scholarly journals Attracting and Retaining Women in Undergraduate Engineering Programs – A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Imran ◽  
Mohamed Kalil ◽  
Fahar Hayati
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering

Learning outcomes and assessment methodology: Case study of an undergraduate engineering project

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Rameez Naqvi ◽  
Tallha Akram ◽  
Sajjad Ali Haider ◽  
Wilayat Khan ◽  
Muhammad Kamran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Engineering Problem ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Engineering Project ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Outcome Based Education

Considering the effectiveness of outcome-based education and its increasing implementation in higher education, we propose a set of course learning outcomes that may be related to any engineering problem, in particular the final year project in undergraduate engineering programs. We also show how these outcomes may be mapped to program learning outcomes identified by the Washington Accord. Our case study is an embedded vision system developed by our own group, which we assess against these outcomes using the proposed self-assessment report rubrics. We conclude by presenting assessment reports for our project from two expert academics showing how well it managed to attain the course learning outcomes. This work is intended to give students a direction to professionally as well as ethically approach a particular design problem, and at the same time help the instructors evaluate their students’ projects by simply adopting the proposed assessment methodology.

Collaborative idea exchange and material tinkering influence families’ creative engineering practices and products during engineering programs in informal learning environments

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo Hyeon Kim ◽  
Heather Toomey Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Design Research ◽  
Naturalistic Inquiry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Solution Generation ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Feasible Solutions ◽  
Engineering Practices ◽  
Parent Child

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how families’ sociomaterial experiences in engineering programs held in libraries and a museum influence their creative engineering practices and the creativity expressed in their products derived from their inquiry-driven engineering activities. Design/methodology/approach This research project takes a naturalistic inquiry using qualitative and quantitative analyses based on video records from activities of 31 parent–child pairs and on creativity assessment of products that used littleBits as prototyping tools. Findings Families engaged in two sociomaterial experiences related to engineering – collaborative idea exchange and ongoing generative tinkering with materials – which supported the emergence of novel ideas and feasible solutions during the informal engineering programs. Families in the high novelty score group experienced multiple instances of collaborative idea exchange and ongoing generative tinkering with materials, co-constructed through parent-child collaboration, that were expansive toward further idea and solution generation. Families in the low novelty score group experienced brief collaborative idea exchange and material tinkering with specific idea suggestions and high involvement from the parent. An in-depth case study of one family further illustrated that equal engagement by the parent and child as they tinkered with the technology supported families’ creative engineering practices. Originality/value This analysis adds to the information sciences and learning sciences literatures with an account that integrates methodologies from sociocultural and engineering design research to understand the relationship between families’ engagement in creative engineering practices and their products. Implications for practitioners include suggestions for designing spaces to support families’ collaborative idea exchange and ongoing generative tinkering to facilitate the development of creative engineering practices during short-term engineering programs.

scholarly journals Implementing English-medium instruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-153
Author(s):  
Kari Sahan
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
State University ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language Preference ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
University Department

Abstract As part of the trend toward internationalization of higher education, governments and universities have introduced policies to encourage the expansion of English-medium instruction (EMI). However, top-down policies do not necessarily translate to teaching and learning practices. This article provides a case study examining the implementation of undergraduate EMI engineering programs at a state university in Turkey to explore the gaps that exist between national- and institutional-level EMI policies and classroom-level practices. Data were collected through policy documents, classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with teachers, and focus group discussions with students. The findings suggest that the implementation of EMI varies across classrooms, even within the same university department. Despite policies that envision one-language-at-a-time instruction, the EMI lecturers in this study varied in terms of language preference and teaching practice in their EMI lectures. Implications are discussed with respect to policy planning, teacher training, and the expansion of EMI across university contexts.

scholarly journals A case study of a college-wide first year undergraduate engineering course

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadi Aloul ◽  
Imran Zualkernan ◽  
Ayman El-Hag ◽  
Ghaleb Husseini ◽  
Yousef Al-Assaf
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering

Widening the Participation of Disadvantaged Students in Engineering

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Sciffer ◽  
Mahsood Shah
Keyword(s):  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Preparedness ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Preparatory Programs ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University ◽  
Diverse Groups

The University of Newcastle, Australia has a long history of providing enabling education which provides access and opportunity for students to participate in undergraduate education. The enabling programs at the University allow higher school leavers, and mature aged adults to prepare for undergraduate degrees. Students who complete enabling education at the University undertake undergraduate studies in various disciplines including engineering. This paper outlines the extent to which enabling programs have played an important role in widening the participation of disadvantaged students in engineering disciplines. The different levels of academic preparedness of students in enabling programs and barriers faced in learning require effective strategies for teaching and engaging students in learning. The paper outlines the strategy used in teaching an advanced level of mathematics to the diverse groups of students to prepare them for success in first year undergraduate engineering programs. While research on undergraduate engineering education is significant, limited studies have been undertaken on enabling or university preparatory programs and their impact in various professions.

Undergraduate Project in Compressor Rig Design, Fabrication, and Testing for Complete Engineering Training

2015 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huu Duc Vo ◽  
Jean-Yves Trépanier
Keyword(s):  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Mechanical Design ◽  
Plastic Material ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Compressor Aerodynamics ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Two Phases

An ambitious project in propulsion was introduced as part of the final-year integrator project offerings of the mechanical and aerospace engineering programs at École Polytechnique de Montréal in 2011–2012. It has been running successfully for the past three academic years. The project consists in the design, fabrication, and placement into service of a functional instrumented multistage compressor test rig, including the compressor, for research in compressor aerodynamics. A team of 15–17 senior-year undergraduate engineering students is given a set of design and performance specifications and measurement requirements, an electric motor and drive, a data acquisition system, and some measurement probes. They must complete the project in two semesters with a budget on the order of Can$15,000. The compressor is made from rapid prototyping to keep production cost and time reasonable. However, the required rotation speed of 7200 rpm stretches the limits of the plastic material and presents the same structural challenges as industrial compressors running at higher speeds. The students are split into subteams according to the required disciplines, namely, compressor aerodynamics, general aerodynamics, structures, dynamics, mechanical design and integration, instrumentation, and project management. For the initial phase, which covers the first two months, the students receive short seminars from experts in academia and industry in each discipline and use the knowledge from fundamental engineering courses to analytically model the different components to come up with a preliminary design. In the second phase, covering three to six, the students are trained at commercial simulation tools and use them for detailed analysis to refine and finalize the design. In each of the first two phases, the students present their work in design reviews with a jury made up of engineers from industry and supervising professors. During the final phase, the compressor is built and tested with data acquisition and motor control programs written by the students. Finally, the students present their results with comparison of measured performance with numerical and analytical predictions from the first two phases and hand over their compressor rig with design and test reports as well as a user manual and an assembly/maintenance manual. This complete project allows the students to put into practice virtually all the courses of their undergraduate engineering curriculum while giving them an extensive taste of the rich and intellectually challenging environment of gas turbine and turbomachinery engineering.

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