Conference Session

New Approaches in Engineering

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Audrey Lynn LaVallie, Turtle Mountain Community College; Eric Asa, North Dakota State University; G. Padmanabhan P.E., North Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

students reiterated that these studies were much longer than any previous study they had undertaken in the past and that they had not worked before in a collaborative effort. The students were also able to note that planning and execution followed distinct stages- literature search, experimental design, data collection and evaluation , and drawing of conclusions. Exposure to technical writing was invaluable for most of the students- although writing skills are poor across the board in the U.S., scores are particularly low at TCCs. Science and math scores on assessment tests such as the Praxis (for secondary education students) are moderately lower than national medians, but English skills are very much lower. In

Conference Session

Computer Hardware and Simulation

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Krista M Hill, University of Hartford; Ying Yu, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

verification, and teaching with new educational methods, which includes peer instruction, personal response systems, video games, and state-of-the-art CAD tools. Page 23.1288.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013 Use of a CPLD in an Introductory Logic Circuits CourseAbstractIn the 2011 Fall semester we successfully adopted a complex programmable logic device(CPLD) for use in our introductory logic circuits course at the University of Hartford. Whilethe adoption of the corresponding CAD tools is an important element, we have been

Conference Session

Secondary (6-12) Outreach

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christine Schnittka, Auburn University; Michael A Evans, Virginia Tech ; Tiffany Drape, Virginia Tech; Samantha Gwai Lan Won, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

five minutes they werestopped and summarized in writing. After completed, the transcripts were open coded by both aresearcher and a graduate student, and themes were noted. This observation procedure was usedto pick up fine details about the teachers’ implementation of the curriculum, the environmentaldifferences between the three sites, the behaviors of the youth and the general level ofengagement by the participants. Pre and post testsThe pre and post test, Heat Transfer Evaluation, was administered on the first and last days ofthe unit. This 12-item multiple choice instrument from Schnittka & Bell (2010) has demonstratedvalidity and reliability with the middle school aged population. It was designed to target commonalternative

Conference Session

Thermodynamics

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen R. Turns, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Peggy Noel Van Meter, Pennsylvania State University; Thomas A. Litzinger, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Carla M Firetto, The Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

complete the exercises in class. In the first matrix exercise (Fig. 1), students consider the four ideal-gas processes presentedin four rows: (i) a constant-pressure expansion, (ii) a constant-volume process in which thepressure increases, (iii) a constant-temperature expansion, and (iv) an adiabatic, reversible(constant entropy) expansion. Prompts written in the columns required students to (i) write amathematical expressions for the relation of pressure-to-volume and the relation of temperature-to-volume, (ii) create a plot of pressure versus volume, (iii) create a plot of temperature versusvolume, and (iv) develop and enter an expression for moving boundary work. In the second matrix exercise (Fig. 2), students consider the same four

Conference Session

Design Pedagogy and Curriculum 1

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jay R. Goldberg P.E., Marquette University; David B. Rank, Root Cause Consortium, LLC

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

of the BMES-idea national student design competition and writes a quarterly column on senior design for IEEE-Pulse magazine. In 2012 he received the National Society of Professional Engineers Engineering Education Excellence Award for linking professional practice to engineering education.David B. Rank, Root Cause Consortium, LLC David has more than 28 years in the workforce with 19 of those working for Harley-Davidson, Inc.. The majority of his Harley-Davidson R experience was as their Softail R Platform Director, developing and caring for that family of motorcycles with his management team. Over the years, he has participated in international assembly bench-marking studies, manufacturing capability assessments and

Conference Session

Undergraduate Student Issues: Culture

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marie C Paretti, Virginia Tech; Courtney S Smith-Orr, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

interviews were transcribed andanalyzed using open-coding procedures to identify ways women experience the relationshipbetween their gender and their engineering identities, their experiences with male students (e.g.on design teams, studying for exams, completing homework assignments), and their strategiesfor navigating gendered dynamics such as peers who did not value their input or who expectedthem to take on certain roles. The participants rarely responded directly to questions aboutperceived gendered experiences, but when talking about their experiences in classes or on teams,did describe ways in which they had negotiated their space and their identity, earning respect ordemonstrating competence to gain a voice at the table. At the same time

Conference Session

Environmental engineering pedagogy and innovation

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela R Bielefeldt, University of Colorado Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

the information is presented seems valuable.” “Posted lectures with comment great for review and homework, but trying to listen to them before class was overwhelming. Good tool but I prefer in-class lectures.”Instructor PerspectiveFrom an instructor perspective, making the lectures in advance took time and the resulting fileswere very large. Creating additional problems for in-class work also took additional time.However, I found it more enjoyable to spend class time interactively working problems. Peer-to-peer instruction was observed. Students questions while

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mahnas Jean Mohammadi-Aragh, Virginia Tech; Rachel Louis Kajfez, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Student

cannot wait for every student to finish, but if you constantlycut them short, they will not participate in the activity and instead will wait for you to answer theproblem for them. Also, immediately after the activity, relevant discussion or sharing of studentwork is necessary to retain engaged students. In the observations, without a planned follow-upfor each active learning exercise, students who were off-task and then engaged in the activeexercise were often observed returning to their off-task work. Likewise, students who finishedan activity before their peers would participate in off-task activities, but a powerful summary ordiscussion of the exercise would often reengage those students in lecture.To illustrate the benefits to active

Conference Session

NSF Grantees' Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tolga Kaya, Central Michigan University; Kumar Yelamarthi, Central Michigan University; Brian P DeJong, Central Michigan University; Qin Hu, Central Michigan University; Shaopeng Cheng, Central Michigan University ; Steve Kettler, Alma High School; Daniel Chen, Central Michigan University

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

, electrical properties of materials, therapeutic applications of electromagnetic fields, and software engineering and development. She has authored/co-authored 26 journal papers and several conference papers published in prestigious, international, peer-reviewed journals. She is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a member of the Biophysical Society (BPS) and a member of the Society of Woman Engineers (SWE).Dr. Shaopeng Cheng, Central Michigan University Dr. Shaopeng Cheng received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1995. He is currently an associate professor in the School of Engineering and Technology at Central Michigan University. Dr. Cheng teaches

Conference Session

Aerospace Division Technical Session 4

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Narayanan M. Komerath, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Aerospace

Paper ID #8072A Case Study on Advancing Learning in An Upper-Level Engineering CourseDr. Narayanan M. Komerath, Georgia Institute of Technology Professor Dr. Narayanan Komerath is a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Tech- nology, and director of the Experimental Aerodynamics and Concepts Group and the Micro Renewable Energy Systems Laboratory. He has over 300 publications, over 120 of them peer-reviewed. He holds three U.S. patents, and has guided fifteen Ph.D.s, more than 50 M.S.s and more than 160 undergraduate research special problem projects. He is a former chair of the Aerospace Division

Conference Session

Themes in Renewable Energy and ET

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Chiou, Drexel University; Radian G Belu, Drexel University (Tech.); Michael G Mauk P.E., Drexel University; M. Eric Carr, Drexel University; Tzu-Liang Bill Tseng, University of Texas, El Paso

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

course sequence was organized following the ABET guideline forcapstone and/or senior project design courses. The senior design class is organized in a verystructured form.1. Teams: All students have to work in teams of three or four. We consider this to be theoptimum team size. A team of two may result in distress in cases where one of the students wasnot able to do his or her share of the work, while for teams larger than four may have difficultiesto choose projects which were challenging enough for such a big group of students and stillcould be finished within three-quarter time frame.2. Self and Peer Review: A very simple self and peer review system has been introduced. Thestudents must evaluate their own and their team members' performance

Conference Session

Thermodynamics

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nihad Dukhan, University of Detroit Mercy; Mark Schumack, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

change. Abulencia et al.9 described an inquiry-based exercise in whichstudents were required to develop an instructional video that could teach a concept inthermodynamics using common metaphors, and to watch (and critique) similarly constructedvideos by peers. Prince et al.11 presented results that showed the effectiveness of inquiry-basedactivities in addressing some thermodynamic misconceptions held be engineering students, i.e., Page 23.1280.8heat, energy, temperature and entropy.Field43 described guided inquiry investigations of thermodynamic properties and cycles in asophomore thermodynamics class. Students were required to modify a

Conference Session

FPD 8: Engineering Math Issues

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tanya D Ennis, University of Colorado Boulder; Jacquelyn F. Sullivan, University of Colorado, Boulder; Beverly Louie, University of Colorado, Boulder; Daniel Knight, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

tosucceed in engineering. Entering engineering GoldShirt students participate in a two-weeksummer bridge program to orient them to the challenges of college, building community amongtheir peers, and developing leadership skills through a wide range of activities. During the initialyear, students learn in small, cohort-based classes in mathematics, introductory physics,chemistry, writing and critical thinking. These students are placed into appropriate mathematicsclasses based on an in-depth review of placement exam results and high school transcripts, withthe intent to ensure they are prepared to enter or have begun the engineering calculus sequence atthe close of their first year. Students who achieve predefined metrics in the first GoldShirt

Conference Session

Robots and K-12 Computer Applications

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cheryl D. Seals, Auburn University; Earl B. Smith, Georgia Southern University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

other approaches to technology use in the classroom.Many elementary students struggle to read, write and comprehend in the classroom6 and manyprograms have been created to help with basic reading proficiency. Some programs have lookedat solutions of utilizing computers to aid students in improving their reading literacy 5,8. It hasbeen documented that programs need to better take advantage of the hours that students spendplaying video games9. Interactive educational games like video games can encourage students tobe more responsive and are of greater benefit than inactive games10. Students are highly Page 23.531.4interested in learning to design

Conference Session

Programs in Support of Systems Engineering Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan K Donohue, University of Virginia; Ali Bouabid, Khalifa University of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Systems Engineering

its share of controversy. There is no argument that traffic volume on US 29, a main north-south artery, is far beyond capacity; the arguments revolve around proposed solutions, their impacts, and costs. We research the main problem and related issues and perform an analysis similar to the one for the Community Water Plan.Because of the writing-intensive nature of the course, second-year standing became a pre-requisite for the second offering of the course. This change ensured that students would havehad the PVCC English Composition sequence before the class. Students who had not completedthis sequence had some issues completing the case studies, and we wanted to support studentsuccess in this course as well as

Conference Session

NSF Grantees' Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cynthia J. Finelli, University of Michigan; Kenyon M Richardson; Shanna R. Daly, University of Michigan

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

wrong— that teaching, yes, is a part of it, but it’s doing me a better service to write a paper instead of revamping my class. So there’s a little less motivation, at least at the junior level, to do it.  … but as it is, you know, if you’re a big shot researcher, you’re important. And if you’re not a big shot researcher, you’re not.Knowledge and Skills of Effective TeachingAccess to information about effective teaching practices  I would appreciate if I could learn more about those tools that are out there, because I don’t think I’m fully informed. So that is, I think, a personal interest.  Understanding, you know, lowering the barrier to personal understanding of what’s the right thing to do

Conference Session

NSF Grantees' Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ravi P. Ramachandran, Rowan University; Robi Polikar, Rowan University; Kevin D. Dahm, Rowan University; Robert M Nickel, Bucknell University; Richard J. Kozick, Bucknell University; Sachin Shetty, Tennessee State University; Ying Tang, Rowan University; Steven H Chin, Rowan University

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

homeworkincludes reading assignments, analytical problems and software based questions.Examples are as follows: 1. Write a 700-1000 word synopsis of the article given below demonstrating your understanding of the article. You do not have to get into mathematical details. The synopsis should show your conceptual understanding. Article [15]: Amin Fazel and Shantanu Chakrabartty, An Overview of Statistical Pattern Techniques for Speaker Verification, IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine, June 2011. 2. Write a MATLAB program that implements the LBG algorithm with the following inputs and outputs: Input: Training data vectors of any finite dimension, desired codebook size equal to a power of 2

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education (DEED) Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cyrus Habibi P.E., Minnesota State University, Mankato; Ronald R Ulseth, Iron Range Engineering ; Michael Richard Carlson

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

(Outcome K). Each project is involved in design a system, prototype,components or a process to address an engineering problem (Outcome C). The projects aremostly multidisciplinary (occasionally single-discipline) and the students with differentbackgrounds form a team to work on their project (Outcome D).The first phase of each project is to understand, formulate the problem and the second phase is topropose solutions. All IRE students are required to complete these two phases (Outcome E). Abig portion of project deliverables is three to four presentations and final technical report. Aftereach presentation, the students are given feedback from all faculty and peers regarding bothpresentation and technical writing skills. Each section of their final

Conference Session

NSF Grantees' Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathleen Alfano, College of the Canyons

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

CREATE Renewable Energy Network; • Collaborate and write section of paper for inclusion in a peer-reviewed paper; • Participate in at least two online virtual learning community meetings; and • Provide feedback and formal evaluation information to CREATE on the impact of the Renewable Energy Network on teaching and learning (including student assessment and demographic information). Name: ____________________________________________________________________ Signature: _____________________________________ Date: _______________________Chancellor/President’s Certification: I have reviewed [insert name ________________________'s] application to the CREATE US- Australia Renewable Energy Learning Exchange and Network and fully support

Conference Session

Delivery Methods in Mechanical Engineering Courses

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gregory Mason, Seattle University; Teodora Rutar Shuman, Seattle University; Kathleen E. Cook, Seattle University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

activities.The course videos were created using Camtasia Studio30 and a Tablet PC. The videos includedaudio of the instructor explaining the material and a live screen capture of the instructor writingon the tablet. The videos were posted on YouTube (YouTube channel MEGR438) and accessibleto students. To cover the course content there were 45 videos in the 2011 IC offering and 50videos (5 additional) in 2012 IC offering, each between 3 and 12 minutes long. To achieve thislength, videos were edited and shortened to approximately half their original length by removingpauses from the presentation that occurred while writing or when explaining the material. Thisresulted in six hours of video content posted online. Specific videos were not initially

Conference Session

Design Pedagogy and Curriculum 2

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Cozzens, Utah Educational Network; Jeremy Ray Farner, Weber State University; Thomas James Paskett, Weber State University; Elias V. Perez, Utah State University Eastern; Isabella Borisova, Southern Utah University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

boards or course newsletters can be used tocelebrate school athletic victories, student achievement and other times to cheer collectively as aclass. The instructor of a flipped classroom needs to respond to student questions bycommunicating clearly and respectfully with them. Community building is further enhancedwhen instructors actively participate in student discussions and regularly reach out to those whoneed additional support, guidance, and encouragement.Instructors should also develop group activities that foster an online community and allowstudents to engage their peers. Setting up small groups of three to five students early in thesemester allows them to assume responsibility for supportive mentoring and for summarizingkey points of a

Conference Session

International Division Poster Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Efra Altamirano; lourdes gazca, American University in Puebla, Mexico; Aurelio Lopez-Malo, Universidad de las Americas Puebla; Enrique Palou, Universidad de las Americas Puebla

Tagged Divisions

International

Society for Engineering Education, 2013 Direct and Indirect Assessment of Universidad de las Américas Puebla’s Food Engineering Program OutcomesAbstractThe Food Engineering program from Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP) is approvedby the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and accredited by the Consejo de Acreditación de laEnseñanza de la Ingeniería (CACEI), which is the peer-accrediting agency of the USAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in Mexico. Graduates ofUDLAP’s Food Engineering program (FE) shall attain thirteen outcomes; eleven of them aresimilar to ABET Criterion 3 (a-k) program outcomes1; as well as specific IFT core competenciesregarding major areas: food chemistry and

Conference Session

Computers in Education Division - General Technical Session 1

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Danielle Marie Dowling, Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach; Morgan M Hynes, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

of content in a relatively short amount of time to meet the demandsof standardized tests. It is our goal with the Interactive Learning and Collaboration Environment(InterLACE ) Project to support teachers and students in this pursuit through Web-based toolsthat elicit and document the aforementioned process of design-based inquiry.BackgroundFocus on Students’ ReasoningTaking the constructivist perspective that students use and develop existing resources toconstruct knowledge with their peers and teachers15,16,20,22 , we posit that any science learningbegins with students’ ideas as the initial building block. Recent reform and research-and-development projects in science and engineering education have emphasized the importance ofscience

Conference Session

Novel Pedagogies 2

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Oenardi Lawanto, Utah State University; Harry B Santoso, Utah State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

inthe improved group reported a significant improvement in planning, monitoring, and regulatingstrategies. On the other hand, those in the declined group showed a lower awareness of all SRLskills at the end of semester. Furthermore, the findings revealed an improvement in students’conceptual understanding. This article will also discuss the potential implications for electriccircuit concepts instruction.Keywords: Electric circuit concepts, enhanced guided notes (EGN), self-regulated learning(SRL)1. IntroductionA growing body of literature suggests that classroom activity generally does not stimulatestudents to actively engage in learning1, 2. Specifically in engineering education, manyinstructors focus on writing engineering formulas and

Conference Session

Training and Support for NEEs

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vishwas Narayan Bedekar, University of Arkansas; John DUPE Lee, University of Arkansas; Douglas E. Spearot, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

) management in a very large class, (2)syllabus content and (3) balancing teaching and research responsibilities. In addition, Prof.Spearot worked with the Department of Mechanical Engineering staff to develop a formalevaluation survey for Mr. John Lee.In preparation for the fall 2012 semester, Prof. Spearot involved Mr. Lee in every decisionrelated to the management of the large course, including writing of the course syllabus, decisionsrelated to the weight provided to each assignment and exams in the course, week-by-weekplanning of course topics and homework problems, and determination of homework and examdates. Prof. Spearot and Mr. Lee developed a strategy to manage homework submission,homework distribution to the graders, and drill session

Conference Session

Ocean and Marine Tech Session

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radian G Belu, Drexel University (Tech.); Irina Nicoleta Ciobanescu Husanu, Drexel University (Tech.)

Tagged Divisions

Ocean and Marine

. The capstone senior deign project can be the vehicle to help solvingthese issues.ABET defines Engineering Design as: “The process of devising a system, component, or processto meet the desired needs. It is a decision making process, in which the basic sciences,mathematics, and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet statedobjective. Among the fundamental elements of the design process are: the establishment of theobjectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing and evaluation”6. In our seniordesign classes we have placed this definition at core of electrical engineering senior designcourses. First we focus on the word objectives and criteria and ask the student to write aparagraph stating the

Conference Session

Accreditation, Program Evaluation, and Education Resource's Impact in Latin America

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Erick Jones, University of Texas, Arlington; Vettrivel Gnaneswaran, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Beatriz Murrieta, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Queretaro

Tagged Divisions

International

automatic data capture, real world prototypes, and analysis” is led by thePI, Dr. Erick C. Jones who has performed innovative research and received over $3.5 milliondollars in funding from multiple agencies including NASA EPSCOR, Department ofTransportation, and numerous industrial companies. This research has led to 1 industryhandbook, 2 textbooks on RFID, and over 60 published manuscripts. With respect toundergraduate students, over 10 students have been funded for research projects of whom 6continued to graduate school and received a masters or better; 4 students published conferenceand/or peer reviewed papers. Currently, 6 undergraduates work in the RAID labs.4.2.2. Mexican host institution (ITESM)Tecnológico de Monterrey was founded in 1943

Conference Session

Information Tools and Techniques for Engineering Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Giovanna Badia, McGill University; April Colosimo, McGill University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

can help to set up expectations for those that are not familiar with the delivery method. The objectives and agenda should be provided in writing, as well as described verbally.11 It is important to mention how the information that will be presented is relevant to participants to keep their attention in the environment, and also to show enthusiasm for the technology.15, 21, 22 Smile and avoid speaking in a monotone.20, 22 A background knowledge probe can be used to learn more about the audience and assess their comfort level with the content and their previous knowledge. This can be done using open discussion questions via the chat option or enabling participants’ microphones, or it can be

Conference Session

Innovative Pedagogy in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven J. Burian, University of Utah; Jeffery S Horsburgh, Utah State University; David E Rosenberg, Utah State University; Daniel P. Ames, Brigham Young University; Laura G Hunter, Utah Education Network; Courtenay Strong, University of Utah

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

management, low-impact de- velopment, green infrastructure design, storm water management, flood risk modeling, vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies for urban water systems, and the water-energy nexus. Steve’s research projects have been funded by National Laboratories, EPA, NSF, DOD, DOE, State Departments of Transportation, and Private Industry. His work has resulted in more than 50 authored or co-authored peer-reviewed publi- cations. Dr. Burian currently is an Associate Director of the Global Change and Sustainability Center and the Co-Director of Sustainability Curriculum Development at the University of Utah. He is actively involved with several professional societies including ASCE, AWRA, AWWA, WEF, AGU, AMS

Conference Session

Computers in Education Division - General Technical Session 1

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Glenn W Ellis, Smith College; Yanning Yu, Northwestern University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

standard problem-solving procedures, but they must also have passion,adaptability and an eagerness to learn. Successful graduates need to be innovators, effectivecollaborators in interdisciplinary and multicultural environments, excellent communicators,leaders, and lifelong learners1. Based upon research emerging from the learning sciences,Sawyer’s description of a successful college graduate (in any field) has much in common withthe National Science Board (NSB) report. Sawyer writes that to be successful in the knowledgeage, graduates will need to develop a deep and integrated understanding of complex subjects;possess excellent communication skills; be able to participate in demanding discourse inmulticultural environments; possess a capacity for