Collection

2012 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Nicole C. Corbiere; Laurel Kuxhaus

include objective assessments of learning as a result of the Journal Clubdiscussions. This technique could be applied to other technical elective courses. Additionalextensions of this work may include surveys of course alumni to assess the relevance of the skillsdeveloped in Journal Club to their careers and lives. In summary, Journal Club discussions are an effective way to engage students inbiomechanics. Students gain an introduction to scientific literature and the research process, andlearn customized content in what would otherwise be an introductory course. Anecdotally,students have reported using their literature search skills to research topics of personal interest,particularly with regard to health. Students generally enjoyed the

Collection

2012 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Johanna Comanzo; Chris Normile

Increasing Student Engagement and Persistence in Adult Distance Education Johanna Comanzo and Chris Normile Excelsior CollegeIntroduction Excelsior College, a leader in online and distance learning, provides global access toquality higher education for adult learners, helping them overcome barriers of time, distance, andcost. A world leader in the assessment of learning, Excelsior is naturally renowned for itsfacilitation of degree completion and its advocacy on behalf of adult learners. The School ofBusiness and Technology provides a holistic approach to degree completion to serve adultlearners in achieving their educational and career aspirations. The faculty

Collection

2012 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Brian Surgenor

future career as anengineer.” The results have been positive, but rarely mechatronics specific. Students offeredcomments such as “Teamwork is more important than technical ability” and “You need to bemethodical in the problem solving process”. The fact that the feedback was positive was notsurprising given course surveys from previous years. But the “non-mechatronics” feedbackoriginally caught the attention of the instructors. On reflection, the exercise highlighted to theinstructors that they had designed the course around the process of engineering problem solving,and this has become one of the dominant features of the course.Experience has shown that problems must be presented such that the students are “forced” to bemethodical. The team

Collection

2012 St.Lawrence Section Meeting

Authors

Erin Zeqja; Rachael Ashton

experience construction contracting through the DCC perspective. Thehigh quality standards set for every project DCC constructs will indubitably permeate with eachstudent throughout the entire length of their professional career. Over 50 students from the USAand Middle East have now experienced this unique and life enriching internship program. Thisinternship program is an invaluable opportunity for students to experience engineering practicedon a global scale. 9Acknowledgements 1. Samuel P. Clemence, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence in the Syracuse University Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering 2. Dr