Technology and the Engineering Method for Non-Engineering Students

This paper describes the structure, material, and techniques used in a course that introduces non-engineering students to the tasks and tools of the engineering profession. The primary components of the course include differentiation between engineering and science, heuristic and computational problem solving, experimentation, conservation principles, and a design experience.     

Integrating Undergraduate Research into Engineering: A Communications Approach to Holistic Education

This paper describes the Research Communications Studio (RCS), a structured approach for teaching undergraduate researchers to do authentic written, oral, and graphical communications tasks while they are learning to do research. In the RCS, small groups of undergraduate researchers meet weekly with a communications faculty member, an engineering graduate student mentor, and a communications graduate research assistant. The project is built upon social constructivist theory that recognizes the interdependence between communication, cognitive development, and metacognition. It investigates knowledge construction within a small‐group context of distributed cognition, the concept that each group member's expertise is available to other group members. Data from surveys indicate that engineering faculty members, graduate student mentors, and undergraduate participants were very positive about the progress participants made in cognitive development and communications abilities. Analysis of participants' reflective writings shows the development of metacognitive abilities necessary for self‐directed, life‐long learning.     

Excellence in Engineering Education: Views of Undergraduate Engineering Students

The purpose of this study was to understand the views and perceptions of engineering undergraduate students on engineering education. The method of content analysis was used to analyze the language used by engineering undergraduate students, and to extract the underlying common factors or perceived characteristics of “Excellence in Engineering Education.” These common factors were then used to identify and compare the similarities and differences in views between engineering students and perspectives from three types of stakeholders in the field. Forty‐seven undergraduate engineering students (17 females and 30 males) participated voluntarily in this study to answer four individual questions and ten group questions. The results showed that students strongly emphasized the importance of their own roles in the educational system and the value of instructional technology and real work examples in enhancing the quality of engineering education. The implications of the research results on excellence in engineering education are discussed.     

A Retrospective on Undergraduate Engineering Success for Underrepresented Minority Students

This paper examines the various factors that contribute to the success of minority students in engineering programs by exploring past and current paradigms promoting success and analyzing models for advancing the participation of members of these populations. Included is a literature review of articles, government reports, Web sites, and archives published since 1980. Student success is correlated to several indicators, including pre‐college preparation, recruitment programs, admissions policies, financial assistance, academic intervention programs, and graduate school preparation and admission. This review suggests that the problem of minority underrepresentation and success in engineering is soluble given the appropriate resources and collective national “will” to propagate effective approaches.     

Developing an Environmentally Friendly Engineering Ethic: A Course for Undergraduate Engineering Students

An undergraduate course designed to develop a new, environmentally-friendly, engineering ethic is described. The various components of the course are: individual and societal values clarification, the current state of the environment, critical and creative thinking skills development and conflict resolution. For each component, the rationale is given along with activities and evaluation of the unit.     

A Survey of Computational Paradigms in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Education

Undergraduate mechanical engineering programs in the United States were surveyed to determine the usage of structured programming languages (such as C or FORTRAN) versus the use of computational software systems (such as Matlab or Mathcad). A survey form was e‐mailed to all mechanical engineering programs. The survey form was used to determine the following: (1) programming courses required, (2) use of structured programming in mechanical engineering curricula, (3) use of computational systems in mechanical engineering curricula, (4) junior‐level analysis courses required, and (5) computer ownership requirements. Seventy‐four responses, representing a good cross section (size, research mission, and geographical location) of mechanical engineering programs were received. The survey showed that about three‐fourths required at least one course in a structured programming language but that only about one‐third of the programs requiring a formal programming course used structured programming in two or more required courses. More than three‐fourths of all programs used computational systems such as Matlab or Mathcad, and about the same number required a junior‐level analysis course. Thirteen of the seventy‐four mechanical engineering programs that responded to the survey required students to own computers.     

高等学校工业工程本科专业类课程体系模型框架

本文旨在构建符合中国国民经济发展需要的高等学校工业工程本科专业类课程体系模型,为工业工程本科专业课程体系的建设提供理论指导。使用文献研究的方法,研究了高等学校工业工程本科专业课程体系构建的影响因素。在此基础上,提出了符合工业工程专业课程体系构建框架模型,并以吉林大学工业工程本科专业课程体系的建设为例详细解读了该模型的使用方法,需要考虑的因素。研究指出：课程体系建设是一项系统工程,在建设过程中不应盲目拷贝欧美发达国家的课程体系,而应从中国国民经济发展的需要出发构建适合中国工业化进程与社会形态发展的工业工程本科专业课程体系。     

Improving Engineering Education: A Research-Based Framework For Teaching

Instructional methods suggested to improve engineering education often follow primarily from personal experience and disparate research findings. While acknowledging the value of anecdotal evidence and individual studies, we advocate treating teaching as an ongoing scholarly practice where existing and new research is organized into a robust framework that produces a total effect greater than the sum of the independent parts. This paper describes the major components in a research-based framework for teaching and applies it to engineering education. While initially time intensive, this approach promotes an interplay of pedagogical decisions resulting in a synergism that best advances effective engineering education.     

The Role of the Laboratory in Undergraduate Engineering Education

The function of the engineering profession is to manipulate materials, energy, and information, thereby creating benefit for humankind. To do this successfully, engineers must have a knowledge of nature that goes beyond mere theory—knowledge that is traditionally gained in educational laboratories. Over the years, however, the nature of these laboratories has changed. This paper describes the history of some of these changes and explores in some depth a few of the major factors influencing laboratories today. In particular, the paper considers the lack of coherent learning objectives for laboratories and how this lack has limited the effectiveness of laboratories and hampered meaningful research in the area. A list of fundamental objectives is presented along with suggestions for possible future research.     

工业工程本科毕业设计与创新型人才培养

根据工业工程持续不断创新以及培养具有开拓创新能力的复合型、应用型人才目标的要求,通过对毕业设计与创新能力培养关系的分析,认为毕业设计的核心是培养学生的创新能力。在此基础上,系统地探讨了工业工程本科毕业设计与创新型人才培养的过程、模式及其特点,详细讨论了工业工程毕业设计实习、选题、论文撰写检查、论文答辩、论文成果反馈等诸多环节的做法和要点,最后结合工业工程本科毕业设计与创新型人才培养的实践成果进行了分析。     

A Venture Capital Fund for Undergraduate Engineering Students at Rowan University*

All engineering students at Rowan University are required to take the eight‐semester Engineering Clinic sequence wherein multidisciplinary student teams engage in semester‐long design projects. In addition to projects that are funded by local industry, faculty research grants or departmental budgets, a Venture Capital Fund has been created, which is specifically ear‐marked for the development of original student inventions. Funding of up to $2,500 per student team per semester is competitively awarded based on student‐generated proposals to the Venture Capital Fund, which has been created through a series of grants from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). To qualify for funding, a multidisciplinary student team must propose, plan and implement an original, semester‐long product development enterprise. To date, 11 projects have been funded through the Venture Capital Fund. This paper describes the results of several student entrepreneurial projects and compares the results of student surveys to assess the effectiveness of entrepreneurial projects in satisfying the technical objectives of the Engineering Clinic. The results suggest that students engaged in entrepreneurial projects devote more hours per week on their projects, have more “ownership” in their projects and have a better understanding of the technical aspects and societal impact of their projects than their counterparts who are engaged in the more traditional engineering design projects.     

Integrating Writing Instruction into Engineering Courses: A Writing Center Model

Engineering students often have difficulty learning how to write laboratory reports in their field. To assist students with this learning process and teach them writing strategies that will prove helpful in the workplace, a writing center was established in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at the University of South Carolina. There, consultants trained in technical writing work closely with ECE faculty members and teaching assistants to create a supportive network for students as they draft reports, including discussions during recitation periods, team consultations, and individual consultations. This paper presents a theoretical framework for the writing center program, as well as specific writing strategies that have proven helpful. Assessment methods and feedback from faculty and students about the success of the program are presented as well.     

包装工程专业本科教育中产学研的结合

包装工程本科教育中产学研相结合的问题,存在不同的层次,侧重点也不相同。包装工程本科教育与包装产业结合的主要方式有认识实习、生产实习、设计大赛、校企科研合作、课外导师制、开设与生产实践相关的选修课、生产实践人员进课堂、设置专项奖助学金等;学校教育之间的合作也是产学研结合的重要组成部分,学生的思想素养以及教师的职业道德,对产学研结合的实践效果和可持续发展具有直接影响;包装工程本科教育还需与科学研究相结合,以培养学生的科学思维能力,包装工程专业教师也应不断提高科研水平,以满足持续发展的本科教育需求。     

基于一个新视角的企业竞争力评价模型

文章从一个新视角对企业竞争力进行了探讨,着重于对企业营销竞争力的分析,借鉴企业竞争力评 价方法,以顾客价值理论和整合营销理论为基础,选择营销业绩竞争力、营销信息竞争力、营销战略竞争力、 营销策略竞争力和营销执行竞争力５个评价指标,构建企业营销竞争力评价模型,并对其评价方法进行研究。     

Bioinformatics: A New Field in Engineering Education

Bioinformatics is a new engineering field poorly served by traditional curricula. Bioinformatics concerns the use of computer and statistical methods to understand biological data, such as the voluminous data produced by high‐throughput biological experimentation. As the demand has outpaced the supply of bioinformaticians, the University of California, Santa Cruz, School of Engineering is establishing undergraduate and graduate degrees in bioinformatics. In this paper we explore the blend of mathematics, engineering, science, and bioinformatics topics and courses needed for an undergraduate degree in this new field.     

Something Old,Something New: Integrating Engineering Practice into the Teaching of Engineering Mechanics

This paper presents a multifaceted method for teaching engineering mechanics designed to satisfy the following set of desiderata: (1) integrate engineering practice into the teaching of engineering science; (2) address a wide set of learning styles; (3) provide opportunities for practice in group work and learning; (4) promote communication and synthesizing skills; (5) engage students in the teaching and learning process; (6) maintain traditional achievement levels with respect to traditional measures; (7) motivate students to continue their engineering studies; and (8) maintain reasonable resource demands. Consistent with this variety of objectives, the approach presented here is composed of a variety of ingredients. In addition to the standard homework problems and exams, these ingredients include design projects, group work, basic competency exams, computational environments for simulating and visualizing phenomena, multimedia instructional tools, hands-on experiences, and student presentations. This educational model is intended to be suitable for teaching engineering mechanics in general, but this paper focuses on a particular sophomore-level mechanics of materials course in which the method has been implemented, refined over several years of classroom use, and tested relative to traditional approaches. The paper describes the and techniques that together make up the method, followed by summaries of the results of evaluations that have been applied to the course.     

A Model for On-Line Learning Networks in Engineering Education

This paper describes a model for implementing on-line learning in engineering education. Relationships between traditional learning strategies and network-enabled engineering education are discussed. The model proposed is based on a World Wide Web implementation that includes presentation materials, on-line conferencing, demonstrations, and interactive capabilities that permit computer-mediated question and answer sessions. An example of a course implemented using these techniques for a first year engineering course is given. Guidance for engineering educators who wish to implement components of the model is provided.