Collection

2011 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Fariborz M. Tehrani

more guidance to focus on high taskbehaviors. These behaviors typically reflect work structure, organization, schedule, and resourceallocation.Relationship or supportive behavior, on the other hand, is interpreted as psychological aspects ofmaturity dimension and correlates with the confidence of person to perform. The matchingleadership style provides more support for high relationship behavior. This behavior is oftencharacterized by giving considerations to emotional state of the performer and developing mutualrespect and trust, as well as improving communication and other soft skills. As a person maturesin certain performance, the directive and supportive behaviors advance through four zones ofleadership style. This cycle will require the

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Faculty Development

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cynthia C. Fry, Baylor University; William M. Jordan, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

studies could be integrated into their existing courses.The Innovators also attended the Annual KEEN Winter Conferences, and had opportunities toparticipate in the exchange of ideas on how to integrate some of these “soft skills” into theircourses through a series of regional KEEN conferences. They were awarded a summer stipendto help compensate for the time required to synthesize what they had learned and theirimplementation approach to their classes.During our charter year of 2009, we solicited those instructors teaching the far-reaching designcourses with the objective of exposing as many engineering and computer science (ECS)students as possible to the entrepreneurial mindset: Freshman Design (fall 2009) 206 Junior

Conference Session

Innovations in Design within BME Curricula

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Goldberg, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Kevin Caves, Duke University; Julie A. Reynolds, Duke University

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

appreciated the opportunity to work ontheir technical writing, although some felt that the peer review feedback was not helpful and thatthe writing process distracted from their work on the projects. In the future, we plan tostreamline the peer review process and to refine the evaluation rubric so that students providemore effective feedback to their peers. Our goal is to further improve the quality of writing,without compromising the students’ focus on the design and development of their projects.IntroductionIt is essential for engineering students to develop a solid foundation in technical skills as well as Page 22.843.2“soft skills”, such as

Conference Session

SE Tools and Techniques

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John C. Georgas, Northern Arizona University

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

computer science foundations and programming skills, but also avariety of competencies having to do with design, the preparation of software-relateddocumentation, and soft skills relating to effective teamwork. In many traditionally structuredcomputer science programs, the acquisition of these software engineering skills is localized invery few points in the already dense computer science curriculum: most commonly in anintroductory software engineering course that precedes a final, senior year capstone course.This curricular structure presents educators with two significant challenges: First, it makes thestudy and application of software engineering skills overly focused within the context of isolated,discrete courses. While understandably driven

Conference Session

Focus on Capstone Experiences in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip H. Harding, Oregon State University; Milo Koretsky, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

as the final steps and significant contributor to graduateworkforce preparedness. Consequently, the student learning objectives and outcomes are broadand include many so-called “soft skills”. These soft skills include written and verbalcommunication, teamwork, and project management. The transition that students experiencebetween their academic and professional careers is shown thematically in Figure 3. Students arereminded of this “college to career” transition theme regularly throughout the year as new topicsare introduced and they wrestle with increasing open-endedness and ambiguity. Workforcepreparation amounts to creating proactive individuals with higher order cognitive, professionaland team skills. College

Conference Session

Capstone Design II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Wosczyna-Birch, CT College of Technology and the Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing; Wesley Francillon, Ph.D., Connectiuct Community College; John Birch, The Birch Group, LLC

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

improving life on thisplanet. In addition, the LSSL Program continues to implement recruitment and retentionstrategies identified in the National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Sciences Page 22.868.2(IWITTS), an NSF funded project, which addressed gender equity and the recruitment andretention of underrepresented populations in non-traditional fields. The structure of the LSSLProgram has impacted not only students enrolled in the Program but also educators and industrypartnerships through innovative education techniques, particularly the integration ofprofessional/soft skills with PBL.LSSL Program project teams have been

Conference Session

Innovations in Design within BME Curricula

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Naomi C. Chesler, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Christopher L. Brace, University of Wisconsin; Willis J. Tompkins, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

of Professional Communication Skills Throughout the BME Curriculum. Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education Conference. Hawaii, 2007.6. Cadwell, K.D., Zenner, G.M., Chesler, N.C. and Crone, W.C. Developing undergraduate student design skills using online video modules and active learning exercises. Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education Conference. Austin, 2009.7. Hazelwood, V., Valdevit, A., and Ritter, A. “A model for a Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Capstone Course, with Assessment Tools to Satisfy ABET ‘Soft Skills’,” Proceedings of the Capstone Design Conference, Boulder, 2010.8. McKenzie, L.J., Trevisan, M.S., Davis, D.C., Beyerlein, S.W., “Capstone Design Courses and

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Technical Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Stansbury, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach; Massood Towhidnejad, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

, instructor preference, andindustrial standards. Contrary to the project schedule as dictated by ANL, the instructorsrequired the software engineering and computer engineering students to follow an agile process.This provides students from other disciplines the opportunity to witness this process first hand.Students from both departments also learned lessons on how different fields thinking about anddescribe very similar engineering concepts.Outcome (f) [An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility]. Professional andethical responsibility are soft skills that are challenging to assess, but important throughout theengineering lifecycle. Of course there are a number of professional and ethical issues that areaddressed as part of any

Conference Session

Focus on Capstone Experiences in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Senra, Lafayette College; Scott Fogler, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

Cornell University.H. Scott Fogler, University of Michigan V3ennema Distinguisshed Professor of Chemical Engineering Page 22.1551.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 Transitioning Students to the Workplace in an Academic SettingAbstract: In their collegiate studies, students are given a wide array of concepts, theories andequations to assist them in their future endeavors. However, students entering the workforce areoften not prepared for the soft skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Additionally,students have not been sufficiently exposed to practical critical thinking

Conference Session

New Teaching Methods in Construction Eduction

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Walewski, Texas A&M University; Amy Ahim Kim

Tagged Divisions

Construction

Page 22.1532.3perspective, rather than the skills associated with a particular degree program or discipline.For business school graduates, the gap between technical and behavioral skills warranted workbased placement, internships and lifelong learning necessary to acquire soft skills such aslistening, questioning and communication skills.2 Over time, the gaps between degree programsand industry expectation resulted in industry practitioners providing continuous feedback anddeveloping partnerships with academia to shape future professionals.3 Research surveys andfocus groups that emphasized the need for a balance between technical and business knowledgerequired universities to continually reassess the market for current trends and customer

Conference Session

Assessment Methods and Learning Pedagogy II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Farrokh Attarzadeh, University of Houston; Deniz Gurkan, University of Houston; Mequanint A. Moges, University of Houston; Victor J. Gallardo, University of Houston; Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi; Morteza Sameei, Houston Community College Northeast

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

grant were students with high levels of accomplishmentsand good communication skills, hence a small increase in these soft skills have been observed asa result of mentoring experience;(iii) Due to the demographics of students at the University Houston’s College of Technology,where most students in CET work at least part-time as shown in Table 1, mentees were better offwith on-target tutoring and mentoring of courses in combination with personalized supportmechanisms; Page 22.1059.6(iv) All students agreed on the interaction with their peers as being valuable experience.Table 1. Summary of Working Hours for Students in Capstone Project Class

Conference Session

Sustainability, Diversity, and STEM in Contemporary Energy Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John M. Robertson, Arizona State University, Polytechnic campus; Slobodan Petrovic, Oregon Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

progress of a new technology to revenue generation.A sound appreciation of the interaction of the technology maturity parameters can assistcareer planning and develop the soft skills students should seek to acquire through their Page 22.15.9degree program. The assessment tool provides an easy-to-use map for technologydevelopment as well as a simple way to quantify what has to be done and how it can bemeasured. It can be applied both to incremental technology and to the most novelconcepts.Bibliography 1. National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap, US Department of Energy, November 2002. 2. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee annual report

Conference Session

Ethics in different disciplines

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig T. Evers P.E., Minnesota State University - Mankato

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

found anywhere. Additionally, research papers andpresentations explore cultural views on these topics and more detailed personal analyses andapplications of the material.IntroductionIn many engineering and engineering technology programs, there is much emphasis on thedevelopment of technical skills and considerably less on the development of “soft skills”. Softskills usually deal with the interpersonal relationships which are so essential to the long-termcareer success of any graduate. One of these skills is the acceptance of professionalresponsibilities for one’s action. The National Society of Professional Engineers has published aCode of Ethics for Engineers1 which explains in detail what these responsibilities are. The firstand cardinal

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Projects and Applications

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chandra R. Sekhar, Purdue University, Calumet ; Omer Farook, Purdue University; Jai P. agrawal, Purdue University Calumet; Essaid Bouktache, Purdue University, Calumet

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

connection isrequired. The GUI Application is designed using Embarcadero’s C++ Builder XE6 , which enables studentsto rapidly build native Windows applications using the C++ language and libraries. This allowsthe students to develop applications faster with pre-built components and drag-and-drop visualdesign.6) Final System Design ProjectsThe course culminates in a Final Projects which are assessed based upon theircomprehensiveness, originality and execution. Students are required to master the soft skills ofcomprehensive report writing on a weekly basis and of technical project report writing andproject oral presentation based upon the Team’s Final Project. Typically there are 3 to 4 separatefinal projects are performed in the semester depending

Conference Session

Professional Graduate Education and Industry

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joy Watson, University of South Carolina; Jed S. Lyons, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

College Industry Partnerships, Graduate Studies

engineering. The list of skillsincluded technical skills, such as solving problems and designing experiments, and transferable Page 22.115.2skills (often referred to as soft skills) such as communication, teamwork and professional ethics.The initial draft of the survey was reviewed by a content review panel, which consisted of amechanical engineering and a chemical engineering faculty member. The modified survey wasnext reviewed by eight professors in mechanical and chemical engineering. The wording of somequestions was clarified and additional questions were added at the request of the departmentfaculty. The final survey was created with Class

Collection

2011 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Patricia S. Buford

techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary forengineering practice.3Historically engineering programs developed strong curricula for a, b, e, and k. The majority ofthe outcomes; c, d, f, g, h, i, and j are more elusive for incorporation into typical engineeringcurricula and assessment.One solution to the difficulty of integrating the soft skills dictated by ABET in the a-k studentlearning outcomes is the involvement of engineering students in service learning projects such asthe Solar Laptop Project. “In engineering, service-learning has the potential to help gain theskills necessary for lifelong learning and for practicing in a manner cognizant of professional andcivic responsibilities.”4Project OverviewThe purpose of this project

Collection

2011 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Authors

Barrie Jackson

ever work in isolation, they work in teams, which often includeCommunity College Graduates. CONCLUSIONS There appears to be an on-going conflict between Research and “Teaching” in CanadianUniversities. One’s career is predicated to a major extent on one’s research rather than their“teaching” performance. I am sure that this is generally the case in most Universities There is no question that grounding in fundamentals is essential for our graduates. Acomplete Capstone Design exercise should be essential as well. Employers currently place a lotof emphasis on “soft skills” which are basically teamwork, and communication skills.Professional Practice Skills should be a large part of an undergrad education, for that matter

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James E. Lewis, University of Louisville; Patricia A. Ralston, University of Louisville; Norb Delatte, Cleveland State University; David Wheatley, University of Louisville

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees

students. 24 Fortenberry et al. 5summarizes much of these retention efforts and concludes that continued efforts at retentionshould recognize that “fewer students leave engineering when their education links concepts toreal-world practice”. Case studies offer a way to easily bring forth contextual factors and to linkto the real world.Recently, Sankar et al. 25 published an informative literature review of soft-skill development andresults of a research study using multiple instructional methodologies in two differentintroductory engineering classes. The research question was: Which methodologies enhancestudents’ perceived higher-order cognitive skills, team-working skills, attitude towardengineering, and impact on future work environments (soft

Conference Session

Global Engineering Models: Curriculum Development, Improvements, and Partnerships

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jian Yu, Auburn University and Tsinghua University, China; Chetan S. Sankar, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

International

thefaculty members to motivate the students to improve their higher-level cognitive skills (Rajuet al., 2000), the students experienced a realistic and complex scenario, learned aboutreal-world decision-making issues, and analyzed the case study and benefited greatlyaccording to the statements by the instructors.3 Research Review and Research Questions A suitable balance between technical knowledge and business knowledge need to becreated (Trauth et al., 1993; Kirsch et al., 2007) so that graduates gain not only strongleadership skills but also become proficient in information technology (IT) concepts(Glyer-Culver, 2003) and have strong soft skills and cognitive skills (Kirsch et al, 2007). It ismore difficult for students who lack context-based

Conference Session

Poster Sessions for Unit Operations Lab Bazaar and Tenure-Track Faculty

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Danilo Pozzo, University of Washington; Jim Pfaendtner, University of Washington; Marvi A. Matos, University of Washington; William B. Baratuci, B-Cubed; Jim L. Borgford-Parnell, University of Washington; Arne S.A. Biermans, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

energy and biotech industries that were notintroduced in other courses. All of these objectives have been met in an efficient way by focusing the theme of thelaboratory course around the concept of commercial biofuel production for transportation. Thiscontemporary subject nicely couples traditional chemical industry operations (e.g. distillationand absorption) with important processes that are used frequently in other industries that hire ourgraduates (e.g. enzymatic reactions and fermentation processes). Therefore, we are now able toprovide a more realistic, comprehensive and contemporary educational experience to all of ourundergraduate students. Furthermore, we have also modified the course framework to helpstudents develop “soft

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William David Schlecht, Washington State University; Bernard J. Van Wie, Washington State University; Paul B. Golter, Washington State University; Robert F. Richards, Washington State University; Jennifer C. Adam, Washington State University; Ashley Ater Kranov, Washington State University; Marc Compere, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach; Edwin Maurer P.E., Santa Clara University; Denny C. Davis, Washington State University; Olusola O. Adesope, Washington State University, Pullman; Joseph D. Law, University of Idaho, Moscow; Gary Robert Brown, AAC&U; Prashanta Dutta, Washington State University; David B. Thiessen, Washington State University; Baba Abdul, Washington State University

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees

additional benefit of improving soft skills such as communication and teamwork. Asurvey of alums from WSU shows that the project centered class work and assessment rubric arein good alignment with industrial expectations and that the work produced by students inCHAPL based courses is in good alignment with what industry would expect of entry levelemployees.AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to acknowledge the US National Science Foundation CCLI Grants DUE-0618872 and 1023121) for support of the work to build, test and more importantly implement theDLMs and associated CHAPL pedagogy. We are grateful to the College of Engineering &Architecture important design contributions to and manufacturing of the DLM from Mr. GaryHeld, Machinist in the WSU

Conference Session

To Boldly Go... Engineering Librarians Explore New Connections with Users

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Qing Li, IEEE

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

“soft” skills, which are exactly what Chinese engineering students need, although they areexcellent in technical aspects.Another challenge we may experience is the frequent change of student leaders. For example, theIEEE Student Branch has an election every year. The change of SB chair usually means thechange of the entire leadership team. The librarians might spend considerable time training thestudents and adapting to each other’s style. Then the leader and the team are replaced, and theprocess begins anew. The difference can be even more significant if the team is changing fromthe graduate-composed to the undergraduate-composed. Graduates usually have busier schedulesworking in their labs and publishing papers. But they are generally more

Conference Session

Tools of the Trade

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig G. Downing, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

, project-based Lean Six Sigma course that provides students a Page 22.1611.8 fundamental understanding of the DMAIC process using both quantitative and qualitative tools. Additionally, provide students the opportunity to learn appropriate facilitation (soft) skills necessary to lead productive Six Sigma projects.With the project scope in place, the researcher moved to the second phase of the DMADVprocess, the Measure phase.MeasureDuring this phase, the goal is to measure and quantify the customers’ needs and expectations.More specifically, in this study, the author set out to identify the tools, both quantitative andqualitative

Conference Session

ELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Ridgely, California Polytechnic State University; Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

. Giventhat most of our engineering students typically show resistance to learning such “soft skills” aswritten and oral communication, these survey results are encouraging in that they indicate thatmany students have been to at least some degree won over.When asked to write comments, many students provided insightful suggestions. Several showedtheir appreciation of communicating with fictitious customers with comments such as, “I thoughtthat the customers were fun and creative. It forced us to think outside the box a little, and addressthem like people with potentially little technical background.” Others had a bit more difficultywith the task of writing to a customer rather than faculty: “I guess that I personally didn't write itto the client, so

Conference Session

Issues Affecting Engineering Program Development

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Miguel Angel Ramos, University of Houston; Lauren Chapman, Boston College; Mac Cannady, Boston College; Enrique Barbieri, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

utilization  Minority education  Support courses  Soft skills (e.g. communication)When asked whether they had taken any actions regarding any of the issues and ideas discussedin the forum, a majority of respondents (11/14) answered yes. One person stated that “[t]heforum increased my desire to enhance my scholarship of engineering teaching and assessment, toimprove the engineering courses that I teach (and perhaps influence other colleagues to do thesame)” while another suggested “the primary overall benefit was the encouragement to look tohow to be more effective in our combined work”.Although the forum evaluation found minimal impact in terms of concrete activity in support ofthe proposed models, the long-term value of

Conference Session

Capstone Projects and Experiential Learning

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chip W. Ferguson, Western Carolina University; Phillip A. Sanger, Western Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

integrated PBL curriculum to address this need. Additionally, the “soft skills” learningthat have been previously presented during the capstone sequence will now be delivered in thePBL curriculum. We have learned that faculty mentors are key role players in achieving successwith the project in terms of meeting the learning outcomes. The faculty member has to develop abalance between meeting the needs of the customer, a completed product, and the experimentallearning that must take place over the course of the project. Finally, student teams who engagethe customer frequently throughout the progression of the project meet the requirements of theproject more frequently. The 2010-2011 capstone year now requires faculty and industry mentorsto meet one

Conference Session

Graduate Education and Undergraduate Research in ET

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wei Zhan P.E., Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Page 22.279.2something in common, as well as something unique, for REU in different majors. No study wasfound for engineering technology (ET) majors.For ET majors, only a very small percentage of students went on to get graduate degrees. MostET graduates pursue careers in engineering and technology related industries. Research skillsand soft skills such as teamwork and communication are very important for ET graduates.As Hunter pointed out8, the design of student research projects is critically important to success.This is particularly the case for ET programs. Typically, ET students have strong hands-oncapability, but they are not motivated to conduct theoretical analysis. For ET students in a twoyear program, most of them will be hired as

Conference Session

DEED Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kimberly Lau, University of California, Berkeley; Mary Kathryn Thompson, KAIST; Alice Merner Agogino, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

versus women and E10 men versus women. The bolded numbers represent thehighest confidence for each category that was statistically significant.In spite of the national differences described previously, both populations show similar genderdifferences. The men ranked higher than the women in their analytical skills, their ability toidentify and solve technical problems, and their ability to use engineering techniques and tools.However, women were more confident in understanding the global impact of engineering designand analysis, and also self-rated higher in their communication skills, team skills, and leadershipskills. These patterns highlight the perceived “hard” and “soft” skill sets often attributed to menand women.      Engineering

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Technical Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gül E. Okudan Kremer, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Mike Murphy, Dublin Institute of Technology; Brian Bowe, Dublin Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

, Developing and Assessing Global Competence in Engineers. European Journal of Engineering Education, 31, 119-131. 7. Beard, D., Schwieger, D., Surendran, K. (2008). Integrating Soft Skills Assessment through University, College, and Programmatic Efforts at an AACSB Accredited Institution. Journal of Information Systems Education, 19, 229. 8. Besterfield-Sacre, M., Shuman, L. J., Wolfe, H., Atman, C. J., McGourty, J., Miller, R. L., Olds, B. M., Rogers, G.M. (2000). Defining the Outcomes: A Framework for EC-2000. IEEE Transactions on Education, 43, 100-10. 9. Gerhart, A., Grunow, M. (2009). Leadership Models and Practices Course: Student Perceptions and Development of Leadership Skills and

Conference Session

Developments in BME Pedagogy and Assessment

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alyssa Catherine Taylor, University of Washington; Kelli Jayn Nichols, University of Washington, Seattle, Department of Bioengineering; Laura Wright, University of Washington; Christopher Neils, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

throughout BIOEN curriculum, including Capstone Senior Design sequence. Team work integral to core upper-level lab classes, poster Team projects implemented from freshman year throughProfessional "Soft Skills" (team work, communication and written report required for Capstone course. senior year, oral presentation required in addition to poster skills) and written report for Capstone; Capstone now has option for