e‐Lab: An Electronic Classroom for Real‐Time Distance Delivery of a Laboratory Course

The Internet continues to demonstrate its versatility as a learning tool in the realm of higher education. As courses in everything from art history to engineering are offered on the Internet, we are experiencing a transition from traditional textbook and lecture teaching method to the virtual classroom. Yet, effective distance delivery of engineering laboratory courses remains a challenging problem. This paper introduces a new approach to deliver a senior‐level laboratory course at a distance in real‐time. The enabling technology is the combination of an interactive TV system and the Internet. The paper presents details of the laboratory setup and five sessions. Data collected for the past two years are analyzed statistically to assess student learning and achievement of learning objectives of each laboratory. Results of the analysis as well as surveys indicate that the e‐Lab created an effective learning environment.     

Dynamics of Peer Education in Cooperative Learning Workgroups

Many recent studies demonstrate that cooperative learning provides a variety of educational advantages over more traditional instructional models, both in general and specifically in engineering education. Little is known, however, about the interactional dynamics among students in engineering work groups. To explore these dynamics and their implications for engineering education, we analyzed work sessions of student groups in a sophomore‐level chemical engineering course at North Carolina State University. Using conversation analysis as a methodology for understanding how students taught and learned from one another, we found that group members generally engaged in two types of teaching‐learning interactions. In the first type, transfer‐of‐knowledge (TK) sequences, they took on distinct teacher and pupil roles, and in the second, collaborative sequences (CS), they worked together with no clear role differentiation. The interactional problems that occurred during the work sessions were associated primarily with TK sequences, and had to do with students who either habitually assumed the pupil's role (constant pupils) or habitually discouraged others' contributions (blockers). Our findings suggest that professors can facilitate student group interactions by introducing students to the two modes of teaching interaction so group members can effectively manage exchanges of knowledge, and also by helping students distribute tasks in a way that minimizes role imbalances.     

Developing an Observation System to Capture Instructional Differences in Engineering Classrooms

In 1999, bioengineering and learning science faculties at four research universities began collaboration on a National Science Foundation‐supported Engineering Research Center. The Vanderbilt‐Northwestern‐Texas‐Harvard/MIT Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Education and Technology is the first such Center to have a specific focus on postsecondary education. Within this project, educators, learning scientists, and bioengineers collaborated to develop the VaNTH Observation System, an assessment tool to capture quantitatively teaching and learning experiences of the bioengineering classroom. The four components of the instrument address the professor's interaction with students, students' lesson engagement, narrative notes, and research‐based measures of effective teaching. As professors redesigned lessons to incorporate current learning theory as a guide, observers measured differences in bioengineering classroom experiences resulting from these innovations. Results indicate that the observation instrument captures differences in classroom experiences, and these differences relate to a lesson's incorporation of current learning theory.     

A Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory Course

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) curriculum was recently modified by replacing laboratory courses in electrical circuits, fluid mechanics and stress analysis with a sequence of Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory courses (MEL I, II, and III). The MEL sequence prepares students for their professional careers by integrating discipline-specific components into systems and building subject-matter depth through a vertical sequence. The experiments move beyond basic theory verification by requiring students to practice higher level thinking. In addition, the systems experiments encourage students to reorganize knowledge and discover the connections among concepts in several courses. The MEL sequence helps students understand relationships among science, engineering science, and engineering design. The MEL experiments develop life-long learning skills by encouraging higher levels of thinking on the Perry scale and requiring students to use a variety of Kolb's learning styles. This paper describes the educational objectives and experiments for the MEL I course. The paper gives assessment results for MEL I and compares it with traditional laboratories.     

建构主义学习理论下在线设计教育的交互方法研究

目的 在“互联网+教育”的时代背景下,探究提升在线设计教育体验的交互方法。方法 通过分析建构主义学习理论指导下的学习模式,探讨其介入在线设计教育的意义,结合设计学科的教学特点,洞察在线设计教学中的用户交互行为问题与需求,以学生为中心,从情境、协作、会话以及意义建构四个方面构建在线设计教育的交互方法模型。结果 总结了建构主义学习理论下在线设计教育的交互设计流程,结合在线设计教育平台的实践研究,提出了完善课堂情境创设、提升课堂指导效果、促进协作交流、优化在线氛围、辅助设计阐述训练等具体的交互设计方法。结论 基于建构主义学习理论,优化在线设计教育的交互方法,能够更好地提升用户教学体验,有助于用户完成自身的意义建构。     

Hands‐On Laboratory Experiments in Flexible and Distance Learning

The advent of the Internet as a major communication channel has triggered a great deal of interest in real‐time services such as broadcast or interactive audio and video services. In this paper, a further step into the realm of real‐time services over the Internet is presented, namely, synchronous access to remote and distributed laboratory facilities. The proposed approach demonstrates the feasibility of using remote laboratory experiments to complement and enhance traditional as well as on‐line courses in control engineering education. The distributed laboratory effectively enables students to reinforce their learning through hands‐on studies carried out in a flexible environment.     

Perspectives on an Internet‐Based Synchronous Distance Learning Experience

This paper examines the distance learning process by providing an informed student's perspective as well as the instructor's perspective on an Internet‐based synchronous distance learning experience. Throughout the semester, the student maintained a class‐by‐class journal on his experiences and reactions to the Internet‐based course. This journal served as a crucial resource in the subsequent evaluation of the virtual classroom experience. The analysis provided in this paper, informed by current research on traditional and distance education, suggests that community, interaction, pedagogy, attention, and feedback play important roles in the success of an Internet‐based learning experience. Specific comments by the course instructor, as well as survey results from both students and other instructors for a number of synchronous Internet‐based courses, are also presented. This data further illuminates the student synchronous distance education experience and contributes additional insight into the delivery method and its ongoing evolution. The unique observations and conclusions provided here are useful for both instructors and students interested in participating in synchronous as well as asynchronous computermediated education.     

基于体验式学习理论的文遗类AR交互设计

目的 探索基于体验式学习理论的文遗类AR应用的交互体验模型与设计策略,为目前文遗类AR应用的交互设计提供新的设计思路和实践参考.方法 首先研究体验式学习理论及其应用现状;其次分析文遗类AR应用的应用现状和发展趋势,提出基于体验式学习理论的文遗类AR应用的交互体验模型与设计策略;最后以文遗广彩瓷为例展开设计实践并进行可行性验证.结论 提出了面向文遗类的 AR应用体验式学习的方法,强调了清晰导航的交互界面、虚实互动的交互方式和具身体验的交互流程的设计策略,并由以内容为中心向以用户体验为中心的交互体验模型转变,有助于用户更好地体验与学习传统文化内容,为文遗类AR应用的相关研究者和设计师提供理论框架和路径参考.     

Delivering an Engineering Laboratory Course Using the Internet,the Post Office,and a Campus Visit

We present the redesign of a sophomore‐level mechanics of materials engineering laboratory course for distance delivery. The distance laboratory course combined multi‐media computer experiments, portable hands‐on exercises, and place‐bound laboratory experiments. Class communication was accomplished through e‐mail, online discussion groups and telephone conversations. Preliminary assessment of this new model for providing hands‐on distance education gave valuable information that supports its effectiveness.     

Use of the Kolb Learning Cycle and the 4MAT System in Engineering Education

The purpose of this paper is to examine a method for the application of learning style theory to engineering education. Research has shown that students learn in a variety of different ways, and that each student has a preferred style of learning. Teaching effectiveness may be enhanced by teaching to each of the preferred styles at least a portion of the time. The application of learning style theory in this paper is based on the work of Kolb who identified four principal learning styles or types. The process of teaching to each of the four learning styles is referred to as “teaching through the cycle.” The learning cycle consists of four quadrants, each of which is associated with a particular learning style or preference. This paper defines specific objectives for each of the four learning quadrants. In addition, activities which can be used to accomplish these objectives are presented and discussed. Sample lesson plans have also been included in order to illustrate application of the learning cycle to the teaching of specific engineering topics.     

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.     

Measuring the Effect of Experiential Education Using the Perry Model

This paper reports data on how well one engineering curriculum with extensive experiential components helps students mature toward more complex thinking; toward being better able to make good decisions on ambiguous, real-world, engineering problems. Hour-long, structured interviews were used to assess students' thinking based on William Perry's Model of Intellectual Development. These cross-sectional data show Colorado School of Mines students progressing an average of 1.0 Positions during their undergraduate years. This may be an unusually high achievement. If so, the data speak to the value of experiential education in a curriculum. However, the data are disturbing in that only one quarter of graduating seniors show progression to the level needed in their professions (above Position 5), while one third of them still fall below Position 4. We argue that, to get more students to progress above Position 5, professors teaching experiential engineering courses need to be knowledgeable about developmental models like Perry's and need to use those insights proactively in mentoring their students.     

Reverse Engineering and Redesign: Courses to Incrementally and Systematically Teach Design

A variety of design‐process and design‐methods courses exist in engineering education. The primary objective of such courses is to teach engineering design fundamentals utilizing repeatable design techniques. By so doing, students obtain (1) tools they may employ during their education, (2) design experiences to understand the “big picture” of engineering, and (3) proven methods to attack open‐ended problems. While these skills are worthwhile, especially as design courses are moved earlier in curricula, many students report that design methods are typically taught at a high‐level and in a compartmentalized fashion. Often, the students' courses do not include opportunities to obtain incremental concrete experiences with the methods. Nor do such courses allow for suitable observation and reflection as the methods are executed. In this paper, we describe a new approach for teaching design methods that addresses these issues. This approach incorporates hands‐on experiences through the use of “reverse‐engineering” projects. As the fundamentals of design techniques are presented, students immediately apply the methods to actual, existing products. They are able to hold these products physically in their hands, dissect them, perform experiments on their components, and evolve them into new successful creations. Based on this reverse‐engineering concept, we have developed and tested new courses at The University of Texas, MIT, and the United States Air Force Academy. In the body of this paper, we present the structure of these courses, an example of our teaching approach, and an evaluation of the results.     

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.     

A Comparative Evaluation of World Wide Web-Based and Classroom Teaching

This paper investigates the hypothesis that the World Wide Web (WWW) presents a new opportunity to interactively present and disseminate curricula. The WWW appears to have the flexibility needed to let students order the material and choose the presentation format that best suit their preference. The objective of this paper is twofold: to develop a general web-lecture structure that provides such flexibility, and to compare its efficacy with a classroom style lecture. The average grade performance of the students receiving web instruction was higher than for those receiving traditional classroom instruction. An achieved significance level of 0.063 provides reasonably strong evidence to reject the hypothesis that the two groups performed equally. Analysis of web-lecture use patterns revealed that the web-group students spent roughly the same amount of time on-line as the classroom group spent in lecture. However, the web group typically covered the materials in three short 30 minute sessions as opposed to one 90 minute lecture. Different students in the web group showed different preferences for either video or text-with-image presentation of materials. In a focus group, web students indicated that they valued the ability to pace their learning and review materials as needed. The positive results of this preliminary study raise the question of how teaching could change to exploit information technology and provide more effective and economical engineering education. Primary learning might take place individually through a medium such as the WWW, thus liberating classroom time for experiential activities.     

A Qualitative Study of a Course Trilogy in Biosystems Engineering Design

Engineering design encompasses professional competencies that complement a solid understanding of engineering science fundamentals, theories, and methods. Engineering schools are increasing their efforts to integrate design into the curriculum, and this paper critically analyses one initiative at a research‐intensive Canadian university, where a three‐course sequence (Design Trilogy) forms the design education backbone in the undergraduate Biosystems Engineering program. Data collection consisted of focus groups with students and one‐on‐one interviews with instructors and industry cooperators. The findings yielded authentic understandings of teaching and learning engineering design, many areas of common perceptions between participant groups, congruence with design concepts in the literature, and areas where students' perceptions and experiences did not correspond to instructors' intentions. Teaching implications include the importance of instructors' transparency and integration in teaching and the need to explicitly prepare students for a different kind of learning experience in the Design Trilogy.     

A Report on Mudd Design Workshop II: “Designing Design Education for the 21st Century”

This paper reports on a workshop on design education held at Harvey Mudd College (HMC) in May 1999. Mudd Design Workshop II was intended to provide a forum that would bring together design educators, design researchers, and designers from industry, in order to focus exclusively on the teaching of design in engineering education for the next century. Sessions were devoted to (1) design projects in both cornerstone and capstone courses, and metrics for selecting projects; (2) discipline‐based and cross‐disciplinary design courses; and (3) pedagogy, technology, and assessment in design education. Major emergent themes included the desirability of design throughout the curriculum, focuses on coaching and on learning, roles of projects and interactive learning, and the need to better address the interactions of grading and learning. Participants' specific commitments to future actions are also given.     

Instructional Module in Fourier Spectral Analysis,Based on Principles of “How People Learn”

This paper describes the design and evaluation of an instructional module for teaching/learning Fourier spectral analysis, with emphasis on biomedical applications. The module is based on the principles of “How People Learn” (HPL) as embodied in the Legacy cycle. This cycle is a particular instantiation of problem‐based learning and includes components explicitly aimed at providing context and motivation, facilitating exploration, developing in‐depth understanding, and incorporating opportunities for self‐assessment. In the spectral analysis module, traditional teaching methods are augmented with small group discussions, peer‐to‐peer learning, a Web‐based tutorial, and an interactive demonstration. Assessment included the development of rubrics for scoring student understanding of key concepts, revealing that students who used the module demonstrated better understanding relative to students who studied the material using traditional methods. Survey results and comments indicate that students generally liked the interactive tutorial and demonstration, as well as the structure provided by the HPL framework.