Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Peter Meckl

action and assess its ethical impact. Finally, they aregiven a take-home exercise that requires them to analyze an ethical situation and generate aproposed plan of action. Often, this exercise will involve a situation to which students can easilyrelate, such as a friend that is known to have copied part of her assignment from a classmate.Automatic Control Systems CourseME 475 Automatic Control Systems is a directed technical elective in the School of MechanicalEngineering. It is typically taken by senior undergraduate students and is one of three directedelectives in the School, of which the students must take at least two. Typical enrollment for ME475 is between 25 and 60 students each semester. In Fall 2002, a total of 26 students took

Conference Session

Pre-College Initiatives in Engineering Education

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Lawrence Genalo

Session 2253 Engineering as Context for K-12 Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Lawrence J. Genalo Iowa State UniversityAbstract: One way to provide powerful problem-solving experiences in science, mathematics, and technology isto engage students in novel problems that require them to assess a situation and then apply conceptual andprocedural knowledge to its solution. Engineering offers an effective context for these problem situations.However, most practicing teachers do not have the knowledge or experience to create

Conference Session

Best Teaching Practices for ABET

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Mary Crawford, University of Texas at Austin; Kathy Schmidt, The University of Texas at Austin

integratingtechnologies into their teaching. The FIC works with faculty to create a videopresentation or a media-rich Web site. Whether putting an entire course online or simplyenhancing the classroom experience, working with the FIC requires minimal technicalexpertise on the part of the faculty member.The FIC inspires instructional innovation and excellence. By providing technical andinstructional expertise, the FIC allows faculty to stay focused on their area of expertise –engineering.The PossibilitiesGone are the days when faculty could go to their classes, shut the door and teach.Today’s faculty are expected to be aware of new developments in learning theory,assessment and instructional technologies. “Since a professor's time is limited, if he is lefton his

Conference Session

ASEE Multimedia Session

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard DeVries; Douglas Stahl

work on formwork or rebar forconcrete beams, some work on wood shear walls, some work on…) in addition to their otherscheduled lab activities. So in answer to the “fairness” question, we try to provide comparableexperiences when identical experiences are not practical. The goal of these activities, after all, isnot for students to learn how to place concrete; rather it is for students to understand and becomecurious about the links between the structures they draw and those that are built. Assessment of the SEW to this point has been informal. Summative evaluations plannedwill consist of short multiple-choice conceptual diagnostic tests given at two student educationlevels. The first evaluation will assess the project’s effectiveness in

Conference Session

ASEE Multimedia Session

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Gerald Burnham; Don Millard

visualize the AC system response of various circuits, students used themodule to help solve problems. The module was later utilized to provide a sense of how circuitsrespond to various input signals and help visualize the application of Laplace transforms. Sinusoidal Steady State Analysis Lecture - The Phasors in Circuit Analysis module was usedto show voltage, current and phase angle relationships in simple series RC/RL circuits driven by asinusoidal input. This was particularly illustrative, since effects on voltage, current and phaseangle were viewed in real-time as the circuit parameters were modified (e.g. input signalfrequency, etc.) by the instructor.Evaluation and Assessment Findings The viability of the modules as an educational

Conference Session

Mathematics in the Transition

Collection

2003 Annual Conference

Authors

Kyria Alfaro; Michael Mooney

assisted the teachers when necessary. AE fellows alsoconducted assessment of student attitudes, student content knowledge, and teacherperspectives. The paper will chronicle the implementation of each curricular unit andreport on teacher and student experiences.2.0 Adventure Engineering OverviewAE strives to (1) improve interest in and attitudes towards mathematics, science andengineering; (2) improve concept learning in science and math; and (3) provide a minds-on, hands-on, meaningful and enjoyable experience. The AE program involves thedevelopment and implementation of single day to four-week adventure-driven engineering-based curricular units for grades 4 through 9 science and/or math classes. Given adesignated time period and concepts

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

David Leonard

degree students are as follows: • 37% have degrees in business, management, information systems, and computer information systems • 33% have degrees in English, journalism, communication and linguistics • 15% have degrees in social science, education, and scienceCurrent distance learning elements used in the Master’s degree program are as follows: • MSTCO (Master’s in technical communication management) Campus Online • Digital library based • Case study based • Electronic research paper deliverables • Iterative development process of deliverables • Colleague review of deliverables in process • Self-assessment review at end of course • Mail list for asynchronous messages between and among instructor and

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Lisa Lebduska; David DiBiasio

that would actively engage students in thechemical engineering profession while increasing their understanding of speaking and writing asproblem-solving tools and means of reflection rather than isolated activities for recordingengineered solutions. We used several methods of evaluation to evaluate the success of thiscourse, including focus groups conducted by an external evaluator; an external evaluation of theportfolios, and our own assessment of the students’ portfolios.BackgroundMost first-year students have little in-depth knowledge of their chosen profession. This isparticularly true in engineering since there are few high school experiences connected to theprofession. Most chemical engineering departments do not offer core courses until

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Andrew Rose

, scholarshipthrough application of knowledge, and scholarship associated with transmitting knowledgethrough teaching.ASCE9 considered Boyer’s broader definition of scholarship in a more discipline specific way forcivil engineering faculty. The ASCE Task Force on Redefining Scholarly Work considered thedefinition of scholarship for civil engineering faculty at different types of institutions, according totheir Carnegie Foundation11 classification. They noted that three of the major issues related todefining the scholarly activities of civil engineering faculty include the mission of the institution,departmental goals and available resources. They surveyed fourteen institutions to assess therelative breakdown of teaching, scholarship and service requirements

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

John Klegka; Robert Rabb

, ME401Introduction to Design and ME402 Mechanical Design. The surveys contain questions from theDean, the department head, the mechanical engineering director, and course directors from thelast two academic years, AY99 and AY00. The survey questions addressed in the followingexamples support the Mechanical Engineering Program Goals and Objectives. Omittedquestions focus on the instructor, student learning, and specific course objectives. Opinions andresponses of the students were analyzed using an anonymous survey given at the end of thecourse to assess the effectiveness of the individual courses as well as the basic engineeringdesign experience in which all graduates must pass. There were between 58 and 103 studentsenrolled in the mechanical engineering

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Wen-Whai Li; Charles Turner; Alfredo Martinez

have a knowledge ofcontemporary issues as they relate to engineering. There is evidence that many engineeringprograms do not perform well in these areas. Sustainable Engineering initiatives canprovide an avenue for improving performance.The College of Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has developed aprogram for the teaching and learning of sustainable engineering concepts in each andevery engineering program. The departments impacted are Civil, Computer Science,Electrical, Materials & Metallurgy, and Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. The programis the result of self-assessment at UTEP and has the support of a National ScienceFoundation initiative for Model Institutions of Excellence. The program is

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Andres; Marty Ferman

on “FLAMMA” to ensurepublic safety, notable effects from wind-induced vibration, should be verified. Consequently,analytical studies were made to assess the vibration, static and dynamic loads, and flutter anddivergence properties. Subsequently, wind tunnel and water tunnel tests were made at ParksCollege, using scaled models of “FLAMMA” to verify the analytical work. Ultimately,experimental studies were expanded to assess wind effects within the building and those inducedby FLAMMA. Initially, in the water tunnel tests, complex flow patterns around FLAMMA wereobserved using Flow Visualization Methods, indicating a upwards corkscrewing type flowbelieved to be introduced from FLAMMA’s shape. Additional wind tunnel tests included acompletely

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Matthew Ohland; Richard Layton

course, although some itselements are present. The five criteria of cooperative learning—positive interdependence, indi-vidual accountability, face-to-face interaction, appropriate use of interpersonal skills, and regularself-assessment of group functioning—are developed in this course to the degree described be-low.1. Positive interdependence is promoted by arbitrarily selecting students to give the oral pres- entations for both projects. Students are warned well in advance that the instructor will select speakers by pulling names out of a cup just before class the day of the presentations.2. Individuals are held accountable by using peer evaluations to assign individual grades from a group project grade.3. Face-to-face interaction is

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Rosalyn S. Hobson

education, the students in the class provide a service to address community-identified needs of individuals, organization, schools, or entities in the community. The serviceexperience elucidates the relevancy of the course content. The service opportunities seek tofurther the students civic education while providing skill development valuable for careerpreparation. By using diverse teaching methods, students are encouraged to think about whatthey have learned through the service experience and how these topics relate to the coursecontent. The class activities are designed such that class members learn from each other as wellas from the instructor. The course offers a method to assess the learning derived from theservice and credit is given for the

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Scott Danielson; Sudhir I. Mehta

up to 80%.Mid-semester feedback, i.e., formative assessment, was also solicited from the students. Page 5.554.2Students were asked to judge the usefulness of the various teaching strategies used in the staticsclasses using a five item scale (A - very useful, B - useful, C - neutral, D - not useful, E - notuseful at all). The student responses for items related to concept questions are shown in Table1below. TABLE 1. Mid-semester Feedback from Statics Classes A B C D E A+B Survey Item Percentage responses from a section of 42 students at NDSU 31 38 26 5

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Nora Valeiras; Luis A. Godoy

difficulties in their activities andproduction. Thus, the workshop also introduces the participants to problems related to thehistory of science, philosophy and methodology of research, ethical dilemmas that arisein research, and aspects of sociology of the publication process. During the workshop theparticipants also work on a manuscript reporting a research already carried out by them.The initiative has been running for three years, and an initial assessment shows a clearincrease in the motivation of the participants towards research activities and an increasein the publication of papers.1. IntroductionThe Engineering School of the University of Puerto at Mayagüez (UPR-M) has beenconcerned for some time about increasing the publication of research

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Jennifer Temple; Cynthia Atman; Jennifer Turns

students. The subjects represented each of the concentration areas included in the civiland environmental engineering program.The subjects included both paid and volunteer subjects. The volunteer subjects were those whochose to complete the study tasks rather than participate in their normally scheduled class. Thepaid subjects completed the assessment tasks at the end of the exam week.AnalysisThe data resulting from the word association task include the number of terms each subjectprovides and the specific terms provided. By looking at the number of terms provided by eachsubject, one can get an initial sense of the dataset.The specific goal of the analysis, however, was to uncover what the word association dataindicates about students’ schemas for

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Hamid Khan

Page 5.579.1say the least, where a student's original work is compromised. With due regards to students’ work, itcan be said that serious ethical violations are not frequently encountered or suspected. However, theresponsibility of correct assessment of student’s work lies solely on the instructor. Objective exams aregiven separately to assess concepts and processes in engineering design, visualization, 2D and 3DModeling. Five three-hour skills exams are administered under supervised instructional controlcondition to ascertain the "design process" ability and applicability of students in two dimensional andthree dimensional modeling framework to judge their competency based "affect" and mastery of thesubject learned. This concept has been

Collection

2000 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Layton

- Page 5.179.5ings, this percentage rose to 68%, identical to the national survey results.IV. Related result from an ABET outcomes assessment instrumentAs part of a new outcomes assessment procedure to satisfy Criterion 3 of EC2000, we askedstudents this semester (December 99) to rate the effect each course had on their abilities in 32specific areas. In one question, students were asked, “To what extent did this course contribute toyour abilities in understanding ethical responsibility?” Possible answers were “Strong,” “Moder-ate,” “Weak,” and “Not applicable.” Students discuss these questions in groups of three or fourand reach a consensus on each question. These qualitative ratings are converted to numericalratings—strong (3), moderate (2

Conference Session

Technology for Learning

Collection

2002 Annual Conference

Authors

Billy Crynes

through the 12 modules at their own pace but no slower than the published minimum rate, · students were free to try each module mastery test more than once but a small penalty was assessed for multiple testing only during the Fall 01 semester, · weekly homework assignments were given and often a 10 point, announced quiz was given during the required Wednesday meeting, · a comprehensive final examination was given at the end of the semester, · students who finished the modules early (one did so a full month early) still had to attend the Wednesday classes and take the semester end final, · the course grade was determined by weighting students’ performance on the mastery tests, the final, quiz and home work

Conference Session

Freshman Success/Retention Strategies

Collection

2002 Annual Conference

Authors

Heidi Diefes-Dux

Freshman Engineering has been offering the MathematicsSummer Bridge Program (Bridge) which is designed to help freshman engineering studentsidentify and overcome weaknesses in algebra and trigonometry attributed to their high schooleducation. The goal of this program is to elevate each student's high school mathematicsbackground and prepare each student to succeed in the required university level math sequence.One of the goals of the Department of Freshman Engineering is to "retain tomorrow's leaders".This program is devoted to orienting students in how to study and succeed in a college coursewhile bolstering math skills.The program focuses on:· Preparing students for the MA151- Algebra and Trigonometry credit exam,· Enabling students to assess

Conference Session

ASEE Multimedia Session

Collection

2002 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Goff

offeredfall semester taught by twelve instructors. Getting the entire faculty to “buy into” such a changerequired a successful pilot program. The creation of these activities had been proposed andinvestigated by professors Goff and Connor. We proposed that a pilot of our eight sections ofEF1015 would be involved in active learning opportunities and assessed compared to a similarnumber of sections taught in the conventional manner. The proposal for the introduction of earlydesign activities was selected for funding under the National Science Foundation’s SUCCEED(Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering Education) program. TheStudent Engineers’ Council at Virginia Tech (SEC) provided the funding for the Early DesignKits. The SEC is

Conference Session

Strategic Issues in EM Education

Collection

2002 Annual Conference

Authors

Halvard Nystrom

critical roadblocks. · Assessment of market needs. Without adequate assessment of market needs, it is unlikely that any organization would make the investments necessary to perform any of the needed functions. · Assessment of resources available. There are many service providers that could perform some of the needed functions, such as development support provider and channel provider, but we would need to understand what alternatives are available. These functions can be performed by one of our current EMD member organizations, a coalition of several EM organizations. They could also be performed by external organizations with a larger scope that could provide this service to other

Conference Session

Using IT to Enhance Design Education

Collection

2002 Annual Conference

Authors

Richard Harwood; David Shaw

(MEE405). Data were collected using surveys during and following the multi-weekproject to assess the effectiveness of the interactions and the acquisition of technical skills by thefreshmen and the development of applied leadership skills by the seniors.Key anticipated benefits of the interaction for the freshmen were contact with upperclassmen,exposure to modern engineering software tools and analysis techniques, practical experience infabricating engineered products from drawings, realistic application of engineering design anddecision tools and theories, and enhanced oral and written communication skills. For the seniors,the anticipated benefits were practical practice in leadership and teamwork and application oftheory to practical design

Conference Session

ET Student Design Teams

Collection

2002 Annual Conference

Authors

Terrence Kelly; Aaron Cowin

life who have previously participated in structured multidisciplinary team efforts atParks College of Saint Louis University. Page 7.1283.1 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright Ó 2002, American Society for Engineering EducationIntroductionIn recent years many papers have been written and presented at ASEE conferences on teambuilding and assessment of team skills demonstrated by students. 1,2,3 Few have focused on thedynamics internal to the team and discussed the benefits the students gain from teaming with peersfrom different

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Kevin Renken; George Abraham

students on thevarious projects carried-out in this lab.Bibliography1. Colle R., Rubin R.J., Knab L.I., Hutchinson J.M.R. Radon transport through and exhalation from building materials: a review and assessment. National Bureau of Standards, Technical Note 1139. Washington, DC; 1981.2. Abraham, G.T. Experimental setup of a low pressure concrete sample permeability apparatus (Mechanical Engineering Department Senior Design Project). University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI; December 1999.3. Hool, G.A. Concrete Engineer's Handbook. McGraw-Hill, New York; 1918.4. United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Concrete manual: a manual for the control of concrete construction. Denver, CO; 1938.5. American Society for Testing Materials

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

David Miller

over the semester.Continuing through the semester, the groups were asked to assess how well they werefunctioning together. This structure has been shown2 to promote positive interdependence,individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, appropriate use of interpersonal andteamwork skills, and regular self-assessment of team functioning, all important factors for thesuccess of a cooperative learning activity. Several times during the first several weeks, part of lecture was spent discussing teambuilding and group dynamics to ensure that the students developed appropriate interdependenceand individual accountability within their groups. Several methods were used to promoteindividual accountability. Students were encouraged to rough

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Rodney Allen; Richard M. Felder; Catherine E. Brawner

by research and experience.As part of the assessment effort, SUCCEED fielded e-mail surveys in 1997 and 1999 to whichrespondents reported their use of such instructional practices as writing formal instructionalobjectives for undergraduate classes, conducting in-class learning activities, and assigning team-based homework in traditional lecture courses (in contrast with laboratory and design courses,where teams have traditionally been used). About a third of surveyed faculty members returnedthe survey in each administration (32% in 1997 and 36% in 1999).This paper compares the results of the two surveys with respect to the use of certain teachingpractices among faculty and shows the relationship between attending faculty

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Muniram Budhu

relevant pre-requisite knowledge of the course material knowledge Lab Testing Student is guided to prepare a soil sample, set up a virtual apparatus, conduct tests, interpret the results and explore other test conditions. Application Students are requested to apply the test results to a practical situation. Eliciting performance, providing feedback, assessing performance, enhancing retention and Interactive problem solving, quiz and questionnaire transfer of learning Figure 1 Instructional items and applications in courseware module

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Xueshu Song; Philip Pilcher; Charles Billman; Radha Balamuralikrishna

institutions based in the Northern Illinois region namely, Northern IllinoisUniversity, Rock Valley College and the Rockford School District. This partnershipprovides the technical expertise and infra-structure required to successfully design, developand field-test what we visualize as a novel and comprehensive training system of the future.The overall goals of the project are: • Develop three interactive multimedia simulation training modules • Field-test the modules and conduct assessment studies • Disseminate the program via the Internet to selected aviation maintenance programs nationwide and conduct further assessment studies.Overview of the systemThe aviation maintenance technician on line training system