Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adam Chalmers, United States Military Academy; Eric Crispino, United States Military Academy; Joseph Hanus, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

the very fiber of a US Army officer, and is emphasized atthe institutional level at the US Military Academy, and within the Department of C&ME.4 Ourend of course reviews provide results that prove cadets see USMA faculty as positive rolemodels, and that engineering faculty in the department earn higher marks for professionalism andact as better positive role models than instructors from other departments. Again, we feel that wemeet the requirements as Positive Role Models for our students as required by the BOKCommittee. Term 08-1 Course Feedback CE364 Mechanics of Materials, Fall

Conference Session

Off the Beaten Path

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Seth Norberg, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

). The first question asked how “effective” they found that type of break rangingfrom 1-5 (one being the lowest score and five being highest). The second question askedhow “enjoyable they found that type of break. Four free text questions followed asking“which type of break did you find the most effective”; “which type of break did you findthe least effective”; “comment on the overall attempt of introducing commercial breaks”;and “give any suggestions for future commercial breaks”.First IterationFall semester of 2006 (AY07-1), the author had two sections of Thermal-Fluid Systems I(ME311). Based on the plan introduced earlier, during the majority of the lessons, sometype of commercial break was conducted. During an early lesson in the semester

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, Murray State University; Thomas Doyle, McMaster University; Arthur Pallone

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

selected four questions of particular interest: "the course as a wholewas...?"; "the course content was...?"; "the instructor's contribution to the coursewas...?"; "the instructor's effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was...?". Apreliminary survey asked students to identify their specific judgment process related tothe scores they assign to these questions. Student responses were analyzed andaggregated into categories. The results of our analysis are likely to be of interest to newfaculty trying to improve their teaching evaluation scores. However, they may be usefulto others involved in education, as the practical factors suggested by students may notalways be obvious.1. IntroductionStudents routinely evaluate their instructors

Conference Session

Best of the NEE

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Beverly Jaeger, Northeastern University; Margaret Bates, Northeastern University; Brittany Damon, Northeastern University; Alison Reppy

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

in the process. In the ideal curriculum, learners would passthrough these three stages: (1) new learners initially engage collectively in active learning to grasp newconcepts; (2) as these learners progress, they take in additional information through more conventionallearning while exploring some of their individual creativity and capabilities, and finally (3) theycollectively come back together in committing to be involved in their own learning.Psychological and Educational ElementsPedagogy and Andragogy. The concept that adult learning (andragogy) is different from that of children(pedagogy) has been around for a number of years. Martin Knowles, a champion of andragogy and adulteducation believed that adults typically are self-directed

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Benson, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

. Developinglecture notes, acquiring sense of campus culture, creating evaluation tools and the grading andassessing students are just a few of these challenges. However, one of the most difficultchallenges facing the new faculty member is remaining responsive to their students. With all ofthe demands on an instructor’s time and attention, it is hard to hear and make time to understandstudent frustrations. It is even harder to make midstream adjustments to one’s instructional plan.For the students, however, the mismatch between the instructor and student, such as instructionthat is above their level of ability, can lead to disastrous levels of frustration and conflict in theclassroom. Reform in education[1-5] and studies in cognition[6,7] reinforce

Conference Session

Off the Beaten Path

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rebecca Bates, Minnesota State University-Mankato; Denise Wilson, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

Education Conference: San Diego, California.2 McKinney, D. & Denton, L.F. (2005). Affective assessment of team skills in agile CS1 labs: the good, the bad,and the ugly. SIGCSE Bulletin, vol. 37, no. 1, March 2005, pp. 465-469.3 Hansen, Stuart & Eddy, Erica (2007). Engagement and frustration in programming projects. SIGCSE Bulletin, Page 13.324.7vol. 39, no. 1, March 2007, pp. 271-275.4 Gungor, Almer, Eryilmaz, Ali, & Fakioglu, Turgut (2007). The relationship of freshmen’s physics achievementand their related affective characteristics. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 44, no. 8, pp. 1036-1056.5 Denton, Leo F

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reginald Rogers, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

noone application is the best, each one can be tailored to meet the needs of the instructor andstudents. These applications are also not the only possibilities. Other applications that theinstructor finds meaningful can be interwoven into that particular classroom setting.Table 1 – Electronic applications with advantages and disadvantages Application Advantages Disadvantages • Messages can get lost in • Allows for thorough spam box responses in one message • High dependency on instead of multiple

Conference Session

Been There/Done That: Advice for NEEs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gene Harding, Purdue University; Benedict Kazora, Purdue University; Robert Smethers, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

Conference Session

Mentoring and Development of New Faculty

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laurie Garton, Texas Engineering Experiment Station; Luisa Deckard, Texas Engineering Experiment Station

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

). The second offering of the CAREER seminar, later in the academic year, targets the regional campuses within our system and is offered via videoconferencing technology. Overall seminar details include: (1) An introduction to NSF culture; (2) A description of the CAREER program and its elements; (3) Details on preparing a competitive CAREER proposal step-by-step; (4) Education plan and outreach resources; and (5) Panel of awardees and reviewers. The first two items are straightforward, presented to inform participating faculty of the program. The proposal preparation details are provided in the final section of this paper as a resource for faculty. On-campus education programs available for faculty to use and become part of are

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jerry Samples, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

, immediately after the class – for research, within a reasonable time period, in order to optimize its effect ≠ It would help if another faculty member or administrator assessed the mentor/mentee relationship to determine if the direction of the relationship is a positive oneJessop7, writes about Mentoring Tips for New Professors and provides a top-ten list for newassistant professors developed by the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policywhich includes: 1. Listen patiently 2. Build a relationship 3. Don’t abuse you authority 4. Nurture self-sufficiency 5. Establish “protected time” together 6. Share

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Seamus Freyne, Manhattan College; Micah Hale, University of Arkansas; Stephan Durham, University of Colorado, Denver

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

the expense of other topics. Try to address the topics found on theFundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Add value to each class period.1 Be decisive,confident, and knowledgeable on the subject being taught.2Design assignments, projects, and exams to be both rigorous and fair.3 Gear the lectures to theassignments, and gear the assignments to the exams. Keep the audience in mind, and be mindfulof the scholastic background and maturity of the students in your course.2 Do not make thecourse easy in an attempt to please students, as a course without some difficulty is ultimately adisservice to the students and yourself.Problems can arise when there are multiple sections of the same course taught by differentfaculty members. In these situations

Conference Session

Mentoring and Development of New Faculty

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Gumaer, Central Washington University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

commitment and support of theinstitution for funding and filling this position. It is difficult to have a successful faculty searchwithout this institutional commitment. Therefore, the faculty search process should not beginuntil this commitment has been assured.This paper examines the typical engineering or technology faculty recruiting process andidentifies ways to make the process more successful. The faculty recruiting steps examined inthis paper apply to recruiting faculty for traditional classroom roles as opposed to a distancelearning environment. These recruiting steps are listed in Table 1. Page 14.497.2 Table 1. Typical Engineering or

Conference Session

Getting Started: Objectives, Rubrics, Evaluations, and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Walter Schilling, MSOE

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

automatically be generated forthe students through a mail merge operation. These grade sheets can then either beprinted in hard copy or e-mailed to the students as pdf attachments. Individual studentperformance can be tracked and graphed over time on multiple dimensions, allowing foreasier observation of students who may be struggling with key concepts in the course,and the data can be used for overall assessment of course outcomes.1. IntroductionOne of the aspects that often surprises new engineering faculty members is the amount oftime which must be devoted to grading. This is especially true if one is at anundergraduate teaching institution which does not have teaching assistants. In thisenvironment, faculty members are faced with grading for 2-4

Conference Session

Getting Started: Objectives, Rubrics, Evaluations, and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Zbigniew Prusak, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

cited byDee 1, 2 show little to no relationship between course workload and faculty performance rating oroverall course quality. However, a relationship or lack thereof does not imply causation. In herstudies she assumes that student evaluations represent their opinions reliably and validly. That isstill a long way from a true representation of the actual quality of the course. Perceptions about afact, especially when expressed by people who are not yet qualified to make sound judgments,has a limited validity or none at all. That brings an issue of which questions from an evaluationof faculty and a course the students are really prepared to answer?Ponton et al. wrote that “theories of cognitive motivation assert that to provide maximum self

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tanya Kunberger, Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

be touched upon in the next lesson. The deliverables category in thefuture section contains new assignments, which are listed initially on the day of assignment, andremain in the future deliverables section until the due date. Upcoming tests, labs, or homeworksets are also included in this section. Items are listed both by due date as well as by the timebetween now and that date. A new homework assignment given on February 2nd for examplewould look like “1 week (9 February) Homework problems 8.2, 8.3, 8.7, & 8.9” when initiallypresented and evolve to “Next class (9 February) Homework problems 8.2, 8.3, 8.7, & 8.9” onthe next PPF, before being transferred to the current deliverables category in the present sectionon the following

Conference Session

Been There, Done That: Advice for NEEs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Gerhart, Lawrence Technological University; Philip Gerhart, University of Evansville

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

, curriculum changes, student affairs, courseofferings, new initiatives), and more. These examples could also apply in a mentor relationship.In addition special note is made relating to the ease of communication and collaboration from alife-long experience of working together as a “team” (e.g., sports teams, Boy Scouts, etc.).Finally the authors note the “two-way street” advantage. For example, the son uses his father’svaluable insight and time-tested resources to aid in career advancement. In turn, the son’s freshperspective and effort necessary for promotion aids the father in remaining active and current inthe discipline. Again, the mentor relationship can prosper from the “two-way street” advantage.1. IntroductionThe authors of this paper are

Conference Session

Been There, Done That: Advice for NEEs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ralph Ocon, Purdue University, Calumet

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

with over twenty-five years of experience. Industrytraining can expose faculty to diverse trainees with different cultures, genders, races, ages andother distinctions. Consequently, faculty who have experienced this variety of training forumsand participants are bettered prepared to teach the students encountered in the typicalclassroom.Although there are many examples of how the author’s consulting and training experienceshave promoted his teaching, three examples are provided.Example 1: As a teacher dedicated to enhancing the educational experience of students, theauthor continuously experiments and looks for creative ways to improve his teaching. Theauthor’s consulting/training experiences have helped him to develop his teaching style

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Agnieszka Miguel, Seattle University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

recommended in this case.1 IntroductionInstructors try to create classroom environments that are conducive to learning. However, it is quitecommon to encounter disruptive student behavior which interferes with the learning atmospherewe are striving to achieve. Examples of classroom incivilities include: students talking with otherstudents during class; students arriving late, leaving early, or even just packing up early; studentsshowing disrespect toward the instructor or other students; students eating in class, acting bored,sleeping in class, working on an assignment for a different course, sending text messages on a cellphone; students making disapproving sounds, sarcastic remarks, gestures, and comments; studentschallenging the instructor’s

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Gehringer, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

the instructor/TA relationship with a contract. Examples ofcontracts are presented.1. IntroductionAlthough virtually unknown in liberal-arts colleges, teaching assistants1 (TAs) are a fixture ofmost engineering programs, where class sizes are large and the subject matter is technologicallycomplex. Usually, teaching assistants are assigned to instructors to assist with a particular coursesection. Sometimes TAs are paid hourly, but more often, they are on a monthly stipend for tenor twenty hours’ work per week. It is difficult for a beginning instructor to know how to makeeffective use of that time until (s)he has taught a class several times.Much has been written about teaching assistants at the ASEE Annual Conference [1–6] andelsewhere [7–9

Conference Session

Getting Started: Objectives, Rubrics, Evaluations, and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Gehringer, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

finally, faculty should avail themselves of institutionalsupport for improving teaching.1. IntroductionIn most engineering schools, except for research, teaching is the most important factor on whichreappointment, promotion, and tenure are based. And teaching is most often evaluated usingstudent course evaluations. This places faculty in a delicate position, a reciprocal relationshipbetween their students and them, in which each party is assessing the other and influencing theirsubsequent advancement. For this reason, student course evaluation is one of the mostcontentious issues [1] in all kinds of academic departments and all kinds of institutions.Instructors rightly point out that other factors should be considered when determining theefficacy

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

. Page 14.589.3 Figure 1: Course homepageSpecifically, our course implementation includes 18 modules shown in the top navigation menuin Figure 1. Access to each unit requires a password acquired by students who successfullycomplete the previous unit. Unit 00 familiarizes students with the site layout and test submissionsystem. It is the only unit completed during in class. Unit tests must be completed in 2 hours.Then proctors review the answers and either pass, fail or mark the test for correction. Studentswho fail the test (i.e. answers are not 100% correct) or do not submit in time retake the test whenthey feel prepared. Tests may be marked for correction to improve on a technically correct butpoor programming

Conference Session

Been There, Done That: Advice for NEEs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Saeed Moaveni, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Deborah Nykanen, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Karen Chou, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

faculty 42% of which are female.The College of Science, Engineering, and Technology has a total of 116 faculty, with 20 of thembeing female (17%). The Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering offers a B.S. inMechanical Engineering, B.S. in Civil Engineering, and M.S. in Engineering. The departmenthas an enrollment of over 320 students with 10 full-time and 1 part-time faculty, two (1 full-timeand 1 part-time) of which are female. The breakdown of all faculty for the College of Science,Engineering, and Technology as well as other colleges (Allied Health and Nursing, Arts andHumanities, Business, Education, Graduate Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences) at MSU isshown in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1. Numbers of Faculty in the College

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Baer, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

, each requiring time and effort. Research projectsand programs need to be developed. Grant proposals must be written. Graduate students need tobe mentored as they are incorporated into research teams. Classes need to be taught.Assignments have to be developed, distributed, and graded. Tests must be given to assesslearning. Of course, everything has deadlines which seem to come due long before they should.All the while they are trying to acclimate to the culture and politics of a new university.In today’s society of limited budgets and outcomes-oriented assessment, universities are asked“to perform miracles by doing more with less, producing more and better research, andgraduating highly employable individuals.”1 Faculty members are pressured to

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jerry Samples, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

teaching graduate students how to operate in thework environment that is established. Of the “Effective Time” activities, new faculty agree thattwo are highly valued – research and publication – with an emphasis on teaching at some level.Then they ask why the rest of the activities are not listed as wasted time?“Wasted Time” is the time that needs to be minimized to optimize every minute of the day. Atransformation of 15 minutes of “Wasted Time” to “Effective Time” represents a 1% increase inefficiency using our “All Time” model. One of the largest potential time wasters is thecomputer. Since the introduction of the computer, faculty members have taken over the tasksonce left to others, such as secretaries. Faculty are now typing, retyping

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

professor, a primary concern of teaching is thepreparation of proper material for each class session. This paper discusses a way to determinehow well the students are learning the material, especially in quite large classes, as well as theiropinions on the course. A search of the literature shows that the “Minute Manager” stands out asan easy and effective way to receive continuous feedback on the delivery of a course. This paperdescribes how the author has adapted the Minute Manager for use in her courses and programseminars.The questions asked on the Minute Manager evaluation are: 1) What was the most importantthing that you learned today? 2) What did you like most about the class today? 3) Do you haveany questions about the class today? Are

Conference Session

Mentoring and Development of New Faculty

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Llewellyn, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marion Usselman, Georgia Institute of Technology; Richard Millman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

paper addresses these concerns and is drawn from the direct experience by researchfaculty in designing and implementing education and outreach plans.Broader Impacts Criterion: What is it?The NSF website provides the following questions to help prospective grantees evaluate theirproposal in terms of broader impacts6:What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? 1. How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning? 2. How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? 3. To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities

Conference Session

Been There, Done That: Advice for NEEs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Engelken, Arkansas State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

some cases, may be due more to a predictable variation of viewpoints on a natural“life-cycle” progression of values and perspectives within an evolving career in academia.In 1986, as a 5th-year NEE, the author wrote/presented the paper “Development, 'Survival', andRetention of Young Engineering Faculty: A Front Line View” 1 at the ASEE/IEEE Frontiers inEducation Conference in Arlington, Texas. It detailed the concept of “academic wealth” as thetangible, “bean counting” means for achieving initial success, promotion, tenure, and rewards forNEE, and presented ways to generate it. In 1997, the author presented “Long Term OptimumStrategies for New Engineering Faculty: A View from a Decade down the Road” 2 at the 1997ASEE Conference in Milwaukee

Conference Session

Been There, Done That: Advice for NEEs

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Murray, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Elizabeth Cudney, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Suzanna Long, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Katie Grantham Lough, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

issues that are critical to forming effective mentoring relationships.Guidance offered provides value to mentors in understanding which areas are of greatest concernto new faculty. It provides information to protégés as well in determining key characteristics ofan effective mentor.1 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to address the transition to life at an academic institution fornew faculty members and provide tools for success to these professionals. This academictransition has common characteristics at both research-based and teaching institutions althoughthe priorities will shift based on the primary focus of the institution. This article explores thetopic from the perspective of new faculty at a research-based institution

Conference Session

Getting Started: Objectives, Rubrics, Evaluations, and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, State University of New York, Oswego; Rachid Manseur, State University of New York, Oswego; Thomas Doyle, McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

engineering disciplines.1. IntroductionIt is now generally acknowledged that the quality of education needs to be increased.While understanding students’ needs, instructors should fulfill them withoutcompromising curriculum and educational goals. Effective criteria for teaching andlearning are of interest to every instructor. However, the concepts of “effective teaching”and “learning” may often have different meanings for instructors and students. Theeffectiveness of the teaching and learning process is routinely evaluated by students withthe purpose of making the teaching process more efficient. Student evaluations ofteaching (SET) achieved by answering a standard or specific questionnaire is always agood feedback about students’ perception of the

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Hinton, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

and promotion they should have made an impact intheir professional community. It is also necessary that they have made a strong enoughimpression on their peers that they are viewed as one of the expe rts in their field o f study. Page 14.1026.2The process of creating an internationally recognized research program involves converting thespace and start- up money they receive when hired into a research enterprise that will: 1) Produce the academic products and services that will lead to a strong international reputation in their field of study. These include publications in refereed journals and conference papers