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This paper studies the impact of gender on the interest in engineering and technical subjects of the students in the first courses of secondary education. A statistical analysis was carried out, analyzing the use of a free virtual-reality application, developed by the 3M Foundation, which aims to bring these subjects to the students. Non-parametric statistical methods were used to analyze several variables, such as repetition of the experience, new learning and knowledge reinforcement as well as learning in different ways, which were collected through two questionnaires. These were Pre and Post the playing of the game and later, subsequently validated. This analysis demonstrated that gender has an impact on the interest of the students in engineering and technology but it does not have any influence on the rest of the studied variables. The results show that the interest of girls could be increased through group activities. Age has only influence on the desire to repeat the experience, with a varied level of influence, in the case of the technological contents. The motivational factors that have a greater influence on each variable, "innovation" and "usefulness", were also analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interpretation and reuse of previous design solutions, or precedents, is central to design. This paper describes qualitative research conducted over three years at two institutions, aimed at investigating the role of design knowledge re-use in project-based mechanical design courses. Research data were collected through participant observation, student interviews, anonymous questionnaires, and website analytics. The paper identifies challenges that must be addressed in order to support novice engineers in rehearsing the types of knowledge required to successfully reason about and engage with design precedents. Two categories of design precedents are identified: concept precedents and detail precedents. Providing students with access to the latter is identified as a particular challenge, as is providing students with access to engineering communities of practice. Approaches to addressing these challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an assessment model for the learning based on the formative assessment concept's gamification, created through the Moodle plataform. The related case studies demonstrate that, when working with gamification, the assessment process construction is problematic. From the theoretical foundation, an application was conceived based on the proposed model. In the case study carried out with the model, two groups were formed from a total of eleven Computer Engineering students from Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG): a control group, which performed the standard tasks of the discipline; and an experimental group that used the gamified assessment model developed in this research. The results were cataloged from two perspectives: qualitative and quantitative. The first one analyzed the scores achieved by each group. The second one measured the impact and acceptance of the tool as a learning assessment facilitator. The collected data allows concluding that the students who used the gamified formative assessment model obtained better results in terms of grades, in comparison with the control group, as well the students considering positive the experience with the tool. The gamified assessment model contributes to learning in the context in which it was applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological world has witnessed many revolutions since the beginning of the 21st century, such as mobile development, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and also the Internet of Things. The internet of things revolution is driven by a broader access to internet and versatility of programmable hardware devices that can communicate between each other. In order to make internet of things devices, a technical background is required in many fields, especially electronics and Computer Science. Therefore, many efforts are put in place to develop educational kits that simplify the basics of these two fields so that everyone can make his internet of things prototype without technical knowledge. The authors present their own initiative: IOIOAI that simplifies the programming process for the input output input output electrical board. The service has been tested successfully on children and young students. In this paper, the authors present a wider adoption for their initiative. The IOIOAI service is imple- mented in introductory course to embedded systems for electrical and computer science students during the 2016-2017 academic year in the National Engineering School of Sfax, Tunisia. The efficiency of the solution is analyzed based on the students' marks and feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), mainly computer, for teaching and learning purposes at the university level. The paper gives a brief overview of the use of ICT in learning and teaching at university level. It also discusses the students' perceptions on the use of ICT in their daily life and in school environment. For this purpose, a questionnaire consisting of 25 items were given to 300 students studying at the engineering departments from 2 different universities in Turkey. The result supports the necessity of using ICT for making classes more vivid, pleasant and appealing to the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity and dynamics of the automotive industry require highly trained graduates with competencies and skills in various scientific and industrial fields, as well as practical skills. Theory with can be applied to practice in several ways: increasing practical application of labs and workshops, practice activities, race car contests, participation in scientific groups, work on research and development projects, internships, etc. The present paper explores the attitudes and perceptions of students who participated in an international competition for prototype vehicles powered with compressed air. Based on an exploratory questionnaire, uni- and multivariate statistical methods were applied, and the results were used to create a model related to the students’ perception of the usefulness of participating compared to the additional engineering skills learned. The results show that students involved in race car competitions enjoy positive feedback and more (regardless of country of origin) and learn professional skills with high-quality and relevant technical, social, and behavioral competences, which are required in the automotive industry today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literature review identifies a partial list of leadership skills to include developing higher-order cognitive skills, team working skills, positive attitude, and ability to transfer these skills to future environment. This paper discusses the results of research conducted on the use of multiple instructional methodologies in two different Introduction to Engineering classes in order to develop some of the leadership skills. The instructional methodologies used in these courses were lectures, PowerPoint slides and visuals, case studies, quizzes, small group discussions, and projects. The research question addressed in this paper is: Which instructional methodologies enhance students' mastery of the skills and possession of the attributes that are increasingly required of engineering graduates? A questionnaire was developed to obtain responses from students. The use of projects and multi-media case studies was perceived as valuable in enhancing the learning experiences and attitude toward engineering. The students valued these experiences because they brought theories and real-world practices together and provided an opportunity for them to work together. In both sections, students believed that they had better problem-solving skills and a better foundation of basic skills as a result of having taken the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking up the notion of engineering as social experimentation, this paper argues that engineering research laboratory directors have a responsibility to inform graduate engineering students who participate in their research projects of the potential broader social dimensions of those projects. Informing engineers-in-the-making of the broader social dimensions of the research they are learning to conduct would help ensure their future capacity to act as ethically responsible social experimenters. The paper also argues that graduate engineers have a right to be informed participants in activities that may have broader social dimensions than are recognized by formal research evaluation or educational processes. The process of obtaining the informed consent of graduate engineering students, if implemented effectively, would thus help ensure both their capacity to act as moral agents and their own moral integrity. Since the eventual outcomes of research can be uncertain, complex, and contested, most traditional institutional frameworks—such as principle-based codes of conduct and risk-benefit frameworks—provide an insufficient basis to inform engineers and citizens. Rather, we recommend an ongoing discursive process that explores a number of different actors, contexts, and scenarios, and that evolves with the social context of the engineering research in question. While this may seem burdensome to the engineering research process, it can be integrated directly into the group research meetings and mentorship activities that typically already go on. Moreover, it can actually be seen to benefit engineering practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the outcomes of research with students, academics and representatives of engineering companies into the value of learning about global and sustainability issues within higher degree courses. The paper is based on research commissioned by Imperial College London and Engineers Against Poverty in 2007 with support from Engineers Without Borders. The existing literature and perceptions from representatives of key engineering bodies were compared with the findings from students, academics and representatives from engineering businesses. One of the key findings of this research is that there is a mismatch between perception and reality of students, academics and business views of the value of learning about global and sustainability in terms of furthering graduates' careers. Students were particularly keen to learn more about sustainability issues. Companies were looking for graduates who were more than technically competent and had all-round skills such as interpersonal, language and communication skills. This research brings together and compares views of three stakeholders in the sector and demonstrates the need for greater dialogue between them. Further, the research provides useful evidence that demonstrates the increased interest in global and sustainability issues that universities need to consider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a study is presented in which engineering students at a Danish university developed Continuous Improvement (CI) and innovation capabilities through action research and experiential learning methods. The paper begins with a brief overview of the literature on CI and innovation, followed by an account of how the students designed and implemented solutions to self-identified problems within their educational program using the principles of CI, and how these learning activities facilitated the development of basic innovation capabilities. The paper concludes with insights regarding how such an innovative design of teaching methods based on learning-by-doing may not only support the development of CI and innovation in engineering students, which is increasingly demanded by industry, but also represent a way in which to enhance sustainability and innovation of the education itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a theoretical basis for cultivating engineering education as a complex system that will prepare students to think critically and make decisions with regard to poorly understood, ill-structured issues. Integral to this theoretical basis is a solution space construct developed and presented as a benchmark for evaluating problem-solving orientations that emerge within students’ thinking as they progress through an engineering curriculum. It is proposed that the traditional engineering education model, while analytically rigorous, is characterised by properties that, although necessary, are insufficient for preparing students to address complex issues of the twenty-first century. A Synthesis and Design Studio model for engineering education is proposed, which maintains the necessary rigor of analysis within a uniquely complex yet sufficiently structured learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Remote laboratories are a mature technology that are becoming increasingly prevalent in the delivery of undergraduate engineering degree programs. While the literature has moved to the point where the educational value of these laboratories is being evaluated, there is presently no framework provided to help academics determine the suitability of a particular laboratory experiment for conversion to remote-access mode. This paper analyses a second-year fluid-mechanics laboratory to determine its suitability for such a conversion, and then draws from this analysis three key factors that can be used as a preliminary framework for making generalised decisions regarding the suitability of any laboratory class for use in remote mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the preliminary design of a multifaceted computer-based mathematics resource for undergraduate and pre-entry engineering students. Online maths resources, while attractive in their flexibility of delivery, have seen variable interest from students and teachers alike. Through student surveys and wide consultations, guidelines have been developed for effectively collating and integrating learning, support, application and diagnostic tools to produce an Engineer's Mathematics Gateway. Specific recommendations include: the development of a shared database of engineering discipline-specific problems and examples; the identification of, and resource development for, troublesome mathematics topics which encompass ideas of threshold concepts and mastery components; the use of motivational and promotional material to raise student interest in learning mathematics in an engineering context; the use of general and lecture-specific concept maps and matrices to identify the needs and relevance of mathematics to engineering topics; and further exploration of the facilitation of peer-based learning through online resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enrolments in postgraduate engineering in Australia include a significant proportion of Asian ESL (English as a Second Language) students, and there is some debate in the literature about whether they are capable of critical appraisal. Content-based discipline-specific EAP (English for Academic Purposes) courses provide an environment for addressing the language, writing, and critical appraisal needs of such students. In particular, there is evidence that a 'sustained' approach to critical appraisal through engaging with engineering content is the best environment for this significant cohort. Despite this, such programmes are relatively rare in higher education partly as a result of the peripheral status of language and academic skills in relation to engineering knowledge and practice. This case study outlines the curriculum framework and rationale for a content-based EAP response to teaching critical appraisal skills and examines evaluative feedback from an open-ended survey of three semester cohorts of students (n=64, 85% response rate) regarding their encounter with critical thinking and practice. The paper argues both that discipline-specific EAP courses are an appropriate place to teach critical appraisal skills and contributes to the debate on the capacity of ESL students to develop this skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between embodied experience in the world and language competence. Primary data consists of audio and video recorded team meetings among NS and NNS engineering students in an English-speaking American university and ethnographic fieldwork. Based a micro-interactional analysis of the primary data and a consideration of how this analysis is embedded within the macro-social context, findings demonstrate how the L2 user is locally constructed as legitimate and as expert relative to the L1 user in terms of engineering competence and language competence. In the end, these two engineers co-construct a unique way of engaging in engineering teamwork that follows from an acceptance of positionalities that allows opportunities for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will outline answers to the two central questions regarding improving engineering education: (1) What is the full set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that engineering students should possess as they leave the university, and at what level of proficiency? (2) How can we do better at ensuring that students learn these skills? The suggested answers lie within an innovative educational framework, the CDIO (conceive–design–implement–operate) Initiative. This initiative will be described along with the needs it meets, its goals, context, vision and pedagogical foundation. The first question is answered by the CDIO Syllabus and the process for reaching stakeholder consensus on the level of proficiency that students should attain in a given program. The second question is addressed through a best practice framework, which discusses curriculum design, design-implement experiences, teaching and learning, student assessment, program evaluation and faculty competence. Examples are provided of the implementation of best practices within the CDIO program in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of the paper is on implementation of a core undergraduate course offered to non-electrical engineering students. The course provides a foundation and an avenue for physical system modelling and applying a system approach to problem solving. It is a prerequisite course for the automatic control course offered in the seventh semester. The logical sequence of the course follows the flow of data from sensing element, transduction, signal conditioning and digital conversion. Several specially tailored experiments are designed to motivate students and inculcate professional attitudes. Based on students' questionnaires, they are more interested in laboratory work, and in using problem solving skills, than in theories and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the summer Research Experience for Undergraduates offered by the NSF-sponsored VaNTH Engineering Research Center in Bioengineering, core competency instruction in ethics and communication was integrated into students' research experiences outside of formal courses. This paper describes our instructional approach and presents an initial evaluation of its effectiveness. A simple concept mapping assessment used at the beginning and end of the summer suggests that students made gains in both areas. In ethics, students developed greater awareness of key concepts, such as respect for persons (informed consent), beneficence, justice, and integrity. Gains in communication were more modest, but the maps revealed growth in understanding the importance of audience and the multifaceted nature of technical communication. Overall, the study suggests that students can make measurable strides in core competencies without taking formal courses. Future research should consider integrating components of our intervention into other non-credit experiences for engineering undergraduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will briefly discuss the results of a citation analysis of freshman engineering bibliographies conducted at Wichita State University. The results of that study were then used by the engineering librarian to assess the effectiveness of the bibliographic instruction given to the students. Changes were made in the content and method of instruction based on the results. Implications for future assessment are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment in engineering disciplines is typically oriented to demonstrating competence in specific tasks. Even where assessments are intended to have a formative component, little priority may be given to feedback. Engineering departments are often criticized, by their students and by external quality reviewers, for paying insufficient attention to formative assessment. The e3an project set out to build a question bank of peer-reviewed questions for use within electrical and electronic engineering. As a part of this process, a number of engineers from disparate institutions were required to work together in teams, designing a range of assessments for their subject specialisms. The project team observed that lecturers were especially keen to develop formative assessment but that their understanding of what might be required varied considerably. This paper describes the various ways in which the processes of the project have engaged lecturers in actively identifying and developing their conceptions of teaching, learning and assessment in their subject. It reports on an interview study that was conducted with a selection of participants. It is concluded that lecturers' reflections on and understanding of assessment are closely related to the nature of the subject domain and that it is essential when attempting to improve assessment practice to start from the perspective of lecturers in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-choice testing (MCT) has several advantages which are becoming more relevant in the current financial climate. In particular, they can be machine marked. As an objective testing method it is particularly relevant to engineering and other factual courses, but MCTs are not widely used in engineering because students can benefit from guessing. In the formation of a professional engineer, guessing must be actively discouraged and this has led to this testing method being used only rarely in engineering courses. This paper describes trials of a modification to the basic MCT which is designed to assess the students' ability to use their knowledge correctly and confidently. Students are asked to select the correct answer, as usual, then to indicate their confidence in that choice. The marking scheme does not reward guessing, and misplaced confidence is penalized. Statistical results based on over 2500 answers are presented, together with survey responses. The students' attitude to the tests has been that they are fair but challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of addressing innovation and change in engineering students' assessment is the target of this paper. The contents are an overview of the issues related to the evolution of the engineering learning requirements, a review of the traditional student evaluation methods in practice, a description of a current experiment in engineering student assessment and an analysis of the possible consequences of the generalized adoption of the innovative method. The pilot project consisted of the experimentation of an evaluation system without a final exam for a chosen discipline per semester and per each year of the several undergraduate degrees. The comparison is made in statistical terms and relevance when comparing the results of each chosen discipline between the actual and the previous year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odense University College of Engineering has begun a revision of all curricula founded on the principle that student learning is the main objective of teaching. At the same time there is a large demand for increasing efficiency and increasing the possibility of professional development of staff. Development of staff should be possible by decreasing the workload for the teachers; however it has to be done without jeopardizing the quality of the education of the students. Those demands seem in many ways to contradict each other. However, the ambition is to use this change of focus to create new learning environments. We are very much aware that assessment and feedback are essential for making the students learn. Assessment also makes the students focus on the right objectives for their education. Therefore, assessment plays a key role in the principles of how we create curricula. The new curricula will be effective from 1 September 2003. The experiences from pilot projects performed since September 2002 are described in the paper. Those experiences help us transform theoretical background to practical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of a lecturing period examinations are used to take a snapshot of the level of knowledge of a student. It is essential that this snapshot be taken at the right moment. Particularly when a student fails, it is important to make sure that it is because his level of knowledge is not adequate, not because, for example, he had a severe headache, was blocked by examination stress or misread the questions. Even when a student does pass, it may be that the grade is too low because of unjust causes. The system presented in this paper is designed to prevent this situation. An automated Internet-based system makes multiple-choice tests available for students of which the contents depend on the date. It tracks the actual course content. When a student does a test, the system will grade the student and predict the official grade that can be expected at the final examination. The results of the final examination are compared with the prediction. When the prediction is higher than the actual grade, the cause is investigated and possibly an extra assessment is done. The system is completely automated and is available for students 24 h per day. This makes sure that the snapshot is taken at the right time, since the student himself can decide when to take a test. The system does not officially grade the students and is therefore not very sensitive to fraud, but it efficiently removes the ‘snapshot risk’ of the official exam, resulting in a much better quality of the grading process [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000 the UK Engineering Professors' Council (EPC) drafted an output standard to describe first-cycle engineering programmes that would prepare students for practice and further professional learning. The standard described what is authentic and worthwhile in engineering education—it identified complex outcomes of learning. This poses practical and theoretical challenges: how can we know if a student has met this standard? This paper argues that complex outcomes like these often resist measurement and that it is appropriate to use other forms of judgement when trying to assess student achievement. This differentiated approach to assessment, which values formative assessment (or feedback) as well as summative assessment (or feedout), is summarized. It becomes necessary, then, to think about the assessment arrangements for whole programmes, not just for individual modules. Some implications of this programmic and differentiated approach are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental engineering education at universities is a rapidly changing field globally. Traditionally it has resided in the civil engineering program addressing water and wastewater quality, treatment, design and regulatory issues. In recent years environmental engineering has become a much broader field encompassing water, wastewater, soil pollution, air pollution, risk assessment, ecosystems, human health, toxicology, sustainable development, regulatory aspects and much more. The need to introduce environmental engineering/green engineering/pollution prevention/design for the environment concepts to undergraduate engineering students has become recognized to be increasingly important. This need is being driven in part through the US Engineering Accreditation Commission Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology criteria 2000. Thus there has been a major shift in environmental engineering education and it no longer resides only within the civil engineering discipline. This paper focuses on the development of innovative curricula for a brand new engineering program at Rowan University that integrates environmental education for all engineers. A common course known as "engineering clinic" was developed for all engineering students throughout their eight semesters of engineering education. One of the clinic goals is to integrate engineering design and the environment. The program, in its seventh year, indicates successful implementation of environmental education in all four engineering disciplines in their course work and clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering schools are struggling to maintain or increase the number of engineering students. Most attempted solutions focus on better marketing and publicity of the engineering field to K-12 students. How- ever, a large population of K-12 home-schooled students remains relatively untapped. This paper provides background information about the home- school population and their academic performance. The methods that universities and engineering schools can use to recruit home-schooled students are provided in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]