Computerized Algorithmic Approaches for Evaluating Systems Thinking of Both Engineers and Non-Engineers

John Krupczak; A. Mehran Shahhosseini; Darin R. Stephenson

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Conference: 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual Conference
Publication Date: July 26, 2021
Start Date: July 26, 2021
End Date: July 19, 2022
Conference Session: TELPhE Division Technical Session 1: Expanding Technological and Engineering Literacies
Tagged Division: Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering
Page Count: 8
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--36831
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/36831
Download Count: 373

Paper Authors

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John Krupczak Jr Hope College

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Professor of Engineering, Hope College, Holland, Michigan. Former Chair of the ASEE Technological Literacy Division; Former Chair of the ASEE Liberal Education Division; Senior Fellow CASEE, National Academy of Engineering, 2008-2010; Program Officer, National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education 2013-2016.

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A. Mehran Shahhosseini Indiana State University

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A. Mehran Shahhosseini is a Professor in the Department of Applied Engineering and Technology
Management and director of the PhD Program in Technology Management at Indiana State University. He has published over 50 articles in different journals and conference proceedings. He has served as an investigator for research projects sponsored by National Science Foundation, Ford Motor Company, and the US Army. Before working at Indiana State University, he was a faculty in the University of Louisville for 10 years. He also has over four years of industrial experience.
He received his D.Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lamar University (USA) in 1999, M.Sc. in Materials Engineering from Isfahan University of Technology in 1991, and B.Sc. in Metallurgical Engineering from Tehran University in 1988. He is a member of ASEE, ASME, and ATMAE.

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Darin R. Stephenson Hope College

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Professor of Mathematics at Hope College. Former Chair of the Executive Committee, Mathematical Association of America, Michigan Section. PhD and MS in mathematics from the University of Michigan. BS in Mathematics from the University of Kentucky.

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Abstract

This paper reports on an automated assessment to improve the systems thinking abilities of both engineering and non-engineering students. The program compares any node-and-link diagram of a system created by a student to an expert-generated diagram and produce a similarity rating. The ability to describe a technological system in the form of a diagram is an important element of engineering literacy. Creating a diagram that shows how system inputs are transformed into outputs by a network of interconnected components is also one characteristic of systems-level thinking. Systems-level thinking is critical for engineers as most modern engineered products are technological systems. Systems thinking includes the ability to adopt a holistic, integrative, synthesis perspective, identify system elements and their interactions, and recognize dynamic characteristics. Currently systems thinking is time-consuming for instructors to assess manually. This work reports on the use of automated assessment. The automated assessment compares favorably with by-hand evaluation of student diagrams by the instructor. The study was conducted with Introduction to Engineering students. Students we asked to create system diagrams of common household appliances. On average, the instructor rated each question slightly lower than the algorithm by about 5-9 percent. These are very encouraging results given that only the current basic algorithm was employed with no additional training of the algorithm for this specific problem. The time required to conduct a computer evaluation was about one minute per diagram. Automated instructional aids will become increasingly important in higher education. This work furthers the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge of advancing personalized learning by investigating the extent to which the critical engineering skill of systems thinking can be algorithmically assessed and improved. Systems thinking is a vital capability that industry finds lacking in entry-level engineers. The project will improve system analysis ability of engineers. Systems thinking is a portion of engineering available to anyone without the mathematics prerequisites. The non-engineering students participating in the study achieve results comparable to engineering students.

Citation
Format

Krupczak, J., & Shahhosseini, A. M., & Stephenson, D. R. (2021, July), Computerized Algorithmic Approaches for Evaluating Systems Thinking of Both Engineers and Non-Engineers Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36831

TY - CPAPER
AB - This paper reports on an automated assessment to improve the systems thinking abilities of both engineering and non-engineering students. The program compares any node-and-link diagram of a system created by a student to an expert-generated diagram and produce a similarity rating. The ability to describe a technological system in the form of a diagram is an important element of engineering literacy. Creating a diagram that shows how system inputs are transformed into outputs by a network of interconnected components is also one characteristic of systems-level thinking. Systems-level thinking is critical for engineers as most modern engineered products are technological systems. Systems thinking includes the ability to adopt a holistic, integrative, synthesis perspective, identify system elements and their interactions, and recognize dynamic characteristics. Currently systems thinking is time-consuming for instructors to assess manually. This work reports on the use of automated assessment. The automated assessment compares favorably with by-hand evaluation of student diagrams by the instructor. The study was conducted with Introduction to Engineering students. Students we asked to create system diagrams of common household appliances. On average, the instructor rated each question slightly lower than the algorithm by about 5-9 percent. These are very encouraging results given that only the current basic algorithm was employed with no additional training of the algorithm for this specific problem. The time required to conduct a computer evaluation was about one minute per diagram. Automated instructional aids will become increasingly important in higher education. This work furthers the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge of advancing personalized learning by investigating the extent to which the critical engineering skill of systems thinking can be algorithmically assessed and improved. Systems thinking is a vital capability that industry finds lacking in entry-level engineers. The project will improve system analysis ability of engineers. Systems thinking is a portion of engineering available to anyone without the mathematics prerequisites. The non-engineering students participating in the study achieve results comparable to engineering students.
AU - John Krupczak Jr
AU - A. Mehran Shahhosseini
AU - Darin R. Stephenson
CY - Virtual Conference
DA - 2021/07/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Computerized Algorithmic Approaches for Evaluating Systems Thinking of Both Engineers and Non-Engineers
UR - https://peer.asee.org/36831
DO - 10.18260/1-2--36831
ER -