with advisors and mentors, and provided brainstorming and support to help negotiatethese relationships. The assessment data were hand-coded to identify common themes2 and theresults include some striking perspectives of graduate women in STEM (Science, Technology,Engineering, Math) and suggestions of ways to better support members of this group throughco-curricular programs.IntroductionIn 2013, the College of Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU) was awarded a mini-grant to support a co-curricular program for graduate students that used the best-selling book,Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead 1 as a framework for promoting professionaldevelopment and community building. “Lean In” encourages both men and women to examinethe
count of the tons of recycled steel used during thecurrent calendar year. Currently, Nucor (in conjunction with two foreign-owned steel companies)operates a facility in Crawfordsville, Indiana that continuously casts sheet steel directly frommolten steel without the need for heavy, expensive, and energy-consuming rollers. The processknown as Castrip30, if successful, would allow an entire mill to be built in 1/6 the space of a'mini-mill' and at 1/10 the cost of a traditional integrated mill. They call this concept a 'micro- Page 26.137.6mill'. Also, Nucor has two pilot projects, one in Western Australia and one in Brazil, which aredeveloping low
transformative experience. Thetransformative experience is a learning experience, after which a student will : 1) apply ideasfrom a course in everyday experience without being required to (also called motivated use); 2)see everyday objects or situations differently, through the lens of the new content (expandedperception); and 3) value the content in a new way because it enriches everyday affectiveexperience (affective value)3. The transformative experience stems from John Dewey’s seminaltheory of experiential learning, and influenced by his work on the value of aestheticexperiences4,5. In other words, we want students to be able to perceive concepts they havelearned in the larger world, put those concepts to work, and enjoy the experience. Framing
(STEM) disciplines. Across all groups, womenparticipate at lower levels than their co-ethnic male counterparts.1-3 Most activities to rectifysuch a deficiency in STEM disciplines have focused on K-16 initiatives to address lack ofpreparation, inability to balance coursework and external commitments, self-efficacy, andfinancial limitations.4-6 However, there has been minimal focus on issues faced by graduatestudents or the need for effective mentoring of post-docs and new faculty in engineering toattract and retain them in academic careers. This is alarming as one approach to increase thenumber of underrepresented minorities who graduate with a STEM degree is to use hierarchicalmentoring, i.e., undergraduate mentor to faculty mentor.7 This is a
of aeronautics to their major. They madeconnections between aeronautics and their major where previously they thought none existed.This had the effect of changing their attitude towards the course and the material, a positiveoutcome.IntroductionWith the implementation of EC2000 requirements for the assessment of engineering programs,the Criterion 3 Student Outcomes a-k have become an important part of any engineering majorand are essential for accreditation.1 Several of these criteria, listed below, present challenges to Page 26.598.2any program: The program must have documented student outcomes that prepare graduates to attain
Page 26.1100.3industry mentors who advise each team on technical and professional issues.These multi-disciplinary, multi-university AerosPACE teams have demonstrated many of theadvantages of learning in such an environment. They have also identified some specificchallenges and opportunities that academic institutions and industry partners must be aware of.The end of the paper contains a “Looking Back” section where former undergraduate studentswho have spent 1-3 years in industry provide their feedback on how effective this DBF projectwas at preparing them to succeed professionally.Projects SummaryIn order to better understand the student experiences and impact, it is important to review thevarious student activities in the context of their
collected from thirty-five student interviews, we developed aconceptual framework for CCD progression. The Culturally Contextualized Design frameworkrepresents three levels of sophistication – novice, aware, and informed – for each of the fiveCCD aspects: (1) human-centered, (2) collaborative, (3) intentional, (4) open to flexibility andambiguity, and (5) invested and committed. The goal of this paper is to present the examples ofthree engineering students with different backgrounds and experiences and to map theirdevelopment within the framework. We also discuss the potential utility of this new frameworkto understand how engineering students learn to integrate culture and design and to assess theimpact of educational practices.Introduction and
spaceconsisting of five categories of description of students’ ways of experiencing their transitionfrom pre-college engineering programs and activities to a first-year engineering classroom.These results, described in the following section, provide a theoretical framework that is Page 26.1141.2currently guiding the development of a quantitative instrument to understand students’transitions to first-year engineering on a larger scale across multiple institutions.Qualitative ResultsFigure 1 shows the outcome space illustrating the relationships between the five ways ofexperiencing the transition from pre-college to first-year engineering. In order of
current electricity (DC) andusing an alternator converts it into alternative current (AC) that can be used to power equipmentinside a house. Photovoltaic cells have to combine cost effectiveness with relatively highthroughput energy yield production, in order to achieve this combination a couple of factors haveto be counted in: Material of construction, location that the PV cell will be placed and energyconversion efficiency. Even though there is a high initial cost to purchase and install Solar panels the financial Page 26.1484.2return of investment is worth it besides it provides added home value. Figure 1. Solar PanelsWind
become,engaged in a motorcycle fuel economy challenge design project?Theory & Methods Page 26.1606.3Student engagement is one of the biggest issues in engineering education. If you can engagestudents they will persist4 .It was decided that using a student motivation model such as the MUSIC model5 would be agood theoretical foundation upon which to build this project and to answer the research questionsposed above.The 5 key principles of the MUSIC model are that students are more motivated when theyperceive that: (1) they are eMpowered, (2) the content is Useful, (3) they can be Successful, (4)they are Interested, and (5) they feel Cared about
revealed.Question 1 - With respect to the webinar format versus a traditional classroom format – are youfinding that your learning is more effective than a traditional classroom, less effective than atraditional classroom, or about the same as a traditional classroom? Why? Table I. Results for Question 1 More Same Less 2012 7 9 7 2014 5 6 6Four of the “less” responses in 2012 and one in 2014 indicated that their learning was only a“little less” effective. Four of the “less” responses in 2012 and
received a University grant to “revitalize”the senior design experience through the following goals 1. develop an alternative project selection method, 2. involve students in project selection in an entrepreneurial fashion, 3. utilize active learning teaching methods and enhance content and delivery, and 4. increase use of online course content. Page 26.1346.3The pedagogical purpose of this approach was driven by a desire to put the students in situationswhere not only the solutions to design problems are open-ended, but the generation of thespecific design problems is somewhat open-ended as well. Furthermore, the purpose
. Page 26.1405.3A quick grading process - focused on getting “correct answers” on the problems - was used toplace participants is below average, average, and above average groupings based only onproblem-solving performance during the study. This enabled us to categorize via an extremegroups split7. Since a focus of the study is on strategies and misconceptions - which are assumedto vary between the above average and below average groups - the records of participants whoperformed above average and below average on the problems were given more attention duringcoding than those in the average grouping during the pursuit of saturation. Table 1 provides thebreakdown of score ranges observed and the grouping into below average, average, and
. Students were evaluated on performance of the design (based onquantitative results), cost, creativity of design, and craftsmanship and aesthetics. Deliverables forthis project included a project schedule, project definition and requirements, a design proposalpresentation and report, design prototype presentation with demonstration, and a final designreport.ResultsThe first three questions in the survey instrument requested information about the academic statusof the student population, and their level of college experience. Figure 1 shows that the surveyedpopulation is primarily composed of students with freshman level academic standing and fewupper level students. 200 180
engineeringdesign processes to solve the problem. The community-based problems selected by theparticipants in the first year of the study are shown in Table 1. All the names are pseudonyms toprotect the identity of the participants.The community-based problems were characterized as ill-structured problems because they were“not constrained by the content domains being studied in classrooms.” 21 For example, thecommunity-based problems selected by the students were dynamic, required collaboration,involved multiple solutions, and the constraints, both engineering and non-engineering, wereidentified by the students themselves.21, 22 The main objective was to observe how students usedengineering design processes, how they perceived engineering, how those
, 2016 From Problem Solvers to Problem Seekers: The Necessary Role of Tension in Engineering EducationIn this paper it is proposed that the current focus on problems in engineering education andtechnological literacy may be more constructively reframed by focusing on tensions. PriyanDias claims engineering has an identity crisis that arises from tensions inherent in: 1) theinfluence of the profession on society, 2) the role engineers play, and 3) what constitutes validknowledge in engineering. These are ethical, ontological, and epistemological tensionsrespectively, which Dias frames as a tension between identities of homo sapiens and homo faber.Beyond the tensions in engineering there are additional tensions that arise
as theirAmerican counterparts,” Grasso questioned whether it is wiser to close all the expensiveengineering colleges in the U.S. and “simply import all the engineering we need.”1 As a lifetimeengineering professor and administrator, Grasso was certainly not proposing laying off thousandsof American engineering educators. Instead, he urged his colleagues in the U.S. to pursue “afresh start” and to educate “[a] growing and increasingly diverse number of domestically trainedengineers—equipped with the broad insight and critical thinking skills the world needs” through“[the] study of the human condition, the human experience, [and] the human record.” Doing so,Grasso suggests, would give the engineers educated in the U.S. “a competitive advantage
prototype to solve the design problem. Therewas a set of general requirements that applied to all the three problems, for example, all designsneeded to be creative, aesthetically pleasing, well crafted, and the total cost should be as little aspossible and it should not exceed $100. Each problem had some specific requirements inaddition to the general requirements: in the first design problem, students were provided with asolar set-up, shown in Figure 1, which has a light bulb, simulating the “sun” that travels from“east” to “west” during a “day” at a constant rate. A solar power plant needed to be designed sothat consistent and maximum power be generated throughout the day. Only two types of solarcells could be used and all of them must be placed
material. This way, the authors did not know whichstudents chose to participate and which did not. This teamwork agreement was then changedappropriately to gain consent and converted into a document that students could completeelectronically.After gaining approval of the IRB, results of this experience were studied quantitatively in thespring semester. Approximately 110 students registered for the spring semester. These werebroken into 9 sections for undergraduates, some visiting high school students also take thecourse, but in special sections. Six sections were designated as treatment sections. A surveyusing Qualtrics was distributed to the class immediately before the teamwork skit. As seen inFigure 1, survey questions addressed several aspects
propagate documentedinnovations. Those papers emphasize three critical areas: Learning in and out of the classroom; The pathways to studying engineering, retention, and diversifying learning community; and Using technology to enhance learning and engagement.The NSF is committed to establishing and the engineering education community is in need of aresearch agenda focused on propagating documented innovations. To most effectivelyaccomplish this, it is necessary to capture needs and potential solutions through a number ofdifferent approaches that actively involve the larger engineering education community. As suchthis work addresses four major questions.1. What accomplishments have been produced to date? What new innovations have occurred over
programs, etc.) haveimpacted the success of these women, it was important to have distinct research sites so that Icould examine the effects of various policies and procedures on the careers of the researchparticipants within the context of each institution’s programs and policies.Population and Sample I interviewed women faculty who have their primary appointment in the engineeringschool each campus (since some faculty have dual appointments). The objective for each site was to interview at least fifty percent of the faculty so that my sample would reflect the variedexperience of tenured women faculty at each site. Table 1-1 describes the population and sampleat each research site and Table 1-2 provides employment and demographic
literacies on the part ofemployees and employers. The use of communication technology can be found among thefour ‘mega trends’ that Shuman et al.[1] specifically identify for the field of engineering,alongside changes forced by the fragile world economy, student and professional mobility,and the increasingly loud voice of the social imperative. This poses challenges foreducational institutions which, beyond helping students become subject experts, need to takethe responsibility for preparing them to ‘deal with global communicative practices online, inall their complexity’[2]. This trend toward developing skills needed to fully operate in highlyglobalised and cross-cultural settings as a necessary top-up to ‘technical core competencies’[3]has become
engineering. Rather, the vastmajority of the engineering student population at University of Calgary, where this is the mostpopular course out of three courses that fulfills a degree requirement, is exposed to thismethodology. The other two courses are in the process of being phased out and this will be theonly course to fulfill the requirement in the near future.I.Course DesignThe course consisted of two 75-minute lectures a week for the entire class, with the class brokenup into three 75-minute weekly sections of between 29 to 51 students over the course of a 13-week semester. The goals, or learning outcomes, of the course are to increase the student’sability to 1) evaluate the impact of technology on multiple facets of society such as
Learn how things work. Aladdin Effect reverse engineering. Oral and Logbook, meetings, written Good communication skills. innovation contests. communication Table 1. Approach used in the Para didactic Laboratory.Failure managementThe typical student comes to university from a school tradition that penalizes mistakes andfailures, and this is a heavy burden on his/her ability to take risks. It is an interesting paradox, thestudent
decades (or longer) to help performers develop their skills. This training canembody a range of formats, many resembling schoolyard games4; but nearly all successfulimprov training activities are united by a common thread of providing a scaffolded opportunityfor creative, interactive and unscripted performance within a safe and supportive environment(figure 1). Figure 1: “Yes, And”, a classic improv activity There are many variations to this game, but the essential rules are that one player starts a story or scene: “There was a giant slug outside our house.” The other players must add another sentence to the story, beginning with “Yes, and”: “Yes, and it was bigger than the man who was holding its leash!” “Yes, and the man
and the creative role of patents in today’s engineering and design education. Asthe philosopher of science, Thomas Kuhn, once stated, “Traditional engineering curriculumcreates people who are efficient researchers and highly productive, but this approach does notencourage creativity or innovation” [1] Teaching novel problem solving is challenging,especially with students who lack real world experience in engineering practices, or creativedesign. Focusing on design in engineering education is an opportunity to encourage creativityand technical innovation arising from an engineering discipline.While Kuhn’s comment is still relevant some 20 years later, this educational philosophy hasevolved. Contemporary engineering education is addressing this
"biological clock" that imposes genuine constraints when women bear children. As anexample, Assimaki et al.’s 1 study of issues that affect the retention and professionaldevelopment of female faculty in Electrical and Computer Engineering in universities in Greecenoted that there are difficulties related to “the demands of an academic career due to the paralleldemands of the role of the woman as wife and mother.” Similarly, women’s perceptions andprofessional issues in Civil Engineering include concerns with the level of commitment that anacademic career requires in comparison to their family obligations.10 Females also take careerbreaks due to their partner’s relocation or to take care of an elder family member.11 Researchsuggests that some females
is a significant negative impact.Increased awareness and involvement in the legislative process ensures that the constructionindustry is not only an informed constituent but a well-represented one. This paper looks atworkers’ compensation history and key privatization issues in an effort to raise awarenessamong construction industry professionals.The relevance of understanding workers compensation from a construction management,construction engineering, and contractor’s point of view is multifaceted. One of the firstthings owners wants to know about a general contractor or a subcontractor is their safetyrecord. The standard measure of the safety record of a contractor is the experiencemodification rate (EMR). The standard industry EMR is 1
familiarwith in the United States. In EEE, students are exposed to foundation courses in the discipline:circuits, C programming, digital logic, and microprocessors in Years 1 and 2 and discipline-specificcourses in communications, power systems, microelectronics, embedded systems, fields, andcontrols in Year 3. In Year 4, students may specialise within a particular EEE disciplines throughtheir selection of elective courses and their choice of topic for the Individual Project, a requiredcapstone design course. There is a heavy emphasis on hands-on learning with laboratories andprojects integrated into almost all of the engineering courses as well as two stand-alone coursesthat involve team design projects. There are required mathematics, or maths
over time.IntroductionThe Engineering Leadership Development Program at The Pennsylvania State University wasone of the pioneering university-level leadership development programs in the world. Foundedin 1995 as an initiative of the Leonard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education, theProgram has graduated over 600 students with an 18 credit-hour minor in EngineeringLeadership Development.A study conducted by Purdue University suggested that today’s engineering leader must be well-versed in three dimensions, namely technical, professional, and global skills.1 While the initialfocus of the Penn State Program was to address professional skill development, over the past 10years, global competency skill development has been robustly