The Interest of Mechanical Engineering Students in the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Hailey ◽  
Michael Drysdale ◽  
Daniel Householder
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Grand Challenges ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering Education ◽  
Survey Results

In 2008, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century, a set of exceptionally complex problems associated with national security, quality of life, and a sustainable future. Understanding the extent to which engineering students are interested in these complex problems and the extent to which they feel confident that they can contribute to the solution of these problems could serve as a starting point to foster engagement with the Grand Challenges. This paper presents results from a survey of mechanical engineering (ME) students’ interest in the NAE Grand Challenges and their confidence in their ability to contribute to resolutions of the Challenges. Seventy-six sophomore mechanical engineering majors completed the survey composed of 36 examples of problems described within the NAE Challenge report. Survey results show a strong relationship between students’ interest and their confidence in meeting a challenge. Six students participated in a semi-structured interview regarding their experience with and knowledge of the Challenges. Interview results indicated the students had few course-related experiences that exposed them to the Challenges. Results of this study can contribute to a broader conversation among ME educators about ways to integrate the NAE Grand Challenges in undergraduate engineering education.

The Impact of Direct Competency Testing (DCT)

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G. Marchetta ◽  
John I. Hochstein ◽  
Teong E. Tan
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Engineering Curriculum ◽  
Valuable Component ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Program Accreditation ◽  
Competency Testing ◽  
Faculty Survey ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Impact

Direct Competency Testing (DCT) was developed and implemented to measure the ability of mechanical engineering students to correctly solve problems in the fundamental areas for each course in the mechanical engineering curriculum. Almost 10 years since the inception of DCT, an effort is made to assess the efficacy of DCT as a measure of student ability. Qualitative and quantitative assessments are conducted to evaluate the impact of administration, documentation, and evaluation of DCT on students and faculty. Student surveys focus on the perception of competency testing as a component of coursework and whether DCT is a reasonable measure of learning. Faculty survey results yield historical data of student DCT and provide perceptions of the effectiveness of DCT in mechanical engineering coursework. The impact of DCT on program accreditation and the connection to EC2000 criteria are examined. Evidence is provided that competency testing helps instructors assess a minimum threshold above which to evaluate the success of their students and that the majority of students believed DCT was a valuable component of an engineering curriculum. Results are presented to support the merit of continuing and further refining the methods for DCT.

English Language Proficiency And Its Challenges Among Students From Diploma Of Mechanical Engineering

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasnizam Bin Hasan ◽  
Suzilawati Binti Iberahim
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Language Usage ◽  
21St Century Education

21st century education (PA-21) aims to create integration between Malaysia’s multi races, ethnicities and building respect toward cultural, religion and racial differences. English language mastery among students in executing the 21st century education is very important so that they can communicate and collaborate with others. Despite that, English language usage among students is hard to reach its target due to psychological and attitude barrier. Through this research, it is hope to identify the challenges in English language usage among Diploma of Mechanical Engineering students and two factors were identified which are psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics. Psycholinguistic focuses on the study of attitude, personality and motivation towards the taught language while sociolinguistic focuses on the student’s family background towards their language learning and mastery. Questionnaire and observation are the methods used in gaining information from 72 students’ respondents. Research data is analysed descriptively using SPSS. The end results shows that both psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics factor is related to each other where mostly challenges comes from applied linguistics factor. Advices are given to the respective lecturers in facing the English language usage challenges and in order to raise their learning motivation so that they can stand to survive the 21st century education (PA-21) challenges.

scholarly journals Teaching Mechatronics to Non-traditional Mechanical Engineering Students – An Adaptive Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Cheryl Qing Li
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Adaptive Approach ◽  
Broad Field ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Wide Range

The mechanical engineering program at our university has adopted an integrated curriculum, with the first-two years based on multidisciplinary engineering foundation spiral courses across the college, and the last-two years following traditional mechanical engineering courses within the home department. This paper presents how we introduce the broad field of mechatronics to non-traditional mechanical engineering students via a single technical elective course. Students enrolled in mechatronics usually demonstrate a wide range in knowledge and skill preparation, especially in the areas of electronics, instrumentation, and programming. Such diversity of backgrounds, in addition to the breadth of topics typically associated with mechatronics, impose a great challenge to the design and delivery of the course. In this empirical investigation, we propose an adaptive approach to respond to the challenge. Two stages of adaptation are involved in this teaching approach. At the stage of course design, design-loop adaption is applied to restructure the course contents based on a starting point assessment. During the process of course delivery, task-loop adaption is implemented based on the dynamic assessment of student knowledge state. By replacing the common one-fixed-content-fit-all teaching approach to an adaptive one, we can engage the less prepared and less enthusiastic students while maintaining the interest of the majority in class. Qualitative analysis of the course evaluation results have shown that the adaptive teaching approach has achieved success in several dimensions. The most encouraging feedback lies in the fact that students’ interests in the broad field of mechatronics are greatly inspired by the course.

scholarly journals IDENTIFICATION OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE STATES OF MATTER OF WATER AND AIR AMONG SLOVENIAN STUDENTS AGED 12, 14 AND 16 YEARS THROUGH SOLVING AUTHENTIC TASKS

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-323
Author(s):  
Miha Slapničar ◽  
Iztok Devetak ◽  
Saša A. Glažar ◽  
Jerneja Pavlin
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
School Students ◽  
Particulate Nature Of Matter ◽  
Authentic Tasks ◽  
Macroscopic Level ◽  
Particulate Nature ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Insight Into

The aim of the research was to identify how Slovenian primary and secondary school students of various age groups explain the particulate nature of the states of matter of water and air. The qualitative research included five 12, 14, and 16 year old students. A semi-structured interview including four computer-displayed tasks was used for the data collection. The research results show that all of the students correctly identified the states of matter of water at the particulate level, but not of air. It was found that the students had difficulty justifying their selection. The study confirmed the existence of: (a) misunderstanding regarding the interpretation of the particulate nature of matter, (b) a failure to distinguish between particle and matter, and (c) the inadequate description of submicroscopic level of matter with macroscopic level concept. The survey results provide an insight into the mindset of students and serve as a starting point for teachers’ lesson planning. Keywords: authentic tasks, macroscopic level, misunderstanding of pressure, states of matter, submicroscopic level.

Linkage Between Learning Styles and Design Engineering Perceptions of Undergraduate Students

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj M. Manglik ◽  
Milind A. Jog ◽  
Yijun Liu
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Engineering ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Engineering Survey ◽  
Effective Design

The debate on inculcating effective design engineering learning - its fundamental conceptualization, application of theoretical constructs to model physical devices/systems, and development of tools for solving unstructured problems - and associated critical thinking has primarily focused on curricula issues. Little effort has been made to understand the cognitive underpinning of students that lends to success in this direction. This paper presents the findings of a transverse study to assess learning styles of undergraduate mechanical engineering students and their perceptions about design engineering. Survey results from a batch of sophomores and seniors are analyzed to ascertain: (i) aspects of learning styles that are conducive to design comprehension, and (ii) perceptions about design engineering that aid or impede such learning.

Islam and Modernity: A Case of Muslim Female Engineers in Malaysia

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 403-419
Author(s):  
Rohaiza Abd. Rokis
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Modern Development ◽  
Modern Engineering ◽  
Islam And Modernity ◽  
Careful Management

Malaysia is portrayed as one of the modern and developed Muslim nations. Its rapid modern development in physical structure impressed many people. However, little is known about the situation of its non-physical structure, particularly the religious and normative values. This paper rests on the stance that individuals’ religious values remain despite the nation’s effort towards modernisation, particularly in the relations of women and profession. To achieve the purpose, this article explores the paradoxes relating to the intricate relationships between the traditional feminine social expectations and modern engineering profession experienced by Muslim female engineers and students in Malaysia. The research is a structured interview design on thirty-six Muslim female engineers and engineering students. It found that there were potential self-presentation crises, particularly when women participated in a male-dominated workplace. The gendering issues in engineering overwhelmingly projected the collision between modernism and traditionalism. Such a blending situation depended on very careful management as being women with a clear expectation towards traditional feminine roles and responsibilities, while at the same time they have to present themselves in a business-like, modern manner in terms of competence, commitment and ambitious targets to claim a rightful place in the engineering world. Modernisation has not been able to change women’s traditional attitude. Though they may be modernised, educated and professional, these women are still traditional at heart.

First-Year Engineering Students’ Conceptualization of Entrepreneurial Mindset

2021 ◽  
pp. 251512742110292
Author(s):  
Darby R. Riley ◽  
Hayley M. Shuster ◽  
Courtney A. LeMasney ◽  
Carla E. Silvestri ◽  
Kaitlin E. Mallouk
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
College Student ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Multidisciplinary Design ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
First Year College ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Reflection Prompts

This study was conducted to examine how first-year engineering students conceptualize the Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) and how that conceptualization changes over the course of their first semester of college, using the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN)’s 3Cs as a starting point. Students enrolled in an introductory, multidisciplinary design course responded to biweekly reflection prompts on their educational experiences (either in high school or as a first-year college student) and related this experience to one of the 3Cs of EM: Curiosity, Connections, or Creating Value. Results indicate that students’ conceptualization of the 3Cs often align with definitions of EM from KEEN, as well as foundational works in the entrepreneurship field, and that their interpretation of each of the 3Cs does change during their first semester in college. For instance, students were less likely to write about curiosity and more likely to write about creating value at the end of the semester compared to the beginning.

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