Conference Session

Thinking Outside the Box! Innovative Curriculum Exchange for K12 Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gail Ellen Gerdemann, Oregon State University; Willie (Skip) E. Rochefort, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Materials Engineering, and (3) Air and Weather and WindToys. When curriculum is chosen or created, a team of veteran and early-career teachers arerecruited to pilot the new lessons. The STEM curriculum coordinator meets with pilotingteachers to introduce the lessons and materials kits in an after-school mini-training. The pilotingteachers try out the lessons in their classrooms and then a debriefing meeting is scheduled.Feedback from piloters is used to revise the curriculum and the materials kits. A second group ofpiloters try out the revisions before the district purchases and assembles multiple copies of thenew materials kits with teacher's guides. The new kits are stored in the central materials centerfor distribution and restocking. Finally

Conference Session

Faculty and Program Developments, Exchanges, and Partnerships

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sowmya Narayanan, VIT University; Muniratnam Adithan, VIT University, Vellore; Robert C. Creese, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

International

. There is an emphasis on interdisciplinary, integrated, project-based, learning within abroad based curriculum framework: Collaboration – the ability to work in teams Critical thinking – taking on complex problems Oral communications – presenting Written communications – writing Technology – use information and communication technology(ICT) in education Learn about careers – through internships Citizenship – take on civic and global issues and involving in community service learningShift from Teaching to Learning Paradigm “A paradigm is like the rules of a game. One of the functions of the rules is to define theplaying field and

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brianno Coller, Northern Illinois University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

AC 2011-1384: FIRST LOOK AT A VIDEO GAME FOR TEACHING DY-NAMICSBrianno Coller, Northern Illinois University Brianno Coller is an Associate Professor of Mechanical engineering. He started his research career ap- plying fairly deep mathematical ideas to gain insight into how complex physical and engineering systems work. His work was theoretical and somewhat abstract. Since then, his research has evolved toward studying a different type of complex system: how students learn and become excited about engineering. In this endeavor, Dr. Coller is mostly a ”nuts & bolts” practitioner, an engineer, and an experimentalist

Conference Session

Educating Students for Professional Success

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Devdas M. Pai, North Carolina A&T State University; Robin Guill Liles, North Carolina A&T State University; Courtney Lambeth, North Carolina A&T State University; Prashant N. Kumta, University of Pittsburgh; Harvey S. Borovetz, University of Pittsburgh; Sarah K. Pixley, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine; Partha Roy, University of Pittsburgh; Jangannathan Sankar, North Carolina A&T State University

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, New Engineering Educators, Student

slightly staggered startand end dates), identification of a weekly time slot convenient to all campuses, scheduling of atelevideo-enabled classroom with archiving capability and the cost of staffing such a facility,travel schedules of lead and guest instructors with active research careers outside the classroom,and the difference in exposure level to certain background information, such as biologyfundamentals, among some students. The challenges were successfully overcome and the modelpopular enough that a third trans-ERC course, led by a researcher (Dr. Yeoheung Yun) fromNCAT, was successfully offered in the Fall 2010 semester. Assessment results for that course areawaited. As an epilogue, the success of these course added impetus to the

Conference Session

Sustainability, Diversity, and STEM in Contemporary Energy Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey R. Seay, University of Kentucky; Wesley Allen Whipple, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

strong belief that chemical engineering is an appropriatemajor for those interested in careers involving sustainability. Page 22.294.9Project ChallengesInvolving high school students into undergraduate research labs presents a special set ofchallenges. Safety is the first priority with anyone working in a laboratory, so a speciallaboratory safety training session was conducted with the high school students and their parentsso everyone would be aware of any specific hazards and all laboratory rules and procedures. Inaddition, it has been important to coordinate with high school administrators and faculty toensure that they are aware of all

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

AnnMarie Thomas, University of Saint Thomas; Jan B Hansen, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees

”Educate Tanzania” of which she is president and CEO. Page 22.315.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 Certificate/Concentration in Engineering for P-12 EducatorsThe engineering community has called for the integration of engineering content into the P-12curriculum. However, universities have been slow to offer engineering content courses andprograms designed for students preparing for careers in education. While a number ofworkshops and summer academies exist, their focus is often on specific engineering activities forthe classroom. As P-12 teachers tend to lack confidence in their

Conference Session

Non-Technical Skills in ET

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John M. Robertson, Arizona State University, Polytechnic campus

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

. The format hasan additional advantage of presenting the same compact message to the reader, especially if it isbeing read on a screen or tablet device. Student responses indicate that the project goals arebeing met.Problem statementComplaints about poor student writing skills have been rampant for generations. Effectivecommunication (in all its forms) has been identified by Wagner as one of the seven survivalskills for careers, college and citizenship in the 21st century 1. There is also ample evidencefrom field studies that higher-level communication skills such as the ability to elucidate conceptsthat span many business functions is an essential attribute for promotion to business decision-making roles 2. Of all the forms of communication

Conference Session

Recruiting, Retention, and Diversity in Engineering Technology

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Omer Farook, Purdue University, Calumet ; Chandra R. Sekhar, Purdue University, Calumet, Department of Technology; Jai P. Agrawal, Purdue University, Calumet; Essaid Bouktache, Purdue University, Calumet; Ashfaq Ahmed P.E., Purdue University, Calumet; Hassan Moghbelli, Isfahan University of Technology, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Texas A&M University, Department of Mathematics

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

Computability, Database systems, Computer Graphics, Artificial Page 22.363.3Intelligence, Numerical Analysis and DSP. This integrated unified approach provides a road mapin the form of curriculum that utilizes the same tools which industry is employing. This approachto curriculum bridges the gap that exists between the classroom practices and industrial practices.This unified approach would deliver students with career-bound knowledge essential for theindustry.Time line for a student in the Program Curriculum: • 2 years in the program Associate of Science degree. • 4 years in the program Bachelor degree with a Minor in Computer

Conference Session

Pedagogical Issues in Computing

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chia-Lin Ho, North Carolina State University; Dianne Raubenheimer, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

, influence their career and academic options, as wellas their persistence and success in their chosen majors 1.Self-efficacy and GenderGender differences in students’ beliefs about their computer/technology abilities have receivedmuch attention in education because they provide a potential interpretation of females’ lowparticipation in computer-related fields 9. Females tend to have less confidence in theircomputer-related skills than males, and this pattern has been found from elementary school 10 tocollege 11, 12. The gender inequity on computer-related self-efficacy can be attributed to differentsocialization experiences of females and males, and was found to be a reflection of gender biasedsocial expectations as expressed by parents 13. With an

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Ludwigsen, Kettering University; Janet Brelin-Fornari, Kettering University; Joseph Neal, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

helps me understand situations in myeveryday life.” (experts agree). Students’ rate of favorable responses is presented in Figure 2. Page 22.389.7Figure 1: A-D plot as in Ref. 3, including their published data. (Experts are college teachersinvolved in Workshop Physics; USIPOT is one of the US International Physics Olympiad Teams,and UMCP pre are students entering the University of Maryland calculus-based physics course.)DiscussionThe goals of the curriculum development project were ambitious in the context of a two hourweekly lab. By incorporating a recurring theme of crash safety and vehicle testing, the projectaimed to improve the perception of students that introductory physics is relevant to a career inengineering, in an area that

Conference Session

Non-Technical Skills in ET

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald C. Richter, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

through case studies and examples. Smallenergy projects such as v-belt changes are calculated by the student to illustrate that smallindividual savings applied throughout the plant can have a sizable effect on overall energysavings.Basic Passive solar and green building design concepts are introduced as well as how to thinkgreen on product design and process improvements each of which can affect the energy footprint of the company.Resources that the student can use in his future career are presented including the “ModernIndustrial Assessments A Train Manual”7, EPA Guide to Industrial Assessments for PollutionPrevention and Energy Efficiency8, and Self Assessment Workbook for Small Manufacurers9.The following is a summary listing of the learning

Conference Session

Innovative Instructional Strategies and Curricula in ECE II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Prawat Nagvajara, Drexel University, Electrical and Computer Engineering ; Robin Kizirian, Drexel University, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

with mixed-signal systems O O O O O (digital and analog). 9. I design embedded systems with design O O O O O stages and debugging plan. 10. I am prepared for career in embedded O O O O O systems design. Page 22.437.11 Figure 10: Pre and Post Course Evaluation Questionnaires Pre-Course Evaluations 70 Percentage of Students 60

Conference Session

ECE Division Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heinz Schmidt-Walter, Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany; Michael J. Dyrenfurth, Purdue University, College of Technology, West Lafayette; James L. Barnes, James Madison University

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

werestudying as a cohort and furthermore many lived off campus. Regardless of instructionaldifferences or the nature of the courses, the students overall specified that they were satisfiedwith their academic experience during the exchange and that it did not jeopardize theircompletion pace at their home institution.SummaryUniversities have to prepare the students for their career. This is more than learning expertknowledge. Communication skills, respect for other people, understanding of different waysof social life, just knowing not being the center of the world is also a part of learning. This isnot countable in examinations but nevertheless a big learning effort.International exchange lives from the involved individuals. Close contacts up to

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nael Barakat, Grand Valley State University; Lihong (Heidi) Jiao, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

course. The course is an activity within abigger plan to develop undergraduate educational modules, and outreach activities, innanotechnology. The lab activities covered multiple aspects of nanotechnology to expose thestudents to as many parts as possible of the spectrum of nanotechnology. This was by-design toprovide the students with a practical background that will enable them to have more choices,should they decide to pursue a career in nanotechnology.Lab activities were assessed directly and indirectly to improve the following offering ofactivities. Achievements by students differed depending on the level of difficulty of the labtopic, but most students managed to grasp the material very well.In the next offering, an attempt will be made to

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald Plumlee, Boise State University

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees

careers should be agoal of project-based education, but may also be a hurdle towards effective teaching. In thisstudy, a group of engineering students were surveyed using a modified version of the “Need forCognition” study to evaluate engineering student attitudes towards using cognitive tools.[5] Theresults of this survey are presented in this paper along with several conclusions regarding theeffect of project-based curriculum on student attitudes. Page 22.234.2II. Class DescriptionThis study involves the investigation of a senior level mechanical engineering class ofapproximately 38 students. The students were not identified demographically, but

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Phillip J. Cornwell; Jerry M. Fine

is on the quarter system.One overall purpose of the SEC is to enhance the students' problem solving abilities. We believethat the incoming students have some misconceptions about the problem solving process thatneed to be corrected before they can progress to the more difficult problems that they will facelater in their undergraduate careers. These misconceptions include the ideas that "solvingproblems means finding a formula to apply" and "I can demonstrate my cleverness by solvingproblems while showing as little of the actual work as possible." To cause the students to changesome of their notions of problem solving, we require a far more formalized and completeapproach to problem solving than they have yet experienced.In the first course

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Tom Ward; Elizabeth Alford

addressing key personal and socialchallenges that students face as they enter college. These include orientation to the libraryresources, career services, health awareness, and managing personal freedom and choices. Thesetopics are discussed within the context of being a student in the engineering community.A second portion of the class introduces students to the engineering profession and thepreparation necessary to become an engineer. Students are introduced to the engineering designprocess, team-based learning and basic computational tools. Students work in teams on anassigned design project and present it to the class accompanied by a written report. The team

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

James Pearson

other students was unfair because thestudents were not allowed to learn as effectively as (they would) if they were to work ontheir own." This is exactly the environment they need to experience. Non-cooperativebehavior, contradistinctory ideas, compromise, schedule delays, working together tomeet deadlines and subjective evaluations are all desirable factors for these students toexperience before they enter the senior capstone course and ultimately their careers. Page 4.80.6IX. ConclusionsThis laboratory experience develops team work, stimulates laboratory activity andprovides for a meaningful design experience. All the objectives outlined for this

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Takayuki Sugita

and Intentionhave sufficient typing skills tend to adovocate CAD.Because the number of students who prefer traditional drafting is 62 and the number of studentswith CAD preference is 179, 117 out of 188 students, namely 62% who initially disliked the tradi-tional drafting turned out to adovocate CAD. This is a remarkable effect due to CAD practice.No.11 of Fig.1 shows 15% of the students (36 out of 250) hope to continue CAD practice tobecome specialists in the future. Thus, CAD practice has given them an enlightening effect fortheir future career.6.Working timeNo.12 of Fig.1 shows students' feeling about the length of working time as in item 12 on Table 2.Total working time was 12 hours. It is shown that 36% of the students feel it was short

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Ann M. Bisantz; Amjad Aref; Alexander N. Cartwright

an Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Shereceived her Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997 the areaof Human-Machine Systems, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from SUNY at Buffalo. Dr.Bisantz pursues research and teaching in the areas of human factors, cognitive engineering, and human decisionmaking.ALEXANDER N. CARTWRIGHTAlexander N. Cartwright received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1995 and has been an AssistantProfessor at the State University of New York at Buffalo since August 1995. In 1998, he was fortunate enough toreceive a NSF CAREER Award that supports his research and educational

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert P. Hesketh; Stephanie Farrell; C. Stewart Slater

using Page 4.19.1engineering measurements as a common thread. The theme of the second semester is the reverseengineering of a commercial product or process. Previous reverse engineering projects haveinvolved products such as automatic coffee makers [3, 4, 5], hair dryers and electric toothbrushes[6]. This paper describes our first effort to incorporate the design and reverse engineering of aprocess into our Freshman Clinic. We focus on the investigation of the beer production process.A project introduced in a three-week program sponsored by the National Science Foundation in1990 was the inspiration for this project. The program, Exploring Career

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

George Stephanopoulos; Alan S. Foss

and the several otherquestions posed at the outset of this paper. With those questions resolved, the engineering problemis considered solved. However, the pedagogical ÀloopÀ about modeling still has to be closed. We must eventually Page 4.362.6challenge students to write the equations. Otherwise, the students are left without confirmation andconfidence that they can execute an analysis and a mathematical model of the process, a capabilitythey will need in their career as an engineer. We describe equation-writing sessions in the nextsection. In working with a small group of students, we have found that they enthusiastically wantedto

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Neda Fabris

, to groupsof internal and external “customers” with no or little engineering background. This presentconsiderable difficulty to many engineering students who choose engineering careers becausethey were “good in math and science”, but not in written and oral skills, or who were too “shy”to argue their point of view in front of others. Also, engineering in its international universalbackground was a “refuge” for new emigrants, or people with English as a second languagegiving them the opportunity to excel despite the hurdle of mastering a new language.The new engineering paradigm and industry requirement to “hit the ground running” placesspecial emphasis on engineering education to provide graduating engineers with the experienceand practice in

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Andrew Grossfield

changing is the nuts and bolts ofmathematics. But the repetitive mechanics of form changing should not be substituted at theexpense of the strategies in advanced mathematics classes.References:1. Grossfield, Andrew “On the Intrinsic Structure of Calculus” Proceedings of the 1995 ASEE AnnualConference, Session 1265 (311-315)2. Grossfield, Andrew “On the Classification of Functions and Curve Plotting” Proceedings of the 1990 ASEEAnnual Conference, Session 2665 (1782-1784)3. Grossfield, Andrew “What are Differential Equations? A review of Curve Families” Proceedings of the 1997ASEE Annual Conference, Session 2665ANDREW GROSSFIELDThroughout his career Dr. Grossfield, has combined an interest in engineering design and mathematics. He earneda BSEE at

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Patricia Click

convincingly justified” (Kurfiss 1988). Study after study has shown thatundergraduate students are seriously deficient in their ability to think critically (Belenky et al.1986; Bloom 1987; Keeley et al. 1982; King et al.1983). Although senior engineering studentsare better able to marshal evidence than entering students, many still believe that judgment is amatter of “individual idiosyncracies” rather than the critical evaluation of different points ofview (Welfel 1982).Students preparing for careers in science or engineering need to learn how “to draw soundinferences from observations, critically analyze and evaluate previous research, and generatenew questions or experiments” (Kurfiss 1988). A course that focuses on various cultural

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Eric W. Tisdale

Conference Proceedings,ASEE, 19974) Conversations with Joe Koenig, CEO of Interactive Image Technologies Ltd., jkoenig@interactiv.com5) Grambo, A., Central Nine Career Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.6) Stepper Motor Applications Across Electrical Engineering Technology Curriculum, Grinberg, Barker, Goldberg,Matusiak, ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings, ASEE, 19977) Using Automated Instrumentation and Available Software to Provide Interactive Laboratory Instruction toDistance Education Students on the Internet, Dutcher, Raza, Rippy, Yi, Hess, ASEE Annual ConferenceProceedings, ASEE, 19978) Pcanywhere controls remote computers.9) CuSeeMe permits voice and video.10) Phonefree.com permits voice only.11) ICQ.com limits connections to those only on your

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

R. J. Helgeson; Troy Henson

. inelectrical engineering, and has research interests in engineering education and energy dissipation systems.TROY F. HENSON, Ph.D., P.E.. Dr. Henson is dean and professor of engineering at UT Martin. Prior to joiningUT Martin in 1994, Henson’s career included 18 years with IBM Corporation in Huntsville, Alabama, and Houston,Texas; five years on the faculty at Louisiana Tech University; and seven years as a part-time member of the facultyat Rice University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. from theUniversity of Texas at Austin, all in electrical engineering. Page 4.31.10

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Loren Lutes; James T. P. Yao

significantly more than in the alternativeresembling the current master’s degree. Again, there are many ramifications, including methodsof financing and societal acceptance of this model as an attractive career path, particularly forstudents from families with low to moderate income.A key question in all of these considerations seems to be the needs of the civil engineeringemployer. It is well known that many civil engineering employers now require a master’s degreefor entry level employees in some specialties. In fact, this has been used as one of the argumentsfor moving to a requirement that this be true for all civil engineers. On the other hand, amajority of current civil engineers do now find employment armed only with a BS degree. It isunclear

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Erol Inelmen

research can help students develop this ability, excessive costs are incurredwhen research is used as a tool for teaching. While providing the basic knowledge good teachersshould stimulate the minds of their students in the direction of “critical thinking” and“creativity”. Research activities, vital for raising funds and building public image that will attractbetter students, should not hinder the efficiency of teaching activities 6.III. First Experience Gained in IntegrationWhile investigating the possibilities integrating the engineering education curriculum assuggested in the previous section, the author was for the first time in his career asked to give acourse in Automatic Control. An adequate textbook was searched that could to be used

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Bill Diong

prepare them better for a rewarding engineering career. To achieve this, a proposal was recently submitted by the author and 2 other facultymembers to the National Science Foundation’s Instrumentation and Laboratory ImprovementProgram for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Dynamic Systems and Controls instructionallaboratory at UTPA. The proposal was funded and this laboratory is now being developed for use(to varying degrees) by all Electrical, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering undergraduatestudents at UTPA. Its main goals are to:a. prepare students to be multidisciplinary in their thinkingb. introduce students to a model-based simulation-oriented approach to control systems designand developmentc. let students gain experience