Strategies for Improving the Classroom Environment*

This paper describes some strategies for the educator seeking to better his/her classroom effectiveness. It was inspired by one of the technical sessions of the 29^th Annual IEEE/ASEE Frontiers in Education Conference in which over a dozen experienced college instructors engaged in a roundtable discussion of ways to improve a classroom environment. In this paper, those ideas are discussed and then supplemented with general advice and specific suggestions from the experience of the authors. The paper concludes with a bibliography of related reference material from a wide variety of educational sources.     

Strategies for Designing Engineering Courses*

Some principles that have guided the development of engineering courses in the past are identified and applied to the development of strategies for contemporary circumstances. Implications of current changes in constraints are explored for class meetings and for student work outside of class. The realization that two-thirds of a typical university academic course, and most of the learning, occurs outside the class meeting times compels careful focus by faculty on the design of interactive learning experiences to help students learn proficiently outside the class room. Designing courses of study in which the learning activities outside, as well as inside, the class room form a coherent and effective whole can improve courses dramatically.     

Four Effective Writing Strategies for Engineering Classes

This article, written by three technical communication professors and one chemical engineering professor representing three different universities, presents four proven strategies for including effective writing assignments in engineering classes. The strategies include using writing assignments to analyze job-related Web searches and engineering job preparation, using peer editing to revise assignments, using journals to learn to write and write to learn, and using paper airplanes to teach how to write instructions.     

Creating a Truly Multidisciplinary Entrepreneurial Educational Environment*

In our age of technological growth and change, the role of the engineer has evolved from lone specialist to team player, from internally focused to globally aware, from reactionary to entrepreneur. The entrepreneur has created much of our social wealth. The characteristics of the entrepreneur transcend academic disciplines, and social as well as economic status. To foster these characteristics among its students, Lehigh University is developing a multidisciplinary educational environment where entrepreneurial spirit can flourish. Lehigh's academic programs in Integrated Product Development (IPD), Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE), and Integrated Design Arts (IDA) integrate across Engineering, Business and Design Arts through sponsored projects and entrepreneurial teams, or E‐Teams, consisting of students, faculty advisors, staff support and company mentors. Project sponsors include the full range from student entrepreneurs and other start‐up companies, to established small, medium and large corporations. The multi‐level approach to curricular integration includes pre‐college outreach, freshman projects, curricula support, capstone projects and graduate projects. The educational environment includes a Campus Center; an entire building designed to support students project teams. This paper will discuss the design and implementation of these programs, our assessment and evaluation methods, lessons learned and future plans for improving this environment.     

Assessment of the Impact of Freshman Engineering Courses*

This study evaluates whether Purdue University's freshman engineering courses supply entering students with the necessary foundation to persist in engineering because of the skills they acquire in these courses. To measure this, we evaluate longitudinal data on retention and graduation rates of students that start in the standard first semester courses, start in the off-sequence semester, or participate in our tutorial program. The study is based on historical data for the 28-year period from 1966 through 1993.     

Developing a Comprehensive Assessment Program for Engineering Education*

This paper provides an overview of one institution's efforts to establish a comprehensive assessment program for continuous improvement of engineering education. A five step systematic process to develop an integrated assessment program from identifying educational objectives to applying measurement methods is explained in detail. Activities to encourage faculty participation and commitment are outlined. Four integrated assessment processes used by both faculty and students to assess and provide performance feedback are described. The focus of these assessment methods is on the measurement, development, and improvement of student learning outcomes aligned with ABET Engineering Criteria 2000. Preliminary results and lessons learned from the overall experience are highlighted.     

Mentoring Engineering Students: Turning Pebbles into Diamonds*

Mentoring differs from advising in that a personal relationship is established between the student and the professor, and this relationship may last for many years after the student's graduation. Very often it is difficult to define both what mentoring is and how a professor can become a good mentor to students. This paper describes some attributes of mentoring and suggests how one might become a good mentor to students.     

对包装工程教育的认识及其本科教育模式的探索

在对高等工程教育本质以及存在问题进行分析的基础上,针对包装工程教育进行了深入探讨。并结合郑州大学包装工程专业的特点,对复合型人才培养的教育模式进行了探索与实践。     

Introducing Middle School Students to Engineering Principles Using Educational Bridge Design Software

In an effort to motivate middle school students to consider future careers in engineering, an educational outreach program was developed and implemented during National Engineers Week. The outreach program concentrated on bridge engineering and was presented within one day to the entire eighth grade student population of the local public school system. The program began with a presentation on careers in engineering with a particular emphasis placed on bridge engineering. Fundamental engineering concepts used in bridge design were then explained. The students used these concepts to design a single‐span truss bridge using an educational bridge design software program. Finally, a bridge design competition was held in which the students attempted to optimize the design of their bridge.     

热环境的人-机-环境系统工程评价

从人-机-环境系统工程的角度分析了热环境对人的影响。分析了不同热环境的评价方法,讨论了各种评价指数的适用范围,讨论了炎热环境和寒冷环境下的预防保护措施,为室内空调系统的设计评价、保护服装的选用,工作时间的安排提供了有用的工具。     

Research on the Assessment Strategies for the Product Multi-lifecycle System

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Influence of Measurement Uncertainties on the Thermal Environment Assessment

ISO 7726 standard describes both the measurement techniques and the related metrological performances of instruments required for the assessment of the thermal environment. Unfortunately, the calculation of required discomfort and stress indices rarely takes into account the evaluation of single measurement uncertainties and their effect on the thermal environment assessment. To assess the uncertainty in the determination of predicted mean vote and the predicted percentage of dissatisfied indices, required by ISO 7730 for the verification of the environment conformity, typical uncertainties in the measurement of both physical (the air temperature, the mean radiant temperature, the air velocity, and the relative humidity) and subjective parameters are calculated. In order to verify the conformance of comfort indices measured by means of different measurement techniques and devices, some experimental tests in three typical environments have been carried out: (i) residential, (ii) office, and (iii) industrial. To highlight both the compatibility of measurement and the suitability, tests were carried out using three special comfort-analysis data-loggers, each provided with different sensors characterized by different instrumental uncertainties.     

Bringing Adjunct Engineering Faculty into the Learning Community

Adjunct faculty can offer enrichment to an engineering program by bringing practical experience and by introducing relevant industrial applications and problems to the classroom. The industrial perspective of adjunct faculty often manifests itself through an emphasis on communication and presentation skills, and concern for customer needs. Students observing these attributes come away with a better appreciation for the demands of the engineering workplace. Adjunct faculty members can also provide important linkages for developing industrial affiliate programs, co‐op activities, and employment opportunities for graduates. Nevertheless, the position of adjunct faculty is tenuous, subject to shifting enrollments, negative student perception, and limited connectivity with the mainstream issues of the academic department. Adjunct faculty who teach in engineering programs will almost always come with excellent technical credentials, but they will have little or no teacher training or knowledge of learning principles and cognitive psychology. With limited time on campus, adjunct faculty have little opportunity to improve their teaching skills and methods, resulting in a “sink or swim” environment. At the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), we have evolved a regimen of strategies to ensure the quality of the educational program and to support the teaching effectiveness and professional commitment of adjunct faculty. These strategies have improved student and faculty satisfaction with adjunct faculty, and indeed have improved adjunct faculty self‐satisfaction. These strategies are described in the current paper.     

并行工程环境下的产品质量监视系统

提出了一种在并行工程环境下用于小批量生产的质量反馈两层模型，能够准确，客观、在线动态地评价现行加工工序的状况和进行相应的加工过程质量仿真。     

深化教学改革,加强学科建设,构建包装工程学科平台

文中提出了我国包装工程高等教育课程体系改革、教学与科研结合的措施。以学位点建设为契机，加强学科交叉，加强科学研究，以完善发展包装工程学科体系，构建包装工程学科平台。     

包装工程专业教学体系的探索与实践

针对21世纪我国高等工程教育如何培养人才的问题,结合郑州大学包装工程专业的特点,以产学研一体化教育为支撑,构建现代包装工程专业教育平台,对复合型人才培养目标的操作模式及综合素质教育模式进行了研究与实践。     

建环专业工程设计类课程的教学探讨

工科工程设计是促进学生综合能力提高的一个极为重要的教学环节,因此在工程设计类课程的教学中必须注重对学生创新精神和实践能力的培养,注重不同专业课程之间的相互衔接,使学生体会到专业知识的整合性。从本专业《锅炉与锅炉房设备》课程教学中存在的问题出发,探讨了在高等教育中培养、提高教师工程素质的途径;在课堂教学中如何实施有效的教学改革,实现较好的教学效果;培养大学生创新素质和实践能力的主要措施。     

系统工程风险评估方法的研究进展

详细介绍了系统工程风险评估方法及其应用的现状和进展，对各种方法的适用范围及优缺点作了说明，讨论了风险评估方法研究中的几个技术问题，指出目前风险评估方法要解决的问题和今后的研究方向。     

Assessing the Process Maturity Utilized in Software Engineering Team Project Courses*

Many computer science departments offer an introductory software engineering course, which normally provides an introduction to software engineering topics in conjunction with a semester long team project. To ensure students acquire the correct lessons from this project experience, it is essential that the teams utilize well‐defined software development processes similar to those practiced by leading software development organizations. Since its inception, the Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model (CMM) has served as a guide for organizations seeking to improve their development practices, through a self‐assessment questionnaire. In an effort to assess the maturity of development practices utilized in software engineering courses, an “academic” version of the CMM questionnaire was developed. This questionnaire was distributed to a sample of software engineering instructors in an effort to assess the maturity of academic software engineering course projects. The questionnaire and the survey results are presented and discussed.