Conference Session

Defining Technological Literacy

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Neeley, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Technological Literacy Constituent Committee

name that gives so little insight into its character or potential—and thatcarries negative connotations and limitations that may undermine its chances for continuingsuccess. Although Technically Speaking and many other publications concerned withtechnological literacy reveal well-formed intentions and sophisticated reasoning, it appears thatthe name was selected with little deliberation or reflection on its implications. This paper willargue that we need to stop now to rename the enterprise and to reflect on the numerousconstituencies we will need to engage and system of heterogeneous elements we will need tobring together if we are to have an effective and productive interface between technical expertsand those without technical expertise

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Krause, Arizona State University; Veronica Burrows, Arizona State University; Vincent Pizziconi, Arizona State University; Robert Culbertson, Arizona State University; Marilyn Carlson, Arizona State University

University. In addition to technical research interest in applied surface chemistry, her engineering education research interests include the learning of engineering modeling, the impact of reflective practice in learning engineering, authentic assessment methods, and "girl-friendly" education.Vincent Pizziconi, Arizona State University Vincent Pizziconi is an Associate Professor in the Bioengineering Department at ASU. His teaching responsibilities are in the areas of introductory engineering, engineering design and biomaterials. His research interests are in innovative education in engineering and on the development of molecular, cellular and tissue strategies to develop bioresponsive and

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Valentin Razmov, University of Washington; Richard Anderson, University of Washington

still fresh in everyone’s minds), the instructors conduct project retrospectives by asking students about aspects of their work or process during the latest project iteration that they would like to sustain (i.e., continue doing well in the future) and aspects that they would like to improve on. Actual artifacts from two of these discussions are shown in Figure 1.Figure 1. Digital ink artifacts from in-class retrospectives that followed the Sustain / Improve technique. The noteswere taken by the instructor, while the students were reflecting aloud. The technology behind creating theseartifacts is a Tablet PC application that integrates ink with slides

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roman Taraban, Texas Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

throughthe ABET standards. How does a student become a reflective thinker and effectiveproblem solver? This paper considers the role that text literacy may play in advancingengineering students toward the goal of making them reflective and creative problem-solvers.A bit of skepticism may surround the idea that effective reading has much to do withengineering. Indeed, some educators have suggested that course textbooks provide nomore than supplemental information and can be disposed of. To a large degree,associating scientific literacy with the passive deciphering of the words in a sciencetextbook takes too narrow a view of the concept 2. Rather, scientific literacy in afundamental sense encompasses all the basic abilities of skilled reading, but

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keith Williamson, East Carolina University; Gene Dixon, East Carolina University; Paul Kauffmann, East Carolina University; Tarek Abdel-Salam, East Carolina University

of synthesis for traditionalcognitive theory based approaches to engineering education. These capstone courses areexpected to help students broaden their perspectives on how to integrate theoretical andpractical knowledge and how to reflect on practice. Within the last decade, employersand leading educators have been complaining that this synthesis, as it pertains to life-longlearning and expertise, may not be enough for new graduates to compete in a fastchanging global marketplace for engineering services. These leaders suggest that newgraduates need: (a) better communications skills; (b) an ability to work in Page 11.430.2multidisciplinary teams

Conference Session

MIND Education Trends

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fred Hudson, University of Texas-San Antonio; Dawnlee Roberson, University of Texas-San Antonio

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

phenomena related to the hypothesis. __________Experimental TestingThese students designed the data collection, and visited the Gait Analysis and InnovativeTechnologies Lab to collect the biomechanical data. The students observed clinicians attachingsix reflective devices to the experimental subject. In one data protocol, the subject lifted a tenpound weight with both right and left arms ten times. For this experimental protocol, the subjecthad 6 reflective markers attached and one to the weight being lifted. The subject then performedten pushups. The students noticed no visual change in the form or velocity of the pushups. Thesubject repeated this process again with the same result. The students modified the protocol toincrease the number of

Conference Session

Assessment Methods

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Virendra Varma, Missouri Western State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

mid 1990s with emphasis being placed onoutcomes assessment using externally-normed tests such as FE/EIT, Missouri Western alsoadopted externally-normed tests such as AIC (American Institute of Constructors), NICET(National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies), and SME (Society ofManufacturing Engineering) for its programs in construction, electronics, and manufacturingrespectively. Students’ performance in these nationally-normed tests did not match thecompetence levels reflected in the grades of the students. Soon it was discovered that the contentof these external tests, especially in AIC and SME tests, was not aligned with MissouriWestern’s curriculum in certain areas. A decision was made to revert back to the in

Conference Session

Program Delivery Methods and Real World Concepts

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Keith Plemmons

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Management

Civil Engineers(ASCE), the BOK makes recommendations on “what should be taught to and learned by futurecivil engineering students.” These recommendations are delineated in 15 outcomes. The first 11outcomes reflect verbatim those currently used by the Accreditation Board for Engineering andTechnology (ABET) 4. Four new outcomes (Outcomes 12-15), “address technical specialization,project management, construction, asset management, business and public policy andadministration, and leadership.” Commentaries and descriptions of competencies explain eachoutcome. Outcome 12 “reflects the additional technical specialization4“and Outcomes 13-15“reflect the additional professional and practice knowledge, skills, and attitudes” embodied inASCE Policy

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Laboratory Systems

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Phillips, University of Guelph; Michele Oliver, University of Guelph; Bill Van Heyst, University of Guelph; Douglas Joy, University of Guelph; Warren Stiver, University of Guelph

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

somenegative results for over simplification of the problem, model convergence, validation andboundary condition/material property assignment raises concerns. At this time it is difficult toassess the root cause of these deficiencies. The deficiencies are possibly a reflection of ourpractices in second year, a reflection of other supporting courses, a reflection of the quality of theparticular teams and/or a reflection of the capstone design advising that was provided. Furtherassessment of previous and future capstone projects will be conducted to help in the assessmentof the second year initiative. The next evolution in our use of CAD/CAE will be developed inlight of these initial observations of the capstone design projects. The exercise has proven

Conference Session

FPD7 -- Service Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lorelle Meadows, University of Michigan; Samantha Jarema, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

was to explore the impact that service-learning might have on students’ learning, including their level of engagement and motivation, ina required first year course.One method for assessing student learning is an anonymous instructor evaluation questionnaire;at the University of Michigan, such a questionnaire is required for all courses at the end of thesemester The Likert-scale questions are divided into two categories. The first four questionsaddress students’ perceptions of the quality of the course and instructor, the extent to which they“learned” in the course, and their desire to enroll in the course. The second set of questions isdirected at the specific teaching outcomes for the course. These reflect outcomes centered ontechnical

Conference Session

Assessment Methods

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Abi Aghayere, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

. Page 11.1283.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 The Efficacy of Ongoing Course Assessment for Enhancing Student Learning in Structural Design CoursesAbstractA technique was recently developed for the continuous assessment of student learningthat involves measuring students’ perception of learning of course topics. The assessmentinstrument is divided into several modules with each module consisting of a detailedlisting of course topics. This instrument has been used in the author’s on-campus andonline structural analysis courses. The results of the data collected from a structuralanalysis course pointed to enhancement in student learning, with the additional benefit offorcing the students to reflect on and take

Conference Session

Engineering for Social Justice

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Schreier, University of Dayton; Carl Eger, University of Dayton; Margaret Pinnell, University of Dayton

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

reflectionpaper that describe how the experience affected them personally.Since its inception in 2001, the ETHOS program has sent over 30 students to five countries totake part in summer service-learning internships. Information obtained from the reflection andtechnical papers and program evaluation sheets indicate that students who have participated inthe international service-learning internships have gained perspectives on the influence ofengineering and technology in the global world. Further, these experiences have providedgrowth in technical knowledge and problem solving, and in language development and culturalawareness.Alumni Assessment StrategyAlthough the ETHOS service-learning internship program has a fairly well established methodfor

Conference Session

FPD3 -- Professional Issues for First-Year Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dwight Tolliver, University of Tennessee; Lauren Hines, University of Tennessee; J. Roger Parsons, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

group processing. Team time isstructured so that students have time to reflect on group dynamics and interpersonalfactors that influence successful project completion. This focus helps reinforce the teamtime and develop and solidify skills in working with technical teams.This study was designed to explore the ways in which students perceive team experiencesand the impact of these experiences on attitudes toward teamwork and its relevance toengineering. It is not unusual for students to express uncertainty about working on teamsor to question the necessity of group projects. It is widely recognized that the skillsgained from working on teams are important for engineers to possess. Therefore, it isessential that students not only gain these

Conference Session

Using Teams, Seminars & Research Opportunities for Retention

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christine Hailey, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

women’s roles are alsoaddressed in the course through selection of speakers with a variety of personal/professional lifesolutions as well as supporting materials from the USU ADVANCE Institutional TransformationAward. To overcome the small number of freshmen women interested in engineering, data fromthe Women’s Experiences in College Engineering project is shared to help the studentsunderstand their feelings are typically aligned with a larger body of female students across thecountry. Student reflections acquired through required essay questions and examinations arepresented to help understand whether their career choices are influenced by conservativeattitudes toward family and women’s roles. Preliminary retention data is

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Rutkowski, University of Minnesota-Duluth

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

include reflective statements with their portfolio artifacts. This process ofself-evaluation leads to a higher quality of education2. The ultimate goal of the educationalportfolio is to provide a record of the student’s educational history that emphasizes the learningoutcomes of the student above and beyond the actual diploma while giving the student a greatersense of accomplishment. Traditionally, these portfolios have been paper-based with artifacts stored in folders,binders or other suitable container. With the wide spread use of computers and other technology,the evolution of portfolios from an all-paper to an all-digital format seems natural. Electronicportfolios are still in the early stages of development but many advances have

Conference Session

Teaching Design

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ann McKenna, Northwestern University; James Colgate, Northwestern University; Gregory Olson, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

problem-based learning (PBL) asapplied to medical education, students are presented with a patient case and engage in self-directed discovery of a diagnosis of the problem7. In the PBL approach students can seek outinformation from faculty who serve as tutors or consultants.Schon describes an architectural studio model where the design process is learned as “reflection-in action”8. The teaching model consists of a dialogue between the coach and student whereunderstanding is developed through communication and reflection about the design itself. AsSchon states the “dialogue has three essential features: it takes place in the context of thestudents’ attempt to design; it makes use of actions as well as words; and it depends onreciprocal reflection

Conference Session

Tools and Support for Software Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Gannod, Arizona State University; Kevin Gary, Arizona State University; Harry Koehnemann, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

student teams toapply the knowledge within an ongoing project instance that follows a specified process. Theresult is a highly iterative methodology evolving the student’s competencies in a rapid fashion.Each course in the Enterprise sequence follows this immersive approach to teaching softwareengineering concepts. For each concept, students are first exposed at a high level to the conceptand its importance to the software engineering profession. Students then undertake a problem-centered learning (PCL) exercise of some depth to gain working knowledge of specifictechniques realizing the concept or method. Then, in project teams, students are asked to applytechniques on complex, scalable projects. Teams then perform reflective learning

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Turns, University of Washington; Jessica Yellin, University of Washington; Yi-Min Huang, University of Washington; Kathleen Gygi, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Page 11.1446.10sections do not explicitly take into account the characteristics of the participants in the ETPPprogram, specifically characteristics that are relevant to their role as learners. In particular, ourdata reflects the activities of adult learners (graduate students and post-docs) who had a range ofprior teaching experiences. Transformative learning theory is a theory with potential to take thisfeature of our situation into account.Transformative learning theory is a theory of learning that stems from adult education and seeksto explain instances where learner has more experience and significant commitment to priorbeliefs and where the learning is a process of reflecting on experience outside of formal learningenvironments (i.e., at

Conference Session

Introducing Active Learning into ME Courses

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Al-Bahi, King Abdulaziz University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

processing.Several questions are related to a balanced grading system for team work and individualcontributions, in addition to a balanced load distribution inside the team. The use of openended and real life problems are encouraged such that the students realize differentknowledge levels and aspects inside the team. The importance of the students' reflection ontheir learning experience, confidence level evaluation, and positive feedback on classactivities are also addressed. The use of instructor expectations and assignment checklists,which map into course learning objectives and outcomes, are encouraged as assessment tools.Portfolios, journals, student surveys and questionnaires are also encouraged to ensuretriangulation for the assessment of course

Conference Session

Innovative Classroom Techniques

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Lee, University of South Florida; Mernet Larson, University of South Florida; Jack Heller, University of South Florida; Douglas Lunsford, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

visual and performing artsAbstractEngineering educations routinely use a variety of means to assist in the education process,including all forms of media (books, visual aids, virtual sources, etc.). The incorporation of “realworld” materials and experiences is disappearing. Students actually see the hardware aspects oftheir subject less and less, including (small scale) individual components and (large scale)industrial processes. While this may reflect economic and convenience realities, there is apotential conceptual error being made by instructors (and subsequently adopted by students) thatstudying models, diagrams, illustrations, etc. of engineering objects or processes of interest isequivalent to (and perhaps even superior to) including the

Conference Session

Knowing Our Students II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Turns, University of Washington; Steve Lappenbusch, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

subset of a larger study employing multipledata collection techniques including written reflections, audio-taped interviews, paper-and-pencilconcept mapping, written surveys, and video-taped think-aloud protocols. For this paper, we useonly the data provided in the weekly written process reflections completed by students. As aresult, the data pertinent to this paper and analysis consist of 60 written weekly processreflections from the six student participants in the two course sections. In each weekly processreflection students responded to the following three questions: 1) how would you describe whatyou have been doing over the past week? 2) what challenges have you encountered?, and 3) whatare you taking away? Though these questions do imply

Conference Session

ERM Potpourri

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barbara Lovitts, National Academy of Engineering; Norman Fortenberry, National Academy of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Research, Review of Educational Research, Review of Higher Education,Studies in Higher Education).Inclusion CriteriaEach article chosen for inclusion in the database was determined by us to meet all five of thefollowing criteria: 1. It had an educational intervention. 2. The intervention was at the undergraduate level. 3. The intervention was in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field. 4. It discussed an outcome (no matter how anecdotal). 5. The outcome was related to improved learning or performance, retention, or assessment (and not simply student satisfaction).Although we have classified all the articles accepted for inclusion as “research,” this does notnecessarily reflect

Conference Session

Curriculum Development & Assessment in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Long, Nuclear Stewardship, LLC; Altaf Memon, Excelsior College; Li-Fang Shih, Excelsior College; Byron Thinger, Diablo Canyon Power Plant

Tagged Divisions

Nuclear and Radiological

the teachershelp learners to direct their own learning in ways that suit their individual learning styles.This manuscript describes the development and implementation of a Web CT-based coursewhich requires the nuclear engineering technology students at Excelsior College to developonline portfolios reflecting technical competencies acquired by them during their academicstudies and through practical experience. It is a capstone requirement in which studentsdocument their ability to integrate knowledge from technology areas, general education, andpractical experience in order that program outcomes are achieved.The manuscript provides a complete description of the ITA process at Excelsior College. Detailsregarding the use of information

Conference Session

Curricula of the Past, Present, and Future

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cristina Pomales-Garcia, University of Michigan; Yili Liu, University of Michigan; Virginia Soto, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

alsomentioned that it is much better when the presentations are made available on-line; the studentsbelieved that this option saved time. It is not clear from the answers whether the time savingsare reflected in the classroom, whether it contributes by increasing the total amount of materialscovered or by saving student time spent writing.(2) What are the goals of teaching engineering and the types of skills and attitudes that need to be learned?The participants reported that one of the main goals of teaching engineering was to develop abasic knowledge (n=4) and that there was a conflict between knowledge and grades (n=2). Onestudent compared the goal of engineering to the process of checking boxes; being prepared forgraduate school and the real

Conference Session

Interdisciplinary Education in ET

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

JoDell Steuver, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

servicelearning. The management of teams class syllabus had planned a semester’s study of teamtheory, observation of team influence and roles and analysis of team performance in films. Theclass made a decision to radically restructure the learning experience to respond to their needs toactively work for a positive outcome from a tragic event.This article talks about how the changed class format helped students to integrate skills from abroad college experience—marketing, accounting, writing, management, leadership, graphics,public relations, facilities planning, project management and research. The learning cyclechanged from observation and reflection, abstract concepts, testing in new situations andexperiencing (Kolb & Fry)1 to one of creating

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kurt Paterson, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Michigan Technological University (MichiganTech). This paper details the course objectives and design, the educational modelsinfluencing its form, and some preliminary outcomes.Learning PreferencesThere are several methods to assess learning preferences1. One method applicable toscience and engineering students is the Index of Learning Styles2. This forty-fourquestion assessment is easily administered via a web-based questionnaire3. In this methodlearning preferences are determined with results along a spectrum of four learningpairings: sensing-intuitive, global-sequential, active-reflective, and verbal-visual. No twostudents learn exactly alike. Learning style is simply a preferred way of learning – oftenthe way(s) that knowledge “sticks” most

Conference Session

Revitalizing Cooperative Education and Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig Gunn, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

theyencounter reflect work in the engineering world. The questions that require reflection on the level ofengineering performed by the student can bring out a whole spectrum of valuable experiences, butthey also may reflect a more elementary experience that may not be acceptable to some members ofthe faculty. If these faculty members are evaluating the reports, bias may slip into the process.Students carefully relating their experiences may discover negative responses that defyunderstanding. If an experience is very mundane, students have difficulty in making it more than itis. Here the coordinators of the program can step in to provide a supplementary avenue that willprovide the technical direction for the faculty member and another valuable

Conference Session

A Serving Profession: Service Learning in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leslie Inniss, Florida A&M University; Enos Inniss, University of Texas-San Antonio

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

of extending the project over several semesters and therefore through the curriculumis explored.IntroductionAs we become a more global and multicultural society we need educated workers who can meetthe challenges of a rapidly-changing world. One way to ensure this type of worker is to trainuniversity students, not only in the classroom, but also in the real world. Service learning is onemeans of providing this type of education, particularly in engineering. If we define engineeringas an applied science designed to solve practical problems and thereby improve communityliving, then service learning is crucial to engineering education. ABET’s recent changes inoperating philosophy seems to reflect this realization. In its criteria for Civil

Conference Session

Design for Community and Environment

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Mehalik, University of Pittsburgh; Yaron Doppelt, University of Pittsburgh; Christian Schunn, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

students electricity concepts in science classes.Design-based learning is intended to engage students in ways that enhance their abilities to solvereal-life problems and to reflect on their learning processes. This style of active learning is anextension of project-based learning, which is argued to enable students to relate problems toscience concepts.10, 15 Design-based learning differs from project based learning in that, inaddition to constructing and building, students engage in a design and planning process thatfollows engineering design.Typically, as was the case in the subject school district, electricity (and science in general) istaught using a guided/scripted inquiry approach to learning. Students are given materials andprocedural

Conference Session

Civil Engineering in the Classroom

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Philip Parker, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Open-ended: Challenge Problems can be solved using more than one approach, the approach will not be found in a textbook, and many different yet feasible solutions exist Reflective: problems should have a built-in reflection component, to help students examine their own learning processI used six Challenge Problems during the Fall semester. The problems were solved in class,typically in the lecture period immediately preceding one of the six hourly exams. An entirelecture period was devoted to each problem. Throughout the lecture period, I moved among thevarious groups, and gave feedback, sometimes to individual teams and other times to the entireclass. Moving among the teams provided me with