared Services. He helps instructors select and integrate technologies into their courses to enhance student learning and improve course administration.Prof. Christopher D. Schmitz, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Christopher D. Schmitz is an Electrical Engineer and Teaching Associate Professor at the
Florida. Established in1997, FGCU attracts thousands of new freshmen each year because of its commitment toacademic excellence and an interdisciplinary focus on curriculum combined with a growing,younger regional population. The most unusual characteristic of FGCU, compared to otherUniversity systems, is its implementation of a 3-year renewable term contract rather than thetraditional tenure system. Despite this non-traditional approach, which has been in place sinceFGCU was started, there have been and continue to be many exceptional applicants to the newU.A. Whitaker School of Engineering (WSOE). The WSOE, which first admitted students lastyear, has debuted with three majors leading towards the Bachelor of Science degree inBioengineering, Civil
early on for the post-changes cases and that could also have contributed to the drop in the results. f) Scientific integrity and depth of analysis: An increase of 7% is observed for this criteria. This dealt with how sound and complex the scientific analysis of the paper was. Keeping in mind that while the data is fake or obtained from external sources, the analysis of the results should still be comprehensive. The students were told to be smart about their results and to anticipate what these results could be so as to effectively discuss them. While it might seem odd to be discussing results that were never really obtained, here again the focus is on the interpretation of
faculty and students agree that ignoring classroom incivility is not an effective technique for stopping the behavior. 21,23 When surveyed, students reported that the most effective ways to respond to classroom incivility are to address the behavior immediately when it is hostile, or confront the student in private for inattentive conflict.23 The type of response inevitably will vary based on the observed behavior. Unprepared students can be given study guides or online quizzes, due at the beginning of class. Active learning techniques such as Think/Pair/Share or One Minute Papers can refocus all students on the topic at hand. When cheating is observed on homework, a reminder of academic integrity policies to the whole class may
research.Other faculty have reported the following successes in integrating independent studies with theirresearch programs: “Yes - this project involves site work in the Virgin Islands National Park (www.umaine.edu/set/met/VirginIslands.htm) during the 2-week spring break. They learned the required processes prior to the break, acquired the photographic data during the break, then produced 3-dimensional models from the data after the break. It was very successful.”—from a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering Technology at a flagship state university “Yes. I have had several students whose independent study project was explicitly designed as an introduction to one of my research areas. Some of their projects were subsequently
laboratory training, and side-by-side dataanalysis on computers. Since the advent of video games and increased emphasis on usingcomputers, students tend to be visual learners. This places faculty with some additionalchallenges within the classroom and within their offices in mentoring both undergraduate andgraduate students. This is especially the case considering the traditional lecture style format oroffice discussion. As such, the ensuing discussion will focus on integration of computationalmethods into the curriculum (and research program), and afterwards discuss experimentalmethods.One of the authors is at an institution that is attempting to make a large growth in its graduateand research programs. However, the majority of graduate students
. The responses were place into six major categories based on Fink’s Taxonomy ofSignificant Learning. The respondents unanimously indicated the course had an impact.Although in both data sets the Fink Categories of fundamental knowledge and applicationreceived the highest percentage of responses; all categories did receive responses. In addition,there was a significant shift from fundamental knowledge to integration between the post-classand alumni response sets. The content and distribution of responses would indicate anunderstanding of a breadth of concepts involved in creating a significant learning experience waspart of the impact of the course. Alumni survey questions focused on specific class objectives. An interesting
of teaching by repeating lines or drawings which has definitely helped me with my problem of having uneven lines in my sketches and overall confidence in my ability as an artist.” “The most beneficial features of the app were easily-to-navigate modules, and the bridge game. I could see younger students playing the in-app game and improving their drawing skills without even knowing it! The Sketchtivity app proved to be very fun and beneficial to an engineering curriculum.” I thought the lessons would be boring because we were taught how to draw and stay inside a picture in elementary school, but the program used a red shade to criticize each drawing and gave you a score. This kind of criticizing made each
concept of STEM was coined almost 20 years ago and describes the integration of Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in the educational curriculum [3]. The first STEMmodels incorporated disciplines along with project-based learning. In the case of engineeringprograms, they also incorporate design elements to combine function and form [4]. Theengineering design implies a systematic process in an rigid framework, with the aim of obtaineda sustainable realization of a product, a specified set of constraints that meet the client's needs,and a higher level of quality specifications. However, the issue of the specific quality componentrelated to disruptive innovation and product aesthetics continued to be a pending issue ofengineering
technology in the classroom. She is a co-PI on two NSF grants in the areas of integration of computation in engineering curricula and in developing comprehensive strategies to retain early engineering students. She is active nationally and internationally in engineering accreditation and is a Fellow of ABET and of the AIChE. Page 26.1610.2 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 Two Body Solutions: Strategies for the Dual-Career Job Search AbstractThis paper focuses on the dual-career job search with an eye toward iteratively
includes engineering positions at Detroit’s ”Big Three:” Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and Chrysler Corporation. At Stanford she has served a chair of the faculty senate, and is currently the Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education.Dr. Helen L. Chen, Stanford University Page 24.1133.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014 Students’ Perspectives on Homework and Problem Sets in STEM CoursesIntroductionHomework is an integral part of virtually every university-level course, and a critical componentof the learning experience for students. It is the main
. After each student drew their unique and creativeicons, we worked together to cluster the kinds of icons created. We decided to make an iconbooklet, which still exists today and is shared among our department (Figure 2). In these ways,our curriculum was co-constructed among all seminar participants. Figure 2. Examples of icons created during the seminarSeminar Characteristics. Certain seminar characteristics were not directly connected to thecurriculum but influenced the overall educational experience. To start, throughout the process wewere transparent and honest with students that we would be actively be collectively makingsense of the experience. This transparency set the expectation for everyone that we wouldcollectively
work independently or in small learning teamsas they acquire and integrating information in a process that resembles that of inquiry.Problem-solving learning has its roots in the medical school setting where small groupsof mature, motivated students work to solve very real-world problems. In this process,problems are defined and researched, and high levels of learning occur as they progressthrough the exploration, analysis and implementation cycle.Students soon see that learning is an ongoing process and that there will always be (evenfor the teacher) new learning issues to be explored. Because they learn concepts incontext, they are more likely to retain that knowledge and apply it appropriately in novelsituations.5 As they work through real
an array of active learning approaches that pique their interest and spark excitement about the possible outcomes for their students. After initial exposure to new activities, contextual questions naturally arise for educators, and a clear understanding of the essential features for successfully implementing a teaching strategy becomes necessary. Reflection activities represent one approach for active learning that educators reasonably have questions about before adopting the approach. Reflection is a topic that can have various meanings. For this project, reflection was conceptualized with the following definition: looking back on the past experience(s), to interpret and make meaning of those experiences in order to plan for the future [1
informal study groups. In follow upinterviews and focus groups, students also chose to discuss their experiences in study groups(83%) or lab groups (82%) but also commented frequently on their participation in professionalsocieties. Of these students, most (87%) found benefit in participating in these groups, and amajority of the students (72%) felt that they benefitted in ways related to operating within thegroup as an integral part of the team. Most students stressed the social learning provided by thegroup as compared to a single individual working alone.IntroductionABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) requires that every undergraduateengineering student is active in teams (either formed by faculty or self-assembled) at
UniversityDr. N.M. A. Hossain, Eastern Washington University Dr. Hossain is working as a Professor in the Department of Engineering and Design at Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA. His research interests involve the computational and experimental analysis of lightweight space structures and composite materials. Dr. Hossain received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Engineering and Science from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2018Investigating Students Performance for Textbook and in House Homework AssignmentsABSTRACTHomework assignments have always been an integral part of learning in all majors and
Polytechnic State University (CPSU). Jointly offered by the Collegesof Liberal Arts and Engineering, LSE is understood as a fourth “computing discipline” by theDepartment of Computer Science (alongside computer engineering, computer science, andsoftware engineering). Admission to the program is by internal transfer only. Accepted studentscomplete rigorous technical education, including 44 units of support courses shared with theCollege of Engineering as well as the CPSU General Education curriculum; 34-35 units ofadditional coursework in an engineering specialization (computer graphics OR electricalengineering (power) OR industrial/manufacturing engineering (systems design) OR anindividualized course of study); 24 units of additional coursework in a