An Evaluation of the Georgia Tech Summer Undergraduate Program of Research in Electrical Engineering for Minorities

This paper describes and evaluates the effectiveness of a summer undergraduate research program designed to attract qualified minority students into graduate school in electrical engineering. This eight-week program recruits students of at least junior-level undergraduate standing on a nationwide basis and pairs them with faculty members and graduate student mentors to undertake research. The research activities are conducted in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and National Science Foundation Engineering (NSF) Research Center in Low-Cost Electronic Packaging at the Georgia Institute of Technology. From 1992–1995, a total of 47 students participated in this program. Thirty-six of these participants were interviewed by phone to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about the program's impact. The findings indicate that 92% of the program participants are either currently enrolled in a graduate program, plan to attend graduate school in the next two years, or have completed a graduate degree. In comparison to a control group of individuals drawn from the membership of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) alumni, it is found that program participants are more likely to pursue advanced degrees and more likely than non-participants to continue their studies in engineering. In addition, participants report higher starting salaries than non-participants. Overall, attitudes toward the program are positive, and the data suggests that GT-SUPREEM does have a significant impact on the student participants.     

Faculty Perspectives Regarding the Undergraduate Research Experience in Science and Engineering

This study examined the perceptions of 155 science and engineering faculty at a mid‐size university with a very extensive undergraduate research program. The faculty thought the undergraduate research experience provided important educational benefits to the students, in good agreement with results from a recent alumni survey. The faculty who supervised undergraduates for a longer period of time and who modified their research program to accommodate undergraduates perceived a greater enhancement of important cognitive and personal skills. Undergraduate research was also believed to provide important mentoring and teaching experience for graduate students who worked with undergraduate research assistants.     

Characterizing Discourse Among Undergraduate Researchers in an Inquiry‐Based Community of Practice

Engineering education increasingly incorporates pedagogies that promote guided, inquiry‐based, active learning within authentic “communities of practice”. Such pedagogies apply observations made about workplace interaction: that knowledge is distributed across social and physical networks. However, the process through which multiple dimensions of learning occur within a network of distributed cognition—where every person contributes to the learning of every other person—calls for further investigation. The present study, set in an active learning environment, identifies seven speech events that characterize linguistic processes of distributed cognition among undergraduate researchers in the Research Communications Studio (RCS) at the University of South Carolina. Close analysis of a small group session in the RCS revealed that participants enact critique, elicitation of critique, internalization, (direct and indirect) instruction, contextualization, explanation, and collaborative negotiation of knowledge throughout their interactions. Awareness of these speech events, which emerged from the analysis, may better equip engineering educators to optimize interactions in other active group learning environments and to facilitate such activities in more traditional pedagogical settings.     

Gender Differences in Elements of the Undergraduate Experience that Influence Satisfaction with the Engineering Major and the Intent to Pursue Engineering as a Career

Background Groups within and outside of educational institutions are interested in factors that influence satisfaction among students enrolled in the engineering major as well as elements within the college environment that shape students' intentions to work in engineering in the future and whether these elements differ by gender. Purpose (Hypothesis ) This study identified gender differences on indicators of the undergraduate experience including faculty‐related and student‐related variables as well as measures of satisfaction with the institutional environment that are related to satisfaction with the engineering major and intent to pursue a career in engineering ten years from now. Design /Method The mixed methods approach used for this investigation involved nine institutions with engineering undergraduate degree programs. An online questionnaire was administered to undergraduate students enrolled in engineering. Qualitative data was collected through focus group interviews with students at each of the nine participating institutions. Results Findings reveal that satisfaction with the engineering major does not translate directly to pursuing a career in engineering, particularly among women. In terms of elements of the undergraduate experience, some types of interactions with faculty and peers have both short‐ and long‐term impacts on interest in engineering as a major and as a career. Conclusions Creating learning environments that emphasize care and respect for students as well as overseeing student interaction during group work can make a difference in students' satisfaction in the engineering major and in interest in engineering as a career, particularly for women.     

The Role of Collaborative Reflection on Shaping Engineering Faculty Teaching Approaches

Over the last several years, engineering faculty and learning scientists from four universities worked in collaboration to develop educational materials to improve the quality of faculty teaching and student learning. Guided by the How People Learn (HPL) framework, engineering faculty worked in collaboration with learning scientists to develop learner‐centered, student‐focused instructional methods. In consultation with learning scientists, engineering faculty carried out educational inquiry in their classrooms aimed at investigating student learning and enhancing instruction. In this paper we discuss the extent to which faculty engaged in these collaborative endeavors and how their teaching approaches differed as a result of their level of engagement. Study findings reveal the role that collaborative reflection plays in shaping teaching approaches. Results from this study provide insights for researchers and other practitioners in engineering and higher education interested in implementing engineering faculty development programs to optimize the impact on teaching.     

Pedagogies of Engagement: Classroom‐Based Practices

Educators, researchers, and policy makers have advocated student involvement for some time as an essential aspect of meaningful learning. In the past twenty years engineering educators have implemented several means of better engaging their undergraduate students, including active and cooperative learning, learning communities, service learning, cooperative education, inquiry and problem‐based learning, and team projects. This paper focuses on classroom‐based pedagogies of engagement, particularly cooperative and problem‐based learning. It includes a brief history, theoretical roots, research support, summary of practices, and suggestions for redesigning engineering classes and programs to include more student engagement. The paper also lays out the research ahead for advancing pedagogies aimed at more fully enhancing students' involvement in their learning.     

Encouraging Graduate Study in Engineering

Abstract This study was undertaken to provide information on the factors that most influence students to undertake graduate studies in engineering following their baccalaureate degrees. Several hundred engineering deans were asked to send a questionnaire to the three departments in his/her college that had been most successful in encouraging their undergraduates in proceeding to graduate school. Responses indicated that student participation in semester research, student participation in summer research, and mentoring by faculty are the most significant in encouraging students to proceed with graduate studies. These conclusions were confirmed by a survey of newly entering engineering graduate students. Fifty percent of student respondents indicated that they had been involved in some form of research as undergraduates and eighty percent of this group identified that this experience had been important to them in deciding to choose graduate study. It is concluded that the inclusion of undergraduate students in research programs can be very important in influencing their career choices and in enhancing their likelihood of proceeding with graduate studies.     

Undergraduate Student Competitions

This study explored student competitions for undergraduate engineering and engineering technology students to determine which institutions consistently win and what factors support their winning, and to obtain some insights into the benefits for students. Forty‐four student competitions for engineering and technology students were identified, and the first, second, and third place institutions from 2001 to 2003 were tabulated. Although one institution would often win a particular competition, no institution was a consistent winner for all competitions. Advisers of winning institutions reported that their institutions won consistently because of a dedicated faculty advisor and/or the close alignment of the competition with the institution's curriculum. Also important are a tradition of winning, the quality of the students, and (for hands‐on competitions) the availability of resources. Additional research is needed to determine if student competitions increase student learning.     

Constructive Alignment of Interdisciplinary Graduate Curriculum in Engineering and Science: An Analysis of Successful IGERT Proposals

Background Interdisciplinary approaches are critical to solving the most pressing technological challenges. Despite the proliferation of graduate programs to fill this need, there is little archival literature identifying learning outcomes, learning experiences, or benchmarks for evaluating interdisciplinary graduate student learning. Purpose (Hypothesis ) The purpose of this study is to understand how engineering and science academics conceptualize interdisciplinary graduate education in order to identify common practices and recommend improvements. Questions generated by an instructional design framework guided the analysis: what desired outcomes, evidence, and learning experiences are currently associated with interdisciplinary graduate education? To what extent are these components constructively aligned with each other? Design /Method Content analysis was performed on 130 funded proposals from the U.S. National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. Results Four desired student learning outcomes were identified: contributions to the technical area, broad perspective, teamwork, and interdisciplinary communication skills. Student requirements (educational plans) addressed these outcomes to some extent, but assessment/evidence sections generally targeted program level goals—as opposed to student learning. This lack of constructive alignment between components is a major weakness of graduate curriculum. Conclusions Current practices are promising. Further clarification of interdisciplinary learning outcomes, coupled with closer alignment of outcomes, evidence, and learning experiences will continue to improve interdisciplinary graduate education in engineering and science. Specific recommendations for engineering and science faculty members are: define clear learning objectives, enlist assessment/evaluation expertise, and constructively align all aspects of the curriculum.     

An Engineering Major Does Not (Necessarily) an Engineer Make: Career Decision Making Among Undergraduate Engineering Majors

This study uses a mixed‐methods design to investigate students' career decision making at two U.S. undergraduate institutions. The research question was, “To what extent do students who complete undergraduate programs in engineering intend to pursue engineering careers?” We surveyed senior engineering majors about their post‐graduate intentions, and later interviewed a subset of the seniors about their career intentions. Only 42 percent of students surveyed reported that they definitely intended to pursue a career in engineering, 44 percent were unsure, and 14 percent were definitely not pursuing engineering. We observed significant institutional differences. Interview data reveal the quixotic nature of many students' decisions about their careers; strikingly, students were vacillating between multiple post‐graduate options late into the senior year, even into summer. Implications are discussed for further research and ways engineering departments can influence students' career decisions.     

Essential Non‐Technical Skills for Teaming

The world of engineering is once again changing. Engineering education is changing from the narrow engineering science curriculum of the 1950s to a broader industry‐driven curriculum. Today's employers are seeking engineering graduates with advanced communication skills and the ability to work effectively in team‐based environments. Unfortunately, a large number of undergraduate engineering programs are not sufficiently providing students the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace of the future. In this paper 20 non‐technical skills, 10 curricular changes, and seven post‐graduate training methods were presented to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale College of Engineering graduates to evaluate. These graduates functioned both in team‐based and traditional work environments. Results indicated listening as the most important non‐technical skill; inclusion of real‐world applications as the most important curricular addition, and mentoring as the preferred post‐graduate method of learning nontechnical skills. The findings support further research for implementing changes in undergraduate engineering education to integrate and support development of non‐technical skills throughout undergraduate studies. These changes will in turn increase the production of well‐rounded and flexible graduates that are “workforce‐ready.“     

After So Much Effort: Is Faculty Using Cooperative Learning in the Classroom?

Cooperative learning (CL) has been lauded over the years as one of the most successful teaching/learning strategies employed by professors of science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) in institutions of higher education throughout Puerto Rico. The goal of the research project presented here was to examine the effectiveness of CL as perceived by SMET faculty who use it in the classroom at member institutions of the Puerto Rico Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PR‐LSAMP). As a long‐term goal, PR‐LSAMP researchers desired to use the findings to understand and address the training needs of their SMET faculty. Data was gathered on faculty members' use of CL and their perceptions of the effect of CL strategies on student performance and attitudes. Principal survey results showed that over 60% of faculty felt confident in their knowledge of CL theory and role assignment, although somewhat less confident in conflict resolution, grading activities and individual accountability. Fifty percent (50%) reported using the strategy very often or often (primarily for the exploration and learning of new concepts, in team projects and presentations, and in quizzes). Forty‐one percent (41%) described their experience in implementing CL as excellent or very good. In addition, faculty perceived more positive than negative changes in student performance and attitudes. Based on study results, researchers concluded that the success of cooperative learning in PR‐LSAMP institutions signals the beginning of a paradigm shift in the islands' educational system. In addition, results of the study were subsequently used to develop a cadre of SMET faculty to train their peers in various areas of cooperative learning.     

Collaborative Learning vs. Lecture/Discussion: Students' Reported Learning Gains*

This study examined the extent to which undergraduate engineering courses taught using active and collaborative learning methods differ from traditional lecture and discussion courses in their ability to promote the development of students' engineering design, problem‐solving, communication, and group participation skills. Evidence for the study comes from 480 students enrolled in 17 active or collaborative learning courses/sections and six traditional courses/sections at six engineering schools. Results indicate that active or collaborative methods produce both statistically significant and substantially greater gains in student learning than those associated with more traditional instructional methods. These learning advantages remained even when differences in a variety of student pre‐course characteristics were controlled.     

Student/Professor Ethics In Engineering Academia

This paper considers the components which constitute a safe, ethical academic environment in which students can explore the intricacies of engineering technology and engineering science. The concerns of the undergraduate and the graduate student are presented and contrasted, from both the perspective of the student and the faculty.     

Implementation of Interdisciplinary Group Learning and Peer Assessment in a Nanotechnology Engineering Course

Nanotechnology is an inherently interdisciplinary field that has generated significant scientific and engineering interest in recent years. In an effort to convey the excitement and opportunities surrounding this discipline to senior undergraduate students and junior graduate students, a nanotechnology engineering course has been developed in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University over the past two years. This paper examines the unique challenges facing educators in this dynamic, emerging field and describes an approach for the design of a nanotechnology engineering course employing the non‐traditional pedagogical practices of collaborative group learning, interdisciplinary learning, problem‐based learning, and peer assessment. Utilizing the same nanotechnology course given the year before as a historical control, analysis of the difference between measures of student performance and student experience over the two years indicates that these practices are successful and provide an educationally informed template for other newly developed engineering courses.     

The Relations of Ethnicity to Female Engineering Students' Educational Experiences and College and Career Plans in an Ethnically Diverse Learning Environment

This paper describes a mixed‐methods study employing a social cognitive theoretical framework that emphasizes the interplay of person factors, environment, and behavior to explore the educational experiences of female students in an ethnically diverse learning environment. Specifically, we investigate the relations of ethnicity to female students' perceptions and experiences related to engineering, as well as their selection of and persistence in undergraduate engineering majors. An ethnically diverse sample of female engineering undergraduates at an urban research university completed an online survey and participated in semi‐structured interviews. Results revealed that participants of all ethnicities perceived strong institutional and peer supports in this diverse learning environment. Additionally, differences in participants' perceived barriers for achieving engineering educational and career plans were found based on ethnicity and parental level of education.     

Use of Objective-Based Undergraduate Research Project Experience as a Graduate Student Recruitment Tool

This paper describes experience in using hands-on undergraduate research exposure as a tool to identify and recruit potentially successful graduate students. Undergraduate students with an interest in graduate education work toward a well-defined goal under the guidance of the faculty member, typically supporting a senior graduate student on his/her thesis research. The quality of the undergraduate research is maintained by requiring that the results of the research be presented at a major technical conference. It is found that a large percentage of such undergraduate students ultimately enroll and succeed in graduate school.     

Effects of Faculty Interaction and Feedback on Gains in Student Skills*

Previous research has identified several variables that affect students' course satisfaction and gains in learning outcomes. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with insights about the relationships between faculty‐student interaction and students' perceptions of selected skills and attitudes. This study specifically examined the relationships between engineering faculty teaching practices, classroom climate, and students' perceptions of their gains in communication skills, problem‐solving skills, occupational awareness, and engineering competence in a curriculum emphasizing engineering design activities. Data were gathered from more than 1,500 students taking the first‐year design course offered at 19 campuses of the Penn State system over a period of two years. The results suggest that faculty interacting with and providing constructive feedback to students were significantly and positively related to students' self‐reported gains in several design and professional skills. These relationships remained after controlling for student demographic characteristics and campus location. Recommendations regarding specific teaching practices are provided.     

Current and Emerging Statistical Trends in Engineering Education

Data for enrollment, degrees, number of faculty and research funding for US colleges of engineering since 1965 are presented. These data: faculty loads (enrollment and degrees per faculty member), research funding (total and per faculty member) and funding per graduate degree (MS and PhD) are analyzed to define the trends over the past quarter century. BS degrees appear to have ceased their decline and may begin to increase; MS degrees continue to grow modestly; PhD degrees continue to grow rapidly and, based on current enrollment trends, should maintain this pace at least through the next half decade. Faculty loads are anticipated to increase. In spite of significant annual increases in research funding over the past two decades, graduate enrollments have increased to the point that constant dollar annual funding per graduate degree (both MS and PhD) has reached a maximum and may have begun to decrease. An analysis of the undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded by the largest engineering colleges indicates a.) little turnover in the colleges in this group, b.) the major graduate colleges award a significant number of BS degrees and c.) the major undergraduate colleges include most of the major graduate colleges.