pool in science andengineering,16 which includes underrepresented populations. In fact, if the talent pool amongunderrepresented minority groups in STEM were more fully developed, the troubling shortage inthe U.S. STEM workforce could be reconciled.16 AAs and LAs are among the fastest growingracial and ethnic groups in the United States, yet they are the most underrepresented in STEMfields.17Engineering has long grappled with diversity; developing a diverse talent pool for theengineering labor force that looks very different from the one that exists today is a major issuefacing higher education.14 Race and gender are two of the most important identity markers inU.S. society and reflect much of the diversity that is needed for the STEM
of unmanned systems. Consequently, the sponsor wasinvolved in defining the learning outcomes of the project, which were added to our normalpedagogical outcomes for this capstone engineering design course.1. IntroductionMultidisciplinary senior design capstone projects have been popular at many institutions forseveral years. Multidisciplinary projects are encouraged by the Accreditation Board forEngineering and Technology’s requirements for a “realistic” major design experience,1 with therecognition that projects in industry typically require multi-disciplinary teams. Another recentcapstone trend reflecting life in industry is projects with geographically separated teams. Theseteams can range from multi-university teams in the same country2
Page 23.246.2design solicitation. Students are required to develop multiple designs; evaluate trade-offsbetween each design; justify decisions using engineering science calculations; develop computeraided models of the selected design; construct a physical prototype; and test and refine theirdesign prototype. Following testing and refinement, students present their designs during aformal presentation and submit a formal design report.In this paper, we provide an overview of our engineering curriculum, descriptions of the ES,EDP, and CSD modules, and a description of the final course project. We conclude the paperwith data related to course learning outcomes, and a reflection on the lessons learned.Curriculum BackgroundIn order for engineers to
Page 21.11.3cylinder indicates the amounts of generating power and two different kinds of reserves eachgenerator provides. Three-dimensional display also can identify critical regions and help focusproblem-solving strategies. Figure 2. Example of 3-D Display 3. ContouringContouring technique illustrates how a particular quantity varies with location. Since one-linediagrams usually reflect the geographic arrangement of system equipment, contour plots providea valuable picture of how quantities such as voltage or transmission loadings vary across thesystem. This technique enables students to pinpoint specific regions of concern when inspectingthe system as a whole. Figure 3 shows a contour plot of bus voltage
College of Engineering. Using students work experiences, she instructs students in the development of career portfolios to illus- trate their skills and achievements to potential employers. She also currently serves as a consultant to the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program at Northeastern University where she is writing curriculum to develop and expand students’ leadership skills in the workplace. Karen has presented on a local and national level at the Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration and the American Society of Engineering Education on a variety of topics including, Co-op Reflection, Electronic Portfolios and Cre- ative Job Development. In fall, 2004, Karen was also awarded the Camp Dresser and
analyzing interview transcripts also receive training.Second InterviewThe second interview allows participants to describe the details of present experience through anarrative about her current career, including what she learns formally and informally throughother people, mentors, or job assignments that influences her STEM career decision-making. Theinterviewer asks the participant to reflect back on the history of her choices by describing theturning points, significant life or job events, and experiences that led to STEM career persistenceor decision to leave. The researchers are attuned to both overt as well as minimally expressedbias and discrimination issues and seek to build rapport in a manner that allows furtherexplication of how these
%) watched the online videos prior to the corresponding lab as a way to prepare for theassignment.Overall, more students (53%) perceived that the use of online videos did not make the coursemore difficult than a traditional lecture-based course; however, the majority of students (72%)consistently reported from pre- to post- that they preferred to attend a formal lecture rather thanwatch online videos (see Table 2). Similarly, approximately two-thirds (68%) of the studentsreported that they were not comfortable using the video lectures for learning. These responsessupport students’ self-reported lack of use for transfer or conveyance of new information.Student responses may reflect prior experiential bias (i.e., expectations of STEM contentdelivery
educational intervention for a senior capstone course in aircraftdesign at a large, research-intensive university. The intention of this intervention is to providestudents with the opportunity to consider specifically how stakeholder requirements and concernscan be integrated into the design of a fixed wing vehicle. Lab sessions will focus on importantcharacteristics of engineering design, specifically collaboration, negotiation, and communication.The students will also engage in reflective activities to prime them for the lab activities andcontent. These reflective activities include the opportunity for students to consider what designactivities they have been utilizing in their individual design projects. In addition, the students willbe introduced
engineering education in the United States remains largelyunexplored.A distinctive feature of knowledge building is that it is idea-centered, a characteristic essential ina knowledge age pedagogy. By focusing on ideas rather than schoolwork and tasks, knowledgebuilding supports the intentional, reflective, and metacognitive engagement required for deeplearning. In a knowledge-building environment the focus of the learning community is oncontinually improving ideas. It begins with a question of understanding that is developed by theparticipants, such as, Why do we need water to survive? Learners are encouraged to generate andpost their ideas about the topic--typically in an asynchronous, online group workspace such asprovided by Knowledge Forum
relevance of computing. Nearlyall of the attendees expressed the desire to make the computer science courses more interesting andattractive to potential students, and particularly to girls and under-represented minorities. Basedon these expectations, we developed a workshop theme of “Computer Science is relevant, practical,and fun.” Computer science is relevant for high school students because of the pervasiveness of Page 23.1363.5computing in our world, with computers integrated into everything from cars to communicationdevices to entertainment. The practicality of teaching learning computer science is reflected in thebroad range of learning
. 5However, in their midterm reflections, the mentors hardly ever talk about mentorship andleadership. One out of 49 participants stated that having the opportunity to be a peermentor has allowed her to grow as a leader. They didn’t use any verbs such as “lead”,“mentor”, “instruct”, or “guide”. Only one peer mentor saw the reflections as anopportunity to continue practicing her strengths as a mentor and to grow in areas. Onlyone mentor stated that being able to work alongside the first-year engineering studentsand to pass on knowledge from the first-year has been a great way to give back to thecommunity and the university. Table 3 displays how the mentors ranked themselves in qualities of being a leader.It presents similar results as those in
pre-advising week (7th week ofthe semester) to discuss progress towards degree and to plan their course schedule. Each advisorcompletes an Academic Progress Report Form for student records. Additionally, each STEPstudent is assigned a STEP Mentor to monitor student’s matriculation in the college. Studentsmeet their STEP Mentor at least once every semester and submit a minimum of two courseprogress reports from the instructor for each course taken. The STEP academic advising processis also built around three touch-points to provide all students with key opportunities to develop,review, and act upon a learning plan for degree completion. In the first freshman quarter (nowsemester), the students submit a reflective essay documenting their
instructional designers. Survey questionsincluded open-response, yes/no, and 4 and 5 point Likert scale items. The survey results were Page 23.547.4analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as Pearson’s Correlation to indicate relationshipsbetween survey questions and mode of course delivery. We collected additional informationfrom students in the form of a student self-reflection as an extra credit assignment after theactivity was completed and the final report turned in.Results and DiscussionThe students in both courses were overwhelmingly positive about the educational value of thisactivity, with only 10% indicating that the activity was “not
in developing countries often seek some form of US accreditation as a way tohave their own quality recognized. In many cases, these institutions, which are frequentlypioneers in quality assurance in their region, need to be assisted in a developmental modeuntil they are prepared to pass the scrutiny of US accreditation standards.Many well established US specialized/professional accreditation agencies have in recentyears been offering international accreditation evaluations, and status, as appropriate:engineering, business, and teacher education. In each case, the move to offering fullaccreditation abroad has reflected an evolutionary process on the part of the accreditingagency often starting with Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), then some
order to meet growing demands for a competitive Science, Technology, Engineering,and Math (STEM) workforce, education must adapt to reflect the skills necessary to besuccessful in these fields and students must be encouraged to maintain interest in thesedisciplines. Digital fabrication offers the opportunity to bring activities that are more like STEMprofessions to students than traditional classroom instruction. Similarly, the engaging nature ofthese activities may improve student attitudes toward STEM disciplines and increase thelikelihood that students will take advanced STEM coursework and choose STEM careers.Digital fabrication involves creating physical objects from a digital design. Though digitalfabrication has been a mainstay of
would it be like to beable to see ‘extra colors’?) What do we use them for? Why does the spectrum of visible light gofrom red to purple? (This discussion could be deepened to include the meaning of wavelengthsfor older students, or this part of the discussion could be cut out for younger students.)2) Next, discuss visible light and how our eyes are able to perceive color: an object reflectscertain light waves, and absorbs others. Our eyes pick up the ones that are being reflected.‘White’ is when all the colors are reflected, and ‘black’ is when all the colors are absorbed. Askthe students which color t-shirt they would rather be wearing on a hot day.3) Lastly, talk about what a spectroscope is: sure, you can see rainbows when you hold the
student teams gavefeedback to each other and to the faculty. In one exercise, the students answered a number ofquestions related to the entire course and projects, with the intention of capturing importantreflections upon the product development process. The students spent a considerable amountof time to create these responses, and they can be considered reflecting the majority of thestudents within the respective teams (since submitted by the teams).The team’s responses are presented below, arranged per team. Some responses are givenwithout context, as they were also presented orally by the student teams, some comments aretherefore given. In the following, they are therefore presented with the authors’ explanationand analysis.The first team
and encourages flexible views of problem scoping and conceptual design, with changesin each causing reflection and potential changes in the other. Alex also showed no link betweenProduction and Opportunity, potentially indicating a view of innovation with finite beginningand end states.Ben’s Markov chain diagram demonstrated a more sequential view of the early process stageswith strong return loops for both Opportunity and Prototyping. His diagram also containedfrequent transition for Testing and Production back to Design, indicating frequent iterationduring later stages of the process. The closed loop from Production back to Opportunity mayindicate a more cyclic view of the innovation process
distancelearning is to provide training and support through a predefined course package. This approachhowever is not consistent with what are considered “best practices” of teacher professionaldevelopment17. Any professional development program is most effective when it relates to theparticipants’ professional activities. Teachers bring with them a diverse set of strategies forteaching and learning from their own professional experiences. A more interactive environmentthat provides teachers with opportunity for structured reflection and discussion with colleagues isneeded. A support-led rather than by package-led form of distance learning is necessary. TheVirtualMedibotics™ program has been designed to provide pre-defined web-based instructionwith
, honesty and truthfulness, organizational communication, ownership, qualitycontrol and product liability, public service, responsibility, and gender issues.1The session allows for a class-length experience, followed by a 30-minute period to reflect onand discuss approaches to incorporating ethics discussion in classes, methods for supportingstudent discussion and evaluation of the experience. During the class experience attendeesinteract with the sample teacher as they either hope or expect their students to participate(modeling student behavior). To prepare for this, the discussion leader encourages the attendeesto observe the process while reflecting on what experiences may or may not work in their ownclassroom.The goal of this paper is to
Page 23.810.3drive and 3) the steering system. However when designing these subsystems, students were toldto check the existing CAD files for the parts they wanted to use to make sure the informationon these files were properly reflected in their design. This means that for each part the teamdecides to use, they have to allocate proper space for it to be installed.To give students more options during initial brainstorming and research phase, students weregiven a freedom to choose three-wheel option or four-wheel option for their RC car drive traindesign. That means, when designing the drive train, the team can choose to have one drivemotor with a differential drive system or two drive motors without the differential system.Teaching
of existing data6. increased ability to engage in life-long learning (and recognition of the need to do so)7. increased ability to make an effective presentation both in written and oral formatThe course has been required for all engineering students at the University of Detroit Mercy, andis usually taken in their sophomore year. The name of the one-credit-hour semester course hasbeen Professional World of Work (PWOW). It has been meeting once a week for 50 minutes.The course is different from typical instructions in the sense that engineering students had to do alot of non-technical reading, reflect on their own learning and on the world conditions aroundthem, participate in group discussions, integrate their new knowledge and non-technical
. Page 23.855.3The course final grade consists of five components, i.e., homework, the course projectpresentation, the course project report, the midterm exam, and the final exam. The instructormade the largest efforts to ensure that the course grades accurately reflected each student'sachievement level. The end-of-course grades assigned to these five components together with thetotal grades are intended to convey the level of achievement of each student. These grades areused as course outcomes and hypothesis tests have been conducted on the grades of the twoparties of students.Every world or national university ranking system bears some limitations10-12. Existingliterature13 has studied the impact of professors' behaviors on the ranking of the
Backstage Bucknell schedule deliberately modeled the need to use tools for creatingwork/life balance during the academic year. Frequent points of dialog and reflection becameopportunities to contemplate the need to proactively balance the activities they wereexperiencing, and several students independently expressed a realization that they would beresponsible for creating their own schedules in a few short days. Time was set aside during theday for doing homework as well as time for going to the gym or participating in other wellnessactivities. Evening social events varied in structure, from a movie to an evening spent on thequad with the new first-year international students in outdoor activities. Small games wereinterjected during the day for
to not only help students learn the class material, but also improve their criticalthinking skills. To accomplish this, we use some key elements from the EFFECTs pedagogy toget students to think and guesstimate an answer to a design problem and to reflect on how thelearned material helped them answer the design problem. The study is carried out in anundergraduate Transportation Engineering course with 57 students. The remainder of this paperdiscusses our modified EFFECT approach and a novel approach for assessing students' learning.Preliminary results are presented and discussed.Modified EFFECT ApproachThe specific structure of the modified EFFECT approach is as follows. During the first lectureof each of the seven topics, the instructor
ofstudent involvement, classroom morale, and, ultimately, the learning that occurred in my classes.In Fall 2012, I had the opportunity to teach two sections of a junior-level heat transfer courseusing different pedagogies: (1) the traditional, lecture-based approach with some active-learningand (2) a modified PBL approach. My modified course alternates mini-lectures and studentproblems in a "leap frog" style. This class meets for 3 hours, once a week. Lectures are very briefand dispersed throughout the class meeting time. Students work problems and conduct briefexperiments in class. Their results are shared and unusual results are discussed. Lecture timehelps summarize these results and propel the class to the next topic. Homework reflects
c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013 Crop Monitoring System: A Case of Teaching Machine Vision through Undergraduate Research AbstractNorthwest Nazarene University, which is located in the Treasure Valley of Idaho, is developing acrop monitoring platform (CMP). The CMP, which uses a machine vision system, estimates fruittree parameters such as tree canopy volume and canopy reflectance characteristics. This researchproject, conducted by undergraduate engineering students, is integrated with the teaching ofmachine vision in a Control Systems course. This paper presents a case for teaching machinevision through undergraduate research.1. IntroductionNorthwest
, creating the envelope, andsafety. Particular ABET criteria that is relevant is 3B; a., d., e., g. Evaluation for these exercisesis through a matrix that highlights the minimum criteria and suggests other items forconsideration. At the sophomore level, students generally evaluate minimums reasonably anddon’t consider many of the other items such as surface runoff, staging, and traffic control.Generally speaking, many have had limited work experiences and these are reflected in theirability to analyze the situations.CET 356 is a first semester junior course that introduces students to the overall constructionprocess of pre-bidding through to project close-out. Many of the documentation requirements
that are relevant toengineering education. Formative assessment, broadly, is any strategy which is intendedto both help students learn the material as they are assessed and provide feedback to theinstructor that can be used to inform future instruction (either immediately or at a laterclass session). A second purpose of formative assessment is to create a more engagingand participatory learning environment where students shift from passively listening tolectures and taking notes (or possibly asking questions) to working on problemsimmediately after the explanation of concepts or reflecting about what they have learned.Formative assessment tools should communicate to students what material or conceptsare most important. Often these concepts are
was in a commercial area with nearby access to highways.Additionally, several creeks on the site fed into larger bodies of water in the area. Soil boringswere created based on local experience in the area reflecting the known conditions at the site.Three group project submittals were required, each including an environmental, geotechnical,hydrological, structural, and transportation component. These oral presentations and writtenreports represented 20%, 50%, and 100% design submittals. Five to six students were assigned toeach group using a random number generator. Following the random assignment, the onlychanges to the groups involved ensuring that each group contained a student with an expressedinterest in each of focus areas within civil