Conference Session

Student Learning Techniques & Practices in Engineering Technology

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

B. Sridhara, Middle Tennessee State University; Joseph Prince, Middle Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

AC 2008-1442: SOME INTERESTING ENGINEERING PROBLEMS WITHOBJECTS OF SIMPLE GEOMETRY AND RELATIVELY COMPLEXMATHEMATICAL FORMULATIONB. Sridhara, Middle Tennessee State University Dr. B. S. Sridhara is a professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. He received his B.S.M.E. and M.S.M.E. degrees from Bangalore University and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He received his M.S.M.E. and Ph. D. degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, and Auburn University, Alabama. Dr. Sridhara has published several peer-reviewed articles in the areas of Acoustics, Vibration, finite element methods, and

Conference Session

Educating the Whole Engineer - Building Life Skills

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy Kindschi, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Patrick Eagan, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Paul Ross, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

presentations • asynchronous forums, email, and online document management • individualized tutoring, assistance, and instruction through email and phoneOverview of MEPPMEPP is designed on the “cohort” model. Every Fall, a new cohort is admitted and spends aweek on the UW-Madison campus in a first summer residency week; students receive orientationto the program and complete a networking course to facilitate their online work. Thereafter,students enroll concurrently in the same classes for two years. Appendix A outlines the two-yearMEPP calendar.Students meet with their library liaison in a library orientation during residency week. Libraryresources are integrated into the MEPP curriculum, especially the MEPP writing courses wherethe

Conference Session

FPD6 - First Year Curricula Development

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laura Ruhala, University of Southern Indiana; Richard Ruhala, University of Southern Indiana; Eric Sprouls, University of Southern Indiana

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

. Also, a reverseengineering project is conducted early in the semester. The second parallel path in theIntroduction to Design helps student develop skills in engineering communications that theyapply in their design projects for this course as well as for future engineering design courses.Engineering communications include engineering graphics, technical writing, and oralpresentations. Software that students learn in this course includes AutoCAD, Solid Edge,Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Project. Designing this new curriculum gave faculty andadministrators very unique opportunities. This paper will focus on the details and characteristicsof the first-year curriculum, including recent curricular changes and student learning outcomes.Intr

Conference Session

AEC Education: Instructional Strategies and Innovation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Suining Ding, Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne (Eng)

Tagged Divisions

Architectural

sources to assess and improve both individualstudent learning and a program-wide approach to reflection is an effective way of assessment.Ash used two tools to guide the process of reflective writing in two courses. Associated rubricswere used to evaluate the quality of thinking demonstrated in the written reflection. Ash’s resultssuggest that these tools can improve students’ higher order reasoning abilities and criticalthinking skills relative to academic enhancement, civic engagement, and personal growth. As aresult, students can improve the overall quality of their thinking and learning. Based on thisresearch finding, reflective journals were used as a data source to assess learning outcomes anddraw cognitive maps, which is the purpose of

Conference Session

Interdisciplinary Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Kurtanich, Youngstown State University; William Wood, Youngstown State University; Edward Garchar, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

; stimulates creative thinking byposing open-ended real world design problems; requires application of technical skills andconcepts; and provides training and practice of writing and oral presentation skills [2]. Inaddition, inclusion of an open-ended design experience prepares our graduates to implement thebest engineering and management practices and technologies in the engineering design industry.Capstone Course Process The Youngstown State University School of Engineering Technology philosophy is tocreate an academic environment that resembles the work environment into which the graduate isexpected to be employed. The capstone course sequence (CCET 4884 – Civil/StructuralFacilities Design and EET 4880 Electrical/Mechanical Facilities Design

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

in Office Hours and in ClassAbstractOne of the most challenging and unexpected aspects of a new professor’s career is dealing withstudent emotions. Emotions, especially anger and frustration, can have an impact on studentsuccess and willingness to stay engaged with course content. Successfully implementingstrategies for dealing with student emotions can result in improved academic outcomes. Thispaper addresses the impact of student emotions and suggests strategies for faculty to use wheninteracting with students.IntroductionThe impact of student emotions on learning is rarely discussed in faculty preparation workshops.Guidebooks suggest ways to write syllabi, plan lessons and incorporate active learning strategiesbut rarely present ways to

Conference Session

Assessment

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mieke Schuurman, Pennsylvania State University; Laura L. Pauley, Pennsylvania State University; Dennis Gouran, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

instrument was part of the online final evaluationform that co-op students and their employers are required to complete at the end of the workterm. See Table 1 below for the individual items of the oral communication skills instrument. Asindicated in the introduction, all items were formulated positively in this version of the Page 13.238.3instrument.For the fourth research question, we used another question from the final evaluation form.Students and supervisors were to indicate how well the student demonstrated the ability tocommunicate effectively through interpersonal skills, formal presentations, and technical writing(ABET criterion 3g). The

Conference Session

Innovations in ECE Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wookwon Lee, Gannon University; Fong Mak, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

presentation forpeople emphasis, to list a 90few. Peer-evaluation itself 1 Understand ethics 80was considered a good 2 Develop design-for-testing conceptstool to encourage students 70 3 Skills for mgmt. of engr. design projectfor a better presentation % Participants 60 4 Skills for effective tech. writing & oral pres.and class participation. 50 40Student EvaluationResults of Course 30Outcomes

Conference Session

Manufacturing Engineering Technology Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wei Zhan, Texas A&M University; Jay Porter, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

project-related work near the end of thesemester. The project management part of Six Sigma helps the students to conduct theirproject at an even pace. Instead of working in the “fire-fighting” mode near the end of thesemester, they spent more time preventing fires from happening early on. The facultymember kept track of teams’ progress by holding weekly review meetings. The studentsalso learned other basic skills such as teaming voting, writing meeting minutes,brainstorming, and using affinity diagrams. The students were required to do ademonstration for their prototype, give a presentation, and write a final report for theirproject.2.3. Assessment The assessment of teaching Six Sigma consisted of two parts: one for the students andone for the

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curriculum Innovation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Greg Waidley, University of Wisconsin - Madison; Jason Bittner, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

takes note of a few ofthe programs that currently exist around the country. These programs were located by startingwith the USDOT’s listing of University Transportation Centers at http://utc.dot.gov/.One could argue that a student gains significant benefit simply by sitting in the same classroomas students from other transportation-related disciplines. Students appear to gain insight into theperspectives of other disciplines through discussion with these peers and hearing the questionsasked by these peers. In a transportation planning course at the University of Tennessee, a civilengineering student asked the question, “Why do we even need to involve the public in thetransportation decision-making process?” This was a valid question and

Conference Session

Beyond Individual Ethics: Engineering in Context

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Riley, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education

science.Background on science, technology and society continues with Warren’s11 “fruit bowl” approachto ecofeminist ethics, discussing how we discern appropriate ethics approaches for problems weface, and with Johnson and Wetmore’s3 plea to include considerations of science and technologystudies in engineering ethics. McCutchen’s exposé of conflicts of interest in peer review12 andGeiger’s history of military backing of science and engineering research at universities13completes the background unit.The first topical unit revolves around the theme of “technology and control,” drawing onexamples from military14-16, information17-20, reproductive21-23, and environmental24,25technologies. The potential for rich discussion abounds here, as students delve into

Conference Session

FPD1 - Early Success and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alicia Boudreaux, Louisiana Tech University; Kelly Crittenden, Louisiana Tech University; James Nelson, Louisiana Tech University; Galen Turner, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

considering student persistence, the first year of college is a critical time; it is then that astudent either finds his/her fit or feels isolated and drawn to leave.3 The first year holds muchuncertainty, and the student needs to move from marginality to a place of mattering within thelarger campus environment.4 Tinto, through vast research on college student persistence, citesacademic integration and social integration as two main influences on persistence; both in-classand outside-of-class experiences are important.5 Comprehensive learning communities like theFreshman Enrichment Program provide a network of students with like interests, whichencourages involvement in both the academic and social aspects of that community.6, 7 Inaddition to peer

Conference Session

Distance Learning in ET

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Meral Anitsal, Tennessee Tech University; Ismet Anitsal, Tennessee Tech University; Ismail Fidan, Tennessee Tech University; Bonita Barger, Tennessee Tech University; Michael Allen, Tennessee Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

explains the differing views of non-participating faculty ondistance education. Many faculty resist online teaching because of feelings of isolation andredundancy, lack of confidence using technology, and fears of replacement8. Some instructorsbelieve that the increased amount of preparation time required for distance learning takes awayfrom activities they will be evaluated on such as grant writing and publishing9, 28, 29.Covington, Petherbridge, and Warren17 followed a state university’s English department duringits implementation of an online program. Covington et al.17 recognize administrative support(i.e., defined goals), professional development (i.e., training), and peer support (i.e., sharedexperiences) as pillars to implementing distance

Conference Session

FPD4 - Teaching Methods for First Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Haungs, California Polytechnic State University; John Clements, California Polytechnic State University; David Janzen, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

Improving Engineering Education through Creativity, Collaboration, and Context In a First Year CourseAbstractOver the past few years, Computer Science and some Engineering disciplines have suffered froma decrease in student enrollment, poor retention, and low women and minority representation. Wesuggest three issues with first-year courses that contribute to this trend. First, students find itdifficult to see how their assignments and course material relate to real-world applications.Second, students tend to perceive engineering as an individual endeavor requiring littleinteraction with peers. Last, early engineering assignments are often overly constrained, possiblyto ease grading, allowing minimal room for student creativity.In this

Conference Session

FPD1 - Early Success and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donna Reese, Mississippi State University; Robert Green, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

effort into these courses in order to retain these students in engineeringmajors. However, many of the students in the MSU class, approximately 90%, will decide not tomajor in engineering. While this is a beneficial outcome for the students involved, it limits theamount of faculty effort that the college is able to invest in this course. Other pre-engineeringcourses (e.g., Howard and Musto5; Pazos, Drane, Light, and Munkeby8) use peer team projects orsoftware that students will use in follow-on engineering classes to motivate students to continuein engineering. The typical student in MSU’s pre-engineering designation is not mature enoughto successfully navigate this type of project. In addition, the one-hour format of the course limitsthe types

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics IV

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

B. Kyun Lee, LeTourneau University; Paul Leiffer; R. William Graff, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

uncertainty or conflicting data from tests. The video game culture may be influential in this area too. In video games, as in most games, there is always a correct answer which, with persistence, you can get to in the end. That’s obviously not always possible in the workplace in the necessary timeframe with real world deadlines.”4 4. “It seems that they spend about the same amount of time in the office as their older peers, but more of that time is spent checking personal email and updating Facebook pages. But when they are dedicated to a project, it gets their intense full attention—albeit in short bursts. It seems to balance out.”5 5. “The work ethic is dead. Younger generations in the workforce have killed it off

Conference Session

Continuous Improvement & Assessment of ET Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Chin, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

timing devices. Prepare charts, graphs, and diagrams to illustrate workflow, routing, floor layouts, material handling, and machine utilization. Evaluate data and write reports to validate or indicate deviations from existing standards. Read worker logs, product processing sheets, and specification sheets, to verify that records adhere to quality assurance specifications. Figure 4. TasksThe machines, equipment, tools, and software, or Tools and Technology, an industrialengineering technologists may use are listed in Figure 5. Tools used in this occupation: Coordinate measuring machines CMM—Direct computer-controlled coordinate measuring machines DCC-CMM

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Glenn Ellis, Smith College; Mary Moriarty, Smith College; Gary Felder, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

completeunderstanding.” This requires designing classroom experiences and formative assessments thathelp “make students’ thinking visible to themselves, their peers, and their teacher.”6In Physics and Engineering Problem Solving, this was accomplished through (1) a variety ofkinesthetic activities exploring dynamics concepts, (2) concept questions designed to revealcommon misconceptions, (3) questions requiring students to write or verbalize theirunderstanding of concepts in their own words, (4) laboratories that involved making predictionsabout physical behavior, and (5) the content-based assessments at the beginning and end of thecourse. In many of the kinesthetic activities students were able to discover and address theirmisconceptions themselves. For

Conference Session

International CIase Studies: Collabs, Exchanges & Interactions

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sergio Felicelli, Mississippi State University; John Berry, Mississippi State University; Rafael Cuesta, CIDAUT, Spain; Rogelio Luck, Mississippi State University; Ratessiea Lett, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

International

arrive at the foreign labwith a well defined work plan and the necessary technical background to perform the requiredtasks with supervision but minimum instruction. In addition to the technical aspects of thetraining, the student will be encouraged to register in a Spanish course and familiarize with theculture and geography of Spain.Specific tasks in the student training will include the following: Page 13.189.5Before travel to the foreign institution (6 months) 1. Read the current NSF award and major works referenced therein. 2. Perform a literature search on the topic of confluence welds and write a report 3. Work at the MSU casting lab

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Girls and Young Women

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Burkett, University of Arkansas; Claire Small, Springdale High School; Charles Rossetti, University of Arkansas; Bryan Hill, University of Arkansas; Carol Gattis, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

Hispanic population. School counselors and teachers were asked to helpidentify students and encourage them to apply. An overview of the camp was given to parentsand students in both English and Spanish. Twenty-four girls were selected from forty-oneapplicants. Daily activities and assignments were modeled after activities in the pre-engineeringhigh school program. The girls gained experience and confidence while building andprogramming an elevator, racing remote controlled cars, designing a product using a 3Dmodeling program, programming small robots and participating in a field trip to a localcompany. The participants enjoyed the camp, formed friendships with their peers, expressedinterest in science/engineering, and look forward to follow-up

Conference Session

Design in the BME Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joe Tranquillo, Bucknell University; Donna Ebenstein, Bucknell University; James Baish, Bucknell University; William King, Bucknell University; Daniel Cavanagh, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

process, the students meet with their faculty advisor to gain an additionalperspective on the possible design problems. The students are ultimately responsible forselecting the design problem with input from the team’s external mentor and facultyadvisor.Following identification of a problem, students are required to write a concise writtenproblem statement with no mention or implication of a solution. Although students sharetheir problem statement with their advisor and mentor, and will receive feedback, it is upto the students to refine the statement as the project progresses.Users and Device SpecificationsBased upon the problem definition, the students develop a list of potential users andspecifications that any proposed solution must satisfy

Conference Session

FPD4 - Teaching Methods for First Year Students

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John K. Estell, Ohio Northern University; Laurie Laird, Ohio Northern University; John-David Yoder, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

AC 2008-171: ENGINEERING PERSONIFIED: AN APPLICATION OF THE ONEMINUTE ENGINEERJohn K. Estell, Ohio Northern University John K. Estell is Chair of the Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department, and Professor of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, at Ohio Northern University. He received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His areas of research include simplifying the outcomes assessment process, user interface design, and the pedagogical aspects of writing computer games. Dr. Estell is a Senior Member of IEEE, and a member of ACM, ASEE, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon.Laurie Laird, Ohio Northern University

Conference Session

Accreditation Issues

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Biney, Prairie View A&M University; Raghava Kommalapati, Prairie View A&M University; Michael Gyamerah, Prairie View A&M University; Annamalai Annamalai, Prairie View A&M University; Pamela Obiomon, Prairie View A&M University; Xiaobo Peng, Prairie View A&M University; Mohan Ketkar, Prairie View A&M University; Nripendra Sarker, Prairie View A&M University; Ravindra Iyengar, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

(3) CAC Criterion 3 d, “an ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish acommon goal. Five performance criteria were developed for this outcome. The performancecriteria measure students ability to: 1. Plan group meetings and time management and assign team roles (leader, recorder, etc) 2. Distribute project tasks evenly to team members 3. Resolve conflicts professionally within the group (Example will be an assignment to identify potential problems and indicate how they will resolve them) 4. Track progress of team members to ensure project is on schedule (Through submission of progress reports) 5. Share ideas, complete assigned task on time, help others, and be professional to each other (through peer

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Golanbari, University of the Pacific; Rick Garlikov, Garlikov.Com

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

self-directed and independent, yet collaborative, learners who possess animproved ability to speak, write and listen and the mental discipline needed to applysound judgment and problem-solving skills to novel problems.Motivation for Using the Socratic Questioning and Some Specific Techniques forImplementing the Socratic MethodTeaching occurs not just through imparting information but also through arousingintellectual passions and enthusiastically presenting an example of thought in action. Allknowledge, like all education, is ultimately driven by the questions asked. Asengineering educators, one of our tasks is to pose the right questions, and help students tolearn to ask the right questions and to learn to formulate reasoned answers. These

Conference Session

Issues of Cooperative Education I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Olga Pierrakos, James Madison University; Maura Borrego, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Jenny Lo, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Cooperative & Experiential Education

female students participating in co-op experiences?Herein, we employed a survey instrument, National Engineering Students’ Learning OutcomesSurvey (NESLOS), derived from ABET criteria and extensive literature review, to assessstudents’ learning outcomes as a result of participating in a co-op experience. Survey itememphasis was placed on assessing knowledge and skills pertaining to but not limited to: (1)problem-solving, (2) writing and communication skills, (3) understanding and applyingknowledge, (4) teamwork, (5) confidence gains, (6) organization and management skills, and (7)interest and engagement of project. In this paper, we present key findings of what studentslearned and valued, insight into variations across female and male students

Conference Session

New Ideas for ChEs I (aka ChE Potpourri)

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Keith, Michigan Technological University; H. Scott Fogler, University of Michigan; Valarie Thomas, University of Michigan; Don Chmielewski, Illinois Institute of Technology; Michael Gross, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

open courseware site12 (http://ocw.mit.edu)and the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching site13(http://www.merlot.org).There are two example modules shown in the appendix at the end of this paper, for thematerial and energy balance course and for the transport phenomena course. Page 13.271.4Current modules are available for the courses, and topic areas as seen in table 2 below.These modules are currently under peer review from leading educators around the nationas well as industrial members of the CACHE Corporation.Chemical Engineering Core Course Module TitleMaterial and Energy Balances Application of

Conference Session

Innovative Programs - Structure, Delivery, Evaluation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dirk Schaefer, Georgia Institute of Technology; Tristan Utschig, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

. Tristan T. Utschig is Assistant Director for the Scholarship and Assessment of Teaching and Learning at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Formerly, he was Associate Professor of Engineering Physics at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho where he developed and directed the pre-engineering program at the college. Dr. Utschig’s research in engineering education has focused on assessment at various levels from the classroom to program and institutional assessment. He has regularly published and presented work on a variety of topics including teaching diversity, using technology in the classroom, faculty development in instructional design, assessment instruments and methodologies, and peer

Conference Session

Recruitment & Retention in ET Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raju Dandu, Kansas State University at Salina; John DeLeon, Kansas State University at Salina

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

fall 07, 27 scholarships were awarded in the amount of $1800/semester.Administering the grant in its first year has been rewarding and challenging. This paper willprovide insight into the structure of the award winning proposal and information related to Page 13.824.2application demographics and the selection process.Grant Proposal StructureSuccessful grant proposal needs an excellent teamwork, leadership, and administrative support ofan academic institution. The grant writing team has been mindful of specific instructions,limitations, and requirements of S-STEM proposal.ELITE ProposalKansas State’s Enhancing Lives through Technology and

Conference Session

Entrepreneurship Education

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Raviv, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

produced by approximately 130 participants. 3. “Innovative Thinking” is the course described in this paper. 4. “Bridge to Engineering” is a ready to launch 3-credit 6-module course aiming at bridging thegap between Science and Engineering. Students are engaged in a creative problem solving processfrom exploration to demonstration. They: • Explore historical, current, and new technologies, • Discover new knowledge, • Become more creative and inventive, • Interact with peers and team members and lead teams, • Share their knowledge and solutions with others, and • Put it all together for the betterment of the community. 5. Workshops. Dr. Raviv has been delivering workshops and seminars on Innovative Thinking

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vladimir Mitin, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Nizami Vagidov, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Xiufeng Liu, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

. Grading and Feedback15. The grading criteria are clear.16. Adequate time is provided for writing the lab report.17. Helpful feedback on reports is available.Fifteen students out of nineteen taking the EE342/PHY342 lab course in the Fall 2007 semestercompleted the FANL form at the end of each of the labs. Although the students’ evaluationvaried from lab to lab and from aspect to aspect within a lab, overall, the students rated all thelabs to be very effective. This is based on the fact that majority of the students either “Agreed” or“Strongly Agreed" with all the above seventeen statements for all the labs. Students’ evaluationalso pointed out a few areas for each lab that needed further improvement. For example, thestudents, who carried out the