Conference Session

Manufacturing Division Technical Session - Online and Remote Learning Communities

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Richard Chiou, Drexel University; Tzu-Liang Bill Tseng, University of Texas at El Paso; Irina Nicoleta Ciobanescu Husanu, Drexel University; Michael G. Mauk, Drexel University; Regina Ruane Ph.D., Temple University

Tagged Divisions

Manufacturing

mechanical areas from various levels of instruction and addressed to a broad spectrum of students, from freshmen to seniors, from high school graduates to adult learners. She also has extended experience in curriculum development. Dr Husanu developed laboratory activities for Measurement and Instrumentation course as well as for quality control undergraduate and graduate courses in ET Masters program. Also, she introduced the first experiential activity for Applied Mechanics courses. She is coordinator and advisor for capstone projects for Engineering Technology.Dr. Michael G. Mauk, Drexel University Michael Mauk is Assistant Professor in Drexel University’s Engineering Technology program.Regina Ruane Ph.D., Temple University

Conference Session

Teaching In and Through Design, Maker Spaces, and Open-ended Problems

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Mycala Read, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Micah Lande, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

systems.Individual class sessions include hands-on design and building activities to support theengineering design or engineering science content. Students also have a number of substantialdesign project challenge experiences over the course of the semester. The senior cohort ofstudents is in an optional senior elective that augments their engineering design experiences(foundational product development through capstone design) with introduction of a human-centered design approach to get at latent and expressed needs for problems where people are atthe center of the problem and solution space. Similarly a problem-based learning approach istaken and students have many in-class hands-on activities to support different aspects of humancentered design (like

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Matthew Roberts; Philip Parker; Christina Curras; Michael Penn; Max Anderson

curricula. Students completebasic mathematics, science, and general engineering courses in the first two years followed bycivil and environmental engineering courses in the remainder of their studies. The CEE pro-gram includes a significant laboratory component and practical design projects in the upperlevel classes. The program culminates in a capstone design class that is taken in the last se-mester in school. Projects for this class are often solicited from communities and non-profitorganizations, and typically incorporate a service learning component.In reviewing the existing UWP CEE curriculum for this curriculum development project, itbecame clear that the curriculum had not changed significantly in over 20 years. To illustratethis, the

Conference Session

Design Across the Curriculum 2

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Caroline Grace Sawatzki, Saginaw Valley State University; Rajani Muraleedharan, Saginaw Valley State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

ease the transition into the senior capstone design project and enableprofessors to easily achieve program educational objectives by fostering long-term retention ofmaterial through hands-on exposure.Through the incorporation of cost-effective robotics kits into theory-based courses, this paperintends to promote group learning to refine essential scientific and social skills through efficientand structured collaboration. Students who engage in a design-centered approach to engineeringeducation tend to correlate activities and project outcomes with core course knowledge tostrengthen concept retention. By facilitating continual exposure to design principles throughoutthe undergraduate curriculum, this paper is expected to familiarize students

Conference Session

Cooperative and Experiential Education Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jeremy Straub, North Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative and Experiential Education

/feb6910923f5ff7251b20a678e50db33e7f6.pdf.[17] Y. Doppelt, “Implementation and assessment of project-based learning in a flexible environment,” Int. J. Technol. Des. Educ., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 255–272, 2003.[18] A. Ayob, R. A. Majid, A. Hussain, and M. M. Mustaffa, “Creativity enhancement through experiential learning,” Adv. Nat. Appl. Sci., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 94–99, 2012.[19] N. Hotaling, B. B. Fasse, L. F. Bost, C. D. Hermann, and C. R. Forest, “A Quantitative Analysis of the Effects of a Multidisciplinary Engineering Capstone Design Course,” J. Eng. Educ., vol. 101, no. 4, pp. 630–656, 2012.[20] K. Evans and F. Reeder, A Human Capital Crisis in Cybersecurity: Technical Proficiency Matters. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic &

Conference Session

Faculty Development 2: COVID-19 Impact on Faculty

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jamie R. Gurganus, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Anita H. Komlodi; Neha B. Raikar, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Maria C. Sanchez, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Charles D. Eggleton, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Mariajose Castellanos, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Mark Berczynski, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Olivia M. Bailey, University of Maryland Baltimore County

Tagged Divisions

Faculty Development Division

curricula and published a number of works in engineering education, including a Statics workbook for undergraduate engineering students. She is the Director of Innovation Programs and Operations for the non-profit research collaborative, Ad- vancing Engineering Excellence in P-12 Engineering Education. Dr. Gurganus teaches several first and second year Mechanical Engineering classes along with the Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone design course for UMBC.Anita H. KomlodiDr. Neha B. Raikar, University of Maryland Baltimore CountyDr. Maria C. Sanchez, University of Maryland Baltimore County Dr. Maria C. Sanchez is currently serving as the Director of Education and Outreach for the College of Engineering and Information

Collection

2021 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Meeting

Authors

Rafic Bachnak P.E., Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, The Capital College

experiments on campus, six experiments that involved analysis andsoftware simulation, and a final project with an oral presentation. Some final projects includedhardware and software while others were limited to circuit design and software simulation. Thispaper briefly describes six remotely performed exercises that used Multisim to perform circuitanalysis and simulation and help students learn the course material. While there were severalchallenges, overall students were able to perform the experiments and successfully complete afinal project.IntroductionA report by the United Nations estimated that closures of schools and other learning spaces dueto the COVID-19 pandemic impacted 94% of the world’s student population in 2020 [1]. Thisincluded a

Conference Session

Engineering Technology Pedagogy 1

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Rungun Nathan, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Design Projects, which the author co-taught for several years. We also found that students generally tended to avoid DAQ for their Capstone Design Projects. As mentioned, the students use NI USB 6001 (previously NI USB 6008) as the DAQ for this class. They are required to compare and report on pros and cons for up to four different DAQs from different manufacturers. After this introduction, the number of capstone design projects that used DAQ increased. ● Basic programming blocks and structures used in various computer i/o systems software. For example: sequential structure, for and while loops, decision structures (e.g., like if, if then else, switch, case) Boolean logic. Designing modules for

Conference Session

The Challenges that Two-year College Students Face when Transferring to a Four-year College for Engineering and Engineering Technology Program

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Sophia Isabela Barber, Pasadena City College; Sophia Isabella Ibargüen, Pasadena City College; Chloe Sharp, Pasadena City College ; Aaron Reedy, DataClassroom; Tanya Faltens, Purdue University, Main Campus; Yu-Chung Chang-Hou, Pasadena City College; Jared Ashcroft, Pasadena City College

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Two-Year College

Honors Society, is a Student Research Mentor, is a Dean’s Honors student, and also serves her community by sitting on the Academic Commis- sion Committee, the Student Services Committee, and the ICC Funding Committee. Additionally, in her free time, Sophia decided to teach herself Python and is now leading the research project Studying Statis- tics in Python. In the future, she hopes to become a physician-scientist studying preventative measures for Alzheimer’s disease and treatments for Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. ¨Ms. Sophia Isabella Ibarguen, Pasadena City College Sophia Ibarguen is a first-generation college student of immigrant parents, who is majoring in Biology and minoring in

Conference Session

Impact of COVID-19 on Design Education 1

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Victoria Bill, New York University, Tandon School of Engineering; Anne-Laure Fayard, New York University, Tandon School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

learn how to make their projects more visible. While moststudents utilize social media already, few have developed project portfolios, andacademic makerspaces can naturally demonstrate the value for career preparation androle model the development of better project documentation.Moving forward, the authors hope to conduct follow up interviews for all four spaces asthe university and makerspace functions continue to develop. To begin to assess the long-term impact on engineering student design skills, longitudinal studies from the first-yearthrough capstone should be used. Many first-year engineering programs now utilizemakerspaces, either embedded in the design course itself or by encouraging training anduse of the larger school makerspace

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Kenneth W. Van Treuren; Ian A. Gravagne

electricity and gasoline, seems to elicit disapproval of the price increasesbut little more. America has become indifferent to energy issues and continues to pay the higherprices without much thought. This paper will begin by examining the state of the general publicconcerning energy and its lack of energy literacy. Most people have not begun to understand thecomplex nature of the energy challenge. Poor energy literacy led the authors to submit aproposal to a local foundation in 2006 to develop an “Energy Room” at the Mayborn Museum onthe Baylor University campus. The Mayborn Museum is a facility that “provides a widespectrum of learning opportunities to engage all types of visitors.” Baylor Universityengineering students worked on several projects

Conference Session

Machine Design Related

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

John A. Mirth, St. Cloud State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

basis. A common example of thisformat in the engineering curriculum is the assignment of teams to Capstone Design Projects [6],[7], [8]. Common issues include team formation, mentoring, feedback and evaluation,milestones, assessment, leadership, individual accountability, and team dysfunction.In contrast to larger team projects, the Problem Solving Studio (PSS) implemented at GeorgiaTech and Emory University [9], [10] has students working in pairs to solve “well-structured butsomewhat complex” problems during class time. A similar approach is found in “Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning” (POGIL) [11], [12]. POGIL also uses instructor facilitatedteaming during class times. Typical POGIL groups consist of 3-4 students, each with anassigned

Conference Session

Design Courses 2, Aerospace Assets

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Richard Melnyk, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

was developed incrementally to address several challenges thatvarious academic departments encountered during a period from roughly 2016-2017. Becausethe institution is both an academic and military one, it encountered several obstacles to UASoperations. Some were unique to the military status and will not be addressed in as much detail,but all of the obstacles could apply to any academic institution.During the time period in question, there were four primary academic departments attempting touse sUAS for research, capstone projects, or to directly support classroom instruction. Asobstacles to operations surfaced, each department had a representative attempting to navigate thevarious requirements. This was an inefficient approach that led to

Conference Session

Engineering Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Amanda Johnston, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Kerrie A. Douglas, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Julie P. Martin, Ohio State University; Taylor Short, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

distance education is nothing new, the pandemic of COVID-19 forcedinstructors to rapidly move their courses online whether or not they had ever received priortraining in online education. In particular, there is very little literature to guide instructors insupporting students in online engineering design or project-based courses. The purpose ofthis research is to examine engineering students’ report of social support in their project anddesign-based courses at a large research university during the move to online instruction due toCOVID-19 in the Spring 2020 semester and to provide recommendations for instructors teachingthese types of courses online in the future. Our study is framed by social constructivismand social capital theory. We surveyed

Conference Session

First-year Programs: Computation in the First Year

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Darren K. Maczka, University of Tennessee at Knoxville; Rehan Shah, University College London; Andrew L. Gillen, University College London

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

" ● "contemporary design tools"Mechanical ● "computer-aided ● "numerical methods"Engineering three-dimensional design" ● "heat transfer laboratory" ● "Computer-based analysis ● "modeling of thermal equipment" in support of design" ● "predictive models" ● machine elements and ● alternative energy systems mechanical systems ● "measurement of stress, strain, ● "Advanced 3-D solid vibration, and motion" modeling" ● "capstone design" ● "Computer based design projects" ● thermal systems

Collection

2003 GSW

Authors

Richard Bannerot

and design faculty would benefit greatly from a gooddose of creative design as practiced by our colleagues in the Arts. The paper will provideevidence of how two aspects of “creativity” are missing from most engineering students. IntroductionWith some exceptions, engineering design as we know it today is a relatively recentmanifestation of the evolutionary development of the current highly science-basedengineering curriculum. In many ways today’s engineering technology programs mirrorthe pre-1950’s engineering programs and today’s engineering programs appear, in somerespects, to be programs in applied physics. So how did we get to this point?The myth is that the Manhatten Project, one of the most

Conference Session

Focus on ETAC Accreditation

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Ilya Y. Grinberg, Buffalo State College, The State University of New York; Jill Singer, Buffalo State College, The State University of New York

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

(3 credit hours) - at SUNY Buffalo State replaced a single-semester course.The transition from a single-semester to a two-semester sequence allows for more time for thestudents to design and conduct design projects that involve learning and applying researchmethodologies. This sequence integrates knowledge gained by students in prior coursesincluding but not limited to Electronics, Digital Systems, Microcontrollers, and Control SystemsI and II. ENT 465 and ENT 466 are taken by all Electrical Engineering Technology students inthe fall and spring semesters of their senior year.The senior design sequence serves as a capstone and integrating experience that further developsstudent competencies in applying both technical and non-technical

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

William R. Peterson; Guanghsu Chang

goal of this course is to prepare the studentto do the research necessary to successfully complete their thesis or alternate plan paper (appliedproject) this requirement became the basis for the course.The students in the class have typically include a mix of majors – manufacturing engineeringtechnology and mechanical engineering – and mix of thesis (all mechanical engineers plus a fewmanufacturing engineering technology student) and applied project papers. The class size hasranged from 12 to 15.The basis for the course has become the proposal the student will need to make prior to startingtheir capstone research project. By using the student’s own research topic we provide relevanceto the research and since they need to submit a proposal soon

Conference Session

Design Pedagogy 2

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jarod White, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Micah Lande, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

mechanical engineers can impart directly with stakeholders and users.Because items imagined can be within the size of consumer products where solutions may besimply created and mocked up (Brandt, 2007), there is a unique opportunity to better understandthese students’ behaviors in designing and prototyping.This research project explores how a cohort of senior mechanical engineering students candesign and prototype solutions for a problem today, and how their solutions are changed whenasked to be placed out into the future. We are curious about the similarities and differences intheir approaches along aspects of the design process (cognition) and in the design result(artifacts). This project allows us to explore how engineering students conceive of

Conference Session

Tech Tools and Tips

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Gustavo O. Maldonado, Georgia Southern University; Shahnam Navaee, Georgia Southern University; Marcel Maghiar, Georgia Southern University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

capstone courses(Senior Project courses in the CE, ConE and CM programs). In this assessment, again a 1-5 LikertScale was selected, and yielded a score of 4 (Exceeds Criteria), for both SLOs, 3 and 4. A scoreof 4 (rather than 5) was attained because of the overall error in the resulting model. Note that aftergeoreferencing the final model into the corresponding State Plane Coordinate System, the softwareindicated an overall mean absolute error (in all employed fixed ground points) of ~4 inches. TheWest section of the model experienced that error magnitude. The central section presented slightlysmaller errors, ranging from ~3 to 4 inches. Similarly, the East section showed errors of about 3.6inches. These are relatively large errors compared with

Conference Session

Systems Engineering Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Cassandra M. Birrenkott, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Karim Heinz Muci-Kuchler, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Mark David Bedillion, Carnegie Mellon University; Marsha Lovett, Carnegie Mellon University; Laura Ochs Pottmeyer, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Divisions

Systems Engineering

articles in this area, co-authored the book How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, and developed several innovative, educational technologies, including StatTutor and the Learning Dashboard.Dr. Laura Ochs Pottmeyer, Carnegie Mellon University Laura Pottmeyer is a Data Science Research Associate at Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation. She consults with faculty members and graduate students on implementing educational research projects. She assists with study design, data collection, and data analysis. Laura’s training includes a Ph.D. in Science Education and M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia, where she

Collection

Middle Atlantic ASEE Section Spring 2021 Conference

Authors

Eric B. Dano, BAE Systems

theclassical methods defined in Table 1. Many schools require a senior capstone project to solidifywhat the undergraduates learned over their previous years. Topics should be chosen to ensurethat case studies, ESE and multi-discipline interactions are incorporated to add a system thinkingelement to each capstone project.It is worth examining if undergraduate systems engineering and industrial system engineeringdegree programs include architecture related courses earlier than other degree programs. Asurvey of curriculums [24] shows that they do not. This is likely because the art of architecturalsynthesis is often too abstract to teach and too difficult to grade at the undergraduate level. Mostundergraduate engineering assignments start with well

Collection

2013 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Bob Fourney; Jason Sternhagen; George Hamer; Cory Mettler

Sequence in Engineering Design) in the Electrical Engineeringprogram. The purpose of FOCUSED is to combat the above apparent difficulties in teachingelectrical engineering at the undergraduate level by providing an early, hands-on freshmanseminar giving the student an intuitive feel for the concepts of electrical engineering anddeveloping and emphasizing several common threads originating in that freshman class,continuing through the undergraduate core curriculum, and eventually connecting with aspects ofthe capstone senior design sequence.The first stage of the FOCUSED concept is the department-wide freshman experience, GE109Lwhich was first offered in the fall of 2010. The purpose is to both motivate EE and CS studentsto continue with their

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Allison Quiroga P.E., University of Oklahoma; Christopher Dalton, University of Oklahoma; Lisa Morales, University of Oklahoma; Christopher Jeffries

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

Professor of Practice where in addition to his teaching responsibilities he serves as the coordinator for the mechanical engineering capstone program and the advisor for two student orga- nizations: Sooner Off-Road and the Oklahoma Science Olympiad Alumni Association. He was recently promoted to associate professor of practice and is the recipient of the 2016 Brandon H. Griffith Award for Outstanding Faculty Member and the 2017 Tom J. Love Most Outstanding Professor Award.Ms. Lisa Morales, University of OklahomaMr. Christopher Jeffries, American c Society for Engineering Education, 2021 Transitioning to a Virtual Engineering Summer Bridge Program

Conference Session

Industry and Practice Topics

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Kristen L. Sanford P.E., Lafayette College; Philip J. Parker P.E., University of Wisconsin - Platteville; Matthew W. Roberts, Southern Utah University; Claudia Mara Dias Wilson, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; Michael R. Penn, University of Wisconsin - Platteville; Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez, Colorado State University; Frederick Paige, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Infras- tructure: An Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering.Dr. Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez, Colorado State University Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Construction Management at Colorado State University. He is committed to advancing research and teaching in the sustainability of infrastructure projects. He believes that educating the next generation of professionals will play a pivotal role in making sustainability a standard practice.Dr. Frederick Paige, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Dr. Frederick (”Freddy”) Paige is the Assistant Director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research and an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech in the Vecellio

Conference Session

Systems Engineering Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jon Sticklen, Michigan Technological University; Natalie Green, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Systems Engineering

sophomore course that examined global engineering interests and exposed students to constant training-by-doing in oral communication and a cooperative teaming approach for problem solving which led to greater student aptitude in teaming environments in general. In addition, a new junior-level course was designed that was grounded in systems approaches to problem-solving that featured modeling with STELLA™(ISEE SYSTEMS.com) in a context of a progression of mini-projects to tackle ever-moredifficult systems. The third direct class was a senior capstone project class that is typical for mostengineering disciplines. The twist in this program was that the sponsors for the capstone projectswere drawn from

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division Poster Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Alexander James Carroll, Vanderbilt University; Joshua Daniel Borycz, Vanderbilt University; Julianne Vernon, Vanderbilt University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

of focus include student retention and implementation of innovative pedagogy and technology. She is currently the Assistant Dean of Academic programs overseeing the First Year Courses, Study Abroad Programs, and International Initiatives at Vanderbilt University. She received her Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from the City College of New York and her Doctorate degree at University of Florida in Environmental Engineering. She has over 10 years of experience developing international and national research experiences for STEM majors, as well as project management. American c Society for Engineering Education, 2021 Work in Progress: Developing a

Collection

2010 North Midwest Section

Authors

Melanie I. Cashin; Saeed Moaveni

appeared tobackslide and returned to making the same mistakes that their pre-presentation papers exhibited.This may be attributed to lack of time, since they were focused on finishing their capstone andelective senior design projects. Rachel Yarrow’s research suggests that secondary studentsbelieve grammar “gets in the way of writing” and is only important for the final draft 3 . Thisbelief may hold true for postsecondary students as well.Students made the greatest improvements regarding correct use of person. All studentseliminated inappropriate references to you, and most students consistently used first or thirdperson following the intervention. The lack of improvement regarding the use of commasfollowing introductory clauses may be due to the

Collection

2007 North Midwest Section Meeting

Authors

Valerie J. Fuchs; James R. Mihelcic

criterionand outcomes are defined in this balanced manner. These objectives define the scope ofeducation that would fit into the Sustainable Futures model. The objectives are used to assesstwo MTU programs, Peace Corps Master’s International and International Senior Design. In thePeace Corps program, Master’s students spend 1 year taking credits at Michigan Tech, and 27months abroad in the Peace Corps, where they integrate with a community, implement projects,and research a sustainable development topic. International Senior Design is a senior designprogram where senior engineering students spend 2 weeks abroad in Bolivia or the DominicanRepublic, doing service-learning work and investigating a design project, then spend part of asemester back at

Collection

2008 GSW

Authors

Ian A. Gravagne; Kenneth W. Van Treuren

social, political, environmental, and economic impact ofenergy. The last semester is dedicated to a research project of the students’ choice. BackgroundIn September of 2001, Baylor University’s Board of Regents adopted a ten-year plan known asVision 2012. This plan encompasses a series of 12 imperatives which will lead Baylor University“…to new facilities and to new academic and scholarly environments, approaches andopportunities1.” Vision 2012 is an ambitious program; however, the results, if achieved, wouldelevate Baylor to top tier ranks while maintaining its heritage and Christian mission. Particularlyimportant to this project is Imperative I, which seeks to establish an environment where learning