Conference Session

Liberal Education Division Technical Session Session 12

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Megan Keogh, University of Colorado, Boulder; Malinda S. Zarske, University of Colorado, Boulder; Janet Y. Tsai, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

examined Fall 2018 late-semesterreflections (​n=4 women, n=6 men)​ that asked students to respond to a prompt asking: An underlying theme of the Engineering Projects classes is the opportunity to broaden and develop your skillset in engineering design and communication. During your first reflections, you described a design skill that you would like to work on during this class, how you would develop that skill, and your experiences/plan to incorporate this skill in your product development. For this last reflection, please go back to your original reflections and write about your progress this semester. Think about your personal skill development in manufacturing, electronics, programming and/or

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Division: Student Empathy & Human-centered Design

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Devanshi Shah, Florida Institute of Technology; Elisabeth Kames, Florida Institute of Technology ; McKenzie Carol Clark, Florida Institute of Technology; Beshoy Morkos, Florida Institute of Technology

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

the research necessary to identify the need. Ideas must be pragmatic, unique, and have the opportunity to succeed in the market. You are encouraged to seek other opportunities for funding to support you in your efforts. Moreover, this project would be considered a success if a plan for mass production is prepared (or stated) by project completion. 2.5. Project EvaluationThough projects may be different in thrust and goals, all projects are required to follow asystematic process that is graded as such. The teams follow a systematic design process wherebythey develop requirements, generate concepts, perform concept analysis/justification, performexperiments/testing, and recommend a final solution. Two

Conference Session

It's All About the Student: Integration, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and Self-Efficacy

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sean Lyle Gestson, Oregon State University; Shane A. Brown P.E., Oregon State University; Matthew Stephen Barner, Oregon State University; Masoud Ghodrat Abadi, California State University, Sacramento; David S. Hurwitz, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Abadi, California State University, Sacramento Dr. Masoud Ghodrat Abadi is an assistant professor of transportation engineering in Department of Civil Engineering at California State University, Sacramento. Dr. Abadi’s research interests lie in the areas of active transportation, traffic control, traffic safety, and engineering education. He teaches graduate and un- dergraduate classes covering topics such as: Traffic Engineering, Engineering Statistics, and Transporta- tion Planning. Dr. Abadi serves as a member of TRB Standing Committee on Transportation Education and Training (ABG20) and ITE Transportation Education Council.Dr. David S Hurwitz, Oregon State University Dr. David Hurwitz is an Associate Professor of

Conference Session

First-Year Programs: Wednesday Cornucopia (Educational Research)

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacqueline C. McNeil, University of Louisville; Erin Lynn Gerber, University of Louisville; Gerold Willing, University of Louisville; Mary Elizabeth Mills, University of Louisville

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

resource allocation, workforce planning, and logistics and dis- tribution. She was awarded a B.S., M.Eng, and Ph.D. all in Industrial Engineering, from the University of Louisville, J.B. Speed School of Engineering. Her doctoral work focused on the development of the LoDI Index, which is released by the Logistics and Distribution Institute at the University of Louisville every month. The index is also featured in the FRED report and is utilized by various national corporations each month. Dr. Gerber is a member of Golden Key International Honours Society, the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers. She also serves as the faculty advisor for the UofL student chapter of IISE.Dr

Conference Session

Technical Session 11: Topics related to Computer Science

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Leila Zahedi, Florida International University; Monique S Ross, Florida International University; Jasmine Skye Batten, Florida International University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, toincrease consumer engagement and motivation, tackling the tasks that computers find difficult andhard to plan and predict. Gamified elements in this research were points and leaderboards. Resultsshowed that the test participants found the interface interesting and easy to use. To increase therecycling rates, Berengueres et al. (2013) introduced a recycle emoticon bin which usesgamification elements to motivate participants. Rewarding gamified elements used in this projectincluded: emoticons and sounds; when users dropped PET bottles in the bin, they heard a coinsound and a happy face on the screen for one second. Research results showed that by using thegamification elements, collection rates increased by three times and users preferred to be

Conference Session

Best In DEED

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Reynolds Brubaker, Stanford University; Vikas Rammohan Maturi, Stanford University; Barbara A. Karanian, Stanford University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University; David Beach, Stanford University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

Dewey, Stanford University,” 24-Oct-2018.[20] L. Vygotsky, “Thought and word,” in Thinking and Speech, vol. 1, 1934.[21] J. Lave and E. Wenger, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, 1st edition. Cambridge England ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.[22] S. K. Gilmartin et al., “Designing a Longitudinal Study of Engineering Students’ Innovation and Engineering Interests and Plans: The Engineering Majors Survey Project. EMS 1.0 and 2.0 Technical Report.,” Stanford University Designing Education Lab, Stanford, CA, Technical Report

Conference Session

Mechanics Division Technical Session 5

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Allen Evenhouse, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Nick Stites, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Amy K. Dunford, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Rohit Kandakatla, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Edward J. Berger, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jennifer Deboer, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, and encouraging internal motivation20. As wasshown in the cluster analysis, students from each cluster could demonstrate adaptive HSBs, andcases of adaptive HSBs were found involving each of the nine resources included in the analysis.Motivating students to make the best use of their study time through adaptive help seeking hasthe potential to positively impact student performance21, while still allowing students thefreedom to study according to their personal preferences. Our next steps in planning the future ofFreeform will draw on previous HSB publications in the Blended Learning space24,39,40 as weexplore how to facilitate a more positive and adaptive learning experience. Finally, in addition to enjoying the sheer number of resources

Conference Session

Ethical Reasoning and Responsibility

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Debra S. Fuentes, Brigham Young University; Gregg Morris Warnick, Brigham Young University; Brent K. Jesiek, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Randall Davies, Brigham Young Unversity

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

justification, euphemistic labeling, advantageous comparison,displacement of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, distortion of consequences, attributionof blame, and dehumanization.57 Students were asked to respond to these items (e.g., “It is alrightto protect your friends” as an example of an item measuring moral justification) using a five-point Likert scale ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree.”Experiences and Demographics: Seventeen experiences were listed, with respondents asked toacknowledge participation within the last five years, as well as their plans to participate in thefuture. These items were used in stratification of participants for interviews as well as items offurther probing during the interviews themselves

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Division Poster Session

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ivan Cardoso Monsão, PPGM-UFBA/BiLab-Business and Innovation Lab; Jes Fiais Cerqueira P.E., Federal University of Bahia (Brazil); Augusto Cesar Pinto Loureiro da Costa, Universidade Federal da Bahia; Jose Siqueira Dias, University of Campinas

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

Conference Session

Social Responsibility and Social Justice I: Pedagogical Perspectives

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jonathan Beever, University of Central Florida; Andrew O. Brightman, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

local context andbalanced out reflectively against competing needs for fairness and community autonomy. Usingthe four principles of common morality then as a shared point of reference will allow a broadrange of participants in the conversation to engage more fully and contribute together to thecritical process of specification.The primary goal of a common morality approach like Reflexive Principlism, “to promotehuman flourishing by counteracting conditions that cause the quality of people’s lives toworsen,” 27 aligns well with several statements of the goals and practice of the profession ofengineering (e.g., “Engineering is the creative application of scientific principles used to plan,build, direct, guide, manage, or work on systems to

Conference Session

Developing Infrastructure Professionals

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew K Swenty P.E., Virginia Military Institute; Kacie Caple D'Alessandro, Washington & Lee University; Ben Dymond, California State University, Sacramento

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Conference Session

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering Division: Diversity Issues in K-12 and Pre-College Engineering Education

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Linda S. Hirsch, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Suzanne Lori Berliner Heyman, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Rosa M. Cano, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Pre-College Engineering Education Division

Conference Session

Exploring Student Affairs, Identities, and the Professional Persona

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sherif Elmeligy Abdelhamid, Virginia Tech; Chris J. Kuhlman, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Madhav V. Marathe, Virginia Tech; S. S. Ravi, University at Albany - SUNY; Kenneth Reid, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

DTRA Grant HDTRA1-11-1-0016, DTRACNIMS Contract HDTRA1-11-D-0016-0001, and NSF NetSE Grant CNS-1011769.References [1] W. K. LeBold, R. Delauretis, and K. D. Shell. The purdue interest questionnaire: An interest inventory to assist engineer students in planning their career. annual Frontiers in Education Conference, 1977. [2] John P. Bean. Dropouts and turnover: The synthesis and test of a causal model of student attrition. Research in higher education, 12(2):155–187, 1980. [3] James A. Beane and Richard P. Lipka. Self-concept, self-esteem, and the curriculum. Columbia University, Teachers College, 1986. [4] Malene Rode Larsen, Hanna Bjornoy Sommersel, and Michael Søgaard Larsen. Evidence on Dropout Phenomena at Universities

Conference Session

Curriculum Development in Engineering Leadership

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary B. Vollaro, Western New England University; Robert R. Klein, Western New England University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Leadership Development Division

. Perspective Taking: the skill of investigating and understanding other people’s values, interests, and needs. 2. Constructive Negotiation Approach: the promotion of a win-win negotiation method so that all members benefit from an agreement.Task Focus Subscales 1. Task Analysis: the examination of problems, opportunities, and task solutions. 2. Task Implementation: the competent execution of a plan with appropriate strategic adjustments along the way.Interpersonal Focus Subscales 1. Positive Group Affiliation: the promotion of mutual acceptance and personal rapport among members, with the aim of fostering a

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Division Poster Session

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth A. Connor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Dianna Newman, University at Albany - SUNY; Kathy Ann Gullie PhD, Evaluation Consortium University at Albany - SUNY; Yacob Astatke, Morgan State University; Mohamed F. Chouikha, Howard University; Charles J. Kim, Howard University; Otsebele E. Nare, Hampton University; John Okyere Attia P.E., Prairie View A&M University; Petru Andrei, Florida A&M University/Florida State University; Lisa D. Hobson, Prairie View A&M University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Conference Session

Assessment of Learning in BME

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie Rivale, University of Texas, Austin

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

includes 4 phases: orienting, planning, executing, andchecking. The final round of coding collapsed these codes into the 5 Step Problem SolvingMethod similar to the MPSF but more consistent with the expert heat transfer solutions.However, the orienting category was maintained since it did not overlap with the 5 step method. 4ResultsUnexpected Theme: Professor Beliefs about Problem SolvingWhile solving these problems, many of the experts revealed their beliefs about what types ofproblems are developmentally appropriate for students. The experts were not prompted for thisinformation in either the think-aloud instructions or the subsequent structured interview.Unprompted, most of the experts freely

Conference Session

Educational & Professional Issues of Strategic Importance to the Civil Engineering Profession - and ASCE

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark William Killgore, American Society of Civil Engineers; Eric Lee Flicker PE, Pennoni Associates Inc.; Bradley Aldrich P.E., Aldrich + Elliott, PC

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone Courses

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Narges Balouchestani-Asli, University of Toronto; Matthew Kiprop Greenacre, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry; Kamran Behdinan, University of Toronto

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

. Identifying the challenges that students face in multidisciplinary environment willlead to the discussion on how to tackle these challenges.The results for this study help course coordinators to plan accordingly for student teamformation, project matching and creating an environment of support. Providing workshops andsupport from the faculty to guide students through this journey, peer evaluation on top of clients’evaluation and supervisors’ evaluation, and constructive feedback are examples of further actionsto be taken.Having in place a system for peer evaluation and self-evaluation to give feedback to students andsupervisors will prevent low psychological safety of the team that inhibits innovative behaviors.There are tremendous opportunities for

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Deborah Ann Pedraza, Texas Tech University; Mario G. Beruvides P.E., Texas Tech University

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

and demographicvariables were also independent predictors of a student’s approach to learning. And thus, theirresearch indicates that course experience causes a student’s approach to learning. The authorsalso found that as far as subgroups of students, there were differences between students who didnot intend to continue psychology studies as compared to the rest of the students. Those whointended to continue their studies in psychology had more favorable course experiences andapproaches to learning and higher efforts and performed better on the exam as opposed to thosewho do not plan to continue their studies in psychology. Even though their mean high schoolgrade point average was similar to those who did not intend to continue their studies

Conference Session

Engineering Cultures and Identity

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Secules, University of Maryland, College Park; Andrew Elby, University of Maryland, College Park; Ayush Gupta, University of Maryland, College Park

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee, Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

often preface his response witha winking admonishment, “that’s way beyond the scope of the class!,” he nevertheless foundhimself spending significant portions of class time answering such questions thoroughly.Given the nature of the questions (as beyond the scope of the class) only a small portion of theclass understood the content of these questions and answers. Thus this question and answersession functioned as projection of ability: students noticed who had the ability to play the gamein asking this sort of question. Instead, for the programming beginners like Becca, it was aperiod of confusion and a reminder of just how far behind they were.This lecture discourse pattern also meant less class time for the planned basic content, an

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 3; The Best of All the FPD Papers

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gerald W. Recktenwald, Portland State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

: Designing an institutional change plan using local evidence. Journal of Engineering Education, 103(2): 331–361, April 2014. doi: 10.1002/jee.20042.[17] Michael J. Prince. Does active learning work? a review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93: 223–231, 2004.[18] Scott Freeman, Sarah L. Eddy, Miles McDonough, Michelle K. Smith, Nnadozie Okoroafor, Hannah Jordt, and Mary Pat Wenderoth. Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, 111(23):8410–8415, May 2014. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1319030111.Appendix: Full text of survey promptsThe following tables list the abbreviated versions and the full text prompts for

Conference Session

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering Division: Student Reflection, Self-Perception, Misconceptions, and Uncertainty

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Jackson, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Nathan Mentzer, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Dawn Laux; David Sears; Paul Asunda, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Pre-College Engineering Education Division

.79 – .88 9 .96Creative Thinking Self-Efficacy Pre-Test 1199 5.81 2.23 .70 – .84 12 .96 Post-Test 471 6.34 2.36 .77 – .91 12 .98In anticipation of the statistical analyses planned (correlation and t tests) these data screeningprocedures helped ensure that statistical assumptions were met and conclusions drawn might beaccurate. Ensuing hypotheses were tested using a significance level of α = 0.05 and are reportedwith effect sizes (Cohen’s d).Relationship Between Engineering Design Self-Efficacy and Creative Thinking Self-EfficacyAs previously stated, we hypothesized that design self-efficacy and creative thinking

Conference Session

Faculty Development II: Building Community Among STEM Educators

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, Oregon State University; Ann Sitomer, Oregon State University; Kathleen Quardokus Fisher, Oregon State University; Christina Smith, Oregon State University; Milo Koretsky, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

organizational change at a research university with respect to a campus-based STEM improvement initiative? 4Towards constructing a robust research model to study our campus intervention, we conducted a targetedliterature review concerning organizational change research from a variety of theoretical frameworkspublished since the 1980s. These decades produced significant research. We were particularly interestedin documenting change in response to planned interventions, change to both to organizations and thepractitioners working in these organizations.Literature Review: Building The Case For Our Research ModelAs noted above, we argue that

Conference Session

Focus on Faculty Development

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexandra Coso Strong, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Mel Chua, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Stephanie Cutler, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

 those identified needs. From this affinity diagram, we facilitated a discussion about POD resources, asking the participants to identify which POD resources could help with their needs. Finally, the “message­in­a­bottle” activity allowed participants to evaluate their individual needs and those of their peers by capturing their highest­priority thoughts on engineering education to share with POD practitioners. At the end of the day, if all worked out according to plan, from FIE we would have:  “[enhanced] the connection between engineering education research and the day­to­day  teaching practices of university instructors...Participants [would have left] with concrete  methods and contacts for engaging the POD community in

Conference Session

First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 6: Design and Design Chanllenges

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Haolin Zhu, Arizona State University; Benjamin Emery Mertz, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

task taking significantly more time than others or suggesting tasks that they maynot have considered otherwise, multiple Gantt charts could be provided with contrasting errors.Students could compare and contrast these Gantt charts rather than critiquing a single process.This may also help emphasize that they are not describing what a team has already done, butgiving feedback on their plans with emphasis on choosing a process which will produce the bestresults. In addition, during the decision making stage, analysis and modelling should be includedin the grading rubric as the engineering approach to designing is different from a hobbyistapproach which focuses on ‘trial and error’.References[1] S. Sheppard and R. Jennison, “Freshman engineering

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education II

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald F. DeMara, University of Central Florida; Navid Khoshavi, University of Central Florida; Steven D. Pyle, University of Central Florida; John Edison, University of Central Florida; Richard Hartshorne, University of Central Florida; Baiyun Chen, University of Central Florida; Michael Georgiopoulos, University of Central Florida; Ronald F. DeMara, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Conference Session

Women in Engineering Division: Faculty and Gender Issues

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kacey D. Beddoes, Oregon State University; Corey T. Schimpf, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Alice L. Pawley, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

: The Logic of Appeasement. PS: Political Science and Politics, 30(2), 209–213.45. Gmelch, W. H. (2004). The Department Chair’s Balancing Acts. New Directions for Higher Education, 126, 69–84.46. Wolverton, M., Gmelch, W. H., Wolverton, M. L., & Sarros, J. C. (1999a).A comparison of department chair tasks in Australia and the United States. Higher Education, 38, 333–350.47. Nguyen, T. L. H. (2012). Identifying the training needs of heads of department in a newly established university in Vietnam. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 34(3), 309–321.48. Wolverton, M., & Ackerman, R. (2006). Cultivating Possibilities: Prospective Department Chair Professional Development and Why It Matters. Planning for Higher

Conference Session

Evaluation: Exploring High School Engineering Education Initiatives

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roxanne Moore, Georgia Institute of Technology; Meltem Alemdar, Georgia Institute of Technology; Sunni H. Newton, CEISMC; Jeffrey H Rosen, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marion Usselman, Georgia Institute of Technology; Stefanie A Wind, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Georgia Tech’s Center for Educa- tion Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). Dr. Alemdar has experience evaluat- ing programs that fall under the umbrella of educational evaluation, including K-12 educational curricula, K-12 STEM programs after-school programs, and comprehensive school reform initiatives. Across these evaluations, she has used a variety of evaluation methods, ranging from multi level evaluation plan de- signed to assess program impact to methods such as program monitoring designed to facilitate program improvement. She received her Ph.D. in Research, Measurement and Statistics from the Department of Education Policy at Georgia State University (GSU).Sunni H. Newton, CEISMCMr. Jeffrey

Conference Session

New Engineering Educators Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Denise Wilson, University of Washington; Cheryl Allendoerfer, University of Washington; Rebecca A Bates, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Tamara Floyd Smith, Tuskegee University; Melani I. Plett, Seattle Pacific University; Nanette M Veilleux, Simmons College

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

it’s not always like you have this, so just deal with whatever you have. (Melani, Teaching)Regardless of the type of technology used to connect with other students, the Start alone, Endalmost together style was very similar to the Start alone, End together style where studentsintentionally decided to begin a task on their own and then as difficulties arose or the assignmentcame to an end, to come together. Unlike the Start alone, End together style, however, Startalone, End almost together students tended to favor electronic communication, informal, lessstructured, or less scheduled exchanges over planned meetings. Combined, these two stylesdominated the study styles observed by students at three of four institutions (Teaching, Research,and

Conference Session

Civil Engineering Division Technical Session 9

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Harry G. Cooke, Rochester Institute of Technology (CAST); M.D. Abdullah Al Faruque, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

for students’ abilities to recognize single versus double shear,which was a focus of one of their labs.One important question that can arise when planning laboratories for Strength of Materials iswhether the sophistication and quality of the equipment used for experiments have any impact onstudent perceptions of and motivation for the course, as well as the learning and performance ofthe students. There were no apparent studies found in the literature that evaluate this issue. Thepurpose of the study described in this paper is to determine whether using more sophisticated,higher quality desktop experimental equipment results in improved student outlooks and learningin Strength of Materials compared to using simple, homemade set-ups