Showing papers in "Journal of Engineering Education in 2009"

Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Research Methods in Engineering Education

Abstract: The purpose of this research review is to open dialog about quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods in engineering education research. Our position is that no particular method is privileged over any other. Rather, the choice must be driven by the research questions. For each approach we offer a definition, aims, appropriate research questions, evaluation criteria, and examples from the Journal of Engineering Education. Then, we present empirical results from a prestigious international conference on engineering education research. Participants expressed disappointment in the low representation of qualitative studies; nonetheless, there appeared to be a strong preference for quantitative methods, particularly classroom-based experiments. Given the wide variety of issues still to be explored within engineering education, we expect that quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches will be essential in the future. We encourage readers to further investigate alternate research methods by accessing some of our sources and collaborating across education/social science and engineering disciplinary boundaries.

Women Engineering Students and Self‐Efficacy: A Multi‐Year, Multi‐Institution Study of Women Engineering Student Self‐Efficacy

Abstract: As our nation's need for engineering professionals grows, educators and industry leaders are increasingly becoming concerned with how to attract women to this traditionally male career path. Self-efficacy has been shown to be related to positive outcomes in studying and pursuing careers in non-traditional fields. This paper describes the results of two years of engineering self-efficacy data collected from women engineering students at five institutions across the U.S. This study adds to the growing body of self-efficacy literature via its multi-year, multi-institution design and helps to clarify the impact of the engineering curriculum on self-efficacy. Results indicate that while women students show positive progress on some self-efficacy and related subscales, they show a significant decrease on feelings of inclusion from the first to second measurement period and further suggest a relationship between ethnicity and feelings of inclusion. Additionally, correlations show that self-efficacy is related to women students' plans to persist in this predominantly male discipline.

Applying Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle for Laboratory Education

Abstract: This paper describes a model for laboratory education based on Kolb’s experiential learning theory. The method is implemented using modern teaching technologies and a combination of remote, virtual, and hands-on laboratory sessions and have been applied to the teaching of the undergraduate process control laboratory at the Chemical Engineering Department at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. An argument that poor learning in the laboratory is due to insufficient activation of the prehension dimension of Kolb’s cycle was suggested and verified, providing a pedagogical explanation. The quantitative analysis showed significant enhancement of the learning outcomes of the experimental group compared with the control group. Apart from the hands-on session, the proposed model involves additional activities, such as pre- and post-lab tests and virtual laboratory sessions, which are associated with Kolb’s cycle to facilitate constructivist learning. The paper provides the first laboratory education model that builds thoroughly on Kolb’s experiential learning theory.

Assessing General Creativity and Creative Engineering Design in First Year Engineering Students

Abstract: Creativity is a vital tool for innovation in engineering. Psychology and engineering faculty developed the Creative Engineering Design Assessment (CEDA) because existing tools are limited. This measure was administered with general creativity measures in 63 engineering (57 males, six females) and 21 non-engineering (six males, 15 females) students in five week intervals. Inter-rater reliability showed high consistency overall and between the test and retest administrations. Only engineering males and females significantly differed on the retest. Engineering students with low, medium, and high creative engineering design did not statistically differ in their general creativity, not domain specific to engineering; however, only high scorers were significantly higher on the retest from the other groups. Future research is needed with larger samples.

Widening the Net: National Estimates of Gender Disparities in Engineering

Abstract: This paper explores the causes behind the severe under-representation of women in engineering. Based on national data on undergraduate engineering programs, this study presents cross-sectional estimates of male and female student retention. Contrary to widespread beliefs, the study found that overall and in most disciplines there is no differential attrition by gender. Instead, results suggest that gender disparities in engineering are largely driven by inadequate enrollment (not inadequate retention) of women. The paper concludes that outreach—within institutions of higher education, across institutions (into two-year colleges, middle and high schools), and into K-12 curricular reform—are needed to address what is, at its very core, a recruitment problem.

Universalized Narratives: Patterns in How Faculty Members Define “Engineering”

Abstract: Background U.S. engineering educators are discussing how we define engineering to ourselves and to others, such as in the recently released U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) report, Changing the Conversation. In these conversations, leaders have proposed the skills, knowledge, processes, values, and attitudes that should define engineering. However, little attention has been paid to the daily work of engineering faculty, through their engineering research and teaching students to be new engineers, that puts these discipline-defining ideas into practice in academia. Purpose (Hypothesis) The different types of narratives engineering faculty explicitly or implicitly use to describe engineering are categorized. Categorizing these common narratives can help inform the nationwide conversation about whether these are the best narratives to tell in order to attract a diverse population of future engineers. Design/Method Interviews with ten engineering faculty at a research-extensive university were conducted. Interview transcripts were coded thematically through coarse then fine coding passes. The coarse codes were drawn from boundary theory; the fine codes emerged from the data. Results Faculty members' descriptions moved within and among the narratives of engineering as applied science and math, as problem-solving, and as making things. The narratives are termed “universalized” because of their broad-sweeping discursive application within and across participants' interviews. Conclusions These narratives drawn from academic engineers' practice put engineering at odds with recommendations from the NAE report. However, naming the narratives helps make them visible so we may then develop and practice telling contrasting narratives to future and current engineering students.

An Engineering Major Does Not (Necessarily) an Engineer Make: Career Decision Making Among Undergraduate Engineering Majors

Abstract: This study uses a mixed-methods design to investigate students' career decision making at two U.S. undergraduate institutions. The research question was, “To what extent do students who complete undergraduate programs in engineering intend to pursue engineering careers?” We surveyed senior engineering majors about their post-graduate intentions, and later interviewed a subset of the seniors about their career intentions. Only 42 percent of students surveyed reported that they definitely intended to pursue a career in engineering, 44 percent were unsure, and 14 percent were definitely not pursuing engineering. We observed significant institutional differences. Interview data reveal the quixotic nature of many students' decisions about their careers; strikingly, students were vacillating between multiple post-graduate options late into the senior year, even into summer. Implications are discussed for further research and ways engineering departments can influence students' career decisions.

Engineering education research: Discipline, community, or field?

Abstract: Engineering education research has experienced a notable scale-up in recent years through the development of departments and degree programs, high-profile publication outlets, research agendas, and meetings. We begin by reviewing these developments, contextualizing them historically, and clarifying some relevant terminology. We then use observational data collected at the 2007 inaugural International Conference on Research in Engineering Education (ICREE) to examine how engineering education is variously conceptualized as a discipline, community of practice, and/or field. We also examine how ICREE participants engaged with questions about the infrastructure and major goals of engineering education research. Our data reveals both an overall lack of clarity and continued sense of ambiguity about the identity and status of engineering education research. We conclude by recommending that participants and stakeholders work to clarify the goals and objectives of engineering education research, especially to inform the continued development of the field's identity and supporting infrastructures.

An investigation of students' conceptual understanding in related sophomore to graduate-level engineering and mechanics courses

Abstract: Interviews were conducted with students from a sophomore-level mechanics of materials class, a sophomore/junior-level structures class, a senior-level steel design class and a graduate-level advanced steel design class to investigate students' conceptual understanding of bending and normal stress. The graduate students generally demonstrated higher computational skill and confidence but they were not significantly different from the sophomores in terms of conceptual understanding. Interestingly, the seniors showed markedly lower confidence in their ability to solve the problems posed in the interviews. Common difficulties include a conceptual definition of stress and reasoning involving the normal stresses developed under bending.

Development of a Classification System for Engineering Student Characteristics Affecting College Enrollment and Retention

Abstract: Background In engineering education, a considerable amount of research effort has been dedicated to study the impacts of student characteristics on their college enrollment, major selection, and college retention. However, there is no standardized categorical classification system of engineering student characteristics in the current literature. Different researchers tend to focus on specific characteristics within the scope of their research interests. This study provides a comprehensive review and analysis of the existing research on the measurement of the characteristics of engineering students. Purpose The study addressed the three questions: (1) what engineering student characteristics have been measured; (2) how do engineering student characteristics impact their educational outcomes; and (3) what measurement and analysis methods have been applied in current studies? A standardized classification system for engineering student characteristics involving external, cognitive, affective, and demographic categories is also proposed. Scope/Method The study focused on engineering education. Representative research regarding common characteristics of students from majors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics were also included. The review covers major academic journals, research books, conference proceedings, and government reports in the areas of science and engineering education for the past two decades. Conclusions The review analysis indicated that students with certain characteristics are more likely to choose engineering as a profession and that those characteristics are either correlated or causally related with one another. However, many research conclusions based on basic statistical analyses fail to model the interaction effects. More advanced measurement techniques are needed that can model the characteristics interactively and concurrently in a complete framework.

The Four-Domain Development Diagram: A Guide for Holistic Design of Effective Learning Experiences for the Twenty-first Century Engineer

Abstract: The twenty-first century challenges engineering educators to design learning experiences to strategically and holistically target students' development, including cognitive, psychomotor, social and affective domains. We propose a guide for the design process. The Four-Domain Development Diagram (4DDD) is a synthesis of learning theory and empirical data. This guide maps the relationships among the major factors that influence learning and presents them in the form of a causal loop diagram, a tool used by systems dynamicists to show how changes in important factors affect other factors within the system. In this paper, we present the theoretical and empirical basis of the 4DDD. We also describe how the 4DDD can be used as a design guide for instructional changes that promote more effective learning experiences for the broader cognitive, social, affective, and psychomotor development required of today's engineering graduate.

A Research Synthesis of the Effectiveness, Replicability, and Generality of the VaNTH Challenge-based Instructional Modules in Bioengineering

Abstract: Background Between 2000 and 2006 the Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Texas and Harvard/MIT Engineering Research Center (VaNTH/ERC) developed, tested, and implemented a set of educational innovations based largely on the ideas presented in the book How People Learn (HPL) and an instructional design known as the the STAR Legacy Cycle. The motivation for this study was to synthesize the results of this work. Published and unpublished experimental and quasi-experimental assessments were included in this synthesis. Purpose (Hypothesis) The fundamental hypotheses tested were whether a set of modules involving challenge-based instruction and other course innovations, often involving advanced computer-based technologies, improved student performance in a variety of educational settings and student populations, and whether improvements could be achieved by instructors other than the developers of the innovations. Design/Method Meta-analysis of effects from thirty-three separate modules in five courses in bioengineering domains was undertaken, along with three case studies. Results Results from the experimental (randomized) and stronger-quasi experimental studies revealed a weighted effect size of 0.655 (p < 0.001). Studies using randomized designs produced smaller effects, and studies using measures of transfer and adaptive expertise to index outcomes produced larger effects. Analyses also revealed that the results can be replicated by instructors other than the developers of the modules, in a variety of student populations and educational settings, and at other institutions. Conclusions Overall, the challenge-based modules and other innovations have moderate overall effects on improved student performance. They can be implemented successively by other instructors in a variety of educational settings and student populations.

Engaging and Supporting Problem Solving in Engineering Ethics

Abstract: Learning to solve ethical problems is essential to the education of all engineers. Engineering ethics problems are complex and ill structured with multiple perspectives and interpretations to address in their solution. In two experiments, we examined alternative strategies for engaging ethical problem solving. In Experiment 1, students studied two versions of an online learning environment consisting of everyday ethics problems. Students using question hypertext links to navigate applied more perspectives and canons and wrote stronger overall solutions to ethics problems than those using embedded hypertext links. In Experiment 2, students engaged in a more generative task, evaluating alternative arguments for solutions to the cases or generating and supporting their own solutions. Both groups better supported their solutions and generated more counterclaims than control students. These studies focused on solving realistic case-based ethics problems as an effective method for addressing ABET's ethics criteria.

Measuring Leadership in Self-Managed Teams Using the Competing Values Framework

Abstract: This study demonstrates how the application of the Competing Values Framework (CVF) to self-managed teams (SMTs) assist engineering educators to understand how to measure leadership within this context and facilitate an increased awareness of the students in a team, which will consequently increase effectiveness. Specifically, we analyzed data from the Managerial Behavior Instrument, completed by 81 engineering students who participated in self-managed teams for one semester. The instrument measured the use of the four leadership profiles of the Competing Values Framework which then allowed the researcher to determine the presence of high or low behavioral complexity. Behavioral complexity determines the team's ability to utilize multiple leadership roles and subsequent effectiveness. The findings indicate that behavioral complexity does have a significant effect on performance but does not have a significant effect on the attitudes of team members. Overall, teams with high behavioral complexity earned a higher grade on their final team project than teams with low behavioral complexity. This study is significant for engineering education because it provides a theory and framework for understanding leadership in teams. By exploring the relationship between leadership in SMTs and effectiveness, educators and industry can better understand the type of leadership roles necessary for achieving a highly effective team. As a result, instructors can design their teamwork curricula and teamwork training based on the leadership strengths and skills of students which will then prepare students for industry upon graduation.

The Role of Collaborative Reflection on Shaping Engineering Faculty Teaching Approaches

Abstract: Over the last several years, engineering faculty and learning scientists from four universities worked in collaboration to develop educational materials to improve the quality of faculty teaching and student learning. Guided by the How People Learn (HPL) framework, engineering faculty worked in collaboration with learning scientists to develop learner-centered, student-focused instructional methods. In consultation with learning scientists, engineering faculty carried out educational inquiry in their classrooms aimed at investigating student learning and enhancing instruction. In this paper we discuss the extent to which faculty engaged in these collaborative endeavors and how their teaching approaches differed as a result of their level of engagement. Study findings reveal the role that collaborative reflection plays in shaping teaching approaches. Results from this study provide insights for researchers and other practitioners in engineering and higher education interested in implementing engineering faculty development programs to optimize the impact on teaching.

Optimizing Worked‐Example Instruction in Electrical Engineering: The Role of Fading and Feedback during Problem‐Solving Practice

Abstract: How can we help college students develop problem-solving skills in engineering? To answer this question, we asked a group of engineering freshmen to learn about electrical circuit analysis with an instructional program that presented different problem-solving practice and feedback methods. Three findings are of interest. First, students who practiced by solving all problem steps and those who practiced by solving a gradually increasing number of steps starting with the first step first (forward-fading practice) produced higher near-transfer scores than those who were asked to solve a gradually increasing number of steps but starting with the last step first (backward-fading practice). Second, students who received feedback immediately after attempting each problem-solving step outperformed those who received total feedback on near transfer. Finally, students who learned with backward-fading practice produced higher near- and far-transfer scores when feedback included the solution of a similar worked-out problem. The theoretical and practical implications for engineering education are discussed.

Improvements in Spatial Ability as a Result of Targeted Training and Computer‐Aided Design Software Use: Analyses of Object Geometries and Rotation Types

Abstract: Spatial ability, which affects retention and achievement in engi-neering and science disciplines, has been shown to improvethrough training and simply from enrollment in a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) course. However, detailed analyses of thespecific object geometries and rotation types that cause difficultyfor students on standardized spatial ability tests or which onesimprove based on training has not been performed. This infor-mation may assist in determining the optimal training methods toimprove the spatial ability skills of students and thus provide themost significant benefits for the training time committed. In thispaper, scores from a standardized spatial ability test, which wasadministered before and after training and/or enrollment in aCAD course, are compared. The results show that the targetedtraining produced a significant improvement in the spatial abilitytest scores of students and that these improvements occur acrossall object geometries and rotation types.Keywords: computer-aided design, spatial ability, training methods

Biases in Interpersonal Communication: How Engineering Students Perceive Gender Typical Speech Acts in Teamwork

Abstract: This research investigates differences in how engineering and non-engineering men and women perceive common speech acts in team settings. Participants completed surveys asking them to rate the speakers of three male typical and three female typical speech acts. Male engineering students were significantly harsher than other groups on female typical speech acts in which the speaker conceded weaknesses, even if this concession was for strategic purposes such as trying to help another teammate “save face.” This bias against female typical speech was consistent regardless of the speaker's gender, suggesting that students were reacting to speech patterns rather than to biological gender. These findings provide hope that women may be able to help manage perceptions of their everyday team interactions by avoiding statements that imply weaknesses, even if such speech is normal in other situations.

Relationship Between TOEFL Score and Academic Success for International Engineering Students

Abstract: Background Tests that classify English ability, such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), are often the only application metric common to international applicants from a wide variety of academic backgrounds. As such, these test results are sometimes used beyond their intended scope to predict student academic success. Purpose (Hypothesis) This study evaluated relationships between TOEFL scores and several measures of academic success for students at an American university abroad. Characterizing these relationships helps assess the scope of the TOEFL score's use in admissions decision making. Design/Method Linear and logistic regression were used to evaluate TOEFL score relative to overall grade point average (GPA), GPA for courses in engineering and in humanities, rate of passing a Comprehensive Assessment Examination (CAE), and graduation rate. High school GPA, gender, and nationality were also included as independent variables. Results A positive, statistically significant relationship was identified between TOEFL score and GPA, although weaker for engineering students than students in other fields, and for engineering courses than non-engineering courses. TOEFL score was also statistically significant in logistic regressions of CAE pass rate and graduation rate, indicating increasing probability of success with increasing TOEFL score. However, model goodness-of-fit measures were relatively low, indicating many students whose performance defies general trends. Conclusions In spite of correlations between TOEFL score and academic performance, TOEFL scores should not be used in admissions beyond assessing individual students' English proficiency. Additional research is warranted to investigate trends that were identified related to gender effects and engineering-specific student learning styles.

Study of Usage Patterns and Learning Gains in a Web-based Interactive Static Course

Abstract: Background Courseware for engineering education can feature many discrete interactive learning elements, and typically student usage is not compelled. To take advantage of such courseware, self-regulation of learning may be necessary. Evaluation of courseware should consider actual usage, learning gains, and indications of learning self-regulation. Purpose (Hypothesis) The research question focuses on how students' interactions with the courseware affect their learning gains. The hypothesis tested is that learning gains from online courseware increase with usage, and particularly with usage that suggests learning self-regulation. Design/Method Students in a lecture-based statics course were assigned to study previously developed courseware as part of homework assignments. Learning gains were deduced from pre- and post- paper and pencil diagnostic quizzes, and from the first class exam. Credit was based on quiz scores, rather than courseware usage. Usage of interactive elements of the courseware was inferred from log files of students' interactions with the courseware, and patterns suggesting learning self-regulation were identified. Results High, statistically significant learning gains were found. Substantial usage was evident, with core learning activities initiated by, on average, three-quarters of students. Learning gains and performance on the relevant class exam appeared to be more closely correlated with usage that indicated self-regulation of learning rather than with total usage of the courseware. Conclusions Methods of assessing courseware should go beyond courseware features, learning gains, and student self-reports of effectiveness to include monitoring of actual usage and analyses relating usage to learning. Self-regulation of learning is likely to be critical to successful usage of courseware, and courseware should be designed to encourage it.

Exploring STEM Career Options through Collaborative High School Seminars

Abstract: The K-12 Engineering Education Programs (KEEP) Seminar Series for high school juniors and seniors began in 2003 as a collaborative program sponsored by the College of Education, College of Engineering, and the Raggio Research Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. It ran for five years and attracted 130 students to weekly sessions for eight weeks each year where they engaged with presenters from the STEM fields. The goal was to provide students with opportunities to observe research presentations by scientists and engineers in a wide array of specialties in order to understand how the STEM disciplines are integrated and to understand the possibilities for their future career paths. A descriptive study found that females were more stable in their career choices over the eight-week seminar series, and seniors were better able to learn new STEM content and make connections between high school courses and the seminar presentations than were juniors.

Applied Ethics in the Engineering, Health, Business, and Law Professions: A Comparison

Abstract: BACKGROUND Applied ethics plays a critical role in engineering, health, business, and law. Applied ethics is currently a required component of the pre-practice education for these professions, yet the literature suggests that challenges remain in how we define, instruct, and assess professions-based ethics education. PURPOSE Based on the on going debate associated with the instruction and assessment of applied engineering ethics, an exploratory investigation was performed to determine what could be learned by looking across professions.

The Relationships between Students' Conceptions of Learning Engineering and their Preferences for Classroom and Laboratory Learning Environments

Abstract: This study developed a survey entitled Conceptions of Learning Engineering (CLE), to elicit undergraduate engineering students' conceptions of learning engineering. The reliability and validity of the CLE survey were confirmed through a factor analysis of 321 responses of undergraduate students majoring in electrical engineering. A series of ANOVA analyses revealed that students who preferred a classroom setting tended to conceptualize learning engineering as “testing” and “calculating and practicing,” whereas students who preferred a laboratory setting expressed conceptions of learning engineering as “increasing one's knowledge,” “applying,” “understanding,” and “seeing in a new way.” A further analysis of student essays suggested that learning environments which are student-centered, peer-interactive, and teacher-facilitated help engineering students develop more fruitful conceptions of learning engineering.

Innovations in Composition Programs that Educate Engineers: Drivers, Opportunities, and Challenges

Abstract: Recent developments in engineering education have shaped the nature of composition programs at institutions or programs that emphasize engineering and science. Among these developments are revised accreditation guidelines and a curricular debate with a long history. Such developments highlight collaborative opportunities between technical and humanities/social sciences faculty. This multi-case study investigates how composition programs have responded to such drivers, opportunities, and challenges. The study draws from historical, observation, document, and interview data, and particularly interviews with composition program administrators at six institutions with significant technical emphases. Findings indicate shifts in historical emphasis on culture and utility, and three contemporary responses. Reductions, transformations, and innovations are occurring in first-year communication courses. Also, multimodal communications, including written, oral, and visual components, are being integrated across multiple instructional contexts. Finally, strong cross-curricular communication programs are emerging in which composition faculty partner with technical faculty. Implications of these findings are discussed.

A Survey of Industry Advisory Board Operation and Effectiveness in Engineering Education

Abstract: Voluntary boards composed primarily of industry practitioners who give aid and advice are almost universal in engineering education programs, though there has been little published research on this subject. Based on a survey of 90 engineering school directors and advisory board members, this research characterizes the operation, makeup, and effectiveness of advisory boards. The study shows that effective boards have a clear understanding of their role and limitations in influencing curriculum, encourage engagement with students, have formal procedures for involvement in ABET accreditation, and are well coordinated with the larger educational institution. Boards can be effective with or without involvement in fundraising, but it is essential that fundraising expectations be clearly understood and agreed upon by the school and the board. Boards composed largely of members with close ties to the institution, generally alumni, will be more engaged as advocates of the program and will contribute more financially.

Comparing Competitive and Cooperative Strategies for Learning Project Management

Abstract: Many organizations use project management to organize and administer resources in time and in place in an effort to optimize costs and meet certain constraints. These constitute cognitive skills acquired through training and experience that have successfully been shown to be trainable through simulation. However, past research on simulation-based project management training focused on individual learning. In this paper, we are interested in investigating whether a competitive or cooperative strategy is more desirable in using simulators for project management training. Several theories suggest that cooperative learning is more beneficial to learning than competitive learning. To investigate this problem, an experiment was set up based on the simulation-based Project Management Trainer (PMT) software. The results suggest that using both PMT cooperative and competitive strategies yield learning in project management. However, cooperative strategies yield better results in the overall outcome.