Pub Date : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119943
Wenbing Zhao
This paper reports the design and implementation of a special topics course on Kinect Application Development. The primary objective of the course is to enrich the Electrical and Computer Engineering curricula by teaching cutting edge computer technologies to keep our programs current and exciting to students. This course differs from traditional Electrical and Computer Engineering courses both in the content covered and in the way it was taught. This course covers both fundamental computer vision technologies that made Kinect possible as well as the rich Application Programming Interfaces provided by the Kinect Software Development Kit. Furthermore, the course consists of both traditional lecture-based instructions and active learning components with lab exercises and team-based projects. The course offers students an opportunity to practice real-world software engineering as well as solving multidisciplinary problems.
{"title":"Enriching engineering curricula with a course on cutting-edge computer technologies","authors":"Wenbing Zhao","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119943","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119943","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports the design and implementation of a special topics course on Kinect Application Development. The primary objective of the course is to enrich the Electrical and Computer Engineering curricula by teaching cutting edge computer technologies to keep our programs current and exciting to students. This course differs from traditional Electrical and Computer Engineering courses both in the content covered and in the way it was taught. This course covers both fundamental computer vision technologies that made Kinect possible as well as the rich Application Programming Interfaces provided by the Kinect Software Development Kit. Furthermore, the course consists of both traditional lecture-based instructions and active learning components with lab exercises and team-based projects. The course offers students an opportunity to practice real-world software engineering as well as solving multidisciplinary problems.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127129514","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119906
Anjelique Melendez, Wyatt Sanders, Benjamin Smullyan, Asif Uddin, K. Herbert
During the Summer of 2014, several students from Montclair High school enrolled in the Weston Science Summer program. In this program, we were split into small groups and worked with College professors as mentors. We were given 6 weeks to address an issue and come up with solution for this issue. I worked with four other students (state the students) were given the opportunity to work with Dr. Katherine Herbert to come up with a Mobile Application for scientific data collection. Dr. Herbert is a professor and researcher at Montclair State University. Dr. Herbert's research involves looking at how computational data sciences can address problems in sustainability sciences. As part of a group we decided that we wanted to create a prototype mobile application for scientific data services. We wanted the application to allow a user to create a data schema of his or her choice, store multiple schemas for multiple individuals, allows users to enter and save data that conforms to the schema, and to visualize the scientific data for the user.
{"title":"A mobile tool for collecting scientific experimental data","authors":"Anjelique Melendez, Wyatt Sanders, Benjamin Smullyan, Asif Uddin, K. Herbert","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119906","url":null,"abstract":"During the Summer of 2014, several students from Montclair High school enrolled in the Weston Science Summer program. In this program, we were split into small groups and worked with College professors as mentors. We were given 6 weeks to address an issue and come up with solution for this issue. I worked with four other students (state the students) were given the opportunity to work with Dr. Katherine Herbert to come up with a Mobile Application for scientific data collection. Dr. Herbert is a professor and researcher at Montclair State University. Dr. Herbert's research involves looking at how computational data sciences can address problems in sustainability sciences. As part of a group we decided that we wanted to create a prototype mobile application for scientific data services. We wanted the application to allow a user to create a data schema of his or her choice, store multiple schemas for multiple individuals, allows users to enter and save data that conforms to the schema, and to visualize the scientific data for the user.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125935548","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119949
Amy Eguchi
This paper presents a case of a liberal art college serving predominantly African American and Hispanic populations. Many of those students are non-traditional and working students from nearby socio-economically disadvantaged communities. It introduces the difficulties that they face because of the lack of skills that the students come in with. The general education course provides learning experience aiming to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills as well as creativity and innovation through the integration of robotics as a learning tool and trans-disciplinary approach in a learner-centered, collaborative, project-based learning environment. The results show that the students have achieved the learning outcomes that the course set.
{"title":"Educational robotics to promote 21st century skills and technological understanding among underprivileged undergraduate students","authors":"Amy Eguchi","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119949","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119949","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a case of a liberal art college serving predominantly African American and Hispanic populations. Many of those students are non-traditional and working students from nearby socio-economically disadvantaged communities. It introduces the difficulties that they face because of the lack of skills that the students come in with. The general education course provides learning experience aiming to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills as well as creativity and innovation through the integration of robotics as a learning tool and trans-disciplinary approach in a learner-centered, collaborative, project-based learning environment. The results show that the students have achieved the learning outcomes that the course set.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116944271","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119953
Gina Sprint, D. Cook
Introductory courses offer several opportunities to inspire students to pursue a degree in STEM majors. Attracting and retaining students involves engagement and enjoyment at the individual, team, and class level. We explored the effects of these factors with a gamified approach to programming practice in an introductory computer science course. Gamification involves the use of game design elements in a non-game context to engage and motivate students. We present a novel learning game and the results of play-testing with 12 CS1 students. Students were surveyed prior to and after the gamified programming session. Positive feedback was obtained from the students and the educators observed high participation, interaction, and successful team programming efforts. We objectively report student satisfaction with the game, lessons learned by the educators, and suggest future work for stimulating students in introductory STEM courses.
{"title":"Enhancing the CS1 student experience with gamification","authors":"Gina Sprint, D. Cook","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119953","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119953","url":null,"abstract":"Introductory courses offer several opportunities to inspire students to pursue a degree in STEM majors. Attracting and retaining students involves engagement and enjoyment at the individual, team, and class level. We explored the effects of these factors with a gamified approach to programming practice in an introductory computer science course. Gamification involves the use of game design elements in a non-game context to engage and motivate students. We present a novel learning game and the results of play-testing with 12 CS1 students. Students were surveyed prior to and after the gamified programming session. Positive feedback was obtained from the students and the educators observed high participation, interaction, and successful team programming efforts. We objectively report student satisfaction with the game, lessons learned by the educators, and suggest future work for stimulating students in introductory STEM courses.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"45 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131107694","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119951
Alistar Erickson-Ludwig
Minority students and those of low socio-economic status are underrepresented in the engineering field. Early exposure to the engineering field may improve the chances that these types of students will consider pursuing academic studies and career placements in this field. Now in its fourth year, Drexel University, College of Engineering hosts elementary through high school aged students in the gifted program at the Southeast Delco School District (DELCO). Students tour engineering labs, hear from current college students, watch demonstrations, and engage in small group activities that focus on engineering concepts like robotics, circuits, and human centered design. This example of an informal learning program between a college, spearheaded by the IEEE Student Chapter at Drexel University, and four area DELCO schools, has allowed grade school students to begin thinking about college, have informal college mentors, and learn the basics of engineering. Through mostly qualitative and some quantitative data, the outcomes of this mutually beneficial relationship between a college and local public schools, especially targeting underrepresented minority students, indicate that pre-college students have benefited from these visits in a multitude of ways. Often these visits reinforce concepts the students have already learned and expand their perception of engineering.
{"title":"A college lead informal learning engineering education program for school aged youth","authors":"Alistar Erickson-Ludwig","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119951","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119951","url":null,"abstract":"Minority students and those of low socio-economic status are underrepresented in the engineering field. Early exposure to the engineering field may improve the chances that these types of students will consider pursuing academic studies and career placements in this field. Now in its fourth year, Drexel University, College of Engineering hosts elementary through high school aged students in the gifted program at the Southeast Delco School District (DELCO). Students tour engineering labs, hear from current college students, watch demonstrations, and engage in small group activities that focus on engineering concepts like robotics, circuits, and human centered design. This example of an informal learning program between a college, spearheaded by the IEEE Student Chapter at Drexel University, and four area DELCO schools, has allowed grade school students to begin thinking about college, have informal college mentors, and learn the basics of engineering. Through mostly qualitative and some quantitative data, the outcomes of this mutually beneficial relationship between a college and local public schools, especially targeting underrepresented minority students, indicate that pre-college students have benefited from these visits in a multitude of ways. Often these visits reinforce concepts the students have already learned and expand their perception of engineering.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130398829","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119900
N. Mosina
Research on learning in STEM disciplines suggests that students' problem solving ability comes from the creation of increasingly complex connections among diverse learning sources. This paper revisits the notion of integration in teaching and learning in a broad sense, discusses integration of various strategies to enhance learning, engagement, and success of students taking STEM pre-gateway course, Pre-Calculus, at a two-year minority serving college. It is emphasized that integrative learning, as an active student-centered process, is intertwined with an integrated approach to instruction. Several practices in teaching technology- oriented and applied project-based pre-calculus that resulted in improved student performance, engagement, and self-confidence are discussed. The paper calls for integration of effective approaches in one integral system, raises questions about optimal combination of working strategies, and, among other things, contributes to nowadays deficient empirical study of integration. Development of a particular integrated path toward students' success in freshmen math pre-gateway to STEM is described. Experiences and outcomes are shared.
{"title":"Technology-oriented Pre-Calculus: Developing integrated path toward student success in STEM pre-gateway course","authors":"N. Mosina","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119900","url":null,"abstract":"Research on learning in STEM disciplines suggests that students' problem solving ability comes from the creation of increasingly complex connections among diverse learning sources. This paper revisits the notion of integration in teaching and learning in a broad sense, discusses integration of various strategies to enhance learning, engagement, and success of students taking STEM pre-gateway course, Pre-Calculus, at a two-year minority serving college. It is emphasized that integrative learning, as an active student-centered process, is intertwined with an integrated approach to instruction. Several practices in teaching technology- oriented and applied project-based pre-calculus that resulted in improved student performance, engagement, and self-confidence are discussed. The paper calls for integration of effective approaches in one integral system, raises questions about optimal combination of working strategies, and, among other things, contributes to nowadays deficient empirical study of integration. Development of a particular integrated path toward students' success in freshmen math pre-gateway to STEM is described. Experiences and outcomes are shared.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129657404","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119916
F. Tuluri
In traditional teaching methods of teaching science and engineering, students lack experience of applying physical principles to real time physical situation required in these disciplines of study. Students are not engaged to create interest in learning through interactive activities. Lack of interest combined with shortage of practical experience in learning eventually leads them to failure to keep up with the grades expected of them or even can lead to increased rates of attrition in science and engineering disciplines. To overcome this problem, we present a novel and versatile interactive learning tool using data logging capabilities of Robotic Educational Module of Lego NXT. In the present work, we describe the method of Robotics-based educational tool to study electrical conductivity of liquids, body resistance, and Newton's law of cooling. The details of the method - designing and building a robo-based physical system, programming, data collection, analyzing data, calculating and interpreting results are given. The method has been demonstrated to K12, and undergraduate student participants of summer camps. The Robotics-based educational tool can be used for teaching or for learning and can be extended to several other areas of science and engineering.
{"title":"Using robotics educational module as an interactive STEM learning platform","authors":"F. Tuluri","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119916","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119916","url":null,"abstract":"In traditional teaching methods of teaching science and engineering, students lack experience of applying physical principles to real time physical situation required in these disciplines of study. Students are not engaged to create interest in learning through interactive activities. Lack of interest combined with shortage of practical experience in learning eventually leads them to failure to keep up with the grades expected of them or even can lead to increased rates of attrition in science and engineering disciplines. To overcome this problem, we present a novel and versatile interactive learning tool using data logging capabilities of Robotic Educational Module of Lego NXT. In the present work, we describe the method of Robotics-based educational tool to study electrical conductivity of liquids, body resistance, and Newton's law of cooling. The details of the method - designing and building a robo-based physical system, programming, data collection, analyzing data, calculating and interpreting results are given. The method has been demonstrated to K12, and undergraduate student participants of summer camps. The Robotics-based educational tool can be used for teaching or for learning and can be extended to several other areas of science and engineering.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"189 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134582698","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119926
Vikrant Sood, S. Wadoo
As part of a series of papers that explore the extent to which LEGO kits can be used to introduce important control system and robotics concepts to both undergraduate and graduate engineering students, this paper attempts to build a delay based wireless control system using LEGO kits. The paper introduces a method that takes into account the delay that gets added due to switching from wired communication to wireless. By replacing the wire with a wireless connection, the system becomes a wireless control system (WCS). The impact of delay on the wireless control system is observed. The control effort required before and after delay is compared.
{"title":"Establishing a cost effective control and robotics program: Delay based wireless feedback control using LEGO's","authors":"Vikrant Sood, S. Wadoo","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119926","url":null,"abstract":"As part of a series of papers that explore the extent to which LEGO kits can be used to introduce important control system and robotics concepts to both undergraduate and graduate engineering students, this paper attempts to build a delay based wireless control system using LEGO kits. The paper introduces a method that takes into account the delay that gets added due to switching from wired communication to wireless. By replacing the wire with a wireless connection, the system becomes a wireless control system (WCS). The impact of delay on the wireless control system is observed. The control effort required before and after delay is compared.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127784623","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119947
J. Griffin, Carol B. Brandt, Elliot S. Bickel, Christine G. Schnittka, Jessica Schnittka
This paper presents a mixed methods case study of a middle school mixed-gender team participating in an after-school environmental engineering workshop. The curriculum was part of a STEM program in which youth were engaged in a studio approach to design-based engineering. Data includes video of a girl-boy team working together (both 6th graders) tasked with creating a working model of a solar car. Additional data was provided through interview transcripts of the girl and boy, along with pre- and posttest results of their learning of key scientific concepts. Discourse and observational analyses based on videotape documentation reveal power imbalances in the working relationship of the pair favoring the boy. These imbalances are most apparent in the amount of time that each spends handling the engineering equipment and in the nature of the dialogue, which is characterized in large part by directives rather than by constructive collaboration. These imbalances appear to reflect longstanding societal gender norms and may provide clues as to how females may feel excluded from engineering activities and why so few females enter the field of engineering. Recommendations for facilitation, instructional designs, and assessments are made with the goal of fostering equitable and harmonious mixed-gender collaborations in engineering activities.
{"title":"Imbalance of power: A case study of a middle school mixed-gender engineering team","authors":"J. Griffin, Carol B. Brandt, Elliot S. Bickel, Christine G. Schnittka, Jessica Schnittka","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119947","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119947","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a mixed methods case study of a middle school mixed-gender team participating in an after-school environmental engineering workshop. The curriculum was part of a STEM program in which youth were engaged in a studio approach to design-based engineering. Data includes video of a girl-boy team working together (both 6th graders) tasked with creating a working model of a solar car. Additional data was provided through interview transcripts of the girl and boy, along with pre- and posttest results of their learning of key scientific concepts. Discourse and observational analyses based on videotape documentation reveal power imbalances in the working relationship of the pair favoring the boy. These imbalances are most apparent in the amount of time that each spends handling the engineering equipment and in the nature of the dialogue, which is characterized in large part by directives rather than by constructive collaboration. These imbalances appear to reflect longstanding societal gender norms and may provide clues as to how females may feel excluded from engineering activities and why so few females enter the field of engineering. Recommendations for facilitation, instructional designs, and assessments are made with the goal of fostering equitable and harmonious mixed-gender collaborations in engineering activities.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127947572","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 : 2015-03-07DOI: 10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119942
Matthew Morrison
In this paper, a novel formalized teaching method is presented for encouraging excellence in undergraduate student performance. This approach is a modified implementation of the teaching method used at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, which was made more appropriate for civilian engineering undergraduate students. The objective of this method is to prepare students academically, creatively, and morally, and to engender ideals of integrity, professionalism, and lifelong learning and teaching. The presented teaching method has three stages. First, students are required to perform daily assignments, which constitute the fundamental definitions, equations and concepts of the course material are broken up into "Topical Guide Objectives" (TGOs). This stage ensures students are taught the necessary background material - a major factor in engineering dropout rates - and gives the students opportunity to become familiar with how the professor phrases questions for quizzes and exams. Second, students are given example questions in class which use the TGO fundamentals to solve complex problems. Third, students are presented with "Combining Concepts" questions, which included quotes from industry leaders in order to test a student's ability to critically think, and encourages performance-based learning as opposed to rote memorization. This method was implemented at the University of South Florida for five undergraduate Computer Architecture courses, one section of Foundations of Engineering, and subsequently in one section of the Advanced Digital Systems course at the University of Mississippi. Using the same grading scales as previous semesters, students achieved a 13.5% improvement in median performance and covered significantly more material. Many students said they used the methods learned in the course to improve their study habits in subsequent courses. Additionally, many students expressed that they were better prepared for job interviews in the material covered in my course.
{"title":"Topical guide objectives: A teaching method for encouraging excellence in undergraduate STEM student performance","authors":"Matthew Morrison","doi":"10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119942","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECON.2015.7119942","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, a novel formalized teaching method is presented for encouraging excellence in undergraduate student performance. This approach is a modified implementation of the teaching method used at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, which was made more appropriate for civilian engineering undergraduate students. The objective of this method is to prepare students academically, creatively, and morally, and to engender ideals of integrity, professionalism, and lifelong learning and teaching. The presented teaching method has three stages. First, students are required to perform daily assignments, which constitute the fundamental definitions, equations and concepts of the course material are broken up into \"Topical Guide Objectives\" (TGOs). This stage ensures students are taught the necessary background material - a major factor in engineering dropout rates - and gives the students opportunity to become familiar with how the professor phrases questions for quizzes and exams. Second, students are given example questions in class which use the TGO fundamentals to solve complex problems. Third, students are presented with \"Combining Concepts\" questions, which included quotes from industry leaders in order to test a student's ability to critically think, and encourages performance-based learning as opposed to rote memorization. This method was implemented at the University of South Florida for five undergraduate Computer Architecture courses, one section of Foundations of Engineering, and subsequently in one section of the Advanced Digital Systems course at the University of Mississippi. Using the same grading scales as previous semesters, students achieved a 13.5% improvement in median performance and covered significantly more material. Many students said they used the methods learned in the course to improve their study habits in subsequent courses. Additionally, many students expressed that they were better prepared for job interviews in the material covered in my course.","PeriodicalId":386232,"journal":{"name":"2015 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114875011","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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