Full Paper: First-Year Computing Course with Multiple Computing Environments - Integrating Excel, Python and MATLAB
- Conference
- Location
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East Lansing, Michigan
- Publication Date
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July 31, 2022
- Start Date
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July 31, 2022
- End Date
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August 2, 2022
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
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Diversity and Full Papers
- Page Count
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7
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--42227
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/42227
- Download Count
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403
Paper Authors
Sean P Brophy Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
Dr. Sean Brophy is a learning scientist, computer scientist and mechanical engineer with expertise in developing and research effective learning environments. His research centers on developing engineering students' expertise to adapt to new problem solving contexts.
John H Cole
Purdue University
orcid.org/0000-0002-0776-0243
John H. Cole (S’10–M’12) received the B.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA, in 2005 and 2011, respectively. In 2013, he served as an Adjunct Professor with the American University of Kuwait and the Gulf University of Science and Technology. He is currently a lecturer at with Purdue University. His research has been concerned with power and energy systems, electromechanical energy conversion devices, modeling and simulation and engineering education.
Srinivas Mohan Dustker
Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
orcid.org/0000-0002-3840-7450
Srinivas Dustker is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education at Purdue University. His research interests include community engaged learning, integration of service-learning in engineering curriculum, faculty development, curriculum development, education policy and technology integration in engineering education. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Engineering and Management from B.M.S. College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India and his Master of Science in Industrial and Operations Engineering from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States.
William C. Oakes
Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
orcid.org/0000-0002-6183-045X
William (Bill) Oakes is a 150th Anniversary Professor, the Director of the EPICS Program and one of the founding faculty members of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. He has held courtesy appointments in Mechanical, Environmental and Ecological Engineering as well as Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. He is a registered professional engineer and on the NSPE board for Professional Engineers in Higher Education. He has been active in ASEE serving in the FPD, CIP and ERM. He is the past chair of the IN/IL section. He is a fellow of the Teaching Academy and listed in the Book of Great Teachers at Purdue University. He was the first engineering faculty member to receive the national Campus Compact Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning. He was a co-recipient of the National Academy of Engineering’s Bernard Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education and the recipient of the National Society of Professional Engineers’ Educational Excellence Award and the ASEE Chester Carlson Award. He is a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Carla B. Zoltowski Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)
Carla B. Zoltowski is an assistant professor of engineering practice in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and (by courtesy) School of Engineering Education, and Director of the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program within the College of Engineering at Purdue. Prior to her appointment in ECE, Dr. Zoltowski was Co-Director of the EPICS Program. She holds a B.S.E.E., M.S.E.E., and Ph.D. in Engineering Education, all from Purdue. Her research interests include the professional formation of engineers, diversity, inclusion, and equity in engineering, human-centered design, engineering ethics, and leadership.
Abstract
This full paper will describe the use of multiple computing environments (Excel, Python and MATLAB) integrated in a first-year computing course. Computing is an important outcome of many First-Year Engineering (FYE) programs because it prepares students for the analytical and problem solving skills required for most engineering program. Computing is growing in importance across all the engineering fields.
Close to half a century ago, scientists, engineers, and mathematicians learned programming in a specific language used broadly within their field. Additionally, programming has often been taught using syntax and through a single language. This can lead to students being embroiled in the specifics of the programming language and not understanding the true potential of programming as a scientific and logical problem-solving tool. Given the fast pace of development in technology, and new computing language and environments being introduced at an increasing pace, faculty teaching FYE programming courses face challenge in choosing a language or environment.
The approach used across a set of courses described in this paper is from a large midwestern public university in the United States. Students participate in a foundational year that is common across all majors but has options within the first-year. This paper will describe in detail two of the four options that are open to all engineering majors and share a common approach to introducing computing. The approach is to introduce students to computing concepts by applying these concepts in Excel, Python and MATLAB within a single semester. This paper will provide two years of assessment data showing students’ performance and perception of the courses. The discussions present the affordances of this approach and methods for accommodating the large variance in students computing backgrounds. In addition, the discussion describes the confounds of the pandemic with virtual teaching and potential methods to address these confounds. This paper will interest instructors, and researchers, who teach computing to undergraduate engineering students and the methods used to achieve multiple computing related learning objectives in a short period of time.
Keywords: first-year engineering, computing course, multiple programming languages
Brophy, S. P., & Cole, J. H., & Dustker, S. M., & Oakes, W. C., & Zoltowski, C. B. (2022, July), Full Paper: First-Year Computing Course with Multiple Computing Environments - Integrating Excel, Python and MATLAB Paper presented at 2022 First-Year Engineering Experience, East Lansing, Michigan. 10.18260/1-2--42227
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