Fostering the Development of Engineering Skills Using Online Tools

Bryan James Higgs; Gulen Ozkula

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Conference: 2024 Fall ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conference
Location: Farmingdale State College, NY, New York
Publication Date: October 25, 2024
Start Date: October 25, 2024
End Date: November 5, 2024
Conference Session: Technical Sessions 4
Tagged Topic: Professional Papers
Page Count: 20
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--49439
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/49439
Download Count: 39

Paper Authors

biography

Bryan James Higgs University of the District of Columbia

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Dr. Bryan Higgs is a native of southwest Virginia. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of the District of Columbia and is serving as the Director for the UDC Center of Climate Change Analytics. Prior to this position, he was an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Researcher.

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Gulen Ozkula University of the District of Columbia orcid.org/0000-0002-1947-6362

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Abstract

Engineering education is more than knowledge acquisition; it involves the development of a comprehensive set of skills which are valued in industry. A key example of this viewpoint is the process to becoming a professional engineer where potential engineers must demonstrate their skills and ability on two separate occasions (FE Exam and PE Exam) in order to be eligible to become a professional engineer. If the end goal of engineering education is to produce successful engineers, then the approach to engineering education must incorporate methods of skill development in order to effectively develop the desired skills in students before they join the workforce. Skill development focuses on the synergy of five key elements : (1) personal investment, (2) practice, (3) realistic expectations, (4) supportive environment, and (5) feedback. Of those elements, practice and feedback present the biggest challenge in implementation in engineering education because in order to truly be impactful the feedback must occur quickly and in a loop where students receive feedback and then engage in a new practice session that will need its own feedback once complete. Creating a single feedback loop would greatly improve student skill development, but come at the cost of double the time investment for the instructor. Additionally, the magnitude of the impact of feedback is highly dependent upon the time within which it is received. In traditional college course scheduling, feedback on homework is received at least two days after it is submitted. In this scenario, the value of the feedback is greatly diminished as too much time had passed between the practice session and the receipt of feedback. Through the use of online tools, feedback loops can be created for courses in engineering education where students can receive instant feedback on homeworks and quizzes which will then prompt them to immediately review their submission and thus greatly improve the impact of the feedback received. Furthermore, online tools can be used to create the opportunity for multiple attempts on homework and quizzes thus providing new opportunities for students to engage in the practice of their skills. This also generates a feedback loop that can be engaged multiple times where students can immediately apply what they learned from the review of their feedback into a new practice attempt, thus greatly improving the fostering of skills in engineering education.

Citation
Format

Higgs, B. J., & Ozkula, G. (2024, October), Fostering the Development of Engineering Skills Using Online Tools Paper presented at 2024 Fall ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conference, Farmingdale State College, NY, New York. 10.18260/1-2--49439

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Engineering education is more than knowledge acquisition; it involves the development of a comprehensive set of skills which are valued in industry. A key example of this viewpoint is the process to becoming a professional engineer where potential engineers must demonstrate their skills and ability on two separate occasions (FE Exam and PE Exam) in order to be eligible to become a professional engineer. If the end goal of engineering education is to produce successful engineers, then the approach to engineering education must incorporate methods of skill development in order to effectively develop the desired skills in students before they join the workforce. Skill development focuses on the synergy of five key elements : (1) personal investment, (2) practice, (3) realistic expectations, (4) supportive environment, and (5) feedback. Of those elements, practice and feedback present the biggest challenge in implementation in engineering education because in order to truly be impactful the feedback must occur quickly and in a loop where students receive feedback and then engage in a new practice session that will need its own feedback once complete. Creating a single  feedback loop would greatly improve student skill development, but come at the cost of double the time investment for the instructor. Additionally, the magnitude of the impact of feedback is highly dependent upon the time within which it is received. In traditional college course scheduling, feedback on homework is received at least two days after it is submitted. In this scenario, the value of the feedback is greatly diminished as too much time had passed between the practice session and the receipt of feedback. Through the use of online tools, feedback loops can be created for courses in engineering education where students can receive instant feedback on homeworks and quizzes which will then prompt them to immediately review their submission and thus greatly improve the impact of the feedback received. Furthermore, online tools can be used to create the opportunity for multiple attempts on homework and quizzes thus providing new opportunities for students to engage in the practice of their skills. This also generates a feedback loop that can be engaged multiple times where students can immediately apply what they learned from the review of their feedback into a new practice attempt, thus greatly improving the fostering of skills in engineering education. 
AU  - Bryan James Higgs
AU  - Gulen Ozkula
CY  - Farmingdale State College, NY, New York
DA  - 2024/10/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Fostering the Development of Engineering Skills Using Online Tools
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/49439
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--49439
ER  -