Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

J. Moore; M.A. Thornton; R.W. Skeith

Teaching a Laboratory Intensive Class in a Distance Education Mode J. Moore*, M.A. Thornton*, and R.W. Skeith** Southern Methodist University*, University of Arkansas**AbstractA unique set of obstacles occur when administering a distance education class that has asignificant laboratory component. A class in Digital Systems Design targeting fourth-year andintroductory graduate students that is offered both in conventional and distance education modesis described. Because the course is design oriented, students must engage in several designprojects that would ordinarily be carried out in a laboratory to satisfactorily achieve the courselearning outcomes

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Chang-Soo Kim; Steve E. Watkins

effective learning experience. Theseinclude the selection of appropriate project topics, the structure of the course contents relatedwith laboratory and lectures, and the enhancement of the laboratory infrastructure for higherflexibility in process practices and higher enrollment.IntroductionThe area of integrated optical devices in microscale, including passive microoptical componentsand solid-state photonic devices, has already emerged as a substantial area within the broadscope of the various engineering disciplines. The need of enriching curricula in this area haslong been the subject of matters 1. Also, developing affordable teaching laboratory in this area tosupport accompanying lectures is becoming important with the constraints of academic

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

E. Carl Greco; Jim D. Reasoner; Ronald E. Nelson

Student Participation in EE Lab Teams as a Predictor of Acquired Skills and Knowledge E. Carl Greco, Jim D. Reasoner, Ronald E. Nelson Electrical Engineering Department – Arkansas Tech UniversityAbstractIn a fundamental electrical engineering laboratory course, the current model utilizing laboratory groupsof two or more students to perform assignments reduced the student's ability to learn rudimentarylaboratory skills and knowledge and the ability to apply them to a basic circuits analysis application. Thestudents' performance on the laboratory final exam provided an indicator of their individually acquiredknowledge and skills. Several factors were investigated as

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Peter LoPresti; Theodore W. Manikas; Jeff Kohlbeck

teach about the engineering profession and the field of electricalengineering. Activities included laboratories in electrical circuits, designing an electric car,soldering, a field trip, and discussion about ethics. Students worked in two and four-personteams, and made presentations on their experiences.The academy was evaluated using formal assessment instruments and faculty observations. Eachof the individual activities attained an overall rating of at least 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, with mostactivities rated at 4.5 or greater. A formal evaluation of the entire academy revealed ratings of4.5 or greater out of 5 on most aspects of the academy, though some areas indicated a need forimprovement, such as clarity of written materials and the

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Christi L. Patton

highlights of what did and didn’t work.BackgroundDegrees conferred from chemical engineering programs across the U.S. declined 34% between1997 and 20061 and The University of Tulsa (TU) has mirrored this trend. This same period oftime saw significant changes in the technology infrastructure at TU in the College of Engineeringand Natural Sciences. Every classroom was equipped with a computer console and display forinstruction. All engineering departments established computer laboratories for their students inaddition to the numerous facilities available to all students. WiFi was installed campus-wide.Two instructional laboratories were created with computers for up to 30 students.In 2007 and 2008, the public has watched the price for a barrel of oil

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

W. Roy Penney; Kendal J. Brown; Joel D. Vincent; Edgar C. Clausen

transfer problems7, the use of a transport approach in teaching turbulentthermal convection8, the use of computers to evaluate view factors in thermal radiation9,implementation of a computational method for teaching free convection10, and the use of anintegrated experimental/analytical/numerical approach that brings the excitement of discovery tothe classroom11. Supplemental heat transfer experiments for use in the laboratory or classroomhave also been presented, including rather novel experiments such as the drying of a towel12 andthe cooking of French fry-shaped potatoes13. Suggestions for the integration of heat transfercourse material into the laboratory and classroom were described by Penney and Clausen14-19,who presented a number of simple

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Shannon G. Davis; Bryan W. Hill; Carol S. Gattis; Bradley M. Dearing; Edgar C. Clausen

, understandingand application of selected laboratory exercises. It includes classroom/laboratory instruction,follow-up activities at the schools, and evaluation, both during and after the institute.While the Year 1 (2006) Summer Institute focused on providing engineering hands-on activitiesthat teachers could subsequently use in their classrooms,5, 6 the Year 2 (2007) Institute taught theparticipants how to design their own experiments using a reverse design teaching method calledthe “design loop” method which emphasizes results-driven outcomes.7 The design loopapproach focuses on three components: 1) a clear set of desired results by identifying goals forstudents, the specific information the students will understand , and what students will achieve asa

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

R. Asmatulu; W. Khan; M.B. Yildirim

CNT Reinforced Nanocomposite Fiber Fabrication for Undergraduate Students 1 Asmatulu, R., 1Khan, W., and 2Yildirim, M.B. 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wichita State University 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0133 2 Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita, KS, 67260-0035AbatractThe research, development and teaching of nanofiber fabrication and characterization haverecently gained much attention due to their unique properties and potential applications invarious

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Chih-Hao Wu; Kim Troboy; Tracy Cole; Loretta Cochran; David Roach

Does Education Have an Impact on Student Ethical Reasoning? Developing an Assessment of Ethical Reasoning for Engineering and Business Students Chih-Hao Wu Department of Electrical Engineering Kim Troboy, Tracy Cole, Loretta Cochran, David Roach School of Business Arkansas Tech UniversityAbstract This paper outlines the development and assessment of ethical reasoning for Engineeringand Business students at Arkansas Tech University. The main focus of this paper is to investigatethe concept of how to teach ethics and assess in a cross-disciplinary fashion whether students areimproving in how

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

R.E. Babcock; Mark E. Arnold

Edition, 1998. 4. Moore, Holly, MATLAB for Engineers, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2007. R. E. BABCOCK Dr. Babcock, professor of Chemical Engineering, received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. He currently teaches thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and unit operations laboratories at the University of Arkansas MARK E. ARNOLD Dr. Arnold, associate professor and vice-chair of Mathematical Sciences received his Ph.D. from Northern Illinois with a specialty in computational mathematics. He teaches linear algebra and numerical linear algebra at the University of Arkansas and is active in computational research.Proceedings of the 2008 Midwest Section Conference of

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Dominic M. Halsmer

someone make such aninvestment? What are the motivating factors? Of course, there are the enticements of highsalaries and prestige. But with lower percentages of American students currently choosingscience and engineering than in other major nations of the world, maybe it‟s time to rethink theadequacy of such motivations. A recent New York Times editorial by Columbia Universityphysicist and Author, Brian Greene, strongly advocates teaching science in a way that includesits dramatic implications for worldview. He emphasized “the powerful role science can play ingiving life context and meaning”. He suggested that instead of just focusing on the technicaldetails, “science needs to be taught to the young and communicated to the mature in a mannerthat

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Timothy J. Annesley; David P. Miller

diverse set of projects than is typically found inrobotics classes; many of which may concentrate on building towards a single task.11.1 Class StructureIn order to best understand the function of the course it’s first necessary to outline the structureof the course. Enrollment for the course was capped at 30 due to lab size and Teaching Assistantlimitations. Each week, the entire class met once for a 50-minute lecture then, again, in groupsof 15 for a 110-minute laboratory session. Each group of 15 was then divided into teams of 3.The teams worked together for the duration of the semester. The idea behind teamwork is to An earlier version of this paper appeared in the proceedings for the Global Conference on Educational RoboticsJuly 2008

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

R. Asmatulu; H. Misak; W. Khan

: Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids – Contamination,” Springer, 1998.7. Revie, R.W. and Henry, U.H. “Corrosion and Corrosion Control –An Introduction to Corrosion Science and Engineering, 4th Edition,” Wiley-Interscience, 2008.8. Ahmad, Z. “Principles of Corrosion Engineering and Corrosion Control,” IChemE, 2006.9. Asmatulu, R. “Introduction to Corrosion – Class Notes,” Wichita State University, 2008.10. http://www.epa.gov/jtr/econ/index.htm11. Anderson, L.W. and Krahwoh, D.R. (Eds.) “A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assesining: a revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of education objectives: complete edition”, New York, Longman, 2001.12. Griffin, R., Karaman, I., Ma, J., Grulan, J. and Froyd, J. “Development of a nano-filled composite experiment

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

James A. Ejiwale

. According to McPherson7 (2005) “Service learning is a method of teaching throughwhich students apply their academic skills and knowledge to address real-life needs in their owncommunities.” Eyler & Giles4 (1999) highlighted the importance of service learning as “a formof experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection asstudents work with others through a process of applying what they are learning to communityproblems, and at the same time, reflecting upon their experience as they seek to achieve realobjectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves.” It is essentialtherefore to provide a structured environment in which participants will be able to discover theirown styles of

Collection

2008 ASEE Midwest Section Conference

Authors

Parameswar Hari

solving skills and critical thinking in introductoryphysics courses. In this paper we discuss a new approach to teaching problem solving and criticalthinking skills to physics and engineering physics students. We propose a new method in whichphysics students are asked to evaluate different solutions to a given problem and decide why aparticular solution is the correct one compared to various other approaches leading to the exactlysame final answer. This technique could facilitate critical thinking in students taking introductoryphysics courses.IntroductionPhysics is traditionally considered a difficult subject to master because of the high degree ofproblem solving skills demanded in learning the subject. Besides requiring a high level