Efficacy of Interactive Internet‐Based Education in Structural Timber Design

While traditional teaching methods (e.g., real‐time, synchronous lectures) have proven effective for training future engineers, the Internet provides an avenue to reinforce the material and augment student learning, comprehension, and retention of material. This paper presents the integration and assessment of a library of interactive instructional modules specifically for a senior‐level undergraduate elective course in civil engineering. An ongoing, comprehensive assessment process was implemented in the fall 1999 semester. The results of this quantitative assessment indicate that the use of well designed and pedagogically sound Internet‐based supplemental modules provide students with a better understanding of course material. However, when Internet‐based content does not promote critical thinking, little increase in the student performance and understanding of the material is realized. Interactive Web‐based instruction should not be viewed as a “replacement” to traditional instruction, but rather a tool that provides a broader and more dynamic environment for students with a variety of learning styles.     

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.     

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Computer Tutorials Versus Traditional Lecturing in Accounting Topics

Colleges and universities are continually making efforts to incorporate computers and technology into the varied aspects of their teaching environments. However, it is difficult to distinguish the effectiveness of these machine tutors from their human counterparts. There has been much debate about technology‐based instructional strategies in learning environments. This article addresses one issue of that debate—the effectiveness of teaching undergraduate engineering students using computer‐mediated tutorials versus traditional lecturing. Specifically, this research compared student test scores using computer‐mediated accounting tutorials alone with those of students who received traditional lectures and computer‐mediated tutorials on the same topic. Statistical analyses were performed to determine which was a better instructional method. Based on previous research by the authors and other published research, it was hypothesized that both methods would be satisfactory instructional tools and yield similar educational results. The results indicate that there was no statistically significant difference between the two methods. This was consistent with previous studies. This study concludes that computer‐mediated tutorials could be substituted for traditional lectures without impacting what a student learns—at least for teaching accounting fundamentals.     

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.     

Case Learning Methodology in Operations Engineering

Teaching operations engineering to traditional and non‐traditional engineering students using case learning methods presents both instructional challenges and provides learning rewards when performed properly. Unfortunately, few engineering faculty have had exposure to this learning approach. However, the skills are learnable and the results satisfying to instructor and student alike. The purpose of this paper is to explore case learning methods and illustrate their appropriateness for a course in operations engineering.     

Laptops in the Classroom: Do They Make a Difference?

In 1996 the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma started to require all incoming students to have a laptop computer equipped with a wireless Internet card. Because of a pilot study and a voluntary phase‐in over the first two years, two groups of students moved through the curriculum—those with and those without laptops. During 1998 and 1999, when these students entered their junior year, we offered two sections of a third‐year water resources course: one for students who owned laptops and one “traditional” section for those who did not own laptops. We assessed student performance to evaluate if the laptops helped improve student learning. Although not a perfectly controlled experiment (i.e., the student groups were different), the two sections were uniform in terms of course content and assignments. Because of their inherently large standard deviations, class metrics (grades) are not conclusive, but they do indicate that the laptop students performed slightly better than the non‐laptop students, even though their composite grade point average entering the course was lower. Evaluations do clearly show that, when the technology is used properly and when class time is not spent resolving technical problems, the laptop students had a more positive learning experience.     

The Effects of Personality Type on Engineering Student Performance and Attitudes

The Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) was administered to a group of 116 students taking the introductory chemical engineering course at North Carolina State University. That course and four subsequent chemical engineering courses were taught in a manner that emphasized active and cooperative learning and inductive presentation of course material. Type differences in various academic performance measures and attitudes were noted as the students progressed through the curriculum. The observations were generally consistent with the predictions of type theory, and the experimental instructional approach appeared to improve the performance of MBTI types (extraverts, sensors, and feelers) found in previous studies to be disadvantaged in the engineering curriculum. The conclusion is that the MBTI is a useful tool for helping engineering instructors and advisors to understand their students and to design instruction that can benefit all of them.     

On the Use of Students for Developing Engineering Laboratories

This paper describes a unique and innovative approach that solved the dual problem of starting up a new engineering instructional laboratory in a timely manner, and for teaching engineering students advanced skills in Automatic Data Collection. Students enrolled in a special pilot course were used to develop and startup an Automatic Data Collection laboratory. These students were assigned individual Automatic Data Collection technologies of interest and given total responsibility for the successful startup of the laboratory. The organization and structure of the course modeled the typical team oriented project development efforts in industry. Feedback from students showed the course to be better than a typical lecture/laboratory/demonstration type course in the following ways: 1) students believed they had greater amount of contact with equipment; 2) their experience on the project was more realistic than more traditional courses; 3) they believed they gained a more thorough understanding of the technology under study; and 4) they believed they improved their professional skills making them more marketable to potential employers. With respect to the laboratory itself, startup time was reduced from an estimated 18 months to 14 weeks with the help of the student teams.     

Faculty Use and Impressions of Courseware Management Tools: A National Survey

Technology in the classroom is changing the way faculties instruct and students learn. Understanding how faculty members perceive and use technology for learning is important for improving the educational process because instructor perceptions can potentially be a hindrance to the use and implementation of technology. This paper describes the results of a survey that investigated faculty Internet usage for instructional purposes as well as their perceptions of courseware management and Web‐publishing tools. The survey targeted a random sample of engineering faculty at ABET‐accredited universities. The survey results show that while many faculty members are using both Web‐publishing tools and courseware management tools for delivering educational content, they use these tools for only a small subset of pedagogical activities.     

Kirkpatrick's Level 1 Evaluation of the Implementation of a Computer‐Aided Process Design Tool in a Senior‐Level Engineering Course

Computer simulation tools are frequently used in engineering design work, and undergraduates are often trained to use these tools as they learn to design systems. The use of new tools in the learning environment should be evaluated to assure that the students are able to use the tools effectively. This study details and demonstrates the use of a Kirkpatrick's Level 1 Evaluation to assess the effectiveness of an instructional environment in which students learn to use a computer simulation tool to perform engineering design work. Specifically, an evaluation was conducted to look at student perceptions of FOODS‐LIB—a steady‐state food process design tool, its user's manual learning modules, and the implementation of FOODS‐LIB in a senior level design course. This evaluation was triangulated with an instructor's assessment of student products generated as the students used the learning modules and designed an ice cream manufacturing process using FOODS‐LIB.     

The Relationship Between PDA Usage and Student Performance in an Introductory Engineering Course

This research focuses on the development of a methodology to evaluate student attitudes towards technology in the classroom and the impact of this technology on student learning. A survey was developed and tested to evaluate the impact of introducing Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) in a traditional college classroom setting. PDAs were introduced in an introductory course in the College of Engineering at Oregon State University. A reliable attitude assessment tool was developed as a result of this research. Initial results of this study also provide empirical data that engineering students respond favorably to the introduction of PDAs in a traditional classroom setting. Preliminary results also provide limited evidence that student attitudes may vary based on gender, age, and/or ethnicity. Standard student performance metrics (course assignment and exam scores) and student self‐evaluations were used to assess the impact on student learning and are discussed.     

Using Writing Assignments to Improve Self‐Assessment and Communication Skills in an Engineering Statics Course

This study explores the use of writing as a tool for metacognition in the engineering classroom. We used the “explain‐a‐problem” type of assignment in the Engineering Statics course for four terms. The objectives associated with the assignments were grouped under student self‐assessment, student communication, and administration. Performance on each of four grading criteria for each assignment was tracked throughout the terms. The data indicate that explain‐a‐problem does help students achieve the self‐assessment and communication objectives, although the impact on overall course performance was not as significant as hoped. The assignment evolved to the point that the administrative objectives were also met.     

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.     

Comparison of Student Learning in Physical and Simulated Unit Operations Experiments

Industries are tending toward computer‐based simulation, monitoring, and control of processes. This trend suggests an opportunity to modernize engineering laboratory pedagogy to include computer experiments as well as tactile experiments. However, few studies report the impact of simulations upon student learning in engineering laboratories. We evaluated the impact of computer‐simulated experiments upon student learning in a senior unit operations laboratory. We compared data on control and test groups from three sources: 1) a comprehensive exam over the course; 2) a questionnaire answered by students regarding how well the areas of ABET Engineering Criterion 3 (a‐k) were met; and 3) oral presentations given by the students. Our results indicate that student learning is not adversely affected by introducing computer‐based experiments. We therefore conclude that, while the tactile laboratory should remain in the engineering curriculum, the pedagogy can reflect the increasing use of information technology in the manufacturing industries without compromising student learning.     

Teamed Internships in Environmental Engineering and Technology: A Project Report

This paper is a summary report of the “Teamed Internships Program” (TIP), an Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant through the National Science Foundation (NSF). This three‐year project created internships encompassing regional industries, federal research facilities, and two‐ and four‐year educational institutions. The project cultivated teamwork and communication skills for environmental technician and engineering students, developed instructional materials, and provided valuable contacts with industry. To foster faculty and teacher enhancement and student interest in environmental science and technology, insights from the program were incorporated into instructional materials and educational modules for dissemination to local secondary schools.     

The Effect of Social Presence on Affective and Cognitive Learning in an International Engineering Course Taught via Distance Learning

Background Distance learning course formats can alter modes of information exchange and interpersonal interaction relative to traditional course formats. Purpose (Hypothesis ) To determine the effect of a distance course format on the knowledge acquisition (cognitive learning) and satisfaction (affective learning) of students, we investigated student learning responses and social presence during a graduate‐level engineering course taught via traditional (i.e., professor present in the classroom) and synchronous distance‐learning formats. Design /Method Direct quantification of participation, academic performance assessment based on homework and exam scores, and survey‐based assessments of student perceptions of the course were collected. Based on these data, cognitive and affective learning responses to different technological and interaction‐based aspects of the course were determined for each course format. Results We show that while affective learning decreased for students in the distance format course relative to the traditional format, cognitive learning was comparable. Our results suggest that loss of satellite connection and audio losses had a stronger negative effect on student perceptions than video disturbances, and that participation was the most important factor influencing affective learning. Conclusions While our findings do not suggest that cognitive learning is strongly affected by social presence, implementing strategies to enhance social presence may improve the overall learning experience and make distance learning more enjoyable for students.     

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.     

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.     

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.