scholarly journals Cognitive differences among first-year and senior engineering students when generating design solutions with and without additional dimensions of sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mo Hu ◽  
Tripp Shealy ◽  
Julie Milovanovic
Keyword(s):  
Brain Region ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Number Of Solutions ◽  
Cognitive Differences ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Design Solutions ◽  
The Brain

Abstract The research presented in this paper explores how engineering students cognitively manage concept generation and measures the effects of additional dimensions of sustainability on design cognition. Twelve first-year and eight senior engineering students generated solutions to 10 design problems. Half of the problems included additional dimensions of sustainability. The number of unique design solutions students developed and their neurocognitive activation were measured. Without additional requirements for sustainability, first-year students generated significantly more solutions than senior engineering students. First-year students recruited higher cortical activation in the brain region generally associated with cognitive flexibility, and divergent and convergent thinking. Senior engineering students recruited higher activation in the brain region generally associated with uncertainty processing and self-reflection. When additional dimensions of sustainability were present, first-year students produced fewer solutions. Senior engineering students generated a similar number of solutions. Senior engineering students required less cortical activation to generate a similar number of solutions. The varying patterns of cortical activation and different number of solutions between first-year and senior engineering students begin to highlight cognitive differences in how students manage and retrieve information in their brain during design. Students’ ability to manage complex requirements like sustainability may improve with education.

Patterns of Cortical Activation When Using Concept Generation Techniques of Brainstorming, Morphological Analysis, and TRIZ

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tripp Shealy ◽  
Mo Hu ◽  
John Gero
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Cognitive Differences ◽  
Solution Generation ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
The Brain

This paper presents the results of an experimental study comparing cortical activation in the brain when generating solutions using brainstorming, morphological analysis, and TRIZ. Twelve engineering students were given the same three design tasks, respectively, using the three solution generation techniques. Students generated solutions while change in oxygenated blood along the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The results show that generating solutions using brainstorming, morphological analysis, and TRIZ leads to differences in cortical activation, specifically along the region of the brain associated with spatial working memory, cognitive flexibility, and abstract reasoning, called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (left DLPFC). Brainstorming evokes a high average blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response in the left DLPFC early during the solution generation process but this high response is not sustained. In comparison, morphological analysis and TRIZ evoke multiple high average BOLD responses across the solution generation process. Not only was the high average BOLD response sustained but the density of network coordination among brain regions across the PFC was greater for morphological analysis and TRIZ. Higher density is a proxy for higher cognitive effort. The brain regions most central to coordination also varied. During brainstorming the right hemisphere, in a region associated with memory encoding (right PFC), was most activated. During morphological analysis, the left hemisphere, the left DLPFC was most activated. During TRIZ, both the middle and left hemisphere included regions of high activation. These results indicate neuro-cognitive differences of activation patterns, cognitive effort over time, and brain regions central for coordination when using these three concept generation techniques. Future research can begin to explore neuro-cognitive differences as a result of these techniques over multiple uses and the effects of design education.

REVERSE ENGINEERING: TENSION RATCHET DISSECTION PROJECT

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremiah Vanderlaan ◽  
Josh Richert ◽  
James Morrison ◽  
Thomas Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
First Year ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Final Project ◽  
Undergraduate Study ◽  
Solid Edge ◽  
Part Modeling

We are a group of engineering students, in our first year of undergraduate study. We have been selected from one thousand first year students and have competed and won the PACE competition. All engineers share a common general first year, but we have been accepted into Civil and Mechanical engineering. This project was assigned as the final project in the Design and Graphics course. The project we are tasked with, called the Cornerstone Design Project, is to first dissect a product, discover how it works, dimension each part and create a fully assembled model using CAD software (Solid Edge V20 in our case). As part of discovering how it works we must benchmark it so the device can be compared with competing products. The goal of the project is to develop a full understanding of part modeling and assembly in Solid Edge, learn proper measurement techniques, and learn the process of reverse engineering and product dissection. All of these tasks were stepping stones to help us fully understand how the device, and all its components, work.

scholarly journals What Can Students’ Bibliographies Tell Us?- Evidence Based Information Skills Teaching for Engineering Students

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Yu ◽  
Jan Sullivan ◽  
Leith Woodall
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
First Year ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Internet Resources ◽  
Information Skills ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Department Faculty

Objective - This project sought to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses in locating, retrieving, and citing information in order to deliver information skills workshops more effectively. Methods - Bibliographies submitted from first-year engineering and second- and fourth-year chemical engineering students’ project reports were analysed for the number of items cited, the variety of items cited, and the correct use of citation style. The topics of the project reports were also reviewed to see the relationships between the topics and the items cited. Results - The results show that upper level students cited more items in total than did lower level students in their bibliographies. Second- and fourth-year engineering students cited more books and journal articles than first-year students cited. Web sites were used extensively by all three groups of students, and for some first-year students these were the most frequently used sources. Students from all three groups had difficulties with citation style. Conclusion - There was a clear difference in citation frequency between upper and lower level engineering students. Different strategies of information skills instruction are needed for different levels of students. Librarians and department faculty members need to include good quality Internet resources in their teaching and to change the emphasis from finding information to finding, interpreting, and citing accurately.

Education for sustainable development in Spanish higher education: an assessment of sustainability competencies in engineering and education degrees

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo ◽  
Daniel Romero-Portillo ◽  
Bàrbara Sureda Carbonell ◽  
Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spanish Higher Education ◽  
Percentage Measure ◽  
University Degree

Purpose This paper aims to present a methodology for analysing the extent to which students of a university degree perceive that they have received a good education for sustainable development (ESD). The methodology enables us to quantify this perception, which, in turn, allows us to determine: to what extent the objectives related to ESD are achieved in the degree, and to compare the learning in ESD perceived by students of different degrees. The methodology is applied to nine engineering degrees and nine education degrees in the Spanish university system. Design/methodology/approach ESD is analysed from the students’ learning perception. This perception is measured by comparing the responses of first- and fourth-year students to a questionnaire about their sustainability competencies. Two indicators have been designed to analyse the results. The first indicator, learning increase, measures the declared learning difference between fourth- and first-year students. The second indicator, learning percentage, measure the amount of learning as reported by fourth-year students compared to how much they could have learned. Findings The results show that the average learning percentage perceived by students is higher in engineering degrees (33%) than in education degrees (27%), despite the fact that the average learning increase declared by students at the end of their studies in both areas of knowledge is similar (66%). Engineering students report having achieved higher learning than education students in all sustainability competencies, with the exception of ethics. Originality/value This paper analyses ESD from the student’s perspective. Furthermore, to the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study that compares the perception of ESD between engineering and education students. This comparison allows us to determine the different approaches that university Professors take to ESD according to the discipline they teach.

CAD Platform Independent Software for Automatic Grading of Technical Drawings

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanchit Ingale ◽  
Anirudh Srinivasan ◽  
Diana Bairaktarova
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Spatial Visualization ◽  
First Year ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Students Success ◽  
Mechanical Objects

Spatial visualization is the ability of an individual to imagine an object mentally and understand its spatial orientation. There have been multiple works proving that spatial visualization skills can be improved with an appropriate training. Such training warrant a critical place in the undergraduate engineering curricula in many engineering schools as spatial skills are considered vital for students’ success in the technical and design fields [1–4]. Enhanced spatial skills help not only professionals in the engineering field but also everyone in the 21st century environment. Drawing sectional views requires mental manipulation and visual thinking. To enhance students spatial reasoning, one of the authors of this study, conducted a class in spatial visualization. The course-learning goal aimed at improving first-year engineering students’ spatial reasoning through instruction on freehand drawings of sectional view. During the semester, two teaching assistants had to grade more than 500 assignments that consisted of sectional views of mechanical objects. This was a tedious and a time consuming task. Motivated by this experience, this paper proposes a software aiming at automating grading of students’ sectional view drawings. The proposed software will also give live feedback to students while they are working on the drawings. This interactive tool aims to 1) improve the learning experience of first year students, with limited CAD knowledge, and 2) introduce a pedagogical tool that can enhance spatial visualization training.

Role of Emotional Intelligence in Academic Achievement

2014 ◽  
pp. 255-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tripti Singh ◽  
Manish Kumar Verma ◽  
Rupali Singh
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Social Intelligence ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
School Level ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Achievements ◽  
Emotional Intelligence Inventory

The purpose of this study is to see whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. The study respondents were B.Tech first year students from the Agra region. Sampling is stratified, making sure that gender, race, socioeconomic status, and abilities are appropriately represented. The respondents are given Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EII–MM), developed by S. K. Mangal and Shubhra Mangal. It consists of 100 items under four scales .The analysis suggests that there is a significant relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement. IQ alone is no more the measure for success; emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and luck also play a big role in a person's success. This study contributes in acknowledging the fact that even engineering students’ academic achievements are attached with Emotional intelligence. Thus, teaching emotional and social skills only at the school level is not sufficient; this can be taught in engineering studies, as well for accomplishing high academic achievements.

scholarly journals Can Pahl and Beitz’ systematic approach be a predictive model of designing?

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udo Kannengiesser ◽  
John S. Gero
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Model ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
First Year ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Predictive Capacity ◽  
Design Issue ◽  
Prescriptive Model ◽  
Design Behaviour

Pahl and Beitz’ ‘Systematic Approach’ is generally seen as a prescriptive model of designing based on observations of professional design practice. In this paper, we examine whether this model can be used as a predictive model. This is done by testing its predictive capacity for the design behaviour of students that are formally taught design and design methods. The behavioural observations used in this study are based on protocols of 15 design sessions involving mechanical engineering students after their first year of design education and 31 design sessions of the students using various concept generation methods. The design protocols and the Systematic Approach are coded uniformly using the Function–Behaviour–Structure (FBS) design issue schema. Cumulative occurrence analysis is used to derive qualitative and quantitative measures as a basis for comparison between the Systematic Approach’s prediction and the students’ design behaviour. The results indicate that the Systematic Approach can predict some but not all of students’ design issue behaviour.

scholarly journals GEODETIC SURVEYING STUDIES FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS AT TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-91
Author(s):  
Nelli Ustinova ◽  
Vello Kala ◽  
Tarvo Mill ◽  
Artu Ellmann
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Modular System ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Optical Theodolite ◽  
Geodetic Surveying

Studies in the Tallinn University of Technology are based on a modular system, where geodetic surveying comprises a self-contained study module in the curricula of all civil engineering specialities. Due to geodetic surveying being taught to all first year students of civil engineering, it serves as a touchstone to test a student's suitability for an engineering specialism. Future civil engineers are taught basic geodetic measurements and how to use optical theodolite, levelling instrument and laser level. The paper gives an overview of geodetic surveying lectures, laboratory classes and field survey camp. Teaching and assessment are based on learning outcomes. Students who have passed the exam are allowed to participate in the summer field survey camp, the aim of which is consolidating the knowledge acquired throughout the year and practising teamwork.

scholarly journals Involving Students in the Instructional Design Process to Improve Their Satisfaction with Their Learning in the COVID-19 Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 410-415
Author(s):  
Ryane Imane ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
School Closure ◽  
First Year ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Instructional Design Process ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Students Satisfaction

Like most university students worldwide, the engineering students at the School of Information Sciences (ESI) have to deal with their school closure and the new paradigm of distance learning. Despite efforts made by the administration and the teachers to accompany students, an internal survey conducted by the end of October 2021 revealed that almost all students, especially first-year ones, did not accept distance learning. This paper describes our experience to improve students’ satisfaction with distance learning by involving them in their courses’ design process. Four courses were concerned by the experience and were designed following the ADDIE method. Last-year students participated in the ADDIE analysis step, while the first-year students participated in the last step by evaluating the co-created courses. Courses were co-created with students as most of them got involved in the ADDIE development step and enriched courses by realizing extras activities. Results showed that students were highly satisfied with courses taught in the context of this study.

scholarly journals First-Year Students’ EFL Reading Difficulties at a Greek Merchant Marine Academy: An Activity Theory Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 378
Author(s):  
Emmanouela Seiradakis
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
First Year ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Merchant Marine ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Marine Engineering

This paper explores how the transition from secondary to tertiary education influences Greek marine engineering students’ EFL reading behaviors and strategies from an activity-theory perspective. Data were gathered through individual semi-structured interviews with four first-year students who struggled with reading texts in English. Findings suggest that these students experience difficulties in reading lengthy discipline-specific texts such as technical manuals due to the fact they still use the same EFL reading strategies and have the same expectations they had before entering tertiary education. From an activity theory perspective, these students’ difficulties are associated with two distinct EFL reading activity systems which have diverse goals, tools, values, and division of labour. The first system is placed within the wider Greek foreign language education context these students belonged in high school. The second, involves the system that emerged after they entered the Merchant Marine Academy as tertiary education students. These two EFL reading systems clash and create obstacles in their discipline-specific reading which in turn slows down their disciplinary socialization in the marine engineering community.

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