Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Selyna Perez Beverly

61 Student Learning and Engagement through First Year Programs Selyna Perez Beverly California State Polytechnic University, PomonaAbstractThe Cal Poly Pomona first year programs are engaging diverse populations of students throughfacilitated faculty interaction, hands-on learning, teamwork and communication skills, and defining highyet attainable expectations for students. By focusing on a learning-centered approach, the First YearExperience course (FYE), the First Year Advising program, and the Women in Engineering Program areintentional in

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2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Edward Smaglik; Terry Baxter; John Tingerthal P.E.; Chun-Hsing Ho; Mark Lamer

time of this writing, itis believed that each of these changes is already having a positive impact on the performance ofthe students. While the data to confirm this belief is purely anecdotal, the students do seem to bemore engaged with the class and its format, something that was noticeably absent during the fallsemester. This observation works in the direction of our first objective of this project to improvethe student learning environment. A longer term consideration is that the staff would like toimplement performance testing within the class, such that students must show that they areproficient on specific skill sets at various points during the semester prior to proceeding tosubsequent modules. Second, the staff is considering

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Nancy Warter-Perez; Sevak Ghazaryan; Jerardo Martin

scientists and engineerswho work closely with their partner teachers to engage middle and high school students inscience and engineering activities related to the fellows' research. The program goals are toenhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum, inform andinspire students about careers in science and engineering, and improve the graduate fellow'sability to communicate their research to a broad audience. In this paper, we present the middleschool math classroom activities developed related to one particular fellow’s research on carbonnanotube composites. Using lightweight carbon nanotube composites for a car chassis canincrease fuel efficiency, decrease emissions, and maintain the desired properties of the

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Thomas Korman; Hal Johnston; Kay Gore

knowledge. Through the use of COINS, students will be placedin a virtual environment to replicate, as nearly as possible, the working environment they willencounter after graduation. Students will be exposed to exercises that are significantly differentfrom typical homework assignments in conventional courses. COINS requires students to workcollaboratively and use effective communication skills. Based on our review of the literature, weexpect that COINS will engage students unlike any other teaching intervention as there arecurrently no PBL solutions using simulations to enable students to conceptualize the demands ofscheduling multiple projects with multiple resources. Other engineering simulations, such asMessner’s Virtual Construction Simulator

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Fariborz Tehrani; Nell Papavasiliou; Frederick Nelson; Carol Bohlin; Mara Brady

based on data analysis,and present the results. Students will continue to work in teams to practice their leadership,management, and interpersonal skills. The term-project presentations include oral, written,quantitative, and graphical communications. Thus, the hands-on experience involvement in theterm-project facilitates assessment of multiple learning outcomes. Supplemental assessments arealso incorporated in this course to monitor and observe student performance throughout thesemester. These assessment components include conventional homework, quizzes, and exams, aswell as online and in-class discussions. These discussions allow students to engage in criticalreasoning using contemporary issues related to engineering, humanity, and other

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Manoochehr Zoghi; Hernan Maldonado; Syreeta Martinez

of color, considering that engineering is still primarily a male, whitedominated field. Kaufman10 states: “The data are in: feeling as though you belong in a field, andthat the learning environment is accepting, comfortable, and trustworthy, matters quite a lot– notonly for people’s motivation to engage in a domain, but also how high they eventually soar.”We will elaborate on various approaches the Lyles College of Engineering (‘LCOE’) at FresnoState has adopted to address the preceding challenges. The great majority of these efforts arecoordinated through LCOE’s Pathways Student Services Division, henceforth referred to“Pathways.” Pathways at Fresno State offers a wide variety of resources and services that aretailored to address the

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Debra Larson

, professional development, and peerreview. They were in agreement on the methods for evaluating research and scholarship,including: self-evaluation, student participation, impact on teaching, development of newtechniques, and judgments by colleagues from within the institution. Both groups disfavoredevaluation by scholars external to the institution. Throughout the survey, the deans had strongerpreferences than the faculty for externally validated artifacts of performance such as teachingawards, publications, and funding.BackgroundCalifornia Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) is a member of the twenty-three California State University (CSU) campus system, which was created by the DonahoeHigher Education Act in 1960. This

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2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Shervin Zoghi; Eric Liguori; Manoochehr Zoghi; Fariborz Tehrani; The Nguyen

responsibility(g) an ability to communicate effectively(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global,economic, environmental, and societal context(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineeringpractice.These are incorporated as part of the on-going assessment process in engineering programs atLCOE.References1. Friedman, T.L., The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishers, 2007, 660p.2. Weaver, J., Rayess, N., “Developing Entrepreneurially-Minded Engineers by Incorporating

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2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Sukhmander Singh

significant aspects of the ABET EC2000 assessment program is that it has comeout of the so called ‘bean counting’ mode of accreditation process, which was based on countingcredit hours, design units, etc. Instead it is now based on what students have learnt and what canthey demonstrate in terms of the performance and work they can do. Accordingly, this hasencouraged interaction between industry and the faculty. For example, program educationalobjects are set through an effective participation by faculty and industry. Assessment on whatthe graduates have been performing requires help of industry. Thus, an ongoing communicationbetween industry and the faculty is a definite pro for the assessment program. Engineeringschools are now communicating more

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2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Armineh Noravian; Patricia Irvine

solutions and pathways to solutions, have few parameters, and whichcontain uncertainty or ambiguity about how they are organized and which solutions might bejustified 21.NWCC designed their engineering technology program to incorporate both ends of the well- toill- structured continuum. Students at NWCC were engaged in solving problems that resembledwell-structured problem in their first year. During their second year, students worked on capstoneprojects that were on the ill-structured end of the continuum.MethodologyA mix of first and second year students from North West Community College (NWCC)participated in this study. Of a convenience sample of sixteen students who were present, Proceedings of the 2014 American Society for Engineering

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2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Mohammad Amin; Gordon Romney; Pradip Dey; Bhaskar Sinha; Debra Bowen

1971 with the goal of providing lifelong learning opportunitiesthat are accessible, challenging, and relevant to a diverse student population. It is a nonprofit institutiondedicated to providing students accredited education, quality service and support; and in a convenientlearning environment for the employed students6. The university is unique because of its one-course-per-month format, regional campuses for onsite classes and flexible asynchronized online classes for over100 different graduate and undergraduate degree programs. Students can participate in their classes andcomplete degree requirements either completely or partially online. The university is well-known for itsteaching excellence and values. It strives to serve the community

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2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

John Murray; Erin Elder; Ryan Bingham; Glen Longhurst; Desmond Penny

to analyze and interpret datac. An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needsd. An ability to function on multidisciplinary teamse. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problemsf. An understanding of professional and ethical responsibilityg. An ability to communicate effectivelyh. The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal contexti. A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learningj. A knowledge of contemporary issuesk. An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.The Tiny House project helped the capstone students achieve nine of the

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2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Hen-Geul Yeh; Duc Tran; Paula Quintana

, and mentionedthat students could submit papers and compete in a poster session at the conference. I had neverparticipated in any event quite like IGESC, therefore I thought of this conference as a goodopportunity to learn and network with other students and professionals in engineering.My first obstacle, however, was to choose a topic for the paper. My emphasis in the EE master’sprogram at CSULB is communications, a field in which I had never really studied anythingrelated to green energy. I was troubled because I really wanted to come up with a goodinnovative idea to participate in the conference, but I realized that I hardly knew anything aboutgreen energy. I thought my best shot was to search on green energy topics that had

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Moe Tajvidi P.E.

engineering design course, when working on a design project, students have achance to search for similar situation, observe the differences with their own case and seek outthe impacts that change in on design parameter creates in seemingly irrelevant parts of theproject. In an assignment problem, the answer is a figure, unknown or number, but PBL guidesthe students to produce tangible outcomes called project. The activities which form the projectshould be coordinated in the group and monitored, which need direction:• To expose student to the real life project environment• To introduce the concept of verification of input and critical thinking about data• To change the target of course problem solving into a more fruitful tangible deliverable• To

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Gino Galvez; Eric Marinez; Alvaro Monge

increase academic performanceand retention of Latino students. While the grant has several components, this paper will presentthe two programs that engage Latino students in research: the Winter Research Experience andthe Summer Bridge to the Beach.BackgroundThe two programs described in this paper place students in an active research project with afaculty mentor and ideally other peers. Such strategy is one that has been shown to be effectivein improving students’ sense of belonging and in increasing the relevance of the knowledgeacquired in STEM courses. Hurtado et al.1 report on the significant impact that the relevance ofsuch knowledge has on a student’s life on campus. Both programs provide such relevance byimmersing the students in a

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Ilmi Yoon; Eun-Young Kang; Oh-Young Kwon

played the board game at level three, and it's more fun at a harder level because both players can talk about the problem and help each other out with the solution.” “I was able to explain to the other player about short circuiting, compile/run time errors, and other stuff. It was time well spent. I really enjoyed playing Debugger today.”Based on the present research findings, we advocate for educational studies that thoroughlyinvestigates the learning impact of individual mini games for pedagogical practices andconsequential student learning experience (e.g., peer interactions in virtual community).Ongoing DevelopmentFurther developments are in progress. First addition is for practicing selections (if-else andswitch branches) and flow

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

.................................................................................................................................................................................... 10High Impact Learning Practice through Group Research on Thermoelectric Energy ConversionNanomaterials ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11Improving Student Learning of Basic Electric Circuits Concepts Using Current Technology ................ 17Teaching and Learning of Database Concepts Using Multimode Teaching Methodologies .................... 24Translating Best Practices for Student Engagement to Online STEAM Courses ......................................... 32Teaching Pattern Recognition: A Multidisciplinary Experience ........................................................................ 44Research and

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Carlye Lauff; Joanna Weilder-Lewis; Kevin O'Connor; Daria Kotys-Schwartz; Mark Rentschler

231each team. Teams were created based on social styles quizzes, which are proven to help withteam effectiveness.16 Teams did not have specific roles for each student, meaning that positionsdeveloped organically throughout the semester. Some of the roles that evolved were ProjectManager/Communications Director, CAD Engineer, Materials Engineer, and ManufacturingEngineer. Although the entire class was observed, only one of these six teams was followedrigorously throughout the semester to gain a more in-depth look at how design is constructed in acornerstone design course. This particular section focused on designing products that positivelyimpacted the environment, and each team determined the final scope and direction of the project.The projects

Collection

2014 ASEE Zone 4 Conference

Authors

Mudasser Wyne; Alireza Farahani

impact of our preparation for ABET accreditation on the curriculum as well asassessment process. We also include an overview of our assessment process, assessmentinstruments and curriculum changes.IntroductionNational University (NU), an independent, nonprofit institution of higher education, hasdedicated itself to providing educational opportunities to a diverse population of working adultlearners since 1971. The School of Engineering, Technology and Media (SETM) at NationalUniversity was established in July 2002, and has attracted a current student body of over 1300whose profile generally mirrors that of the university itself. NU, the second largest private non-profit university in California, has over 23,000 mainly non-traditional students