Showing papers on "Engineering education published in 2009"

The challenge of establishing world-class universities

Abstract: Governments are becoming increasingly aware of the important contribution that high performance, world-class universities make to global competitiveness and economic growth. There is growing recognition, in both industrial and developing countries, of the need to establish one or more world-class universities that can compete effectively with the best of the best around the world. Contextualising the drive for world-class higher education institutions and the power of international and domestic university rankings, this book outlines possible strategies and pathways for establishing globally competitive universities and explores the challenges, costs, and risks involved. Its findings will be of particular interest to policy makers, university leaders, researchers, and development practitioners.

The e-puck, a Robot Designed for Education in Engineering

Abstract: Mobile robots have the potential to become the ideal tool to teach a broad range of engineering disciplines. Indeed, mobile robots are getting increasingly complex and accessible. They embed elements from diverse fields such as mechanics, digital electronics, automatic control, signal processing, embedded programming, and energy management. Moreover, they are attractive for students which increases their motivation to learn. However, the requirements of an effective education tool bring new constraints to robotics. This article presents the e-puck robot design, which specifically targets engineering education at university level. Thanks to its particular design, the e-puck can be used in a large spectrum of teaching activities, not strictly related to robotics. Through a systematic evaluation by the students, we show that the e-puck fits this purpose and is appreciated by 90 percent of a large sample of students.

Educating the engineer of 2020: adapting engineering education to the new century

Abstract: This publication contains reprint articles for which IEEE does not hold copyright. Full text is not available on IEEE Xplore for these articles.

Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects.

Abstract: Engineering education in K-12 classrooms is a small but growing phenomenon that may have implications for engineering and also for the other STEM subjects--science, technology, and mathematics. Specifically, engineering education may improve student learning and achievement in science and mathematics, increase awareness of engineering and the work of engineers, boost youth interest in pursuing engineering as a career, and increase the technological literacy of all students. The teaching of STEM subjects in U.S. schools must be improved in order to retain U.S. competitiveness in the global economy and to develop a workforce with the knowledge and skills to address technical and technological issues. Engineering in K-12 Education reviews the scope and impact of engineering education today and makes several recommendations to address curriculum, policy, and funding issues. The book also analyzes a number of K-12 engineering curricula in depth and discusses what is known from the cognitive sciences about how children learn engineering-related concepts and skills. Engineering in K-12 Education will serve as a reference for science, technology, engineering, and math educators, policy makers, employers, and others concerned about the development of the country's technical workforce. The book will also prove useful to educational researchers, cognitive scientists, advocates for greater public understanding of engineering, and those working to boost technological and scientific literacy.

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.

Students Who Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Postsecondary Education. Stats in Brief. NCES 2009-161.

Abstract: Introduction Rising concern about America’s ability to maintain its competitive position in the global economy has renewed interest in STEM education. In 2005, for example, three preeminent U.S. scientific groups—the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine—jointly issued a report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future, that called for strengthening the STEM pipeline from primary through postsecondary education (National Academy of Science 2005). This report recommended increasing investment in STEM programs, enhancing the STEM teaching force, and enlarging the pool of students pursuing degrees and careers in STEM fields. Similar policy recommendations have come from other organizations and government agencies (Government Accountability Office 2006; National Science Board 2007; U.S. Department of Education 2006).

Virtual laboratories in engineering education: The simulation lab and remote lab

Abstract: Computing and communication technology has had a significant impact on the engineering education system. This technology has improved online and collaborative learning. Besides that, it improves the students learning experiences. One of the distinguishing elements of engineering education is the laboratory requirement. In this paper, we discuss the current trends and key issues in virtual laboratories-simulation environment laboratories and remote laboratories via the Internet. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 17: 108–118, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae20186

Flipping the Work Design in an industrial engineering course

Abstract: Educational practice and the concept of ‘active learning’ have had a significant impact on engineering education. Challenging students with questions and problem-solving activities to learn course material is what we do in engineering courses. However, how do we continue to cover the amount of material we need to cover and still open up class time to include the active learning strategies so necessary in engineering? This paper describes the design and implementation of an instructional strategy called ‘the classroom flip’ or inverted classroom that was put into practice in an industrial engineering course. Initial results from the classroom provide feedback and insight into how this technique might be best utilized to enhance learning in engineering education.

On Objectives of Instructional Laboratories, Individual Assessment, and Use of Collaborative Remote Laboratories

Abstract: Three key issues should be addressed to enable universities to deliver engineers who have a solid documented laboratory experience enabling them to design goods and services complying with the requirements of a sustainable society. First, introduce learning objectives of engineering instructional laboratories in courses including laboratory components. Second, implement individual student assessment. Third, introduce free access to online experimental resources as a supplement to the equipment in traditional laboratories. Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Sweden and the University of South Australia (UniSA) have created online laboratory workbenches for electrical experiments that mimic traditional ones by combining virtual and physical reality. Online workbenches not only supplement traditional ones, but they can also be used for low-cost individual assessment. BTH has started a project disseminating the BTH workbench concept, The Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR) Open Laboratory Platform, and invites other universities to set up replicas and participate in further development and standardization. Further, online workbenches offer additional learning possibilities. UniSA has started a project where students located in different countries can perform experiments together as a way to enhance the participants' intercultural competence. This paper discusses online laboratory workbenches and their role in an engineering education appropriate for a sustainable society.

Re-engineering graduate skills - a case study

Abstract: Research on student-learning outcomes indicates that university graduates do not possess important skills required by employers, such as communication, decision-making, problem-solving, leadership, emotional intelligence, social ethics skills as well as the ability to work with people of different backgrounds Today, engineering graduates are required to work within multicultural and multinational workplace environments, and thus need to possess adequate professional attributes and competencies This paper elaborates on the missing links between engineering graduate attributes and employers’ expectations It further investigates whether the attributes gained by engineering graduates from Monash University, Australia, meet the expected needs of the industry The paper also proposes a 3-D Competency Model to address the potential shortfalls of employers’ expectations in that regard

What has to be learnt for sustainability? A comparison of bachelor engineering education competences at three European universities

Abstract: In a period of harmonisation of the higher education system in Europe, a question is if also learning about sustainability at the universities is converging and what advantages this may have. This paper is an effort to present and advance the work on describing desired sustainability competences for engineering Bachelor graduates in three technical universities (Chalmers in Sweden, DUT in The Netherlands and UPC-Barcelona in Spain) using the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) descriptors. The paper also sheds light on whether there is conformity or not in desired sustainability competences (or in how sustainable development (SD) competences are handled) at the three universities. For universities outside the EHEA, this paper gives hints on the type of sustainability competences that will be required from their first-cycle graduates should they want to continue with second-cycle studies within the EHEA. The results show that the three universities follow a similar pattern in the classification of the competences (Knowledge and understanding, Skills and abilities, and Attitudes) and that there are minor divergences with respect to the list of competences and the levels of learning that Bachelor students should have when graduating. Definition of competences is an area that needs development, and this paper is part of a learning process for the three universities. This study shows that there is improvement potential for all three universities when it comes to being explicit and exact in the description of the desired SD learning.

On the development of a professional identity: engineering persisters vs engineering switchers

Abstract: Decline in engineering enrollment continues and renewed efforts are required to improve enrollment and diversity Herein, we address this problem by conducting research to understand engineering students through the lens of identity theory Implications of this effort are twofold: (1) to contribute to our basic understanding of engineering students' identities as well as what factors (experiences and settings) foster the formation and transformation of these identities during the undergraduate experience, and from these findings (2) to gain insight into improving recruitment and retention of engineering students, particularly students underrepresented in engineering By conducting focus groups and interviews, our goal was to understand professional identity development in freshman engineering persisters and freshman engineering switchers Initial findings suggest that exposure to meaningful engineering-related experiences and engineers are critical in developing an engineer identity Our future efforts involve understanding the longitudinal nature of professional identity development (from freshman to senior years)

Specialized Public High Schools of Science, Mathematics, and Technology and the STEM Pipeline: What Do We Know Now and What Will We Know in 5 Years?

Abstract: Specialized public high schools of science, mathematics, and technology are commonly viewed as the “crown jewel” of their respective school districts and, many times, of their respective states. These schools are intended to coalesce the most academically talented, science-focused students in each district or state and typically draw excellent teachers as well. As the nation considers policies to address Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education issues, options for additional functions are likely to arise. Currently no existing studies provide a comprehensive analysis of the contribution these schools make over and above regular high schools to the STEM pipeline. This article presents the extant literature on variables that have been shown to predict participation in STEM careers on the part of adolescents in and out of specialized high schools. The literature review is followed by a description of a recently embarked 3-year National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored study design...

Addressing the Time Lag Dilemma in Curriculum Renewal Towards Engineering Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the case for engineering departments to undertake rapid curriculum renewal (RCR) towards engineering education for sustainable development (EESD), to minimise the department's risk exposure to rapidly shifting industry requirements, government regulations and program accreditation. This paper then outlines a number of elements of RCR.Design/methodology/approach – This paper begins by proposing that Higher Education Institutions face a “time lag dilemma,” whereby the usual or “standard” curriculum renewal approach to embed new knowledge and skills within the curriculum may take too long, lagging behind industry, regulatory, and accreditation shifts. This paper then outlines a proposed RCR approach. This paper presents a number of preliminary “elements of RCR” formulated from a literature review of numerous existing but largely ad hoc examples of curriculum renewal within engineering and other discipline areas, together with the authors' experience in triall...

A Model for Freshman engineering r etention

Abstract: With the current concern over the growing need for more engineers, there is an immediate need to improve freshman engineering retention. A working model for freshman engineering retention is needed. This paper proposes such a model based on Tinto’s Interactionalist Theory. Emphasis in this model is placed on pre-college characteristics as predictors for student academic success and retention. Through a literature search of both engineering education and general empirical studies, a list of significant pre-college characteristics important for modeling freshman engineering student success and retention was developed. Significant differences were found between the engineering education and general empirical studies. The final model is described in terms of a block diagram with an extension to statistical modeling. Tables of empirical studies that have included pre-college characteristics as predictors for student success and retention are included. An application using data from a University of Michigan study is discussed.

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.

The Influence of On-Campus, Academic Year Undergraduate Research on STEM Ph.D. Outcomes: Evidence From the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program

Abstract: The Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, which celebrated its 20th year in 2008, is considered a successful intervention program for increasing the number of underrepresented minorities who earn Ph.D.s o...

Universal Design of Instruction (UDI): Definition, Principles, Guidelines, and Examples.

Abstract: Precollege and college students come from a variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds. For some, English is not their first language. Also represented in most classes are students with a diversity of ages and learning styles, including visual and auditory. In addition, increasing numbers of students with disabilities are included in regular precollege and postsecondary courses. Their disabilities include blindness, low vision, hearing impairments, mobility impairments, learning disabilities, and health impairments.

Learning as acquiring a discursive identity through participation in a community: improving student learning in engineering education

Abstract: In this paper, we propose that learning in engineering involves taking on the discourse of an engineering community, which is intimately bound up with the identity of being a member of that community. This leads to the notion of discursive identity, which emphasises that students’ identities are constituted through engaging in discourse. This view of learning implies that success in engineering studies needs to be defined with particular reference to the sorts of identities that students develop and how these relate to identities in the world of work. In order to achieve successful learning in engineering, we need to recognise the multiple identities held by our students, provide an authentic range of engineering-related activities through which students can develop engineering identities and make more explicit key aspects of the discourse of engineering of which lecturers are tacitly aware. We include three vignettes to illustrate how some of the authors of this paper (from across three different institu...

Supportive teaching and learning strategies in STEM education

Abstract: called for many changes in STEM(science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education (George andothers, 1996). The committee’s overriding recommendation was that “allstudents have access to supportive, excellent undergraduate education inscience, mathematics, engineering, and technology, and all students learnthese subjects by direct experience with the methods and processes ofinquiry” (p. ii). One of their recommendations for faculty was highly salientfor this chapter:

Remote Laboratories Extending Access to Science and Engineering Curricular

Abstract: This paper draws on research, development, and deployment of remote laboratories undertaken by the authors since 2000. They jointly worked on the PEARL project (http://iet.open.ac.uk/pearl/) from 2000 to 2003 and have worked on further projects within their own institutions (the Open University, United Kingdom, and the University of Porto, Portugal, respectively) since then. The paper begins with a statement of the rationale for remote experiments, then offers a review of past work of the authors and highlights the key lessons for remote labs drawn from this. These lessons include (1) the importance of removing accessibility barriers, (2) the importance of a pedagogic strategy, (3) evaluation of pedagogic effectiveness, (4) the ease of automation or remote control, and (5) learning objectives and design decisions. The paper then discusses key topics including assessment issues, instructional design, pedagogical strategies, relations to industry, and cost benefits. A conclusion summarizes key points from the paper within a review of the current status of remote labs in education.

Exploring the Effectiveness of an Interdisciplinary Water Resources Engineering Module in an Eighth Grade Science Course

Abstract: Engineering education has historically been given little attention in the USK-12 classrooms even though engineering incorporates scientific and mathematical concepts into meaningful, everyday applications. Including engineering and design projects in K-12 science and mathematics classes may improve student interest and comprehension, while also reaching a broader range of students than traditional lecture-based classes. For this study, the authors implemented an engineering design project focusing on water resources in 8th grade science classes. Students were exposed to either an engineering project (treatment) or a more traditional format (control) and their knowledge of water resource issues was evaluated using a pre-post assessment tool. Overall, students in the treatment classes showed statistically significant improvement in two areasÐthey displayed higher levels of thinking on open-ended questions and greater content knowledge. This research indicates the effectiveness of engineering in enhancing student learning and supports its inclusion in the middle school science curriculum.

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.

Sustainable engineering education in the United States

Abstract: Sustainable engineering is a conceptual and practical challenge to all engineering disciplines. Although the profession has experience with environmental dimensions of engineering activities that in some cases are quite deep, extending the existing body of practice to sustainable engineering by including social and cultural domains is a significant and non-trivial challenge. Nonetheless, progress is being made, as a recent study undertaken by the Center for Sustainable Engineering in the United States demonstrates.