Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462416
Christopher B. Williams, Y. Lee, J. Gero, M. Paretti
This paper reports the progress of a three-year longitudinal study on the impact of design education on students' design thinking and practice. Students from two curricula at a large research-intensive state university are being studied. The control group is a major focused on engineering mechanics, which has little formal design education prior to the capstone experience. The experimental group is a mechanical engineering major that uses design as a context for its curriculum. A task-independent protocol analysis method grounded in the Function-Behavior-Structure (FBS) design ontology is utilized to provide a common basis for comparing students across projects and years. This paper presents results of two years of the study, which included students at the beginning and the end of their sophomore year, and at the end of their junior year. The results of analyzing and comparing the percent occurrences of design issues and problem-solution index from the protocol analysis of both cohorts are presented. These results provide an opportunity to investigate and understand how students' design cognition is affected by a design course.
{"title":"Examining the effect of design education on the design cognition: Measurements from protocol studies","authors":"Christopher B. Williams, Y. Lee, J. Gero, M. Paretti","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462416","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462416","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports the progress of a three-year longitudinal study on the impact of design education on students' design thinking and practice. Students from two curricula at a large research-intensive state university are being studied. The control group is a major focused on engineering mechanics, which has little formal design education prior to the capstone experience. The experimental group is a mechanical engineering major that uses design as a context for its curriculum. A task-independent protocol analysis method grounded in the Function-Behavior-Structure (FBS) design ontology is utilized to provide a common basis for comparing students across projects and years. This paper presents results of two years of the study, which included students at the beginning and the end of their sophomore year, and at the end of their junior year. The results of analyzing and comparing the percent occurrences of design issues and problem-solution index from the protocol analysis of both cohorts are presented. These results provide an opportunity to investigate and understand how students' design cognition is affected by a design course.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115997843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462522
R. Adams, Mel Chua, Dana Denick, J. Mondisa, Nikitha Sambamurthy, Junaid Siddiqui, L. Vanasupa, Roberta Herter
We present preliminary work on “change knowledge” through a study investigating what exemplar “changemakers” understand about the process of undergraduate STEM education transformation.
我们通过调查典型的“变革者”对本科STEM教育转型过程的理解，提出了关于“变革知识”的初步工作。
{"title":"Work in progress: In their own words — How “changemakers” talk about change","authors":"R. Adams, Mel Chua, Dana Denick, J. Mondisa, Nikitha Sambamurthy, Junaid Siddiqui, L. Vanasupa, Roberta Herter","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462522","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462522","url":null,"abstract":"We present preliminary work on “change knowledge” through a study investigating what exemplar “changemakers” understand about the process of undergraduate STEM education transformation.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116486344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462462
Russell Korte
In regard to the ongoing efforts to reform engineering education, this working paper proposes the methods of philosophical reasoning and argumentation for constructing and analyzing educational beliefs about the ontology and epistemology of engineering and engineering education. Modern views of philosophy tend toward an instrumental perspective - one that believes that philosophy provides a rigorous method for describing and evaluating our understandings of knowledge and truth. Philosophical reasoning can help reconcile diverse beliefs resulting in more coherent and comprehensive statements about the nature of engineering and education. Employing philosophical reasoning in the articulation of one's philosophy of engineering education can lead to a more coherent and consistent statement about what it is that engineering educators aim to achieve. This paper briefly describes the methods of philosophical reasoning and argumentation introduced in workshops on the philosophy of engineering education conducted at previous FIE conferences. A follow-up workshop focused on these methods is planned for this year's FIE conference. The outcomes of the upcoming workshop will be included in a final version of this paper on the topic of developing a philosophy of engineering education.
{"title":"Work-in-progress: Exploring the essential nature of engineering education through philosophical inquiry","authors":"Russell Korte","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462462","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462462","url":null,"abstract":"In regard to the ongoing efforts to reform engineering education, this working paper proposes the methods of philosophical reasoning and argumentation for constructing and analyzing educational beliefs about the ontology and epistemology of engineering and engineering education. Modern views of philosophy tend toward an instrumental perspective - one that believes that philosophy provides a rigorous method for describing and evaluating our understandings of knowledge and truth. Philosophical reasoning can help reconcile diverse beliefs resulting in more coherent and comprehensive statements about the nature of engineering and education. Employing philosophical reasoning in the articulation of one's philosophy of engineering education can lead to a more coherent and consistent statement about what it is that engineering educators aim to achieve. This paper briefly describes the methods of philosophical reasoning and argumentation introduced in workshops on the philosophy of engineering education conducted at previous FIE conferences. A follow-up workshop focused on these methods is planned for this year's FIE conference. The outcomes of the upcoming workshop will be included in a final version of this paper on the topic of developing a philosophy of engineering education.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116890294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462357
Marisa K. Orr, C. Brawner, S. Lord, M. Ohland, R. Layton, Russell A. Long
Longitudinal data from ten U.S. institutions are used to characterize outcomes of three matriculation models: Direct Matriculation to a specific major (DM), First-Year Engineering programs (FYE), and Post-General Education Programs (PGE). Both DM and FYE programs show high persistence rates, but FYE programs are less likely to attract transfer students and switchers. FYE graduates are the most likely to stick with their first choice of major (after completing FYE requirements), followed by DM graduates who begin in undesignated engineering (taking extra time to decide), then DM graduates who choose their major as part of the matriculation process, and then PGE graduates. FYE students also have the shortest time to graduation. We conclude that encouraging students to associate with engineering or an engineering discipline from the start, yet maintaining the curricular flexibility to allow alternate entry points onto the engineering path improves persistence, accessibility, effectiveness of major choice, and time to graduation.
{"title":"Engineering matriculation paths: Outcomes of Direct Matriculation, First-Year Engineering, and Post-General Education Models","authors":"Marisa K. Orr, C. Brawner, S. Lord, M. Ohland, R. Layton, Russell A. Long","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462357","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462357","url":null,"abstract":"Longitudinal data from ten U.S. institutions are used to characterize outcomes of three matriculation models: Direct Matriculation to a specific major (DM), First-Year Engineering programs (FYE), and Post-General Education Programs (PGE). Both DM and FYE programs show high persistence rates, but FYE programs are less likely to attract transfer students and switchers. FYE graduates are the most likely to stick with their first choice of major (after completing FYE requirements), followed by DM graduates who begin in undesignated engineering (taking extra time to decide), then DM graduates who choose their major as part of the matriculation process, and then PGE graduates. FYE students also have the shortest time to graduation. We conclude that encouraging students to associate with engineering or an engineering discipline from the start, yet maintaining the curricular flexibility to allow alternate entry points onto the engineering path improves persistence, accessibility, effectiveness of major choice, and time to graduation.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"211 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116405525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462206
W. Schilling
This paper discusses a novel active learning exercise which teaches students how to perform and assess the effectiveness of formal software inspections. In this exercise, students are responsible for selecting an artifact from their senior capstone design projects. The students then use fault injection to strategically place faults within the artifact that should be caught by the inspection exercise. Based on the needs of the team, students prepare an inspection packet consisting of a set of inspection instructions, applicable checklists, and the inspection artifact. Students then “hire” a set of inspectors based on classmates' backgrounds and experiences. The team leader then holds two inspection meetings and reports the results. The results are then used to assess the effectiveness of the inspection. Overall, in analyzing 5 years worth of data from this exercise, it is found that students are capable of selecting appropriate materials for inspection and performing appropriate software inspections. The yield of students is lower than an experienced professional might have and the inspection rates tend to be slightly higher than desired for their experience. However, the yield is related to individual preparation time. Students overall find this to be a highly educational experience and highly recommend it be continued for future classes.
{"title":"Teaching software inspection effectiveness: An active learning exercise","authors":"W. Schilling","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462206","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses a novel active learning exercise which teaches students how to perform and assess the effectiveness of formal software inspections. In this exercise, students are responsible for selecting an artifact from their senior capstone design projects. The students then use fault injection to strategically place faults within the artifact that should be caught by the inspection exercise. Based on the needs of the team, students prepare an inspection packet consisting of a set of inspection instructions, applicable checklists, and the inspection artifact. Students then “hire” a set of inspectors based on classmates' backgrounds and experiences. The team leader then holds two inspection meetings and reports the results. The results are then used to assess the effectiveness of the inspection. Overall, in analyzing 5 years worth of data from this exercise, it is found that students are capable of selecting appropriate materials for inspection and performing appropriate software inspections. The yield of students is lower than an experienced professional might have and the inspection rates tend to be slightly higher than desired for their experience. However, the yield is related to individual preparation time. Students overall find this to be a highly educational experience and highly recommend it be continued for future classes.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"82 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115217649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462205
D. Petkovic, K. Okada, Marc Sosnick-Pérez, Aishwarya Iyer, S. Zhu, R. Todtenhoefer, Shihong Huang
One of the challenges in effective software engineering (SE) education is the lack of objective assessment methods of how well student teams learn the critically needed teamwork practices, defined as the ability: (i) to learn and effectively apply SE processes in a teamwork setting, and (ii) to work as a team to develop satisfactory software (SW) products. In addition, there are no effective methods for predicting learning effectiveness in order to enable early intervention in the classroom. Most of the current approaches to assess achievement of SE teamwork skills rely solely on qualitative and subjective data taken as surveys at the end of the class and analyzed only with very rudimentary data analysis. In this paper we present a novel approach to address the assessment and prediction of student learning of teamwork effectiveness in software engineering education based on: a) extracting only objective and quantitative student team activity data during their team class project; b) pairing these data with related independent observations and grading of student team effectiveness in SE process and SE product components in order to create “training database” and c) applying a machine learning (ML) approach, namely random forest classification (RF), to the above training database in order to create ML models, ranked factors and rules that can both explain (e.g. assess) as well as provide prediction of the student teamwork effectiveness. These student team activity data are being collected in joint and already established (since 2006) SE classes at San Francisco State University (SFSU), Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Fulda University, Germany (Fulda), from approximately 80 students each year, working in about 15 teams, both local and global (with students from multiple schools).
{"title":"Work in progress: A machine learning approach for assessment and prediction of teamwork effectiveness in software engineering education","authors":"D. Petkovic, K. Okada, Marc Sosnick-Pérez, Aishwarya Iyer, S. Zhu, R. Todtenhoefer, Shihong Huang","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462205","url":null,"abstract":"One of the challenges in effective software engineering (SE) education is the lack of objective assessment methods of how well student teams learn the critically needed teamwork practices, defined as the ability: (i) to learn and effectively apply SE processes in a teamwork setting, and (ii) to work as a team to develop satisfactory software (SW) products. In addition, there are no effective methods for predicting learning effectiveness in order to enable early intervention in the classroom. Most of the current approaches to assess achievement of SE teamwork skills rely solely on qualitative and subjective data taken as surveys at the end of the class and analyzed only with very rudimentary data analysis. In this paper we present a novel approach to address the assessment and prediction of student learning of teamwork effectiveness in software engineering education based on: a) extracting only objective and quantitative student team activity data during their team class project; b) pairing these data with related independent observations and grading of student team effectiveness in SE process and SE product components in order to create “training database” and c) applying a machine learning (ML) approach, namely random forest classification (RF), to the above training database in order to create ML models, ranked factors and rules that can both explain (e.g. assess) as well as provide prediction of the student teamwork effectiveness. These student team activity data are being collected in joint and already established (since 2006) SE classes at San Francisco State University (SFSU), Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Fulda University, Germany (Fulda), from approximately 80 students each year, working in about 15 teams, both local and global (with students from multiple schools).","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115696224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462355
D. L. Dalmon, L. O. Brandão, G. M. Gomes, A. Brandão, Seiji Isotani
Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) provide many features that improve learning and teaching experiences. ITS are usually interactivity-intense and content-specific. Interactivity-intense assignments are recommended for scaffolding learning, while content-specific systems can offer low flexibility regarding its possible pedagogical approaches and its uses by teachers. In order to overcome this limited flexibility, there are systems which let content-specific interactivity aside to provide authoring tools, with which teachers can author intelligent tutored assignments without programming. The generic model proposed herein intends to address this problem providing flexible authoring tools for interactivity-intense assignments with tutoring features, letting teachers benefit from the flexibility of content authoring tools as well as the interactivity usually restricted to content-specific ITS. We introduce an application framework which implements this model, which is available as free software.
{"title":"Work in progress: A generic model for interactivity-intense intelligent tutor authoring tools","authors":"D. L. Dalmon, L. O. Brandão, G. M. Gomes, A. Brandão, Seiji Isotani","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462355","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462355","url":null,"abstract":"Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) provide many features that improve learning and teaching experiences. ITS are usually interactivity-intense and content-specific. Interactivity-intense assignments are recommended for scaffolding learning, while content-specific systems can offer low flexibility regarding its possible pedagogical approaches and its uses by teachers. In order to overcome this limited flexibility, there are systems which let content-specific interactivity aside to provide authoring tools, with which teachers can author intelligent tutored assignments without programming. The generic model proposed herein intends to address this problem providing flexible authoring tools for interactivity-intense assignments with tutoring features, letting teachers benefit from the flexibility of content authoring tools as well as the interactivity usually restricted to content-specific ITS. We introduce an application framework which implements this model, which is available as free software.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124565058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462450
O. Lawanto, H. Santoso
The current study was part of activities in a Work in Progress paper presented at the 41st Frontiers in Education Conference that focused on activity Phase 2. This study evaluated students' metacognition using the Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) framework while learning electric circuit concepts. Two research questions guided this study: (1) Was there any improvement in metacognitive self-regulation skills while learning using the enhanced guided notes (EGN) throughout the semester?, and (2) To what degree were students' monitoring strategies reflected in regulating strategies at the beginning and end of the semester? The subjects for this study were engineering students enrolled in the Fundamental Electronics for Engineers course at Utah State University during the fall 2011. Thirteen sets of EGN were developed and used in the semester. A survey instrument developed using Butler and Cartier's SRL model was used to capture students' metacognitive self-regulated learning strategies. Participants were asked to complete the survey twice; at the beginning and end of semester. Descriptive statistics and mean differences of SRL features were used to analyze survey data. Mean differences were conducted in two ways: (1) comparing mean values of the same SRL items, and (2) comparing the level/quality between SRL features for two themes (i.e., knowledge acquisition and problem solving) at the beginning and end of the semester. The findings suggested that there were improvements in some aspects of monitoring and regulating strategies. Comparison of SRL item mean values revealed that there was increasing awareness on specific SRL items. Students did a good job in monitoring and regulating strategies for knowledge acquisition and problem solving. They successfully improved the quality of SRL feature in knowledge acquisition and maintained the quality level in problem solving. This article will also discuss the potential implications for electric circuit concepts instruction.
{"title":"Implementation of enhanced guided notes to promote students' metacognitive self-regulated learning strategies while learning electric circuit concepts","authors":"O. Lawanto, H. Santoso","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462450","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462450","url":null,"abstract":"The current study was part of activities in a Work in Progress paper presented at the 41st Frontiers in Education Conference that focused on activity Phase 2. This study evaluated students' metacognition using the Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) framework while learning electric circuit concepts. Two research questions guided this study: (1) Was there any improvement in metacognitive self-regulation skills while learning using the enhanced guided notes (EGN) throughout the semester?, and (2) To what degree were students' monitoring strategies reflected in regulating strategies at the beginning and end of the semester? The subjects for this study were engineering students enrolled in the Fundamental Electronics for Engineers course at Utah State University during the fall 2011. Thirteen sets of EGN were developed and used in the semester. A survey instrument developed using Butler and Cartier's SRL model was used to capture students' metacognitive self-regulated learning strategies. Participants were asked to complete the survey twice; at the beginning and end of semester. Descriptive statistics and mean differences of SRL features were used to analyze survey data. Mean differences were conducted in two ways: (1) comparing mean values of the same SRL items, and (2) comparing the level/quality between SRL features for two themes (i.e., knowledge acquisition and problem solving) at the beginning and end of the semester. The findings suggested that there were improvements in some aspects of monitoring and regulating strategies. Comparison of SRL item mean values revealed that there was increasing awareness on specific SRL items. Students did a good job in monitoring and regulating strategies for knowledge acquisition and problem solving. They successfully improved the quality of SRL feature in knowledge acquisition and maintained the quality level in problem solving. This article will also discuss the potential implications for electric circuit concepts instruction.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122259047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462328
Laura Pohopien, Gina Hogan, S. Bayne, James Temple, Diane Fiero, Allison Devlin, J. Patrick, Nate Sexton, Jalin Brooks, Penny Stein, Anthony Arty, R. Luechtefeld
This paper presents two related studies the first explores the typical recurring dysfunction engineering student teams face and the second evaluates the effectiveness of a virtual facilitator called the Droid Communication System (DCS) in training such teams to address the dysfunction. Using Patrick Lencioni's Theory of Five Dysfunctions of a Team this study first measured for the following: absence of trust fear of conflict lack of commitment avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Then a virtual trust-building vignette was developed and loaded onto Droid phones to guide students to potential solutions. The studies' findings indicate that absence of trust seems to be a significant problem for engineering student teams and that 42% of participants indicate that the DCS process increased their confidence in communicating and interacting with their teams. The development of the vignettes and experimental evaluation can provide a model for future research on engineering education and on student team development.
{"title":"Trust in engineering teams and groups and virtual facilitation methods","authors":"Laura Pohopien, Gina Hogan, S. Bayne, James Temple, Diane Fiero, Allison Devlin, J. Patrick, Nate Sexton, Jalin Brooks, Penny Stein, Anthony Arty, R. Luechtefeld","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462328","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462328","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents two related studies the first explores the typical recurring dysfunction engineering student teams face and the second evaluates the effectiveness of a virtual facilitator called the Droid Communication System (DCS) in training such teams to address the dysfunction. Using Patrick Lencioni's Theory of Five Dysfunctions of a Team this study first measured for the following: absence of trust fear of conflict lack of commitment avoidance of accountability and inattention to results. Then a virtual trust-building vignette was developed and loaded onto Droid phones to guide students to potential solutions. The studies' findings indicate that absence of trust seems to be a significant problem for engineering student teams and that 42% of participants indicate that the DCS process increased their confidence in communicating and interacting with their teams. The development of the vignettes and experimental evaluation can provide a model for future research on engineering education and on student team development.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128769329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2012-10-03DOI: 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462489
S. Warren, D. Day
Programming can be an important part of a linear systems (a.k.a., signal and systems) course, as programming projects help to solidify mathematical concepts and provide students with a means to visualize and interpret signal and coefficient behavior. However, students often struggle with programming, leading to frustration that minimizes learning and worsens student attitudes toward the material. To address that need, the Kansas State University (KSU) Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Department recently added a required course, ECE 540 - Applied Scientific Computing, to the ECE curricula to ensure more overall C programming exposure and to serve as a prerequisite to ECE 512 - Linear Systems and other courses that require programming. This paper presents initial assessments of student preparedness for C programming projects in the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 offerings of ECE 512 following this course prerequisite change. The primary assessment mechanisms are pre- and post-project surveys that address students' proficiency in C, where the survey results are compared to similar surveys offered in prior semesters unaffected by the new course. These analyses indicate greater overall confidence in C programming, a better understanding of the supporting development environments, and an overall improved attitude toward Linear Systems programming projects.
{"title":"The impact of a scientific computing prerequisite on student performance in a linear systems course","authors":"S. Warren, D. Day","doi":"10.1109/FIE.2012.6462489","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462489","url":null,"abstract":"Programming can be an important part of a linear systems (a.k.a., signal and systems) course, as programming projects help to solidify mathematical concepts and provide students with a means to visualize and interpret signal and coefficient behavior. However, students often struggle with programming, leading to frustration that minimizes learning and worsens student attitudes toward the material. To address that need, the Kansas State University (KSU) Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Department recently added a required course, ECE 540 - Applied Scientific Computing, to the ECE curricula to ensure more overall C programming exposure and to serve as a prerequisite to ECE 512 - Linear Systems and other courses that require programming. This paper presents initial assessments of student preparedness for C programming projects in the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 offerings of ECE 512 following this course prerequisite change. The primary assessment mechanisms are pre- and post-project surveys that address students' proficiency in C, where the survey results are compared to similar surveys offered in prior semesters unaffected by the new course. These analyses indicate greater overall confidence in C programming, a better understanding of the supporting development environments, and an overall improved attitude toward Linear Systems programming projects.","PeriodicalId":120268,"journal":{"name":"2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128906239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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