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As the application of visual-spatial skills in academic disciplines, vocational fields and daily life is becoming more and more prominent, it is of great theoretical and practical significance how to make use of big data and artificial intelligence technology to conduct research on the relationship between visual-spatial skills and students' grades. This paper explores and analyses from the perspective of artificial intelligence, combining students' visual-spatial skills and students' specific attribute characteristics to construct an expert system, which defines the prediction of academic performance as a classification problem corresponding to the five categories of excellent, good, moderate, passing, and weak, respectively, and based on which a deep neural network-based classification prediction model for students' performance is designed. The experimental results show that visual-spatial skills plays an important role in the professional learning of science and engineering students, while the classification model designed in this paper has high accuracy in the grade prediction process. This paper not only helps to fill the gaps in the current research field, but is also expected to provide scientific basis for educational practice and promote the development of the education field in a more intelligent and personalized direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional engineering education (Eng. Ed) has received criticism for restricting student learning and experiences to practical skills development while ignoring the significance of fostering cognitive skills that encourage higher order thinking, criticality, and self-reflexivity. Imaginative education (IE) has emerged as a consideration for replacing such skills focused engineering curricula with interactive, engaging, and student-centered pedagogical approaches. However, existing literature on the topic as well as Egan's (1997) own explanation of the five stages of understanding (somatic, mythic, romantic, philosophic, and ironic) are mainly focused on K-12 contexts, leaving limited resources and insights for higher education contexts. This calls for theoretical and practical expansion of the topic where development and implementation of IE-informed Eng. Ed for adult engineering students remain the focus. To respond to this call, this conceptual paper focuses on two main points. First, it attempts to unpack the theoretical underpinnings of the five stages of IE to understand what each stage means for educators and learners in higher education engineering contexts. Second, after outlining the challenges that traditional Eng. Ed is facing in a globalized world today and the initiatives from the field to address them, it discusses the promises IE can bring to make Eng. Ed more effective, inclusive, and relevant. Overall, the intention in this paper is to turn to the theoretical tensions that may emerge when considering IE as an approach to re-imagine and expand Eng. Ed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective communication is pivotal to professional success in civil engineering. However, rural students often face unique challenges in mastering oral communication, especially in English. This study seeks to examine the challenges faced by engineering students from rural backgrounds when speaking English and the underlying reasons for these difficulties. This paper implemented specific tasks inspired by task-based language teaching methodology in the study of participants to analyze their speaking challenges and their root causes. The findings revealed that speaking English posed challenges primarily due to fear of errors, anxiety, shyness and low confidence levels. This paper proposes solutions, such as creating a supportive environment and promoting regular English communication, to address these issues. The research highlights the transformative impact of effective communication and calls for further studies to refine and expand these educational strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensors have recently become valuable tools in engineering, providing real-time data for monitoring structures and the environment. They are also emerging as new tools in education and training, offering learners real-time information to reinforce their understanding of engineering concepts. However, sensing technology's complexity, costs, fabrication and implementation challenges often hinder engineers' exploration. Simplifying these aspects could make sensors more accessible to engineering students. In this study, the researcher developed, fabricated, and tested an efficient low-cost wireless intelligent sensor aimed at education and research, named LEWIS1. This paper describes the hardware and software architecture of the first prototype and their use, as well as the proposed new versions, LEWIS1-β and LEWIS1-γ, which simplify both hardware and software. The capabilities of the proposed sensor are compared with those of an accurate commercial PCB sensor. This paper also demonstrates examples of outreach efforts and suggests the adoption of the newer versions of LEWIS1 as tools for education and research. The authors also investigated the number of activities and sensor-building workshops that have been conducted since 2015 using the LEWIS sensor, showing an increasing trend in the excitement of people from various professions to participate and learn sensor fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and machine learning (ML) has pioneered a transformation across several fields. Equipping electrical engineering students to remain abreast of the dynamic technological landscape is vital. This underscores the necessity for an educational tool that can be integrated into electrical engineering curricula to offer a practical way of learning the concepts and the integration of IoT, big data, and ML. Thus, this paper offers the IoT-Edu-ML-Stream open-source platform, a graphical user interface (GUI)-based emulation software tool to help electrical engineering students design and emulate IoT-based use cases with big data analytics. The tool supports the emulation or the actual connectivity of a large number of IoT devices. The emulated devices can generate realistic correlated IoT data and stream it via the message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) protocol to a big data platform. The tool allows students to design ML models with different algorithms for their chosen use cases and train them for decision-making based on the streamed data. Moreover, the paper proposes learning outcomes to be targeted when integrating the tool into an electrical engineering curriculum. The tool is evaluated using a comprehensive survey. The survey results show that the students gained significant knowledge about IoT concepts after using the tool, even though many of them already had prior knowledge of IoT. The results also indicate that the tool noticeably improved the students' practical skills in designing real-world use cases and helped them understand fundamental machine learning analytics with an intuitive user interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article used real data to demonstrate the analysis and synthesis of Mixed Methods Research (MMR) data with generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI). I explore how reliable and valid Gen AI data outputs are and how to improve their use. The current content is geared towards enhancing methodological application regardless of field or discipline and includes access to a prompt library and examples of using outputs. The demonstration data used emanated from a study done in South Africa, with a quantitative sample size of 969 first-year engineering students and, for the qualitative part, 14 first-year students. In the current article, I compare my original analysis to ChatGPT results. Generative AI as a mind tool is best used with human insight, and I found this to be especially true when coding qualitative data. ChatGPT produced generic codes if asked to do inductive coding, and the results improved when training the Gen AI on human examples, which led to moderate and significant correlations between human and machine coding. The quantitative analysis was accurate for the descriptive statistics, but the researcher had to use best judgment to select the correct inferential analysis. Quantitative and qualitative analysis should be conducted separately in generative AI before asking the Chatbot for help with mixed methods results. In the current paper, I give guidelines and a tutorial on how to use chatbots in an ethically responsible and scientifically sound manner for research in social and human sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective/Research Question: There is a growing demand for skilled workers in engineering and technology fields. However, the number of engineering technology degrees awarded is much less compared to engineering, and a high percentage of students in engineering technology do not persist beyond the first year. To meet the demands for skilled workers, it is important to understand the experiences of engineering technology students to identify factors that contribute to their matriculation and persistence. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the research that exists on the academic and personal experiences of engineering technology and welding technology students. The research questions guiding this study are: (a) what are the academic and personal experiences of engineering technology and welding technology students at 2- and 4-year institutions? and (b) what are students' experiences with persisting in engineering technology? Methods: Using our research questions and predetermined inclusion criteria, we performed a literature review of relevant articles retrieved from Scopus and ERIC ProQuest databases. Results: We identify three areas of opportunities for future research examination: (a) experiences of students of marginalized populations in engineering technology, (b) how to leverage career and technical education and 2-year engineering technology programs to support matriculation, and (c) ways to address the negative stigma associated with engineering technology programs. Conclusions/Contributions: To meet the demands of the nation's economy and future workforce, it is important to further examine the experiences of engineering technology students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing an abstract is a challenging assignment for graduate students as it requires condensing all the extensive research into a few sentences, providing sufficient background knowledge, and presenting findings compellingly to the academic community. This study observes how graduate engineering students cope with writing their abstracts for their first published papers, with a specific focus on metadiscourse. The study is based on the learner corpus of 1,746 abstracts (117,535 words) written by non-native English speakers in English and Serbian during their Master's studies. The research follows Hyland's taxonomy, focusing on interactive frame markers and interactional engagement markers, together with metadiscursive nouns in order to uncover cross-linguistic patterns and pedagogical implications. The comparison of the absolute and relative frequency with statistical significance and log likelihood between Serbian and English sub-corpora demonstrates that students tend to use frame markers with greater frequency in Serbian abstracts than in English ones. Additionally, engagement markers, and especially directives, are used twice as often as frame markers in both sub-corpora, with a higher prevalence in English abstracts. Following the qualitative and quantitative analyses, the findings offer pedagogical implications related to the range of frame markers and metadiscursive nouns used by students to introduce their research aims and the range of engagement markers used to engage readers in their research and thus claim their credibility in academic writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the evaluation of the alpha version of a gamified tool called Call for Papers: The Game (CfP:TG), specially designed for teaching scientific writing in the training of future engineers. A non-probabilistic convenience sampling was carried out with the participation of engineering students from a Peruvian public university. The short version of the user experience questionnaire (UEQ) was applied, and usability was qualitatively evaluated. The main results indicate that the Pragmatic Quality of CfP:TG is in the neutral range with a value of 0.729, and the Hedonic Quality receives a positive evaluation with a value of 1.089. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it really better to print everything, including software models, or is it better to view them on screen? With the ever increasing complexity of software systems, software modeling is integral to software development. Software models facilitate and automate many activities during development, such as code and test case generation. However, a core goal of software modeling is to communicate and collaborate. Software models are presented to team members on many mediums and two of the most common mediums are paper and computer screens. Reading from paper or screen is ostensibly considered to have the same effect on model comprehension. However, the literature on text reading has indicated that the reading experiences can be very different which in turn effects various metrics related to reader performance. This paper reports on an experiment that was conducted to investigate the effect of reading software models on paper in comparison with reading them on a computer screen with respect to cognitive effectiveness. Cognitive effectiveness here refers to the ease by which a model reader can read a model. The experiment used a total of 74 software engineering students as subjects. The experiment results provide strong evidence that displaying diagrams on a screen allows subjects to read them quicker. There is also evidence that indicates that on screen viewing induces fewer reading errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction firms face challenges in sourcing qualified candidates for enhancing project outcomes through sensor data analytics. There are limited tools for teaching students from construction-related disciplines how to analyze sensor data. By harnessing the potential of block-based programming, this study designed a pedagogical tool, InerSens, to support construction engineering students with no prior programming experience to analyze sensor data and address real-world construction challenges, such as ergonomic risks. Altogether 20 students participated in an experiment comparing InerSens and a traditional platform, Microsoft Excel, for data analytics. Evaluations involved usability, perceived workload, visual attention, verbal feedback using the System Usability Scale, NASA TLX, eye-tracking metrics, and interviews. InerSens was rated as 8.89% more user-friendly than the traditional tool, with a significantly reduced perceived cognitive load by 46.11%, and a more balanced distribution of visual attention during data analytics tasks. Through the evaluation of cognitive and usability factors, this paper extends the applications of the Learning-for-Use and the Cognitive Load theories, emphasizing their applicability in instructional design, revealing learner needs, and the potential to advance the development of pedagogical tools for data analytics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive guide for the design and development of a power electronic converter, specifically focusing on the Buck converter. The guide aims to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, providing engineering students with a hands-on experience in digital control using the STM32 microcontroller. The workshop experience described covers all necessary steps, from the initial design and simulation using tools like MATLAB-Simulink and Plecs to the final implementation and testing of the converter. The educational value of this approach is highlighted, emphasizing the importance of practical engagement in understanding complex concepts related to power electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flutter has become popular for providing a uniform development environment for user interfaces (UIs) on smart phones, web browsers, and desktop applications. We have developed the Flutter programming learning assistant system (FPLAS) to assist its novice students' self-study. We implemented the Docker-based Flutter environment with Visual Studio Code and three introductory exercise projects. However, the correctness of students' answers is manually checked, although automatic checking is necessary to reduce teachers' workload and provide quick responses to students. This paper presents an image-based user interface (UI) testing method to automate UI testing by the answer code using the Flask framework. This method produces the UI image by running the answer code and compares it with the image made by the model code for the assignment using ORB and SIFT algorithms in the OpenCV library. One notable aspect is the necessity to capture multiple UI screenshots through page transitions by user input actions for the accurate detection of changes in UI elements. For evaluations, we assigned five Flutter exercise projects to fourth-year bachelor and first-year master engineering students at Okayama University, Japan, and applied the proposed method to their answers. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the relationship between problem-based learning (PBL) and the digital electronics course for engineering students at a private university with a population of 97 students. The study utilized a deductive and correlational hypothetical method with a non-experimental and quantitative design. As a result, the statistically significant relationship between PBL and the digital electronics course is verified. A relationship coefficient equal to Rho = 0.780 and p < 0.01, confirms the proposed alternative hypothesis. This result provides a robust quantitative perspective on how the integration of PBL positively influences engineering students' acquisition of digital electronics knowledge. The contribution lies in empirical support for the effectiveness of the PBL approach, providing educators and engineering professionals with a solid foundation for enhancing pedagogical strategies and fostering more effective and practical learning in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to show how graduated engineering students in classical ICT view practically the advent of the QIT. The students do their theses in El.Eng. and ICT and were asked how to implement now or in the future the QIT in their current or future work. Most of them have strictly defined research topics and in some cases the realization stage is advanced. Thus, most of the potential QIT application areas are defined and quite narrow. In such a case, the issue to be considered is the incorporation of QIT components and interfaces into the existing ICT infrastructure, software and hardware alike, and propose a solution as a reasonable functional hybrid system. The QIT components or circuits are not standalone in most cases, they should be somehow incorporated into existing environment, with a measurable added value. Not an easy task indeed. We have to excuse the students if the proposed solutions are not ripe enough. The exercise was proposed as an on-purpose publication workshop, related strictly to the fast and fascinating development of the QIT. The paper is a continuation of publishing exercises with previous groups of students participating in QIT lectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educator's choice of techniques is intended to foster a strong love of learning. The different methods of learning can improve learners' abilities. The need of pupils to learn cannot be met by only conventional teaching. When pupils graphically answer the provided question, this is clearly seen. This paper studied students' performance for the graph based topic 'Smith Chart' for the course 'Radar and Microwave Engineering' for the third year of engineering students. Total 64 students of the same class considered for the experiment. Video based learning (VBL) is methodology is used in this paper. Total 64 students learn the said chart (Smith Chart) through videos. VBL along with collaborative approach is carried out for experimental group. The two group posttest is carried out. The two group post test results presented in the paper. The assessment is carried out w.r.to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Bloom's Level (BL). The objectives of the study are to introduce and make students understand Smith chart (BL: Understand, LO1); to determine transmission line parameters and impedance along the line (BL: Apply, LO2); to examine the effect of load variations on transmission line parameters. (BL: Analyze, LO3). The results w.r.to LOs and BL are presented in this paper for both control and experimental group. To assess the level of effectiveness of the intervention feedback is taken from experimental group. Almost 96% students liked the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proficiency in speaking cannot be acquired without effective listening. Listening and speaking skills are deciding factors for academic growth of engineering students. Engineering students are mostly worried about their placement in top notch companies, thereby they keep on emphasizing more on speaking under the presumption that speaking can be acquired without active listening. They treat listening skill as the secondary skill for acquisition of speaking, which requires special attention by the teacher. Productive skill speaking and receptive one listening are invariably playing a pivotal role for human communication. Second language users of English generally get confused with the incompatibility of writing, speech production and aural skill in English. Receptive skill Listening and Productive skill speaking are incompatible to one another. The prime objective of this paper is to find out whether integrated listening and speaking activities help in developing language competence of engineering graduates or the task and activities of listening and speaking should be done in isolation to achieve the competence of the students in English language. The present paper collected data of different tests namely pre-test and post-test based on different tasks and activities intended for the engineering graduates of an engineering college and the same was analyzed and the result found at the end of the exposition of data revealed that engineering graduates those who practiced activities of listening and speaking in conjunction with one another proved to be successful in acquiring English language competence than the others who practiced the activities of listening and speaking in separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a study on an interdisciplinary curriculum for mechanical engineering. The interdisciplinary strategy presented in the present research involves departments that haven't typically worked well together to provide learners with capstone design opportunities. Teams of students from the computer and mechanical engineering departments cooperate on completing a capstone design project that gets placements from industry. The method of defining relevant design projects that coordinate with the goals of the mechanical engineering curriculum is comprehensive, as well as the amount of involvement of the industrial partner. To demonstrate the interdisciplinary morality of the design projects and how they fulfil the program's goals and objectives, the automotive sector is examined by the students. Finally, the paper focuses on challenges faced by mechanical engineering students, improve their chances of securing placements and concludes with a model interdisciplinary curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the utilization of design thinking process in the entrepreneurship classes, which involves problem-solving approach, creative thinking and procedural steps to solve the problems. The entrepreneurship training classes facilitate the students to address the real-world problem through the real-world skill development activities. Entrepreneurship education leads the students to develop projects with the outcome as societal beneficial product or service. The students' expertise after attending the class will be incredibly useful for resolving the problems which need an immediate focus like Covid-19 and post pandemic situation. The case study discussed in this paper describes the growth of an engineering student into a technopreneur, who uses design thinking to solve the societal problems. This case study comprises the framework as follows: The first framework is based on Outcome Based Education (OBE) and Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) for Batch 1 and 2, and the second framework with Batch 3 on Conceive Design Implement (CDIO) and Operate framework. According to the findings, students of Batch 3 outperformed than the students of Batch 1 and 2 in applying higher order thinking abilities to turn a prototype into a working business model. As a result, the CDIO framework is ideally suited to the development of engineering abilities into the entrepreneurial opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrespective of the branch of study, practical/laboratory courses are integral parts of engineering curriculum. These courses develop the knowledge, skill and attitude of the graduates. It is thus necessary to frame the laboratory experiments, to create a student centric learning environment and to have suitable assessment methodologies to enhance the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills of the engineering students. This paper proposes a framework of the above three from the authors' perspective for a software laboratory. The proposed framework can be extended to the laboratory/practical with suitable modifications in the Course Outcomes. Also in this paper, a methodology is proposed for converting the scales into marks and also the formula for calculating the marks under various heads (record, viva voce and experiment) is given. Rubrics are defined for the Performance Indicators (PIs) as specified in the Examination Reform Policy of AICTE for the Program Outcomes (POs defined by National Board of Accreditation (NBA), India). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a concept adopted in higher education that is focused on the mode of learning by implementing projects using the concepts studied during a course. This model is now extended even to middle schools. This paper is a case study on the implementation of PBL in the engineering course. PBL implementation has several issues to be considered before offering it to the students. The issues are more related to the faculty and the institution. A survey was carried out among the students and faculty to know the effectiveness of PBL implementation. A set of questions were asked to the students to know the technical and non-technical advantages and limitations of the PBL. Descriptive questions are used to know the general opinion of the students and faculty about PBL. Various observations are made based on the outcome of the survey. As the overall outcome of the survey, the faculty and students are of the opinion that the PBL will enhance the learning outcome of the course, provided sufficient time and resources are available to implement the project and the faculty can guide the students with regular monitoring of the project's progress. Faculty competency in handling the concepts practically, and availability of time and resources are of concern. Both faculty and students felt that PBL must be practiced in the engineering curriculum to enhance the skills of the student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education is transforming various dimensions of the education system, such as instructional practices, assessment strategies, and administrative processes. It also plays an active role in the progression of science education. This systematic review attempts to render an inherent understanding of the evidence-based interaction between AI and science education. Specifically, this study offers a consolidated analysis of AI's impact on students' learning outcomes, contexts of its adoption, students' and teachers' perceptions about its use, and the challenges of its use within science education. The present study followed the PRISMA guidelines to review empirical papers published from 2014 to 2023. In total, 74 records met the eligibility for this systematic study. Previous research provides evidence of AI integration into a variety of fields in physical and natural sciences in many countries across the globe. The results revealed that AI-powered tools are integrated into science education to achieve various pedagogical benefits, including enhancing the learning environment, creating quizzes, assessing students' work, and predicting their academic performance. The findings from this paper have implications for teachers, educational administrators, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All new students at the University of Prishtina "Hasan Prishtina", Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, take an Engineering Graphics course in the first semester. The subject is divided into two sections: Technical Drawing and Descriptive Geometry. To teach lectures, professors use didactic equipment such as LCD projectors and drawing on the table. Assistants demonstrate exercises by drawing mechanical parts in the table. In 2014, teachers began using digital presentations with animations in their lectures. They contain developed presentations using PowerPoint software with stepby- step animations of mechanical parts. The paper examines the effectiveness of this methodology from both the student and teacher perspectives. The study is based on a survey of students, teachers' experiences, and a comparison of exam results. The analysis discusses the methodology's effectiveness, presentation quality, knowledge gained, ease of learning, impact on exam pass rate, and other benefits. The following are some key findings from this paper: students accept and favor this teaching methodology; it is more effective than hand drawing; it has a significant impact on exam pass rates; and it is simple to understand the lectures. Teachers like this methodology because it allows for step-by-step explanation with animations; repeating options; presentations are created only once, easy corrections, developing many examples of mechanical parts with less effort, and students can easily access them. The paper contributes to a new teaching methodology for students in their first year of Engineering studies, Bachelor level, in the subject of Engineering Graphics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We live in a society in constant scientific and technological change, where engineering education is required to develop the competences needed for future engineers to be able to respond to the complex and interdisciplinary problems that arise from this. It is no longer enough just to provide updated scientific and technological training to students, but it is also required to articulate the needs of society with the design of the curriculum and the expectations of the different stakeholders. The present paper's goal is to present the perceptions about engineering education through the lens of different institutional stakeholders, following a qualitative design study, through semi-structured interviews with seven key-stakeholders representing different scientific and professional institutions. These interviewees play an important role in the definition of guidelines for the engineering profession and in (re)thinking curricula reflecting the interaction with society, training and research. In this sense, it aims to explore the following objectives: (i) to know the perception about the profession, the profile of engineers and the engineering curricula; (ii) to identify the challenges posed to engineers in the job market and in society, today and in the future; and (iii) to reflect on a desirable profile to be attained by engineering students at the end of their Higher Education path. From the interviewees' perspective, competences development effectively involves learning approaches that realize which problem-solving strategies, concepts and capacities for social action should be developed in students, which are not restricted to disciplinary or specific content, but which allow (de)constructing curricula that reflect the different needs of society. In fact, as well as including the point of view of renowned international associations, this article reinforces the idea that the integration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) into curricula is not only a challenge, but also a growing and inevitable phenomenon in response to society's needs. The curriculum, the competences to be privileged, the importance of interdisciplinarity, and the contribution of STEM and STEAM approaches from an integrated engineering perspective are interpreted as difficulties but also the target opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid mechanics, a required course in many undergraduate engineering disciplines, is often described as a challenging subject as it weaves together advanced mathematics and physics to solve conventional engineering problems. This study examines the effect of incorporating a physical model project via multidisciplinary teams into two theory-based fluid mechanics courses to address two general questions: Does the design and construction of the physical model aid in understanding fluid mechanics concepts? Does working with students of different engineering disciplines improve student experience and comprehension? The study was conducted in Spring 2023 with a cohort of 49 mechanical and civil engineering students; each project team had a mix of both disciplines. At the end of the semester, all projects were presented at a common venue, followed by an anonymous paper-based survey. The results indicate that around 83.7% of students felt the project had an overall positive impact on their learning experience. Despite initial student apprehension about multidisciplinary teams, 72% of students appreciated the opportunity to work with engineers from other disciplines, with qualitative inputs describing the value added from varied skill sets. In conclusion, this project enabled students to apply their in-class training to a real-world model while working in multidisciplinary teams. The results provide insight into the implementation of similar projects and the value of multidisciplinary teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of having engineering students proficient in visual literacy has long been recognized. Within this objective, the role of freehand drawing is paramount. It is, therefore, important to reinforce its practice for engineering communication and visual thinking support. This paper reports the findings of a research project aimed at studying the visual literacy skills of engineering students and the use of freehand drawing for this purpose. This exploratory study focuses on visualization and its externalization through freehand drawing. An empirical study was conducted with 66 engineering students from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). Their skills for expressing visualized images through freehand drawing and their tendency to use drawings for problem-solving were evaluated. The findings of the study indicate that students generally lack skills in expressing ideas through freehand drawing. Additionally, they do not tend to apply drawing when finding solutions to given problems. Considering the importance of freehand drawing to reinforce visual literacy, the implementation of its practice is encouraged in order to have students competent in thinking and communicating through these means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary professional landscape, engineers are confronted with the dual imperative of not only excelling in the core subject expertise but also possessing linguistic competence to remain competitive in the global job market. The current employment scenario is marked by raise in demand but decline in the number of qualified professionals graduating from colleges. Graduates are now expected to embody the qualities of techno-managers, adept at multitasking in their roles. Relying solely on technical skills has proven inadequate for many individuals. Recognizing the evolving job market requirements, it became apparent that students must excel in communication, particularly English communication skills, to thrive professionally. Effective communication fosters the development of confidence, astuteness, and outward skills in students. Language acquisition is a lifelong, active process that commences at birth. Textbooks play a crucial role in achieving the objectives of a course, serving as prominent elements in the teaching process. Language learning, facilitated by learning strategies, involves a set of tactics individuals employ to take control of their learning processes. In today's educational landscape, teachers play a pivotal role in enhancing strategies in second or foreign language classrooms. Their responsibility extends to facilitating learning among students and making their thinking processes visible. Effectively teaching a second language (L2) requires educators to consider the unique needs and backgrounds of each learner. By doing so, they can employ methods that help students in utilizing strategies to enhance their L2 learning experience. This paper provides insights into the trailblazer learning strategies that augment the language skills repertoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly hampered the ability of higher education institutions (HEIS) to place interns for traditional on-site work experiences and forced these institutions to quickly find alternative cooperative education arrangements for their students. This placement challenge led to the development of an innovative alternative Industrial Work Experience (IWE) programme for final-year engineering students at the University of Technology, Jamaica. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the alternative IWE programme implemented during the pandemic and to explore viable alternative engineering cooperative education practices that can be implemented by HEIs in the post-pandemic era. The study used an Inductive-Simultaneous Mixed Method Investigation design with an online survey instrument consisting of 28 closed-ended questions and six open-ended questions that collected quantitative and qualitative data concurrently. A total of 67 invitations were administered by email and WhatsApp over a period of 18 days with a 43.3% (n=29) response rate. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, the qualitative data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach. The point of integration occurred at the analysis stage. Results show that the most valuable aspects of the alternative assessment were design skills (72.2%) and teamwork (38.9%). Of the respondents, 43.5% highlighted that the experience fostered collaboration and empowerment. The major challenges highlighted were a lack of exposure to the actual work environment by 55.0% of the respondents and working with team members (45.5%). Although seventy-two (72.0%) of the participants obtained employment after completing the alternative IWE, only 51.6% were employed within their respective engineering disciplines. The findings of this paper will inform HEIs, prospective interns, industry and other stakeholders of some of the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative IWE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning the SQL language for working with relational databases is a fundamental subject for future computer engineers. However, in distance learning contexts or unexpected situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, where students had to follow lectures remotely, they may find it hard to learn. Chatbots are software applications that aim to have conversations with people to help them solve problems or provide support in a specific domain. This paper proposes a chatbot-based learning platform to assist students in learning SQL. A case study has been conducted to evaluate the proposal, with undergraduate computer engineering students using the learning platform to perform SQL queries while being assisted by the chatbot. The results show evidence that students who used the chatbot performed better on the final SQL exam than those who did not. In addition, the research shows positive evidence of the benefits of using such learning platforms to support SQL teaching and learning for both students and lecturers: students use a platform that helps them self-regulate their learning process, while lecturers get interesting metrics on student performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In today's highly competitive global business environment, there is a growing demand for professionals who possess well-developed soft skills. Such abilities include flexibility, effective communication and other skills. Soft skills are personal attributes and qualities that are more closely related to the emotional side of human beings. Individuals must cultivate and hone soft skills during their undergraduate studies. These skills, also known as interpersonal or non-technical skills, are essential to complement hard skills and pave the way for a thriving career trajectory. Soft skills are developed over the course of one's career and are indispensable in establishing a strong, professional presence in the corporate or academic realm. The field of engineering is no exception in this regard, and the business approach during the engineering course is of significant relevance. By acquiring soft skills, engineering graduates will become competitive and adaptable professionals capable of handling the current and future challenges of the job market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soft skills that students perceive as being better developed during their business classrooms in the engineering course and identify areas for improvement in the business education process. Design/methodology/approach: The research method consisted in four different phases from variables identification to statistical analyses. Then, as part of this approach a structured questionnaire was administered at the end of the engineering course, where students rated their perception of the degree of development of each of the soft skills covered in the course on a scale of zero to ten. The collected data were analysed using multivariate analysis techniques, including factorial analysis. Findings: The results of the study demonstrate that the set of skills acquired by individuals in business classrooms pursuing a degree in industrial engineering is in high demand by potential employers. Such skills are deemed essential for the successful operation of businesses in modern-day industries. The findings of this research validate the significant role that industrial engineering students play in fulfilling the requirements of the job market and pave the way to meaningful insights on how to approach this topic during the business education process in engineering courses. Practical implications: The findings bring about significant insights for national educational councils and ministries, universities and educational stakeholders in the process of updating, rethinking and implementing new curricula criteria in higher education, particularly in the Latin American context. Originality/value: This paper enriches the literature by assessing the development of soft skills of engineering students in the Latin American context. The research reinforces the importance of developing soft skills aligned with those required for the context of current and future labour markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' engagement is a fundamental challenge in large classrooms in higher education. In recent years, innovative technologies such as electronic learning and online polling platforms have made learning more engaging, effective, and interactive. By using these platforms, educators can create more inclusive and enriching learning environments. This paper presents a novel approach in which an online technology is employed to enhance students' learning experience. In this approach, features of an online polling platform, i.e., Slido, are employed to enhance students' engagement in an engineering module, i.e., 'Mechanics of Solids', which is recognised as a fundamentally challenging module with difficult subjects. This study investigates how the interactive features of such technologies, such as real-time polls, question and answer (Q&A) sessions, and quizzes, can provide a more active and practical learning environment by improving student engagement in the classroom. In total, six online polls were designed: one for ice-breaking, two on the topics of shear forces and bending moment, two on stresses, and one on deflection. Each poll was presented to the students, and they participated in them by scanning a QR code or typing the poll's code online. The rate of students' participation in polls is extensively discussed to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The findings of this study show a significant increase in student participation in classroom activities compared to traditional methods. Student feedback also indicates a positive learning experience with the use of the proposed approach. It is shown that the proposed approach has the potential to transform the way engineering students engage with challenging subjects, leading to enhanced learning outcomes and a more positive learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calculus continues to be an important topic of discussion among mathematics education researchers given how it often acts as a gatekeeper for students in STEM. In their extensive 2017 review of calculus literature, Larsen and colleagues identified two main areas of applied research that had largely been neglected: research related (1) to efforts to improve calculus teaching and learning and (2) to equity and social justice. In this review we investigate how scholars have answered this call by reviewing recent literature related to these two themes. First we identified some promising intervention studies that investigated changes at the course level (e.g., calculus courses intended for engineering students) and at the level of specific calculus topics (e.g. using digital tools to help students understand the Fundamental Theorem). Second, we identified several studies on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We found that some studies in this collection still approached this research through traditional methods (e.g., so called achievement gaps) but we also identified promising new directions for research in which scholars utilize critical theories and provide counter-narratives that highlight the strengths of calculus students from historically marginalized groups. We conclude our review by discussing future directions we hope to see in the field that we argue will strengthen current work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In keeping with discipline-specific genre expectations for writing in scientific and technological fields, students enrolled in English writing classes for future engineers are often required to produce collaborative reports on team projects. For freshman engineering students, such collaborative report writing, which constitutes a cornerstone in their academic literacy, is an entirely new genre. Drawing on Engeström's (Engeström, Yrjö. 1987. Learning by expanding: An activity theoretical approach to developmental research. Orienta-Konsultit Oy) activity system and Storch's (Storch, Neomy. 2002. Patterns of interaction in ESL pair work. Language and Learning 52(1). 119–158) interaction model, this paper explores two engineering freshmen's experiences of working collaboratively in separate groups in the same writing class. Our focal students were both native-English-speaking women at a U.S. midwestern university. Over the course of one semester, they provided their class notes and project report drafts, and they and the course teaching assistant participated in interviews. Our findings demonstrate that while both students had similar levels of commitment to the collaborative project, their writing experiences differed depending on their respective group members and their own attitudes and experiences. Our case study has implications for engineering freshman writing education as we illustrate how the ESP class we examined can help students prepare for academic and professional communication. We also discuss ways to help apprentice future engineers overcome discipline-specific communication difficulties as they enter a new discourse community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The importance of thriving is well-established, but little is known about thriving for undergraduate engineering students. We introduce engineering thriving as the process by which engineering students develop optimal functioning in undergraduate engineering programs. Since thriving is currently underexplored in the engineering education literature, we investigated the larger body of literature on engineering student success. Purpose: We introduce the concept of engineering thriving to synthesize the largely discrete existing bodies of literature on engineering student success to bring together many different perspectives, methodological approaches, and findings that shape our understanding of engineering thriving. Our work on thriving unites disparate lines of research on engineering student success, challenges the assumption that addressing barriers automatically leads to success, and strives to change the way engineering education views student success. Scope/Method: We used the scoping literature review method to investigate papers on undergraduate engineering student success. Four databases were searched, yielding 726 initial papers that studied separate dimensions of engineering student success, such as academic, personal, cognitive, and behavioral. We integrated the relationships among these dimensions to develop an understanding of engineering thriving. Our final analysis included 68 papers after removing duplicates and applying selection criteria. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that an engineering student thriving includes multiple dimensions of success, involves cyclical processes of growth and adaptation, and consists of synergistic competencies that should ideally be studied together with as many other competencies as possible. These findings support the conclusion that engineering thriving can be understood as helping students manage constantly changing internal and external factors within the broader engineering education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creativity is a crucial skill for future engineers. Hence, it is becoming increasingly important for higher education (HE) engineering educators to foster and enhance engineering students' creative abilities. Simultaneously, online learning has found a place in engineering education. Nevertheless, we find that HE engineering educators in all domains continue to express a sense of inadequacy when it comes to fostering creativity in hybrid and online learning environments. This sentiment persists despite the existence of scholarly work that suggests strategies for addressing these challenges. In this paper, we assume that the rationale behind this is that the proposed pedagogical approaches are primarily established through conceptual reflections, whereas the perspective of the HE engineering educators on the perceived barriers has thus far been largely neglected. Therefore, we present a study that uses data from experience interviews and focus group techniques involving 71 HE engineering educators from Ireland, Germany, Denmark and Turkey to identify the common challenges that HE engineering educators perceive when facilitating creativity in online and hybrid classroom environments. These are used to extend theory by developing a four‐field conceptual model organizing the eight overarching challenges encountered. This model can be used as a basis for defining measures to support HE engineering educators in facilitating creativity online and serves as a guide for future research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of ethics in data science research has attracted considerable attention in recent years. While there is widespread agreement on the importance of teaching ethics within computing contexts, there is no clear method for its implementation and assessment. Studies focusing on methods for integrating ethics into data science courses reveal that students tend to neglect ethical concerns in their data analysis. Based on the data we collected from questionnaires distributed to undergraduate science and engineering students, this paper expands the discussion beyond human concerns and ethics in data science education. As we will show, students tend to neglect the context when attempting to solve data science questions. We argue that gaps in understanding the context relating to the data result in gaps in the analysis as well as in the interpretation of the data. Thus, we propose anthropological thinking as a pedagogy to overcome the context neglect. Placing the spotlight on the context promotes a holistic understanding of the phenomenon being analyzed, as it includes important considerations that do not necessarily fit the more commonly used term human concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explicates the codes that prescribe and shape the marine engineer student in times of massification and high attrition rates in Danish non-university higher education. In a case study of a Danish school of marine engineering, the Bernsteinian concept of knowledge structures and Legitimation Code Theory support analysing the official curriculum along with teacher and student interviews to determine what is considered knowledge and whose knowledge is deemed important. We find that teachers' pedagogical decisions are embedded in the epistemological and social conventions of their individual educational backgrounds. Their struggles on content and pedagogic approach make it difficult for students to understand what is legitimate knowledge and who can claim to be a legitimate knower. To offer more students epistemic access to non-university academic study and increase student success, the epistemic and evaluative logics of the pedagogic discourses to which students are exposed must be clarified and made explicit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of how sensemaking unfolds when elementary students engage in engineering design tasks is crucial to advancing engineering teaching and learning at K‐12 levels. Sensemaking has been widely studied in the context of science as a discipline. In this paper, we seek to contribute to the more nascent efforts to build theory about the characteristics of sensemaking in elementary school engineering. We report on an interpretive case study of a 3rd grade student team who worked with minimal adult intervention to design a solution to an engineering challenge. Considering the entire trajectory of their design process, from the given problem to the solution, we observed that they navigated through multiple epistemic conflicts while making decisions that informed their final solution. We found that these conflicts served as opportunities for sensemaking and that exploring how the students resolved conflicts shed light on their sensemaking processes. Analysis of the team's navigation through epistemic conflicts to come to a design decision helped identify two distinct kinds of engineering sensemaking: student engagement in functional reasoning as they suggested design ideas, and student engagement in mechanistic reasoning as they interpreted test results. Both processes facilitated knowledge building, which in turn supported students' engineering design decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This descriptive study focuses on using voice activity detection (VAD) algorithms to extract student speech data in order to better understand the collaboration of small group work and the impact of teaching assistant (TA) interventions in undergraduate engineering discussion sections. Audio data were recorded from individual students wearing head‐mounted noise‐cancelling microphones. Video data of each student group were manually coded for collaborative behaviours (eg, group task relatedness, group verbal interaction and group talk content) of students and TA–student interactions. The analysis includes information about the turn taking, overall speech duration patterns and amounts of overlapping speech observed both when TAs were intervening with groups and when they were not. We found that TAs very rarely provided explicit support regarding collaboration. Key speech metrics, such as amount of turn overlap and maximum turn duration, revealed important information about the nature of student small group discussions and TA interventions. TA interactions during small group collaboration are complex and require nuanced treatments when considering the design of supportive tools. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Student turn taking can provide information about the nature of student discussions and collaboration.Real classroom audio data of small groups typically have lots of background noise and present challenges for audio analysis.TAs have little training in how to productively intervene with students about collaborative skills.What this paper adds TA interaction with groups primarily focused on task progress and understanding of concepts with negligible explicit support on building collaborative skills.TAs intervened with the groups often which gave the students little time for uptake of their suggestions or deeper discussion.Student turn overlap was higher without the presence of TAs.Maximum turn duration can be an important real‐time turn metric to identify the least verbally active student participant in a group.Implications for practice and/or policy TA training should include information about how to monitor groups for collaborative behaviours and when and how they should intervene to provide feedback and support.TA feedback systems should keep track of previous interventions by TAs (especially in contexts where there are multiple TAs facilitating) and the duration since previous intervention to ensure that TAs do not intervene with a group too frequently with little time for student uptake.Maximum turn duration could be used as a real‐time metric to identify the least verbally active student in a group so that support could be provided to them by the TAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the development and evaluation of an immersive virtual reality (VR) application designed for lathe operation training. The VR application, built using Unity for Oculus Rift headsets, aims to simulate a realistic lathe machining experience, allowing users to interact with the machine's various controls and levers. The experimental analysis involved 20 s-year Mechanical Engineering students who performed machining tasks in the virtual environment. The usability and user experience of the application were assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and a 12-item questionnaire. The SUS results yielded a high mean score of 96.25 (SD = 6.41), indicating excellent usability. The user experience evaluation also showed positive feedback, with high ratings for the sense of presence, realism, and usefulness for training purposes. However, some users reported minor physical discomforts such as dizziness. The study concludes that immersive VR is a valuable tool for enhancing training in lathe operations, offering an engaging and realistic experience that encourages active learning. Future work should focus on reducing physical discomfort and further improving the application's realism and interactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]