Collection

2013 Pacific Southwest Section Meeting

Authors

Alex Dekhtyar; Anya L. Goodman; Aldrin Montana

acquiring the technical knowledge and skills taught in the courses (learning objectives 1-4 for CSC 448 and 1-3 for BIO 441). 2. Are life sciences students acquiring computational skills? The key computational skill presented in BIO 441 was the ability to convert a biological problem into a set of software requirements (learning objective 4 for BIO 441). 3. Are students learning to work effectively with their peers within and outside of their discipline? In particular, is there evidence that cross-disciplinary collaboration within the in-concert teaching framework is beneficial for the students? (learning objective 5 for both courses). 4. How did students perceive in-concert

Conference Session

Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 4

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sydni Alexa Cobb, University of Texas, Austin; Audrey Boklage, University of Texas, Austin; Maura Borrego, University of Texas, Austin; Lydia Contreras

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Faculty Development Division (FDD)

institution is relatively small, these young scholars arealmost invisible when compared to students, staff, and faculty at an institution [2]. There is alsono one size fits all solution for postdocs to improve in all the ways needed to becomecompetitive candidates in the highly competitive market for the tenure-track jobs less than 20%of them will eventually obtain [3]. Nowell et al.’s [3] systematic review of professional development (PD) of postdocsthoroughly examined what was and was not working for post doctoral PD. One of the areas theyidentified as an important skill postdocs wanted to learn or further develop were “grant,manuscript, and proposal writing” and improving their presentation skills. Teaching skills sawthe greatest

Conference Session

Graduate Studies Division (GSD) Technical Session 4: Mentoring Programs in Graduate Education

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dayna L. Martínez, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Inc.; Susan Arnold Christian; Esther Gonzalez; Andrea D. Beattie; Ashleigh Tierney; Kimberly D. Douglas, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Inc.

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies Division (GSD)

board for WEPAN from 2012-2014. She earned her M.S. in Youth Development from the University of Nebraska and her B.S. in Family Studies at Kansas State University.Esther Gonzalez Esther Gonz´alez, MPA, MBA, ABD is a PhD Candidate at University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy with subject matter expertise in organization behavior and diversity management. Her research is multidisciplinary and applies methods and fields in public policy and management. She is a published author in several peer reviewed journals with media mentions in Forbes. Previously, she served as Director on the Research and Innovation team at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). She is a multifaceted

Conference Session

Assessing Design Coursework

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Bannerot, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

, and about4% “not enjoying” several aspects of the project work. Table 18 provides responses tothe same core statements for the Fall 2007 as well as to some additional responses. TheFall 2007 responses are very close to the previous average responses with the “ability”statements rated a little lower and the “enjoy” statements a little higher. From the last sixstatements for the Fall 2007 thirteen per cent of the students indicated the course was notuseful or that they didn’t learn a lot. Only two of sixty didn’t like the peer evaluations.Less than 10% indicated that their teaming experience was not good. By the last twostatements, it is clear that, despite some complaints about our emphasizing writing toomuch in the course, student do

Conference Session

Assessing Design Coursework

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Miskimins, Colorado School of Mines; Ramona Graves, Colorado School of Mines; Craig Van Kirk, Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

Program’s capstone design course. The capstone design course for the PE Departmentis multi-disciplinary and is taught along with CSM’s Geophysical Engineering and Geology andGeological Engineering Departments.2-4 Data for this criterion were collected from four sourcesincluding rubric assessments for oral and written communication (Tables 5 and 6), interviews,peer evaluations, and end-of-course surveys. The peer evaluations demonstrated statisticallysignificant increases in team skills over semester-long periods.5-7 The second interview questionused in Criterion 3b was also used for this criterion, along with two additional questions asfollows: What are some of the benefits of working on a multidisciplinary team? What are some of the

Collection

2001 Annual Conference

Authors

Leslie Pease; Edward Mastascusa; Dan Hyde; Brian Hoyt; Bill Snyder; Maurice F. Aburdene; Michael Prince; Margot Vigeant

.) with rotation through the roles for each student;3. Team homework within instructor-assigned groups;4. Team design assignments, using open-ended problems as a primary vehicle to promote problem-based learning;5. Peer evaluation, especially in lab and project teams; and6. Collaboration facilitated by electronic communication, especially using a course management system, e.g. Blackboard.To provide a more complete understanding of how these activities were implemented in theteaching-learning process at Bucknell, specific aspects of three of last fall's Project Catalystcourses are described in the following sections. The examples highlight key elements of theproject, including team building, incorporating formal cooperative learning

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Anthony Brizendine; Laora E. Dauberman-Brizendine

and service, the favored path to gaining promotion and tenure at manyinstitutions is the research component of the triumvirate. This paper reviews faculty andadministration views on scholarship, tenure and promotion and scholarly work by Diamond,Boyer, Karabell, Miller, Schön, ASCE, ASEE, and others; indeed, most of this paper serves as areview of some of the significant writings in this area in the 1990s. While the authors apologizeto those already familiar with the literature, readers unfamiliar with these works should find thisbackground helpful.Scholarship as redefined by E. L. Boyer is discussed extensively. Boyer broadens the definitionof scholarship to embrace the scholarship of teaching. Does Boyer’s model of scholarship, aspresented

Conference Session

ERM: Let's Continue the Conversation about Tests! Part 2

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Gehringer, North Carolina State University at Raleigh

], and felt that they learned the material better thanthey otherwise would have [2, 9, 11]. They found it very helpful in identifying their errors [9].They felt that they were more engaged in the dual-submission process [5]. What they liked bestwas self-grading [5]. Their attitudes toward the methodology improved from early in thesemester to later on [4]. Students who completed homework wrappers [13] said they made themmore likely to think about what confused them about a problem. In the Harvard peer-instructionapproach, they “greatly value[d] the team discussions in improving their skills.” The onlyreactions that were less than glowing came from the UMBC students [12], who had just a slightpositive perception of writing their reflection

Conference Session

Redefining Manufacturing Education Practices

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah Zappe, Pennsylvania State University; Stephanie Cutler, Pennsylvania State University; Sam Spiegel, Colorado School of Mines; Jenifer Blacklock, University of Colorado Boulder; Deb Jordan, Colorado School of Mines; Francisco Garcia, Colorado School of Mines

Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and a PhD in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. She is an Associate Research Professor and the Assessment and Instructional Support Specialist in the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education at Penn State. Her primary research interest include faculty development, the peer review process, the doctoral experience, and the adoption of evidence-based teaching strategies. She is currently serving as the ASEE Educational Research and Methods division Vice Chair of Programs for ASEE 2022.Sam Spiegel Dr. Spiegel is Assistant Vice President for Online Education and was the founding Director, Trefny Innovative Instruction Center at the Colorado School of

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Juhamatti Korhonen, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology; Johanna Naukkarinen, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology; Hanna Niemelä, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology; Heikki Järvisalo, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology; Pertti Silventoinen, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

University of Technology Hanna Niemel¨a received the M.A. and PhD degrees in translation studies from University of Helsinki in 1993 and 2003, respectively. She is currently working as an associate professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, Lappeenranta, Finland. Her professional experience ranges from translating to teaching and language consulting. Her interests include electrical engineering, scientific writing, and special languages.Dr. Heikki J¨arvisalo, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology Heikki J¨arvisalo received the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering and the D.Sc. degree in electronics from the Lappeenranta University of Technology

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Gehringer, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

… he has a Ph.D.! Or, ifthe TA is an international graduate student, they assume, All international students are good atscience. But if they see another undergraduate who can explain the work to them, they realize,Hey, if she can do the problem, so can I! Such a TA is a “peer model,” and peer models areeffective in promoting “self-efficacy,” the belief that, by performing in a certain manner, one canachieve certain goals.There is also an advantage to hiring the best student you can find who has taken the course fromyou. This is because that student understands the material as you have taught it, and thus isbetter able to answer student questions on your lectures and assignments. As a TA, (s)he is alsoqualified to grade papers; if the student’s

Conference Session

Revealing the Invisible: Engineering Course Activities that Address Privilege, -Isms, and Power Relations (Interactive Session)

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel Alejandro Mejia, University of San Diego; Diana A. Chen, University of San Diego; Odesma Onika Dalrymple, University of San Diego; Susan M Lord, University of San Diego

Tagged Topics

ASEE Diversity Committee, Diversity, Faculty Development Constituency Committee

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education, International, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Minorities in Engineering

-Centered Designclass has been very rewarding for Dalrymple, especially after overcoming the initial discomfortin critiquing Whiteness as a Black immigrant. She especially enjoys having her experienceworking with communities valued in an engineering context.S. M. Lord is a White woman with over two decades of teaching experience. Her interest insocial justice stems from experiences of marginalization as a woman in Electrical Engineering inthe 1980s. During graduate school, she took several courses in Feminist Studies in response toher male peers constantly asking, “What do women think?” These courses gave her invaluableexperiences and some language and theoretical understanding of concepts such as privilege,sexism, racism, structural inequality and

Conference Session

Integration of Engineering and Other Disciplines (Including Liberal Arts)

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anneliese Watt, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Scott Kirkpatrick, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Ashley Bernal, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Multidisciplinary Engineering

reflection process, which we hope will be of interest to otherengineering educators developing and/or teaching interdisciplinary programs. We followBorrego and Newswander in using the term “interdisciplinary” when collaborators work togetherto create something new as opposed to a “multidisciplinary” collaboration where colleaguescome together momentarily but then split apart “unchanged by the experience.”5Course objectives were outlined for the specific courses the program would encompass; Table 1shows a list of objectives for each of three courses. Students earned twelve credit hours for theprogram (four in science, four in engineering, and four in technical writing and communication).Throughout this paper the word “program” refers to the full

Conference Session

Statics and Dynamics in Mechanical Engineering

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan Bowling, University of Texas, Arlington; Ashley Guy; Frasier Jones, University of Texas, Arlington; Maria Adamuti-Trache, University of Texas, Arlington

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

illustrate how students write up a solution to this problem. Each sectionrepresents a module in Figure 1.2.1 Position and Orientation ^ XAThe first step in Figure 1, is to develop ^ Νa description of position and orienta- Y B xtion for all rigid bodies in the system. ^Students develop this description using X B z ^ YA

Conference Session

Construction Engineering Division Technical Session 5

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Kelli R. Kopocis-Herstein, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Terry L. Stentz, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Tagged Divisions

Construction Engineering

. Students write about their experience during the last ten (10) minutes of class. Students wrote they felt “refreshed” after the meditation experience and were going to try to add reflective time to focus on stress management into their schedules. Many students were very concerned about their Life Stressors Index and wrote about coping mechanisms they plan to employ in order to improve their own lives. They also wrote about how they will look for signs of distress in their construction crews and work to improve work-life balance for themselves and their subordinates.Week 4 – Leadership, Personality, and Learning Styles The module begins by juxtaposing the definitions of leadership and management. For this first class in the

Conference Session

Been There, Done That: Advice for New Faculty

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kevin Dahm, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

New Engineering Educators

each,descriptions of four levels of performance were written. These rubrics were published inChemical Engineering Education6, and two of the original 16 rubrics are shown in Table2. Levels of performance were mapped to letter grades (A, B, C and D/F) and the rubricswere passed out to students on the first day of Junior/Senior Clinic in order to clarifyexpectations for the course. Note that the rubrics are intended for overall evaluation of ateam project; separate mechanisms are needed for evaluating individual contributions tothe project. Most Rowan engineering faculty use the peer evaluation form designed byFelder.7The project supervisor evaluates a deliverable (mid-semester report, final report, finalpresentation etc.) by going through the

Conference Session

Tricks of the Trade for Research

Collection

2005 Annual Conference

Authors

Jerry Samples

. What are the downfalls and are there easily self-taught solutions? Are theresimilarities in both teaching and research situations?Pitfalls in the tenure processThere are a lot of distractions, situations and attention issues that cause professors to not stay ontask to tenure. The list below is mixed: some are distractions, some are situations and some arecaused due to lack of attention – some fit more than one category. Some of the more importantissues, such as teaching and proposal writing can be handled efficiently or inefficiently – thustheir inclusion in this section. Each issue is followed by a brief explanation. Once the issues areon the table, possible solutions will be presented for streamlining the process. What does thishave to do

Conference Session

Attracting Young Minds: Part II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rema Nilakanta, Iowa State University; Giada Biasetti, Iowa State University; Shashi S. Nambisan P.E., Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

youngminds about the educational and career possibilities in transportation. With volunteer efforts andnominal start-up funding, Go! was created in 2007 as a static web site and used standard webtechnology. Static sites are typically used to display and disseminate information to a generalaudience. Go! disseminated information on transportation topics and careers. It published articleson various aspects of transportation in a fun and easy to read manner. The topics were selectedby the faculty and staff, and developed and written by graduate and undergraduate students withinterface design, communication, and writing skills. These students were typically enrolled innon-transportation programs, such as communications, creative writing, journalism, and

Collection

1999 Annual Conference

Authors

Ismail Orabi

associated with specific learning goals.Assignments: the assignment is a short scenario that sets up the context of an engineeringproblem. Students were asked to describe the process they would engage to solve the problem.Presentations: a team of two or three students works in a project and present their work to theclass. Students complete self/peer evaluations of each team. Self/peer evaluations make studentsmore aware of, and responsible for, their own development.Student Surveys: were used to gage student satisfaction during the course. Two surveys wereconducted during the semester, one at the beginning and one at the end of the semester. . Thesesurveys were reconciled with the course profiles provided by the instructor to see if the

Conference Session

Engineering Collaboration: Faculty & Student in K-12 Programs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Holly Anthony, Tennessee Technological University; Melissa Geist, Tennessee Tech University; Sally Pardue, Tennessee Tech University; Mohamed Abdelrahman, Tennessee Technological University; Evangelynn Thurber, Cookeville High School

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

“become” researchers in the sense that they conductliterature reviews, develop research question(s), design (collaboratively with mentors/peers) theirstudy, and report their results. Initiating teachers into the research process in the first week of theRET experience is key. In this paper, we describe how we use a Legacy Cycle approach to trainthe teachers in the research process. The inquiry approach inherent in a Legacy Cycle providesteachers the flexibility to research topics and develop their interests, yet the structure of theCycle keeps the teachers focused and progressing towards the final goal/product: their researchquestion. Using the Legacy Cycle early in the RET experience also showcases how a Cycleunfolds when implemented. This is

Conference Session

Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY) Technical Session 4

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pheather R. Harris, University of California, Irvine; Dianne G. Delima, University of California, Irvine

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

exclusionary learning environments and curricula, lack of facultymentorship and role models, and lack of a supportive peer group (see [4]-[6] research findings onthese topics). For these reasons, there is a steep decline in the number of Black and Hispanicstudents graduating with a STEM degree from Baccalaureate institutions [7]. Classroom culture is shown to have a significant impact on the success of Black andHispanic students in higher education and in STEM in particular. Specifically, when Black andHispanic students feel like they have learning and supportive spaces to develop their STEMidentities, they are more likely than their peers who do not have access to such spaces toacademic persist in the STEM field [8]. However, Black and

Conference Session

Student Division (STDT) Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lindsey Pegram, "Be A Maker (BeAM)" Makerspace in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ; Maria Christine Palmtag; Anna Engelke, UNC-Chapel Hill / North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Student Division (STDT)

. Each community cohort consists of an experienced Program Specialist facilitator andthree to four new Program Assistants. In total, 18 new staff members have participated for a fullyear in the program. Each cohort meets weekly for three hours in the Makerspace, and new staffrotate to a new tool domain every six weeks. During the sessions, the participants would practicenew skills through structured projects, design activities, and opportunities for peer teaching. Atthe time of writing this publication, new staff had completed two successful six-week rotationsof the CoP program and a third rotation is in process. CoP facilitators monitored the programthrough multiple assessment methods, including participant self-assessment through pre- andpost

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald W. Mueller Jr. P.E., Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Josue Njock Libii, Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Donna Dea Holland, Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Omonowo David Momoh, Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Peter A Ng, Purdue University, Fort Wayne; Reynaldo Pablo; Suleiman A. Ashur, Purdue University, Fort Wayne

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

senior-levelstudents [1,6]. Students were recruited as rising juniors in three cohorts consisting of eight, eight,and ten students from 2017-2019. These students comprised the core of a Student LearningCommunity (SLC). The SLC met to every two-weeks with activities designed to promotesuccessful academic habits and professional development as well as foster a sense-of-belongingand provide opportunity for both peer and faculty mentorship. Learning communities, especiallyfor first-year students, have proven to be effective at improving retention [7,8].A Faculty Learning Community (FLC) was also formed, and the group participated in acomprehensive program designed to increase interactions between faculty and students, supportstudent retention

Conference Session

Bringing Engineering Leadership Pedagogy to Life!

Collection

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Novick, University of Texas at El Paso; Melanie Realyvasquez, University of Texas at El Paso; Sebastian Palacios

: • Focusing on the content of interpersonal interactions rather than delivery style [20] • Active listening [27] • Willingness to resolve: Naming personal issues that cloud the picture [28] • Co-operative power: Eliminating “power over” to build “power with” others [22]Skills for dealing with social loafing, in particular, include: • Rewarding both group and individual effort [29] • Assigning instrumental and equitable tasks to all team members; an instrumental task is one that is indispensable to the team’s project so that each team member believes that an adequate collective performance depends on his or her personal contribution [29] • Conducting peer evaluations [30] • Having each team adopt a written team

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Learning Experiences

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Haolin Zhu, Arizona State University; Amy Trowbridge, Arizona State University; Jill L. Roter, Arizona State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

active learning and peer-to-peerinteraction in the online environment. Expert talks feature faculty members from variousinstitutions and industry professionals discussing their research and industry related-work aroundspecific challenges within each theme and promote deeper understanding of the issues.Throughout the course, students also work on a project involving entrepreneurially-mindedlearning (EML). They identify an opportunity to create value related to one or more of the fourthemes; perform customer discovery and needs analysis; imagine and develop a futuristicsolution to address the needs; identify and research current technologies, which, when furtherdeveloped, could enable the development and implementation of their futuristic solution

Conference Session

Pre K-12 Track - Technical Session V

Collection

2018 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference

Authors

Michael Frye, University of the Incarnate Word; Chaoyi Wang, University of the Incarnate Word; Sreerenjini C. Nair, University of the Incarnate Word; Yvonne Calvo Burns, Camp Program Coordinator

Tagged Topics

Pre K-12 Education

curriculum was introduced over the two-week camp culminating with a finalpresentation and skit. miniGEMS was the first free camp in San Antonio for middle school girlsthat had a special focus on autonomous ground, air, and underwater robots. miniGEMS campswas led by undergraduate and graduate students from various UIW STEAM programs includingEngineering and Biomedical Sciences. Middle school teachers were hired to participate in thecamp and they helped recruit the middle school students from their respective schools.miniGEMS high school student alumni came back as peer mentors for the camp. An End ofSummer Conference and Banquet was held for all campers, their parents, and teachers on August4. miniGEMS clubs are now being formed in some of the

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sharon A. Jones P.E., University of Portland; Caitlin Cairncross, University of Portland; Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland

Tagged Topics

NSF Grantees Poster Session

increased the score to pass the Calculus 1 readiness test in summer2015.)A. Voluntary Pre-First-Year Six-Week Academic Summer BridgeTarget Audience: Entering first-year students who did not pass the Calculus 1 readiness test. All42 eligible students invited, but participation was optional. In the only year offered (2014), ninestudents participated.Cost for Students: meals, insurance, booksCost for the University: faculty stipends, student housing, 20-hour per week peer mentor,transportation for field tripsAcademic Integration Component: Students complete Pre-calculus II so that they can begin thefall semester on track with their cohort. They also complete a second course within theUniversity’s core curriculum.Social Integration Component: Ice

Conference Session

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering Division: Fundamental: K-12 Student Beliefs, Motivation, and Self Efficacy

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer B. Listman, New York University ; Vikram Kapila, New York University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Pre-College Engineering Education Division

andlabs were matched to align and maximize interests. Students also received formal collegeguidance and training in public speaking during the summer. The program ended with acolloquium, open to the university community and family members of students, whereparticipants gave short talks to present their work.The program includes two courses: Dimensions of Scientific Inquiry (DSI) and Basic Robotics toInspire Scientific Knowledge (BRISK). DSI, taught by a member of the NYU faculty, is adiscussion-based course that covers scientific methods and practice, including their social,cultural, political, and economic contexts; ethical questions surrounding science and technology;and writing, especially as it relates to college application materials and a

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robin Tuchscherer P.E., Northern Arizona University; Christine Allison Gray, Northern Arizona University; John Tingerthal P.E., Northern Arizona University; Ron Gray, Northern Arizona University

Tagged Topics

Diversity, NSF Grantees Poster Session

project, we examined the impact of micro-interventions aimedsolely at increasing the students’ sense of community in the early career course. These included,for example, a focus on classroom norms, strategies to increase peer-to-peer interactions, andpeer testimonials to enable discussions of the challenges faced by first-year engineering students,among others. For the third and final iteration of the project, we examined the impact ofinterventions aimed at both classroom community and relevancy.Based on the findings of this study and considering the context of the research plan, we have thefollowing concluding observations. There were important instructional differences seen betweenthe two courses as shown by the COPUS observational data

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carol Gattis, University of Arkansas; Shannon Davis, University of Arkansas; Bryan Hill, University of Arkansas; Patricia Kirkwood, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

LeadershipDuring the ECAP Peer Mentoring and Leadership program ECAP freshmen and sophomores arementored; juniors and seniors serve as mentors. The freshman year is the most important in termsof retention, because 57% of all students who leave from 4-year institutions do so within theirfirst year.13 Major causes of students leaving include academic and adjustment difficulties,incongruence and isolation.13 Programs for retention must address the holistic freshmanexperience, since over half of freshman drop outs leave because of their first-year collegeexperience, not their academics.14 Student support during the transition to college is the primeinfluence on whether a student stays or leaves.15 As a support mechanism, successful peermentoring can