Do Online Students Perform as Well as Lecture Students?

This paper reports research on whether online delivery performs as well as traditional lecture delivery for a computer science course at North Carolina State University. The comparisons made are for two large sections of the course for which almost the only difference was that one section attended on‐campus lectures and the other did not. Where significant differences in outcomes appear for students who completed the course, they favor the online students. However, online students who started the course were less likely to complete it.     

Bringing the Classroom to Students Everywhere

In this paper we present a technique for enabling students to benefit from the traditional classroom experience by joining classes live on the Internet or by taking lectures on demand asynchronously. The proposed “lectures on demand” paradigm is shown to be an effective component in the now well established framework of Asynchronous Learning Networks. Video and audio from traditional face‐to‐face lectures are synchronized with class materials such as PowerPoint® slides and provided as streaming multimedia content via the Internet. Some comments are given on the issues involved in using this methodology at the University of Florida to offer online courses towards MS and BS degrees.     

An Interactive,Video‐Teleconferenced,Graduate Course in Biomedical Engineering

A two‐semester, video‐teleconferenced (2‐way video/audio) course entitled Principles of Biomedical Engineering I and II was offered from 1999 to 2001 for graduate students enrolled at Purdue University (PU; West Lafayette, IN) and Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI; Indianapolis, IN). Results of the study provided evidence that during the control (i.e., traditional lecture) distance learning environment, on‐campus students consistently received statistically significant higher final course grades than off‐campus students. In contrast, upon implementation of interactive distance learning methods, the on‐ and off‐campus students received similar (not statistically different) final grades. In this manner, the study demonstrated that effective use of video‐teleconferencing occurs when students at remote‐sites actively participate in the learning experience rather than passively observe the lectures on a television monitor (as occurs during traditional distance learning lectures).     

Developing On‐Line Homework for Introductory Thermodynamics

Homework in engineering courses is used to develop problem‐solving skills and to provide students with the practice they need in order to achieve mastery of essential concepts and procedures in their disciplines. We describe homework exercises that were developed for introductory thermodynamics and delivered to students via the Internet. Records of student use were created automatically by the computer server. The data revealed students' patterns of software usage in the context of the course; additional data from course instructors revealed the extent to which completing the on‐line homework improved students' in‐class test performance.     

The Theme Course: Connecting the Plant Trip to the Text Book

A plant trip provides subjects for team projects and lecture examples in a sophomore chemical engineering course, thus becoming a unifying “theme” for the course. The “theme” structure is intended to improve student mastery of course material by helping students relate different course topics to one another via real equipment and processes. Here, performance in a subsequent junior chemical engineering course by students from the “theme course” is compared with performance by students who took the sophomore course in a traditional lecture‐homework‐exam format. Theme course graduates claim better retention of concepts from the sophomore course, though their scores on exam questions testing their knowledge, comprehension, and application of these concepts did not differ significantly from that of students from the traditional course. Theme course graduates did earn higher grades in the junior course, due to better performance on exam questions requiring higher level skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Students were enthusiastic about the course structure, and expressed excitement about learning from “real life.” Thus the “theme” structure results in early student success in the skills necessary for engineering design, and generates student enthusiasm for engineering.     

Development of Online Ultrasound Instructional Module and Comparison to Traditional Teaching Methods

A Web‐based teaching device was constructed to deliver information on fundamentals of ultrasound imaging to approximately one‐half the students in an undergraduate medical imaging course, while the remaining students were taught the same material via traditional lectures and typed notes. The students participating in this study were separated randomly but in such a manner that prior achievement was statistically equivalent for the two groups. After approximately two weeks of instruction, an ultrasound imaging exam was administered. Results indicated no statistically significant difference in scores on homework assigned during the instructional period between the traditional and online groups. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in the average exam scores of students in the two groups. The traditional group required significantly more time on learning activities than did the online group. These results indicated that level of understanding was not affected by use of the online device, while efficiency of learning improved dramatically. Reasons reported by the students for the improved efficiency of the online method included flexibility in time usage and ability to cater to the individual, which came with the added responsibility of self‐discipline. The traditional teaching method, meanwhile, allowed interaction with and instant feedback from a professor and other students. In this study we have demonstrated that the nature of an online device yields a higher level of efficiency than traditional lectures, despite the inherent drawbacks of the approach. The effectiveness of this device could potentially be improved by implementing enhancements to increase the level of interaction for the user and to help with discipline and time management.     

Innovative First Year Aerospace Design Course at MIT

Students at MIT typically take major‐specific courses beginning with their second year of studies. For the first year students eager to begin their aerospace education and to help those students unsure about selecting aerospace engineering as their major field, the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics offers an elective course, Introduction to Aerospace and Design. The course makes use of the new opportunities offered by the World Wide Web and provides students a real engineering experience through the hands‐on, Lighter‐Than‐Air (LTA) vehicle design project. The course teaches the basic concepts of aeronautics, includes lectures on design, and gives an overview of astronautics. The flexibility inherent in the World Wide Web allows us to accommodate the needs of students who require a review of the fundamentals in addition to in‐ class lecture material and the needs of others who desire to learn advanced material beyond what is presented in lecture. A Web‐based Discussion Forum greatly facilitated interaction among students, resulting in better vehicle designs and a friendlier classroom environment. The course culminates in an LTA vehicle design competition in which teams of five to six students design and build radio‐controlled blimps measuring up to 5 meters in length. The vehicles are flown around the perimeter of a basketball court with the objective of carrying a maximum amount of payload in a minimum amount of time. The students are introduced to real‐world engineering practice through oral presentations of their preliminary designs and critical designs in front of a faculty jury. Towards the end of the course, the students are required to submit a design portfolio showing how their LTA vehicles took shape via their individual and team efforts. The students are permitted to examine previous designs and improve upon them, yielding better vehicles every year. Results from a survey indicated that the freshmen felt much more comfortable working on technical problems with no clear answers as well as designing and building a device from an assortment of given parts.     

Study of Usage Patterns and Learning Gains in a Web‐based Interactive Static Course

Background Courseware for engineering education can feature many discrete interactive learning elements, and typically student usage is not compelled. To take advantage of such courseware, self‐regulation of learning may be necessary. Evaluation of courseware should consider actual usage, learning gains, and indications of learning self‐regulation. Purpose (Hypothesis ) The research question focuses on how students' interactions with the courseware affect their learning gains. The hypothesis tested is that learning gains from online courseware increase with usage, and particularly with usage that suggests learning self‐regulation. Design /Method Students in a lecture‐based statics course were assigned to study previously developed courseware as part of homework assignments. Learning gains were deduced from pre‐ and post‐ paper and pencil diagnostic quizzes, and from the first class exam. Credit was based on quiz scores, rather than courseware usage. Usage of interactive elements of the courseware was inferred from log files of students' interactions with the courseware, and patterns suggesting learning self‐regulation were identified. Results High, statistically significant learning gains were found. Substantial usage was evident, with core learning activities initiated by, on average, three‐quarters of students. Learning gains and performance on the relevant class exam appeared to be more closely correlated with usage that indicated self‐regulation of learning rather than with total usage of the courseware. Conclusions Methods of assessing courseware should go beyond courseware features, learning gains, and student self‐reports of effectiveness to include monitoring of actual usage and analyses relating usage to learning. Self‐regulation of learning is likely to be critical to successful usage of courseware, and courseware should be designed to encourage it.     

The Engage Program: Implementing and Assessing a New First Year Experience at the University of Tennessee

The Engage initiative at the University of Tennessee addresses the needs of entering engineering students through a new first year curriculum. The program integrates the engineering subject matter of the freshman year, teaches problem solving and design by application, and seeks to address the increased retention and graduation of engineering students. Noteworthy curriculum features of the Engage program include a hands‐on laboratory where students do physical homework to practice the concepts introduced in lectures, placing all freshman engineering students in a year‐long team design curriculum, and a team training course where engineering upperclassmen are trained in team facilitation techniques and placed as facilitators with the freshman design teams. The Engage program was piloted during the 1997–98 academic year with 60 students. In 1998–99, the program was scaled up to 150 students, and fully implemented with the entire freshman class of 465 students during the 1999–2000 academic year. Engage students have shown a significant increase in academic performance compared to students following a more traditional curriculum. Graduation statistics show the positive long‐term results of this effort.     

A Study of the Effect of Graded Homework in a Preparatory Math Course for Electrical Engineers

Many person‐hours are required to grade homework assignments in large engineering classes. An experiment was conducted to determine whether this effort is beneficial to the students as measured by their test performance. Two sections of the same course were taught by the same instructor. One section was assigned homework that was graded; the other section was assigned the same homework but it was not graded. The experiment was repeated in a second semester. In the first semester, the section with the graded homework had significantly higher test scores than the section without graded homework. In the second semester, the two sections did not differ significantly in their test scores. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed.     

Interdisciplinary Collaborative Learning in Mechatronics at Bucknell University

Examination of the “cone of learning” shows an increase in retention when students are actively engaged in the learning process. Mechatronics is loosely defined as the application of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer intelligence to the design of products or systems. By its nature, mechatronics is an activity‐oriented course. The course content also provides an opportunity to employ interdisciplinary collaborative learning with active learning techniques. The mechatronics course at Bucknell consists of mechanical and electrical engineering students at the senior and graduate levels. The students engage in a variety of activities in teams comprised of members from each of these groups. In addition to team laboratory exercises and homework assignments, the students work in interdisciplinary groups to process their efforts. That is, they engage in meaningful discussion among themselves concerning their activities and the implications of the various results. The students also act as teachers by preparing lectures and exercises on topics from their discipline to the students in the cross discipline. Specifically, the electrical engineers teach the mechanical engineers microcontrollers, and the mechanical engineers teach the electrical engineers mechanisms. This paper describes the learning techniques employed in this course, as well as the interpretation of the results from the students. It also discusses the relationship of the course outcomes to Criterion 3 of the engineering accreditation criteria promulgated by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET).     

A Method for Instant Assessment and Active Learning

Abstract A method that provides tremendous benefits to both instructors and students is described in this paper. The method is based on asking a multiple choice question after every 10 to 20 minutes of a lecture and getting responses from all the students. The students respond by raising a card which displays the letter corresponding to their choice of answer. The method is easy to implement in any traditional lecture setting. It provides instant assessment of student learning and lets an instructor take corrective measure, if necessary, in the same class period. The method allows all the students in a class to actively participate, evaluate their own performance, and reflect upon what they have learned. The method works well either in a small or a large class and it typically creates an atmosphere of fun and learning in the classroom.     

Effectiveness of an Internet‐Based Graduate Engineering Management Course

This research provides engineering educators analytical evidence as to the effectiveness of Internet‐based course instruction. The research examined the University of Missouri‐Rolla's Internet‐based Advanced Production and Operations Management course, with a focus on determining the effectiveness of the Internet‐based education tools used. Over 100 students in five Internet‐based classes and one traditional, in‐class control group were given three sets of surveys, learning style assessments, a course pre‐test, and a course final examination. Multiple conclusions were drawn from this study based on analyses of the data collected. First, the Internet‐based students performed equally as well as the control group as measured by the difference between pre‐test and post‐test scores. Second, the Internet‐based students were found to have had exaggerated time requirement expectations for taking a course in the Internet environment. Third, the students rated the effectiveness and satisfaction positively for the Internet classroom format. Initially, the Internet‐based students were skeptical of electronic lectures but their experiences were positive.     

Study of Instructional Modes for Introductory Computing

The School of Engineering at Vanderbilt University requires all engineering students in their first semester to take a course that introduces computers in engineering. Two questions arise: is the best setting in which to teach this type of material either a combination of lecture and laboratory or all‐laboratory; and does a student‐owned laptop computer contribute more to learning? For two years the course was organized with these two different modes of instruction. For a third year the students learned in the all‐laboratory environment and 30 percent of the students used their own laptop computer. At the end of the semester an in‐depth questionnaire with quantitative ratings was given to the students to determine if there were differences in their learning preferences. Contingency tables were used to compare responses. There were several statistically significant differences in student responses favoring the all‐laboratory mode and students using laptop computers. Several of them are: the students are much more comfortable with computers at the end of the semester; either laboratory or working by oneself were the preferred settings for learning; and lecture was not a preferred setting for learning any topic.     

Pedagogical Changes in the Delivery of the First-Course in Computer Science: Problem Solving,Then Programming

A teaching reform initiative, started in the spring semester of 1993 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), is described. The program seeks to increase student success in a freshman computer science course, and ultimately in the entire NJIT curriculum. The traditional teaching methods where the teacher presided over a lecture session supplying facts and figures, providing ideas, and presenting problems and their solutions, has been altered. The new learning environment described in this paper aims to create an all-inclusive setting inviting the students to make the transformation from passive learners to active participants. Rather than merely listening to lectures, students formulate problems and devise their own approaches to answering questions and finding solutions. Such a teaching/learning methodology requires instructional redesign and role redefinition. The presentation of class material is reordered as the teacher and students cross each other's confines becoming a more cohesive entity.     

Improving Visualization Skills of Engineering Graphics Students Using Simple JavaScript Web Based Games

A number of web‐based games were created using simple JavaScript code to teach visualization skills needed for a course in engineering graphics. The games are part of a comprehensive multimedia instructional CD‐ROM/web page that consists of an integrated web site with links to hours of tutorial movies, lecture presentations of class lectures, and a series of interactive web‐based quizzes. The web‐based games provide an interactive graphics based introduction to engineering graphics and a class design project. In addition, several games are devoted to the development of visualization skills in the areas of multiview drawings and pictorials, auxiliary views, the manipulation of objects and coordinate systems in a 3‐D coordinate space, and dimensioning and tolerancing. The games provide an interactive learning experience for students where tutorial animations specific to the students needs are interjected into the games. The feedback based on student input in the games allows the students to learn and apply new concepts simultaneously. The impact of the game pages on student understanding and the development of visualization skills have been positive as evidenced by improved performance on exams and positive feedback on surveys. The overall effectiveness of the instructional CD has also been positive, and this continues to be used and expanded.     

Hands‐On,Minds‐On Electric Power Education*

ABET Engineering Criteria 2000 has encouraged changes in engineering education. The deregulation of the electric power industry is also causing changes in the types of jobs power engineers take upon graduation. This paper describes efforts by power faculty at Kansas State University to provide students more hands‐on active learning experience with power systems and machinery. A summary of the power curriculum is provided. The courses affected include an energy conversion course required of all electrical engineering students, and a new power laboratory course required of students taking the electric power option. Examples of student assignments are provided. Observations and discussion of the in‐class experiences are provided. The paper describes work done and in progress to convert the traditional power courses into studio‐type courses in which instruction can flow from lecture to laboratory to computer demonstration formats with ease. Future plans for the project are also discussed.     

Lessons From Using TQM in the Classroom

This paper describes efforts to apply Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts and the ideas of customer focus, data-based decision making, and continuous improvement to instruction in a 100-student, junior-level probability and statistics course. By adopting a customer focus and establishing a dialogue with the students in the course, it became clear that lectures, handouts, and homework assignments could be more effective. Things often went wrong because students and the instructor had different expectations about what was or should be happening. This experience suggests that establishing a dialogue with students, building a teacher-student partnership for learning, and addressing differences in expectations and objectives are crucial to the development of an effective learning environment in engineering classrooms.     

Lessons Learned: Implementing the Case Teaching Method in a Mechanical Engineering Course

Background Case studies have been found to increase students' critical thinking and problem‐solving skills, higher‐order thinking skills, conceptual change, and their motivation to learn. Despite the popularity of the case study approach within engineering, the empirical research on the effectiveness of case studies is limited and the research that does exist has primarily focused on student perceptions of their learning rather than actual learning outcomes. Purpose (Hypothesis ) This paper describes an investigation of the impact of case‐based instruction on undergraduate mechanical engineering students' conceptual understanding and their attitudes towards the use of case studies. Design /Method Seventy‐three students from two sections of the same mechanical engineering course participated in this study. The two sections were both taught using traditional lecture and case teaching methods. Participants completed pre‐tests, post‐tests, and a survey to assess their conceptual understanding and engagement. Results Results suggested that the majority of participants felt the use of case studies was engaging and added a lot of realism to the class. There were no significant differences between traditional lecture and case teaching method on students' conceptual understanding. However, the use of case studies did no harm to students' understanding while making the content more relevant to students. Conclusions Case‐based instruction can be beneficial for students in terms of actively engaging them and allowing them to see the application and/or relevance of engineering to the real world.     

Portfolio Assessment in Aerodynamics

A new way of assessing student learning in an aerodynamics course through the use of portfolios is presented. The approach is portable to any engineering course, with a few modifications depending on content. The main idea is to allow students more responsibility for their own learning. Instead of having everyone in the class perform identical activities (homework, experiments, projects, tests, etc.), a cadre of assignments is made available to them. Students choose and perform (within reason) the ones that suit them better in terms of their own strengths and learning styles. The ultimate goal is for each student to demonstrate a minimum level of competence in analytical, computational, experimental, design, communication, and team skills, while pursuing excellence in at least one from the first four categories. The paper describes the various assignments and options the students have for achieving the learning objectives of the course. It also discusses my observations on the effects of this approach to student learning, the impact on faculty time, and the response from the students. The results from the first two offerings of the course with portfolios show promise for improving student motivation and learning.