Browsing by Subject "engineering education"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Assessment of STEM e-Learning in an Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) Environment
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) El-Mounayri, Hazim; Rogers, Christian; Fernandez, Eugenia; Satterwhite, Jesse Connor; Department of Engineering Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    This paper shows the early research findings of utilizing a virtual reality environment as an educational tool for the operation of a computerized numerical control (CNC) milling machine. Based off of a previous work, the Advanced Virtual Machining Lab (AVML), this project features a virtual environment in which a virtual CNC machine is fully operable, designed to allow STEM students and training professionals to learn the use of the CNC machine without the need to be in a physical lab. Users operate in the virtual environment using an immersive virtual reality headset (i.e. Oculus Rift) and standard input devices (i.e. mouse and keyboard), both of which combined make for easy movement and realistic visuals. On-screen tutorials allow users to learn about what they need to do to operate the machine without the need for outside instruction. While designing and perfecting this environment has been the primary focus of this project thus far, the research goal is to test the ease of use and the pedagogical effectiveness of the immersive technology as it relates to education in STEM fields. Initial usability studies for this environment featured students from the graduate level CAD/CAM-Theory and Advanced Applications (ME 54600) course at IUPUI. Results from the study were tabulated with a survey using a four-point Likert scale and several open-ended questions. Findings from the survey indicate that the majority of users found the environment realistic and easy to navigate, in addition to finding the immersive technology to be beneficial. Many also indicated that they felt comfortable navigating the environment without the need for additional assistance from the survey proctors. Full details on the first usability study, including data and discussion, can be found in this paper. The general consensus from the study was that, while some features needed refinement, the immersive environment helped them learn about the operation of a CNC machine. Additional usability studies will need to be undergone to refine said features before beginning the final study, in which students learning from the immersive virtual environment will be tested against students learning from traditional methods. Details on this last study will be discussed in the final paper, which will also discuss the methods used for preparing the environment, full results and detailed discussion on each of the usability studies, and conclusions on the usability and educational effectiveness of the immersive virtual reality technology in STEM education.
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    Comparison of Engineering Education in the United States versus the United Kingdom
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) Hylton, Pete; Otoupal-Hylton, Wendy; Department of Engineering Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    There is debate within history books as to exactly who first made the assertion that "America and Britain are two countries divided by a common language." However, no matter who said it first, the statement is an acknowledgement that despite centuries of common goals and aspirations, as well as historic and cultural ties, the two countries have some very distinctive differences. A recent opportunity to teach for two terms at a major university in the United Kingdom, as part of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Exchange program, provided an opportunity for one U.S. engineering faculty member to examine not only the gaps in our common language, but also the major differences in our university educational systems. Opportunities to associate with four different campuses in Scotland and England provided an excellent chance to compare and contrast how engineering higher education is conducted within these two English-speaking countries on opposite sides of the Atlantic. This paper will examine significant differences which were found in the areas of course conduct, projects, assignments, exams, expectations of student work, coursework assessment and program assessment. Additionally, differences in campus life, pre-collegiate education and general work-life philosophy of both faculty and students will be discussed.
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    The Development and Growth of Empathy Among Engineering Students
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) Hess, Justin L.; Fila, Nicholas D.; Department of Engineering Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    Discourse on empathy is growing globally, as is its focus within the engineering community. In the context of engineering, scholars have depicted this interpersonal phenomenon as a necessary skill for effectively communicating, a core component of ethical reasoning, and a key technique for designing to meet the needs of users. However, literature regarding its development within engineering is rather limited, and the literature that does exist is disconnected. Even literature outside of engineering tends to focus on childhood development as opposed to adult development. While the developmental literature may tend to focus on earlier ages (likely because this is when an individual most rapidly develops), the endeavor of empathic growth and development need not be abandoned within post-secondary education. Rather, it indicates that we lack an understanding of the ideal means for empathic development later in one’s life. Given the growing emphasis on the necessity of empathy to thrive as an engineer, engineering educators need to understand the constellation of existing tools and pedagogical techniques to foster empathy within the engineering curriculum. This synthesis piece highlights a variety of educational contexts and pedagogical techniques, each of which we posit are equally salient and mutually supportive for the development of engineering students’ empathic skills, abilities, or dispositions. We draw from literature from a wide variety of fields, including counselling, psychology, moral philosophy, psychotherapy, neuropsychology, and engineering education. In sum, we describe five educational contexts and a myriad of techniques that we posit, when used effectively and spread across engineering curricula, will be effective means towards the development of empathy among engineering students.
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    Engineering Curriculum Readiness: Implementing an Analytical and Communication Skills Building Course for the Technical Disciplines
    (IEEE, 2015-10) Christie, Barbara; Stevenson, Alison; Department of Engineering Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    Many domestic and international students arrive at college lacking the skills needed for academic careers in engineering or engineering technology. To support academic progress and develop essential skills, TECH 101, Engineering Technology Fundamentals, was proposed, approved, and funded by the School of Engineering and Technology at a large urban public university. The course offered students the preparatory skill development needed to begin an engineering or engineering technology major. TECH 101 facilitated a completely different approach, utilizing a very rare collaboration. Course design and implementation were championed by an experienced engineering technology instructor and a uniquely qualified faculty member whose background includes both transition to college expertise as well as second language acquisition. Drawing the two diverse skill-sets together resulted in context-based activities closely integrated with hands-on technical work, as well as development of a technical vocabulary and English language skills. A small group of learners participated in the initial course offering in the fall of 2014. This Work In Progress paper will explore the unique technical and preparatory course components that promote the support of underprepared domestic and international students.
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    In Their Shoes: Student Perspectives on the Connection between Empathy and Engineering
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) Fila, Nicholas D.; Hess, Justin L.; Department of Engineering Technology, School of Engineering and Technology
    An emerging body of literature highlights the importance of empathy within engineering work and explores how engineering students develop empathic tendencies and utilize empathy during design. Still, more work needs to be done to better understand how engineering students conceptualize empathy and view its role in engineering practice. In this study, we explored the ways that engineering students described empathy and its application in their engineering work. Eight engineering students, from seven different majors, ranging from juniors to doctoral students, participated semi-structured interviews focused on the empathy in engineering. Using thematic analysis we uncovered three themes revealing engineering students’ experiences with empathy (understanding others’ feelings, important in everyday life, generally outside the scope of engineering) and four themes revealing potential uses for empathy in engineering work (team settings, problem contextualization, human-centered design, individual inspiration). These findings highlight existing gaps between students’ perceptions of empathy as compared to scholarly literature on the role of empathy in engineering and perceptions from engineering faculty and practicing engineers. For example, the themes demonstrate that students are often generally aware of certain potential uses of empathy, but have not necessarily experienced those uses in their own work. In the paper, we discuss how alignments or discrepancies between student and expert perceptions both extend our notions of the role of empathy in engineering and identify areas that can be better supported through engineering instruction.
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    Who Will Lead Next: Where are the New Volunteers?
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2016-06) Fox, Patricia; McIntyre, Charles; Whinery, Tiffany Erin; Department of Technology and Leadership Communication, Engineering and Technology
    The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) has more than 12,000 members. The majority of ASEE members are faculty, staff and students from engineering and technology colleges and universities; librarians; STEM and K-12 educators; and corporate members, government agencies and professional societies. ASEE consists of over 50 divisions, twelve sections, four zones, and six councils. Each of these has an officer or set of officers, which lead the divisions, sections, zones or councils. This paper documents a pilot study that examines the past, present and future leaders of the Engineering Technology Division (ETD) and Engineering Technology Council (ETC). The primary goal of this research effort is to explore the various avenues and opportunities for future leadership of EDT and ETC. Past and current leaders of ETD and ETC will be surveyed to determine the factors that drive the motivation and dedication for service leadership within ASEE. The membership of ETD and ETC will be surveyed to find out what the barriers are to becoming leaders specifically in ETD and ETC. Depending on the findings of this pilot study, the authors will expand this research in a larger scope within ASEE and into other societies. Some of the questions that this research will attempt to answer are: 1.) “Do other ASEE divisions and councils encounter problems in recruiting and retaining new leaders?” and 2.) “Do other professional societies have difficulties finding volunteer leaders from academia?”