scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers in "Advances in engineering education in 2015"


Journal Article
TL;DR: The authors made recommendations for applying flipped classes to large engineering classrooms based both on a literature review of flipped classes and the evaluation of a case study of a large Introduction to Environmental Engineering class.
Abstract: Engineering students benefit from an active and interactive classroom environment where they can be guided through the problem solving process. Typically faculty members spend class time presenting the technical content required to solve problems, leaving students to apply this knowledge and problem solve on their own at home. There has recently been a surge of the flipped, or inverted, classroom where the technical content is delivered via online videos before class. Students then come to class prepared to actively apply this knowledge to solve problems or do other activities. In this paper, recommendations are made for applying this educational technique to large engineering classrooms. These recommendations are based both on a literature review of flipped classes and the evaluation of a case study of a large Introduction to Environmental Engineering class. The case study evolved from a traditional lecture-based classroom through two different versions of a flipped classroom. Evaluation of students’ interaction, preferences and performance are used to make rec ommendations about the video time, use of class time, course organization and student assessment.

134 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of engineering students' use of design heuristics as part of a team project in an undergraduate engineering design course is presented, which reveals widespread use of Design Heuristics among the concepts generated by individuals and selected by teams for further development.
Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of engineering students’ use of Design Heuristics as part of a team project in an undergraduate engineering design course. Design Heuristics are an empirically derived set of cognitive “rules of thumb” for use in concept generation. We investigated heuristic use in the initial concept generation phase, whether heuristic-inspired concepts were carried through to later design process stages, and how concept synthesis within each team’s design process related to heuristic use. The results reveal widespread use of Design Heuristics among the concepts generated by individuals and selected by teams for further development, and a prevalence of concept synthesis within approximately half of the observed teams’ design processes.

77 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, a model building design and assembly experiment with two separate (control and test) treatments were conducted in an undergraduate construction and civil engineering course, and performance (with respect to three primary and three secondary measures) and workload data were collected and assessed.
Abstract: Recent studies suggest that the number of students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees has been generally decreasing. An extensive body of research cites the lack of motivation and engagement in the learning process as a major underlying reason of this decline. It has been discussed that if properly implemented, instructional technology can enhance student engagement and the quality of learning. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to implement and assess the effectiveness of an augmented reality (AR)-based pedagogical tool on student learning. For this purpose, a model building design and assembly experiment with two separate (control and test) treatments were conducted in an undergraduate construction and civil engineering course. In each treatment, performance (with respect to three primary and three secondary measures) and workload data (with respect to six NASA TLX indicators) were collected and assessed. Both treatments were also videotaped for post-analysis and further observations of students’ performance. It was found that students in the test group (who used the AR tool) performed better than students in the control group with respect to certain (but not all) measures. In addition, test group students spent more time on collaboration, communication, and exchanging ideas. Overall, students ranked the effectiveness of the AR tool very high and stated that it has a good potential to transform traditional teaching methods.

51 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In a course for engineering freshmen, peer leaders facilitated optional study sessions, which implemented peer-led team learning workshops as discussed by the authors, and asked them to keep weekly reflective journals to understand the experiences of the peer leaders.
Abstract: In a course for engineering freshmen, peer leaders facilitated optional study sessions, which implemented peer-led team learning workshops. Some leaders were paid teaching assistants, but most were undergraduate volunteers. To understand the experiences of the peer leaders, we asked them to keep weekly reflective journals. By performing a basic qualitative analysis of fourteen journals from two semesters, we developed a description of the experience of leading peer-led team learning workshops over the course of the semester. At the beginning of the semester, the leaders were apprehensive about teaching and concerned with correctly answering students’ questions. As the semester progressed, the leaders were often frustrated with the difficulty of teaching, and the leaders tried new ways of encouraging student participation. At the end of the semester, the leaders reported that they increased self-confidence, developed an appreciation for intellectual diversity, and gained an increased interest in teaching.

25 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the development and assessment of a construction safety training module featuring interactive, BIM-enabled, 3D visualizations to test if such a tool can enhance safety train ing related to scaffolds is presented.
Abstract: This paper documents and assesses the development of a construction safety training module featuring interactive, BIM-enabled, 3D visualizations to test if such a tool can enhance safety train ing related to scaffolds. This research documents the technical challenges and the lessons learned through the development and administration of a prototype training module in a required under graduate construction safety course at Colorado State University. Student feedback was strongly positive, and findings suggest that such an innovative teaching method may be more effective than traditional teaching methods based on pre and post knowledge-testing. Such research highlights future opportunities to develop more extensive and advanced training modules using interactive, BIM-enabled, 3D visualization techniques in support of safety training within construction education.

21 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: This paper investigated group/team development in computer engineering courses at a University in the Central USA from the perspective of organization behavior theory, specifically Tuckman's model of the stages of group development.
Abstract: This paper investigates group/team development in computer engineering courses at a University in the Central USA from the perspective of organization behavior theory, specifically Tuckman’s model of the stages of group development. The investigation, conducted through linguistic analysis of student reflection essays, and through focus group interviews, also presents STEM education researchers with a method to obtain nuanced information about interpersonal skills issues such as how groups and teams function. A third contribution of the paper is a review of the organizational behavior literature on teams and groups with a concern for its application to modern engineering education.

13 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: The importance of sustainability concepts to industrial engineering education is growing rapidly as the field's traditional objectives interact more frequently with the challenges of a resource-constrained world as discussed by the authors, and the need to recognize, study, and implement sustainable alternatives into existing systems while balancing commercial, technical, environmental, and social objectives.
Abstract: The importance of sustainability concepts to industrial engineering education is growing rapidly as the field's traditional objectives interact more frequently with the challenges of a resource-constrained world. In this paper, we first discuss the presence of sustainability concepts in the IE curricula of leading U.S. universities. We then describe a curricular approach, using topic-specific modules, by which we introduced sustainability content into several IE courses over a period of several years. We conclude with observations regarding the state of synthesis between sustainability and IE education, with recommendations about how to use modular modifications to curricula to begin to enhance this synthesis. As the professionals tasked with designing, operating, and improving the workings of these human systems, engineers are poised to advance sustainability through direct action. Industrial engineers, with their panoptical perspective on these structures (supply chains, manufacturing operations, transportation networks, etc.) are especially well-positioned to recognize, study, and implement sustainable alternatives into existing systems while balancing commercial, technical, environmental, and social objectives. The tools of their trade - optimization, process modeling and design, and systems engineering among many others - are ideally suited to simultaneously take these different objectives into account. In order to best use their abilities to address and implement sustainable mechanisms, however, industrial engineers need to understand sustainability and how it interacts with their broader role. Specifically, their education should provide direction on how to utilize the tools of industrial engineering to address sustainability. Ideally, this education would begin as early as possible: the sooner sustainability concepts are introduced to students, the longer these concepts have to take root and synthesize with the rest of the industrial engineering curriculum. In our work, we examine several aspects of the question of how best to integrate sustainability concepts into industrial engineering education. We first present a brief survey of the current state of the field, considering sustainability in industrial engineering programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We then describe a pilot program, funded by an NSF grant and implemented at a large public research university in the Southeast, in which

11 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the hypothesis that first-year and senior design teams can be linked through capstone projects to more effectively introduce design and found that after having institutionalized the linkage, seniors were more likely to identify appropriate projects and viewed the mentoring as beneficial.
Abstract: In Biosystems Engineering at Oklahoma State University, senior design is a two semester course in which students work on real-world projects provided by clients. First-year (freshmen and transfer) students enroll in an introductory engineering course. Historically, these students worked on a team-based analysis project, and the engineering design process was discussed but not explicitly applied. This study investigated the hypothesis that first-year and senior design teams can be linked through capstone projects to more effectively introduce design. First-year students design a small portion of the client-based capstone project as identified by and supervised by the seniors. Several assessment tools were used: student knowledge of the design process, presentations and student surveys. More than 90% of introductory students agreed that the project was worthwhile and helped them learn about engineering as a future career. After having institutionalized the linkage, seniors were more likely to identify appropriate projects and viewed the mentoring as beneficial.

10 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the implementation and assessment of an aerospace engineering course in which undergraduate students worked on research projects with graduate research mentors, using the principles from cooperative learning and project-based learning, and consisted of students working in small groups on a complex, open-ended research project.
Abstract: This paper describes the implementation and assessment of an aerospace engineering course in which undergraduate students worked on research projects with graduate research mentors. The course was created using the principles from cooperative learning and project-based learning, and consisted of students working in small groups on a complex, open-ended research project. The course provided undergraduate students the opportunity to learn about and be involved in authentic research within their field. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess the effectiveness of this course by answering the following research questions: (1) What are the experiences of undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty involved in this course?, (2) What skills are developed and/or improved in undergraduate and graduate students?, and (3) What recommendations can the course faculty provide to other faculty interested in implementing a similar course?

5 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, a confidence-based scoring method was proposed to encourage students to both think about their answers in a different way and to evaluate their confidence in the answer, and students were able to accurately assess whether their answer was right or wrong 77% of the time.
Abstract: A vital aspect of an answer is the confidence that goes along with it. Misstating the level of confidence one has in the answer can have devastating outcomes. However, confidence assessment is rarely emphasized during typical engineering education. The confidence-based scoring method described in this study encourages students to both think about their answers in a different way and to evaluate their confidence in the answer. Each answer is scored based on whether the answer is right or wrong and whether the student is confident or not in that answer. Students generally appreciated the educational value as it made them more self-aware of their understanding. Overall, students were able to accurately assess whether their answer was right or wrong 77% of the time. Average self-assessment generally improved over time, but the degree of improvement varies based on student segments. The method also benefits instructors by indicating the topics that students tend to be less certain of, even if the students are getting the right answers, and identifies students that are either over or under confident.

5 citations



Journal Article
TL;DR: Results indicate that the tool engages students in design space exploration, leads them to making sound design decisions, and teaches them how to defend these decisions with a well-informed rationale.
Abstract: Engineering is one of the most global professions, with design teams developing technologies for an increasingly interconnected and borderless world. In order for engineering students to be proficient in creating viable solutions to the challenges faced by diverse populations, they must receive an experiential education in rigorous engineering design processes as well as identify the needs of customers living in communities radically different from their own. Acquainting students with the unique context and constraints of developing countries is difficult because of the breadth of pertinent considerations and the time constraints of academic semesters. This article describes a tool called Global Biomedical Device Design, or GloBDD, that facilitates simultaneous instruction in design methodology and global context considerations. GloBDD espouses an example-centric approach to educate students in the user-centered and context-driven design of biomedical devices. The tool employs real-world case studies to help students understand the importance of identifying external considerations early in the design process: issues like anthropometric, contextual, social, economic, and manufacturing considerations amongst many others. This article presents the rationale for the tool, its content and organization, and evaluation results from integration into a junior-level biomedical device design class. Results indicate that the tool engages students in design space exploration, leads them to making sound design decisions, and teaches them how to defend these decisions with a well-informed rationale.

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the positive and negative perceptions of graduate students from the United States studying issues of sustainable electronics and electronics manufacturing in India as part of a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) curriculum are studied.
Abstract: This research studies the positive and negative perceptions of graduate students from the United States studying issues of sustainable electronics and electronics manufacturing in India as part of a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of an online photoelicitation method, which intends to probe learning experiences from the graduate students’ international experience through the use of participant-generated photographs taken during the trip. This research provides insight on the importance of international learning experiences in graduate-level engineering education and the value of non-traditional formats of graduate student learning. This research exemplifies the use of this novel method in research and educational assessment of non-traditional learning environments, as well as offers interested engineering educators guidelines to implementing this technique in their individual contexts.

Journal Article
TL;DR: By successfully integrating the major cooperative learning elements discussed in this article, undergraduate engineers will be able to enhance their long-term retention of the fundamental principles for a particular engineering discipline and potentially transfer that knowledge to solve future problems.
Abstract: In an introductory chemical engineering course, the conceptual framework of a holistic problemsolving methodology in conjunction with a problem-based learning approach has been shown to create a learning environment that nurtures deep learning rather than surface learning. Based on exam scores, student grades are either the same or better than the course taught using a lecture-based format. Based on pre- and post-course scores for an in-house concept inventory, average learning gains were within one standard deviation of the average gain reported by Hake for interactive engagement. After nine months, chemical engineering majors essentially retain their knowledge of the concepts. By successfully integrating the major cooperative learning elements discussed in this article, undergraduate engineers will be able to enhance their long-term retention of the fundamental principles for a particular engineering discipline and potentially transfer that knowledge to solve future problems

Journal Article
TL;DR: This lab project contains most of the circuits studied in lectures and presents a general methodology for the design of signal conditioning systems, and evaluates both the improvement in students’ knowledge and in their motivation.
Abstract: Ongoing technological progress in measurement systems triggered the development of an in novative, hands-on teaching program to help students toward a fuller understanding of recent changes in the field. This paper presents a lab project that links theoretical principles with the practical issues of signal conditioning systems. This is accomplished in the context of a Master’s Degree in Mechatronic Engineering, though the experience gained could be applied to other cur ricula. Students designed and tested a signal conditioning circuit in order to acquire and monitor the electrical activity generated by the heart. This lab project contains most of the circuits studied in lectures and presents a general methodology for the design of signal conditioning systems. Five years of lab project work was compiled, and with the help of students’ feedback, we were able to evaluate both the improvement in their knowledge and in their motivation

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Cellular Bioengineering Boot Camp as discussed by the authors provides hands-on, supervised training for techniques and procedures that are common among projects and allows their first laboratory experiences to be with each other, and creates an immediate network of peers and mentors.
Abstract: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites widely serve as the first major research gateway for undergraduates seeking a structured research experience. Given their lack of prior re search skills, and the highly compressed duration of the REU programs, these students frequently encounter barriers to a seamless transition into a new laboratory environment. We hypothesized that the design of a unified short course on laboratory and analysis techniques could serve as a pivotal orientation experience. Our goal was to rapidly align student expertise to their summer research goals while also integrating the student participants into a cohesive learning community. This article discusses the design and outcomes of a Cellular Bioengineering Boot Camp, which is offered at the outset of the 10-week REU site at Rutgers. The Boot Camp provides hands-on, supervised training for techniques and procedures that are common among projects. The training establishes a com mon language and baseline for the REU students and allows their first laboratory experiences to be with each other, and creates an immediate network of peers and mentors. Surveys before and after the Boot Camp and at the end of the summer indicated a significant improvement in student proficiency in the techniques that was retained throughout the summer. We believe that the Boot Camp approach can be tailored to the specifics of each REU site and its associated projects and research foci.

Journal Article
TL;DR: A unified approach to teaching computational analysis and model validation against experimental response is developed and a set of innovative computational-experimental studios are created, each of which houses at least two learning modules.
Abstract: Engineers often need to predict how a part, mechanism or machine will perform in service, and this insight is typically achieved thorough computer simulations. Therefore, instruction in the cre ation and application of simulation models is essential for aspiring engineers. The purpose of this project was to develop a unified approach to teaching computational analysis and model validation against experimental response. The design of the project entailed the creation of a set of innovative computational-experimental studios, each of which houses at least two learning modules. Various assignments have been imbedded to engage students. Assessment instruments for use by students and external faculty reviewers were implemented. The studios have contributed to the development of proficiencies in using mathematical software to create models and test their output against experi mental data. The studios have expanded the scope of topics covered in courses, created independent learning opportunities and enabled the creation of multimedia content available to other institutes.

Journal Article
TL;DR: This paper is proposing a new technique for HTTP botnet detection which includes a web based monitoring interface which can give alerts about attacks and can help network administrators to better understand the network traffic and possible attacks.
Abstract: Botnets are collections of compromised computers (Bots) which are remotely controlled by its originator (Bot master) under a common Command and Control framework. In this paper, we are concentrating on HTTP bots. It is more widespread and more difficult to detect compared to all other bots. In the HTTP bots, bot masters use HTTP protocol to hide their activities among the normal web flows and can easily avoid current detection methods like firewalls. Therefore the chance of HTTP attack is increasing day by day. We are proposing a new technique for HTTP botnet detection. As our system is designed in java, it can potentially run on various platforms like MS-Windows and UNIX systems or on any other handheld devices. It also includes a web based monitoring interface which can give alerts about attacks and it can help network administrators to better understand the network traffic and possible attacks.

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed and validated a Bayesian network decision support tool that can be used by engineering educators to make recommendations that positively impact the innovativeness of product designs.
Abstract: Learning how to design innovatively is a critical process skill for undergraduate engineers in the 21st century. To this end, our paper discusses the development and validation of a Bayesian network decision support tool that can be used by engineering educators to make recommendations that positively impact the innovativeness of product designs. Our Bayesian network model is based on Dym’s design process framework and actual design process data collected from 26 undergraduate engineering capstone teams over multiple terms. Cross validation using all available outcomes data and a sensitivity analysis showed our model to be both accurate and robust. Our model, which is based on data from teams that produced both innovative and non-innovative products, can be used to formatively assess the process used by a design team and the level of innovativeness, thereby contributing to more innovative final design outcomes.