Conference Session

Issues in Computer Education-HDL

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeff Gribschaw, D/EECS, USMA; Paul Patterson, D/EECS, USMA; Bryan Goda, USMA

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

the survey (or otherassessment technique used) with students and answering their concerns greatly helps build abetter learning environment. The potential exists for students to be overwhelmed with the number of CAD/E tools theyare required to learn over the course of earning an undergraduate electrical engineering degree.Table 1 lists the twenty-three software programs used in the United States Military Academy(USMA) Electrical Engineering program and all of the courses that use each software. A quickscan of the table reveals that we expect students to learn a tremendous number of applicationsover the course of their final two and a half years. Not reflected in the diagram is that we spendless than twenty hours of formal instruction on

Conference Session

Multimedia Tutorials and Web Development

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anne Donnelly, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

success of the LSAMP Program, in 1998 NSFawarded the first eight Minority Graduate Education (MGE) awards (Howard, Georgia Instituteof Technology, The University of Michigan, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, TheUniversity of Missouri-Columbia, The University of Puerto Rico, Rice University, and theUniversity of Florida. The goal of the five year MGE grants was to increase the diversity ofstudents pursuing STEM PhDs and to prepare them with the skills necessary to enter anacademic career. In 1999, the MGE Program was renamed the Alliance for Graduate Educationand the Professoriate (AGEP) program. This reflected a shift from single institution efforts to abroader alliance approach. BEST (Building Engineering & Science Talent), an

Conference Session

New Trends in ECE Education I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Lord, University of San Diego

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

Page 12.582.2assignments and to illustrate how grounding experiences in writing to communicate theory canhelp enhance effectiveness.2. Writing to CommunicateA vast amount of literature exists on writing across the curriculum (WAC) 4, 5, 6 whichemphasizes the importance of writing for enhancing learning. WAC divides writing into threecategories: transactional to inform or persuade an audience, poetic as an art form, and expressivefor oneself to think through a problem or formulate a thought.7 Much of the WAC movement inthe US has focused on expressive writing as the most beneficial when “writing to learn” and thushas minimized the importance of “transactional” writing as merely reflecting back teacher-generated information. However, within the

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Durward Sobek, Montana State University; Carolyn Plumb, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

a graduation requirement to take a certain number of multi-disciplinary credits. G. Co-op / Internship • Institute a required coop/internship for every graduate. program • Must reflect on importance of multi-disciplinary skills observed in others or acquired.The evaluation matrix shown in Table 2 displays a summary of the advisory team’sevaluations. The current ad hoc system (Alternative A) was held as a baseline, and eachalternative was then evaluated relative to the baseline. The scoring system reflects the levelof agreement/disagreement of the advisory team, as indicated in the Table note. One of thealternatives

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Eduaction - Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan Cheville, Oklahoma State University; Christine Co, Oklahoma State University; Bear Turner, Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

different team members be responsible for differenttasks and the values below should reflect this distribution of effort. In this section of theevaluation you are asked to assign the relative percentage of work done by all member on theteam, including yourself. Each column represents part of the team grade for the class and eachcolumn should add up to 100%. If any column does not add up to 100% when you click thesubmit button, your scores will not be accepted, and you will have to return and correct thevalues. Use integer numbers only or you may have to start from the beginning!The numbers you enter here will be used to calculate a suggested rating for each of your teammembers. You do not need to use the number suggested, but should your rating

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carolyn Plumb, Montana State University; Durward Sobek, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

and the progress of the team. Reflection on individual and team process/assessment: An awareness of one’s own strengths and weaknesses in the team process as well as an awareness of the effectiveness of the team process and how it might be improved. Empathy for diverse perspectives: True awareness of the priorities and constraints inherent in other disciplines represented on the team and acceptance of the validity and value of personal differences in approaching a problem. Planning/organization: An understanding of how to manage one’s own time and also how to contribute to

Conference Session

Innovations in Mechanical Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hyun Kim, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

was suggested last year and implemented with favorable results. Some students still do not get a good understanding of the material, but their grade now accurately reflects this fact.Another faculty member’s course assessment revealed that at least three quarters of students inher course achieved the course objectives and close to 100% of students demonstrated theabilities in formulating and solving engineering problems and in utilizing modern tools andskills. That was a substantial improvement over the previous years’ results. Her comments on theassessment and plan of changes in the future to improve students’ performance in the samecourse are summarized as follows8: • Design projects continued to prove difficult for students

Conference Session

Cognitive and Motivational Issues in Student Performance I

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelli Higley, Pennsylvania State University; Thomas Litzinger, Pennsylvania State University; Peggy Van Meter, Pennsylvania State University; Christine B. Masters, Pennsylvania State University; Jonna Kulikowich, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

Figure 1) may reflect something significant, but more analysis, and a larger sampleof female students, are required before any statistically significant conclusions can be drawn. 14 Female Male 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 SAT/100 Math Folding/10 Rotation SCI FBD1 Equil Eqn FBD2Figure 1: Comparison of inventory and external criterion scores for female and male participants Page 12.586.6The cluster analysis was run using three of the four measures, and the students’ total SAT score.Because of the low variability associated with

Conference Session

Statics and Dynamics: What's New?

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marisa Orr, Clemson University; Lisa Benson, Clemson University; Matthew Ohland, Purdue Engineering Education; Sherrill Biggers, Clemson University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. The group also demonstrated a lot of cognitive and superficial elaboration as well. This group outperformed the passive superficial group on both near (p=0.1) and far transfer (p=0.05).In our study, homework problems are similar to worked examples. The exams, which make up80% of the final grade, tend to look like homework problems; therefore final grades may be usedas a rough indicator of near transfer. The concept inventories represent far transfer tests sincethey require a more conceptual understanding. • The Help Seekers reflect the active meta-cognitive group. They are aware of their misunderstandings and seek to resolve them. Mastery appears to be their goal. • The SI Dependent group is much like the passive

Conference Session

Tools for Teaching

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

S. Scott Moor, Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

key unique aspect is that this classroom was designed for engineering classes and is “owned”by the engineering department. In addition to allowing the customization of the classroom forengineering needs, this ownership helps to build the sense of attachment in both engineeringstudents and in the faculty.AssessmentFinal development and IRB approval of the formal assessment of this space is underway. A keyelement of that assessment is an assessment of student engagement. Student engagement hasbeen shown to be an appropriate target for assessment of learning spaces which reflects learningquality.28 Student engagement is also a direct reflection of our goal of seeing student-to-studentinteraction and student-to-faculty interactions increase.A

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Technology Curriculum

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan McGaughey, Carnegie Mellon University; Jeremy Michalek, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

collaborative aspect of the second wikiassignment brought students together both online and in the classroom. The studentsoften discussed their pages before and after class. Students had a third wiki assignment Page 13.1402.11where they were allowed to choose the topic for a new wiki page. They were encouragedto make links with all the other pages. These wiki pages will be used in subsequentofferings of the course.4.3 Graduate course experience in independent researchSimilar to the small-scale heat transfer course, in the graduate course on optimization andproduct development, students were given two assignments in creating wiki pages: 1. Reflection: Create

Conference Session

Professional Skills and the Workplace

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Betty Harper, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Patrick Terenzini, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

morescholarly activities, and engineering education is a case-in-point. The post-WWII and Sputnikeras saw a massive influx of federal support for research in higher education, increased hiring ofresearch-oriented faculty members, and curriculum revisions that reflected faculty members'interests. By 2000, engineering education looked more like that in a traditional science than in aprofession.3 Government, business, and professional societies pressed for engineering educationreforms in order to sustain America's technological and economic leadership. Consistent with Finkelstein et al.,1 one explanation for the failure of engineeringprograms to provide graduates with important professional skills is that most engineeringstudents are taught by

Conference Session

Problem Solving and Misconceptions

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Jackman, Iowa State University; Sarah Ryan, Iowa State University; Craig Ogilvie, Iowa State University; Dale Niederhauser, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

difficulty formulatingthe problem.ScaffoldingBased on the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development, scaffolding is a cognitive supportmechanism that enables learners to perform cognitively based tasks that are just beyond theirability.11 Scaffolding includes instructional assistance that helps problem solvers find thesolution that they would not be able to find otherwise.12 The degree of assistance will depend onthe expertise of the problem solver and the difficulty of the problem. Barron et al. suggested thatan effective form of scaffolding is to have students and instructors reflect on the relationshipbetween problem solving activities and the goal state throughout the problem solving process.13Although many forms of modeling and coaching have

Conference Session

Software Engineering Course Content

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sushil Acharya, Robert Morris University

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

. Page 13.555.10 • Feedback from Students/Alumni: Student feedbacks through course assessment and course reflection have been crucial to the ongoing enhancement of this course. End-of- term student course and instruction assessment were conducted using Student Instructional Report II (SIR II). Table 3 depicts the mean score for selected assessment items for spring 2006 and spring 2007 terms. Table 3: Selected Assessment Items from SIR II Report Item Spring Spring Comparative Mean for 4 2006 2007 Year Institutions Course Organization and Planning 4.31 4.34

Conference Session

DELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Yao, East Carolina University; Loren Limberis, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

the level signals sent to the controller and displayed onthe front panel (see Figure 6) reflect the actual levels (in inches) in the tanks. The flow ratequantity generated by the controller was converted into a voltage signal that allows the pump toproduce the desired flow. The coefficients of the digital controller are entered into an AUTOCONTROL module (see the block diagram in Figure 7) in a LabVIEW virtual instrumentprovided by the instructor. Level Sensors Laptop with the LabVIEW Controller Control

Conference Session

ECE Pedagogy and Assessment I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Kim, Howard University; Mohamed Chouikha, Howard University; Veronica Thomas, Howard University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

average retention rate of 5%. At the bottom of the chart, the "practice by doing" and "teachothers/immediate use" methods achieve an average retention rate of 75% and 90%, respectively.The Mobile Studio improves the knowledge retention rate by instant experience of theory andexperimentation of the theory.The experience of "learning by doing" of Mobile Studio also makes possible to practice experientialleaning, a process by which students reflect on what they learned and, from the reflection, newlearning emerges4. Starting from the abstract concept of theory and model presented, studentsdevelop experiments gain concrete experience of the theory by the measurement and observation ofthe experiment. Analysis of the result and discussion with other

Conference Session

Information and Network Security

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Barry Cumbie, Auburn University; Chetan Sankar, Auburn University; P.K. Raju, Auburn University

Tagged Divisions

Information Systems

documents, mailing lists, and electronic data interchange forms from vendors andcustomers, social security numbers, and credit card numbers6,16,17,18,19. These critical data andinformation reported in the literature provide and initial understanding to the question addressedin this research.Research Methodology: Focus GroupThis section discusses the methodology used in this research, namely a focus group discussion,and demonstrates its appropriateness for addressing the research questions. The value of thismethodology lies not only in the individual responses of the participants but also in thediscussions that arise among the respondents that reflect a shared, social understanding of aparticular topic. Additionally the opportunity exists for

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Willis, Southern Methodist University; Paul Krueger, Southern Methodist University; Alice Kendrick, Southern Methodist University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

relationship between engineering measurement and 2 7 engineering design and theory. I feel that as the result of the REU program, I now have considerable __ 7 „hands-on‟ experience in engineering.****A five-point scale from Strongly Agree (5) to Strongly Disagree (1) was used. This table reflects the number whochecked a 5 or 4. Page 13.1242.8**Questionnaires for the “Before” measurement were completed on the afternoon of the First Day on campus,following an orientation session. “After” questionnaires were completed on the Final Day, after all REU activitieswere completed

Conference Session

Electrical ET Curriculum and Projects

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carl Spezia, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Percentage Technical Report Schedule Adherence Progress Memos Figure 8. Individual Student Performance Distribution for Project Assessment InstrumentsThis is not unexpected since the technical report includes all aspects of the project and teammembers have only developed subsystems. There is correlation between the length and detail ofthe task exposition in the technical report and team members’ involvement in designing the task.Students report the tasks they design more thoroughly than those designed by other groupmembers.Peer and self-assessment was added to the project to measure individual project contributionsand introduce reflective practices to the assessment process.10 The most

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stacy Gleixner, San Jose State University; Elliot Douglas, University of Florida; Olivia Graeve, University of Nevada-Reno

sophomores who left engineering found that the most important reasoncited for women and second most important for men was that the “reason for choosingthe major was found inappropriate”. In other words, a significant number of studentswere not retained because they no longer felt engineering offered interesting work ormany job opportunities. Thus, retention of engineering students may be improved byplacing the freshman and sophomore curriculum more in the context of true engineeringwhere they can see these opportunities. Efforts across the nation to enhance theengineering experience in freshmen courses by adding design and/or project basedcomponents are a reflection of this effort.11, 12 Assessment has shown that introducingdesign and project based

Conference Session

History and Future of Engineering Technology

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Robertson, Arizona State University; Louis Frenzel, Electronic Design Magazine; James Hyder, Intel; Michael Lesiecki, MCCCD; Thomas McGlew, Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

. Page 13.1269.5From Primary Causes to Root CauseThe previous section illustrated many of the operational features that characterize today’shigh-tech industry. It is a worldwide phenomenon. Although laws and governmentinfluence vary considerably, the trends are truly global. Educational responses andsolutions must therefore also be set in the context of international competitiveness 4.Following the reasoning process of Figure 1, the much-simplified trace-back sequence is:Why has the structure of industry changed so much? It reflects an evolutionary process that pays off in earnings and market growth. Specialization on core competencies allows fast technology development.Why specialize? Advanced technology requires massive

Conference Session

Challenges of CE Education in a Global World

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Ressler, United States Military Academy; C. Conley; Richard Gash, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

curriculum was based on three principal criteria: Page 13.377.5* The “highly competitive salary” paid to an assistant professor is $600 per month.The curriculum must be relevant. The coursework should be consistent with infrastructuredevelopment practices and priorities in Afghanistan, and it must reflect the knowledge and skillsrequired of officers in the Afghan National Army.The curriculum must be accreditable, based on western standards. The NMAA Superintendentand Dean have expressed their strong desire that the academy have accredited degree programsas soon as possible. Because of political, financial, and structural issues between the

Conference Session

Innovative Programs - Structure, Delivery, Evaluation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Robertson, Arizona State University; Joseph Tidwell, Arizona State University; Ronald Thomas, Raytheon; William Charlton, Boeing

Tagged Divisions

Continuing Professional Development

literature and training is very general and reflects theexperience of generations past. As a result, the issues of outsourcing and globaloperations with fast-changing technologies have yet to receive the attention their currentrole demands.Methodology to analyze technical risk managementThe topics covered in this paper are the outcomes of a three-year iterative development ofindustry-based short training courses. Sixteen courses have been delivered to participantsfrom the five major companies who are members of the Arizona JACMET consortium.Over 200 participants have been involved. Most held senior-level positions. They havebeen project managers or candidate chief engineers but there have also been enough withsupply chain interests to demonstrate

Conference Session

1553 FPD3 - Computer & Programming Tools in First Year Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jess Everett, Rowan University; John Chen, Rowan University; Stephanie Farrell, Rowan University; Jennifer Kadlowec, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

, business andcomputer science. In the K-12 settings, they again find positive evidence of effectiveness inmiddle- and high-school mathematics, physics and chemistry, as well as in reading throughoutprimary and secondary education. The authors attribute these results to three factors: Increaseduse of formative assessment for feedback, which stimulates student reflections on their learning;building conceptual understanding using contrasts, both similar and different, and discussion;and motivating students to adopt mastery of learning as a goal, while avoiding theembarrassment of poor performance. Page 13.297.3More recently, Fies and Marshall11

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine; June Marshall, St. Joseph's College

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

students need to be successful in mycourse? Will they need to organize large amounts of information, summarize information,use rote memory techniques, or prepare for essay exams? Page 13.968.7Application of the Theory:Assisting students in developing study strategies which fit the type of testing (or otherforms of assessment) used in the course and which reflect the amount and nature of theinformation that must be learned will go a long way to promoting academic success.Question #7 - Learning Strategies: What types of learning strategies do my studentsneed? Will they need to collaborate with others in small or large groups? Will studentsneed to listen

Conference Session

Potpourri II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Waterfall, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Elizabeth Albrecht, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Stephen Williams, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Owe Petersen, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

acquiring skills and attitudes which promoteintellectual and personal growth. In the process, students become effective professionals andmature decision makers in a way that is uniquely theirs. This is a different way to considerand do advising.If faculty advisors could reflect for a moment on what academic skill sets the quintessentialstudent would possess upon graduation, most would picture a mature decision maker who hasthe capacity to apply the knowledge he/she gained in classes to solve problems, benefithumankind and expand the knowledge base in their chosen field. Utilizing a developmentaladvising model has the potential to produce the same scenario in the area of life skills.Effective Teaching Methods Set the Stage for Developmental

Collection

2003 GSW

Authors

Ifte Choudhury; Ricardo E. Rocha; Richard Burt

prepared to evaluate the obscure information usually entailed in technical topics.Since the information cannot be judged on content, most instructors will invariably revertto issues of format and technique. In short, the writing in many areas of composition andtechnical writing courses does not reflect the kinds of writing that the modern workplaceexpects students to do 1.Writing-Across-the-CurriculumRegardless of the style and amount of writing in specific English courses, the evidencewas apparent. A “gap” appeared between the writing competency displayed in acomposition course and the writing performance in the type used by the individualstudents’ professional disciplines 2. The response to this performance gap has led to whatis now termed

Conference Session

Enhancing Mechanics Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Francesco Costanzo, Pennsylvania State University; Gary L. Gray, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

[sic] and discussion ...”Some students had negative comments to make, such as “I did not like the style of solving problems. I can’t see everything I’m going to need right off the bat.” “The “5 steps” half the homework time was wasted Roadmap and discussion rather than learning to problem sole [sic] . . . ”A student, in response to the question “What, if anything, would you change about this course?Please explain.”, stated “Difficult to understand certain problem solving methods [sic].”Despite the presence of negative comments, we wish to remark that the positive and negativeanswers reported above accurately reflect the proportion of positive vs. negative comments weobtained. Therefore, we conclude that the use of a

Conference Session

Engineering Student Involvement in K12 Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malinda Zarske, University of Colorado at Boulder; Jacquelyn Sullivan, University of Colorado at Boulder; Daniel Knight, University of Colorado at Boulder; Janet Yowell, University of Colorado at Boulder

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

to judging their overall successes, as well as validating program continuations. Asindividual initiatives mature and researchers reflect upon their university/school district modelsand accomplishments, analyses of long-term program effects are expected to surface in theliterature.The TEAMS (Tomorrow’s Engineers… creAte. iMagine. Succeed.) Program2 is one such K-12engineering initiative that has been underway for nine years — long enough to permit analysis ofsignificant patterns of impact on graduate student participants. Evaluation of the TEAMSProgram includes the effects of the K-12 engineering program on graduate student development(their evolving attitudes and skills), as well as the long-term residual impact on students’ post-graduation

Conference Session

FPD8 - Early Intervention & Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joyce Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jacob Marszalek, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Annel Medina, California Polytechnic State University; Susan Linnemeyer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

happened during SAGE and reflects onwhat must be improved upon.IntroductionThe underrepresentation of minority students in science, technology, engineering andmathematics (hereafter STEM) has been an enduring crisis in U.S. education. Decrying suchinequity, efforts increased from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s to educate and train minoritystudents in the technical fields. To that end, one would be hard pressed to find a higher educationinstitution that had not developed some sort of program to support minority students’ STEMparticipation1. Though the rate at which students seek to study STEM is increasingly comparableby race/ethnicity, the rate of students graduating with STEM degrees is still disparate2 3 4. Thechallenge remains to continue and