Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Byron Garry

2015 ASEE Zone III Conference (Gulf Southwest – Midwest – North Midwest Sections) Developing a Sustainable ABET Continuous Improvement Plan Byron Garry South Dakota State UniversityAbstractA sustainable continuous improvement process was required for use in the ABET-ASAC andABET-ETAC accreditation process for our Operations Management, Construction Management,and Electronics Engineering Technology programs. Considering the state of assessmentrequirements in higher education, ABET accreditation standards, and the tools of quality andcontinuous improvement, our Department of Construction &

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland

“Guaranteed 4.0 Plan” by Donna O. Johnson.1 In Fall 2014, there were 32scholarship students enrolled in this class (7 in graduate school); however, the class was alsoattended by 32 students who did not hold scholarships. Some of these students had held the$4,000 scholarship, however the scholarship funding had ended in the spring 2014 semester. Thesame assignments were required of all students.A question which is often asked in the review of such a program is, “How important is thescholarship?” in this case a $4,000 scholarship for the academic year. The upper divisionstudents selected for the undergraduate scholarships had a minimum 3.0 GPA, were enrolledfull-time in engineering or computer science, were U.S. citizens, permanent residents

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Francisco Lourenco; Nian Zhang; Sasan Haghani

analytical tools to assess and help in the long-term planning of theavailability of water supply sources.In this paper, we studied the long-term prediction of surface water resources at the PotomacWatershed in the District of Columbia. A predictive model, based on recurrent neural networks,trained with the Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation learning algorithm is proposed toforecast the runoff discharge using the past runoff discharge and gage height. Using thiscomputational intelligence modeling tool, the impact of discharge and gage height to the long-run discharge forecast accuracy was studied. Our experimental results indicate that the proposedlearning algorithm can successfully train the recurrent neural network for the runoff

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Mahbub Ahmed; Lionel Hewavitharana; Scott McKay; Kendra Ahmed; Mamunur Rashid

2015 ASEE Zone III Conference (Gulf Southwest – Midwest – North Midwest Sections) Development of Low-Cost Laboratory Experiments for Southern Arkansas University’s Engineering Program Mahbub Ahmed1, Lionel Hewavitharana1, Scott McKay1, Kendra Ahmed1, and Mamunur Rashid2 Southern Arkansas University1/ University of Massachusetts at Lowell2AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary work and plans related to the developmentof several low cost laboratory experiments in the newly established engineering program atSouthern Arkansas University (SAU). SAU was recently approved to initiate a

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Norman D. Dennis; Edgar C. Clausen

student emotion through the use of drama, humor, physical movement and music were also demonstrated in this seminar4. Planning a Class I: Learning Objectives. Both the Instructional Strategy and the Teaching Model emphasize the use of well-crafted learning objectives to establish what the student will be able to do when completing a lesson, a block of instruction and the course. This seminar introduced the participant to the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy11 and Bloom’s action verbs that establish quantifiable learning objectives for all levels of cognitive learning. Participants were asked to create a set of learning objectives for their practice class, share them with a colleague to improve their clarity, and to modify them to increase

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Erik Mallonee; John Barkley; Ramazan Asmatulu

experience?• What were your thoughts on continuing engineering education before this experience?• What did you learn from this experience?• What can be improved?• How can these improvements be made?• Do you plan to continue engineering education at one of the Engineering Collages in theMidwest area or other part of the country?Erik responded to all of these questions properly and clearly, some of which are summarizedbelow. He responded saying that the best part of the project was the experience in designimprovement, research, experimentation, and manufacturing. He felt that the problem solvingprocess is an important part of being an engineer. He also stated that the continuing work on theproject has helped to

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Christi Patton Luks; Laura P. Ford

distance.Although the teams did not have to deal with the struggles of language or time zone that aninternational project would face, they were forced to establish a work and leadership plan withpeople they had not met. The two cohorts faced other challenges. One group came from aprivate university (University A) with a substantial international population. The other groupcame from a state university (University B) with very few students who were not raised in theMidwest. One class was twice the size of the other. The largest challenge was that one grouphad completed several design projects in previous classes and anticipated a design project in thiscourse. For the other, this was their first chemical engineering design project and the firstsemester that

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

James R. Rowland

this venture. He investigated two versions of a positional servomechanismusing motors, gears, and sensors found in a mechanical engineering lab when professors left KUfor other universities. His conclusion was that the armature-controlled dc motor performed betterthan the field-controlled dc motor, and he was able to demonstrate strong closed-loop systemperformance. Since there were no plans to establish a full controls lab for the entire classes,simulations using Matlab were required for the course. Initially, the project was restricted to thisone controls application and soon thereafter expanded to five or six possible applicationsdescribed in brief paragraphs. Student teams could choose the application and then designfeedback controllers

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Luis Rodriguez; Gail Coover; Dalelia Davis; George Johnson; Oumar Kaba; Angela Frey; Andrew Pham; Amihan Huesmann

their academic plans for declared and alternative majors, making athoughtful response to selected readings, conducting an informational interview with aprofessional in their intended field, reporting on best practices, and participating in a juriedposter presentation of a small research project.Overall, the curriculum is designed so that the task difficulty is slightly greater than students’current ability as established by their transcripts and pre-assessment results. Students areexposed to vicarious successes and role models, with opportunities to present successes andcorrect errors. Each student’s performance gets honest feedback, with specific information abouthow to improve their skills and performance. Instructors and staff meet regularly

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

R. Joe Stanley; Stuart W. Baur

choices.Future DirectionsThere is an ongoing study of S&T student degree audits for PLTW and non-PLTW students atS&T for academic performance comparison. We have completed a preliminary study ofsurveying PLTW high school teachers for teacher backgrounds and student assessments. Thissurvey has been extended to a second year for a longitudinal study. We are planning to continuethe S&T student survey to evaluate student backgrounds, degree programs pursued, and careerchoices. These studies are of particular interest with the significant increase in offering ofPLTW programs and courses throughout Missouri and the U.S.AcknowledgmentsReferences[1] https://www.pltw.org/about-pltw[2] https://pltw.mst.edu[3] Gene Bottoms and John Uhn. Project Lead

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Puteri Megat Hamari

tools. The majority had apositive experience and enjoyed learning how touse the Synopsys EDA. They all stated that theylearned a lot from the work performed for theCAD sessions and the group project. They alsowished that they had more time to perform theassigned work.The instructor plans changes to the course basedon the students’ experience. The course will bechanged to a 4 credit hour course from thecurrent 3 credit hour course and there will bededicated lab sessions that will be compulsory.This will provide more time for the students towork on the assigned work as well as their teamproject. In the longer time frame, the instructorplans to move the course to the Fall semester.This will allow for the students’ projects to be Figure 5

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Stuart W. Baur; R. Joe Stanley

projects and team oriented activities topromote student engagement. PLTW courses provide useful college preparatory experiences forstudents and foster exposure to STEM related areas.Future DirectionsThere is an ongoing study of S&T student degree audits for PLTW and non-PLTW students atS&T for academic performance comparison. We have completed a preliminary study ofsurveying PLTW high school teachers for teacher backgrounds and student assessments. Thissurvey has been extended to a second year for a longitudinal study. We are planning to continuethe S&T student survey to evaluate student backgrounds, degree programs pursued, and careerchoices. These studies are of particular interest with the significant increase in offering ofPLTW

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Heather McCain

weighting indicate the required content and the focus. The levels of performance and theassociated descriptors provide further detail of what is required to meet and exceed expectations.Making the rubric available early to students in the assessment process allows time for them toconsider and reflect upon what is required based on factors such as time given, resources andtheir aptitude. The weighting of criteria and the levels of achievement allow students to plan theirworkload appropriately.Rubrics assist accountability by providing a measure to which works are compared. By creatingan object that serves as an example of quality and using a scale from poor to excellent, all thestakeholders are able to make decisions based on a standard.14 According

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Cory Mettler; Nathan Ziegler

implement will reduce the amount of material that can be covered.A study was performed to investigate the effects of implementing three easy to perform, easy toprepare active teaching methods. Initially, four outcomes were analyzed in this study, including: 1. Time spent on lesson planning will not increase by a significant amount. 2. The amount of course material covered will not decrease. 3. Student mastery of the course material will increase. 4. Student enthusiasm for course material will be greater during Active Teaching classes.The first part of this study, performed in Spring 2014, demonstrated that no significant increasein effort was required to prepare lectures that included these methods5; this included preparinglectures

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Daniel Bullock; Edward Carl Greco; Jim D. Reasoner

student operation, robust, portable, and economically viable. In thispaper we describe the details of integration of our system into an existing introductory DCElectric circuits course and additionally, details of the planned study including implementationand assessment are discussed.KeywordsActive learning, DC Circuit Analysis, Portable Lab, Kinesthetic LearningIntroductionAt Arkansas Tech University (ATU) Electric Circuits 1 is an introductory engineering coursethat teaches students electrical concepts utilizing direct-current (DC) circuit analysis and basicelectrical devices. This course is designed to provide a foundation for a sequence of courses inalternating current (AC) circuits, electronics, electrical machines, and engineering design

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Arash Jahandideh; Samaeh Aminikhangahi; Ali Salehnia; Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan

dynamic programming wasdeveloped and implemented to assess the sustainability of a project and possible pathway toreach certain product. The generalized algorithm proposed in the present study enables allindustries to model and carry out LCA analysis of their products in both economic andenvironmental aspect. The authors plan to add social analysis part to current model and alsovalidate the model using real world data.References[1] G. Finnveden, M. Z. Hauschild, T. Ekvall, J. Guinée, R. Heijungs, S. Hellweg, A. Koehler, D. Pennington, and S. Suh, “Recent developments in Life Cycle Assessment.,” J. Environ. Manage., vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 1–21, Oct. 2009.[2] W. Kloepffer, “Life cycle sustainability assessment of products,” Int. J

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Sara E. Wilson

defense. The Bioengineering PhD program at the University of Kansasthe qualifying exam requires a student to examine a peer-reviewed publication and present thatresearch and its limitations both written and orally. The comprehensive exam requires thestudent to prepare their research plan as a proposal (following the model of an NIH grantproposal) and defend that proposal in an oral presentation to their dissertation committee.Additional stages of assessment are during entrance to the program (measuring preparation), atregular (annual) student progress reviews, and after graduation from the program. Measures thatare assessed through this process include:Entrance – Assessing preparation for graduate research Undergraduate GPA

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Steve E. Watkins

Science and Technology includes two sessions on professional ethics. The firstsession is a formal overview of ethics as related to engineering work and it is focused on appliedethics as part of a profession. Example case studies related to electrical and computerengineering and general profession life are included. Selected slides from the introduction andsummary of the “Engineering Ethics” presentation is given in Appendix B in Figure 2. Thesecond session is a presentation of case studies for teams of students to analyze. This assignmentis tracked as part the department’s ABET assessment plan that is related to student outcome (f)“an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility [1].”The objectives of the ethics seminar presentation

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Brian Sandford

Hispanic culture, traditions, slang, the workplace dialect including curse wordsand their meaning, as well as the perspective on what parts of the formal grammatical Spanishlanguage actually fits into the everyday Spanish which native speakers routinely use. Theinstructor not being a native speaker also serves to avoid overwhelming the students in thatspeaking a foreign language as a second language takes special planning and learning strategiesnot generally needed when a person's first language is acquired. Additionally, the instructorunderstands the challenges that students face in learning a foreign language as the instructor hasbeen in the same or similar position. As a result the course is structured to be empathetic to thestudent's level of

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

expression,communication skills, technical skills, self-confidence building, computation skills, engineeringfundamentals, organizational skills, leadership skills, planning skills, professional ethics, andengineering judgment. Even though the main intent of a Capstone design course is to provide theskills and attributes mentioned above to senior engineering students, majority of the students donot demonstrate these skills in their Capstone design courses. It is the authors’ strong beliefs thatexperiential learning model should be incorporated much earlier in an engineering curriculum inorder for the students to experience engineering design process and design skills, supported bythe recent findings by Conger et al.8. According to Kolb6, “Learning

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Timothy Burg; Pamela Mack; Ian Walker; Richard Groff

, will be examined. The underlying tools of kinematics, dynamics, motion planning, and coordination will be overviewed. • Project 2: Motors This project is an introduction to the use of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT motors. • Project 3: Ultrasonic Sensor This project will introduce you to the Mindstorms ultrasonic sensor. The ultrasonic sensor can be used to determine the distance from the robot to an object. Sensor will be used to create a control system to have the robot follow a wall.3. Artificial Intelligence (8 hrs class) Computers can perform monotonous calculations efficiently and reliably, jobs humans don’t like to perform. However, computers have trouble understanding

Collection

2015 ASEE Zone 3 Conference

Authors

Sarah Jurak; Emil Jurak; Ramazan Asmatulu

Alternatives, makes an Assessment of the possible solutions, and arrives at adecision on a Plan of Action30 which is more of a scientific approach. The Four Quadrantmethod is more of a clinical approach which looks at the medical indications, patientpreferences, quality of life, and contextual features of the ethical dilemma in arriving at asolution.31 Teaching an analysis tool with the use of case studies can be an effective way to teachstudents bioethics and prepare them for the issues they will face as research scientists and 6 © American Society for Engineering Education, 2015 2015 ASEE