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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]

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]

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]

Scholars and international bodies have highlighted the need to foster undergraduate engineering students' creative thinking and critical thinking. Case-based learning is a name for a host of pedagogical approaches which are student-centered, requiring the instructor to act as an expert guide rather than as a source of knowledge. These approaches make use of cases, thus contextualizing learning of discipline or practice-specific knowledge. This approach can help facilitate students' development of conceptual understanding and thinking skills, as students work through and reflect on the process of solving cases. Despite the learning benefits of case-based learning, it has not often been implemented in undergraduate engineering education when compared with project- or problem-based learning. This paper outlines our proposal for a case-based learning pedagogical framework which aims to foster undergraduate engineering students' creative and critical thinking. The framework provides scaffolding of the learning process for students using a sequence of case-based learning implementations with varying levels of student autonomy. We begin by providing a theoretical background on problem-solving in engineering, creative thinking, and critical thinking, followed by a review of case-based learning in undergraduate engineering education. Next, we outline our proposed pedagogical framework, including guidelines for instructional design and implementation, as well as practical examples. We then discuss the contributions and limitations of our work. Finally, we discuss potential challenges associated with the implementation of our framework and potential mitigations. This work offers theoretical and practical contributions for developing undergraduate engineering students' creative and critical thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's age, we see the increasing influence of technology on people, which begs to raise the question: "Is society determined by technology?" Rising up within the constraints of each society, technology had its limitations, as it catered to the needs and interests of the masses. As society evolved, so did its requirements. We are at a stage where dependence on technology has gone through the roof with new innovations coming up in the sector, the rise of artificial intelligence, for instance. Technology has replaced the concept of being a mere tool and is creating/demanding space of its own. With advancements in various fields like robotics which churn out machines that can mimic human behaviour and are equipped with anthropomorphic features, it has become rather difficult to view them as mere commodities waiting for one's (human master's) command. Keeping this in view, the paper primarily focuses on the relationship between society and technology, with special emphasis on artificial intelligence, through an analysis of the films Ra One (Bollywood), Android Kunjappan (Mollywood), and Ironman 3 (Hollywood). Secondarily, an experimental study was carried out to know the perception of the Engineering students, the future technologists, who are the stakeholders of the 21st-century technological world, with an aim to know their perception of technology and bring an awareness of the limitations of technology and its role in the creation of utopian and dystopian world. Finally, the paper examines the consequence of technological determinism and autonomy from a colonial perspective and intends to bring preparedness among the students to perceive technology conscious of its limitation and bring harmony between society and technology that leads towards building a utopian world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study we present tries to explore how first year engineering students formulate hypotheses in order to construct their own problem solving structure when confronted with problems in physics. Under the constructivistic perspective of the teaching–learning process, the formulation of hypotheses plays a key role in contrasting the coherence of the students' ideas with the theoretical frame. The main research instrument used to identify students' reasoning is the written report by the student on how they have attempted four problem solving tasks in which they have been asked explicitly to formulate hypotheses. The protocols used in the assessment of the solutions consisted of a semi-quantitative study based on grids designed for the analysis of written answers. In this paper we have included two of the tasks used and the corresponding scheme for the categorisation of the answers. Details of the other two tasks are also outlined. According to our findings we would say that the majority of students judge a hypothesis to be plausible if it is congruent with their previous knowledge without rigorously checking it against the theoretical framework explained in class. [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]

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]

Manufacturing applications of virtual reality (VR) technology are growing. The challenge is to design, integrate, and evaluate VR simulation for manufacturing Systems that improves the effectiveness of the planning process. In this paper, we discuss the technical infrastructure necessary to design a collaborative virtual manufacturing planning system. We describe the VR system setup and the integration of hardware and software to produce high-fidelity virtual simulation for manufacturing planning purposes. The designing guidelines are demonstrated by a high-fidelity VR simulation of a stamping process. The VR simulation also presents a method of visualizing computer-aided engineering content. Also, this paper assesses the factors that affect overall fidelity of the VR simulation. Objective evaluation of the VR simulation was conducted using the fidelity framework and the scales, whereas the subjective evaluation methods used were VR-simulation-driven data interpretation. The VR simulation was evaluated by a selective sample of 33 senior engineering students using a highly reliable scale (Cronbach's Alpha =.93) questionnaire that was designed to evaluate functionality, performance, and experience. The results of the subjective evaluation validate the evaluation of objective scales to be high-medium for the VR system used (M = 5.24, M = 5.11) respectively. Significant positive relationships were found between all factors, except distraction, which had a significant negative relationship with fidelity. Overall, the realism and sensory systems factors were found to be the main significant factors affecting the fidelity of the VR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

, we have a special section and eight regular research papers. The first two regular research papers are linked by the common theme of code smells, and these are followed by a systematic literature review on risk factors found in software development. The paper derives formal, methodological, and technological requirements for a modelling language quality evaluation method to tackle some of the open model-driven engineering quality challenges. [Extracted from the article]

Our study investigates the effect of hybrid courses and reading scientific articles on scientific literacy of biomedical engineering students. Participants included about 100 undergraduate and graduate students who participated in one or two hybrid courses. Our research goal was to study the effect of reading scientific articles and participating in online forum discourses on students' scientific literacy by investigating the students' question posing skill. Research tools included pre- and post-questionnaires, analysis of students' questions posted on the forum discourse, and research questions raised by the students on their scientific posters. The research findings indicated that students' participation in the hybrid courses and online discussions improved their scientific literacy skills. This improvement is reflected in the complexity level of the questions posted on the forum discourse after reading scientific articles, as well as in the research questions they wrote in their scientific posters, increased as the course progressed. The outcomes of this study underscore the potential of the hybrid course format that combines face-to-face sessions with online discussions of scientific articles for biomedical engineering students. The paper's theoretical contribution is that forum discussions may foster science and engineering students' question posing skill, leading to improved comprehension of scientific articles they read. [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]

The mathematics curriculum has become more dynamic, rigorous, and interdisciplinary in recent years. Therefore, complementing the academic concepts with practical and experiential learning is essential to optimize the learning outcomes. When daunting scientific principles and topics are implemented by traditional diagrams and equations, most students have trouble visualizing; restricting their ability to grasp the idea in detail. Augmented reality has recently become an engineering education method to teach abstract concepts as it enhances the visualization and understanding of technical concepts. In this paper, an augmented reality-based application, 'Hyperspace', was developed to enhance undergraduate students' spatial skills and conceptual knowledge in trigonometry. Hyperspace provides students with features such as augmenting three-dimensional trigonometric functions. These trigonometric functions are dynamically generated using procedural content generation algorithms and computer graphics in augmented reality. An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Hyperspace on the spatial skills and conceptual knowledge of the students. In total, 127 first-year engineering students took part in the study, and they were randomly assigned to two groups. The students of one group were taught using an AR-based application, and students of the other group were taught using a traditional approach. The experimental outcomes indicate that the augmented reality-based application 'Hyperspace' has significantly enhanced the spatial skills and conceptual knowledge of students when learning about trigonometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black engineering transfer students face unique challenges while navigating the transfer process from a community college to a 4-year institution. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the experiences of these students and the ways in which they adjust to the 4-year school. We identify specific challenges noted by Black engineering transfer students in their experiences related to: (1) heuristics of teaching and learning that they had to adapt to in order to successfully navigate new campus environments; (2) information gaps that students encountered in what faculty seemed to expect them to already know; and (3) problems in having to adjust to the differences in the academic demands of the 4-year engineering program. In addition to unpacking our findings along these specific domains, we attend to the potential impact of having these challenges in a large, urban, metropolitan area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Co-curricular activities are often touted as valuable STEM learning opportunities in higher education settings. Particularly in engineering, industry encourage and seek students with co-curricular experiences. However, many engineering undergraduates do not regularly participate in those experiences. Some researchers have suggested that the rigors of the curriculum leave little time for co-curriculars. Yet, little research has empirically examined the reality of the undergraduate students' involvement in co-curriculars. Thus, as an initial study, we situated our study in a large public university to explore students' motivations for co-curriculars. In this paper we report on our efforts to understand student perceptions about the value and costs of that involvement. We considered how undergraduate engineering students used their time and what motivated them to engage (or not) in co-curriculars using Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT). Students' motivation was investigated with a quantitative research methodology and complemented by interview data. Results: Results of our motivation survey show that students who participated in co-curriculars perceived less cost than those who never participated. We also found that the achievement values of co-curriculars does not necessarily motivate student involvement. Interview data were used to further interpret quantitative data results. Conclusions: In the context of study findings and existent literature, we discuss several implications for future research and practice. First, we argue for a more granular investigation of student time use and its impact on co-curricular participation. Second, despite the potential for high impact outcomes, students who have never participated perceived high cost for co-curricular engagement. Those perceptions may aggravate inequitable engagement of student populations, including historically marginalized populations in the STEM field. Third, students do not necessarily associate co-curricular experiences with the types of achievement values and learning that institutions, alumni, and industry might consider most important. Thus, to build and support co-curricular programs that provide the holistic educational experiences and learning that are anticipated, research that supports design of co-curricular programs and policies to improve engagement and persistence in those programs for all students is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to expand our knowledge on interdisciplinary design education by focusing on team development, which has remained a less explored aspect of interdisciplinary collaboration so far. An interdisciplinary design studio course, Collaborative Design, for food engineering and industrial design students in higher education provides the research context. The empirical basis of the paper comes from interviews with students on their experiences of interdisciplinary collaboration in the course, and the educator's observation notes. Drawing on these data, this article critically reflects on how and to what extent the teaching materials, methods and strategies incorporated into the course design guided and supported students' transition through the four stages of becoming a performing interdisciplinary team. The article concludes with four suggestions for design educators. First, encountering new ways of thinking, talking and doing that make sense for both disciplines engages students in interdisciplinary collaboration. Second, humour and positive social relations play an important role in team success in all stages of team development. Third, using the first weeks of the course to reveal the disciplinary differences and potential issues that would lead to conflicts through class discussions and warm-up activities facilitates a smooth transition from forming to norming. Fourth, adequate representation of each discipline should be ensured both in the design problem and solution, and among the tutors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses Web 2.0 facilitated collaborative design among undergraduate engineering students. The study used the actor–network theory as a methodological and analytical framework to study the role of Web 2.0 technology in the collaborative design process. Participants were drawn from fourth-year engineering students at a university of technology in Zimbabwe. Data were constituted by using a questionnaire, comprising closed and open-ended questions, semi-structured interview schedules, observation schedules, and non-participant observation of online activities by student designers. The findings of the study show that Web 2.0 technology stirred the collaborative design process by stimulating unpredictable actions, thus actively contributing to shaping the emerging collaborative design network. The study concludes that Web 2.0 technologies should not be viewed as simple tools for communication, as described in some literature but as non-human actors which can mediate the collaborative design process and shape the way it is constitued and carryed out in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of virtual design studios (VDS) in practice-based STEM education is increasing but requires further research to inform understanding of student learning and success. This paper presents a longitudinal, large-scale study (3 years, 3000 students) of student behaviour in an online design studio used as part of a distance learning Design and Innovation qualification, within the School of Engineering and Innovation at The Open University (UK). The sample size and time period of the study is unprecedented and provides unique insights into student behaviours. Moderate correlations between overall VDS use and student success were identified in early stages of study but were weaker in later stages. Detailed results identify specific behaviour correlations, such as 'listening-in' (viewing other students' work) and student success, as well as behaviour shifts from 'passive' to 'active' engagement. Strong intrinsic motivations for engagement were observed throughout and selected social learning mechanisms are presented to explain the empirical results, specifically: social comparison, presence, and communities of practice. The contribution of this paper is the framing of these mechanisms as steps in the longitudinal development of design students in a distance setting, providing an informed basis for the understanding, design, and application of virtual design studios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Much of researchers' efforts to foster wider implementation of educational innovations in STEM has focused on understanding and facilitating the implementation efforts of faculty. However, student engagement in blended learning and other innovations relies heavily on students' self-directed learning behaviors, implying that students are likely key actors in the implementation process. This paper explores the ways in which engineering students at multiple institutions experience the self-directed selection and implementation of blended learning resources in the context of their own studies. To accomplish this, it adopts a research perspective informed by Actor-Network Theory, allowing students themselves to be perceived as individual actors and implementors rather than a population that is implemented upon. Results: A thematic analysis was conducted in two parts. First, analysis identified sets of themes unique to the student experience at four participant institutions. Then, a second round of analysis identified and explored a subset of key actors represented in students' reported experiences across all institutions. The findings show clear similarities and differences in students' experiences of blended learning across the four institutions, with many themes echoing or building upon the results of prior research. Distinct institutional traits, the actions of the instructors, the components of the blended learning environment, and the unique needs and preferences of the students themselves all helped to shape students' self-directed learning experiences. Students' engagement decisions and subsequent implementations of blended learning resulted in personally appropriate, perhaps even idiosyncratic, forms of engagement with their innovative learning opportunities. Conclusion: The institutional implementation of blended learning, and perhaps other educational innovations, relies in part on the self-directed decision-making of individual students. This suggests that instructors too hold an additional responsibility: to act as facilitators of their students' implementation processes and as catalysts for growth and change in students' learning behaviors. Developing a greater understanding of students' implementation behaviors could inform the future implementation efforts of faculty and better empower students to succeed in the innovative classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite increasing awareness of the importance of promoting the social responsibility of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals, few intervention programs have been developed to enhance the social responsibility of college students or adults in the STEM fields. In this paper, we introduced a new instructional program, called ENACT (engage, navigate, anticipate, conduct, and take action) and examined whether the program increased the social responsibility among safety engineering students (N = 46) recruited from a university located in a southern metropolitan area of South Korea. Results: In the ENACT program, the college students selected and explored socioscientific issues (SSIs) of their own interest then autonomously engaged in scientific and engineering group projects spanning a semester where they developed solutions to the SSIs and shared them with their communities. At the conclusion of the intervention in this study, they displayed an increased social responsibility regarding the consideration of societal needs and demands, civic engagement and services, and participation in policy decision-making. Social responsibility scores measured after the intervention (post-test) correlated with students' willingness to voluntarily participate in projects involving SSIs. In addition, the intervention effects were more pronounced for the students who initially had medium and low social responsibility scores. Conclusions: We have shown that social responsibility can be nurtured by systemic instructional approaches, and increased social responsibility can lead to greater commitment to resolving SSIs. Mastering engineering content knowledge and skills is the key element of engineering curricula. However, we are compelled to incorporate social responsibility into the STEM curriculum. We believe that the ENACT model contributes toward this end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software process has been studied from various perspectives, among them, the human factor is one of the most important due to the intrinsic social aspect of the discipline. This study aims to explore the benefits of using Belbin's role theory in tasks – team and individual – related to the software development process, particularly in Database Design (DB) Design. In this paper two controlled experiments with students are presented. In the first experiment integrated teams with compatible roles identified in the students and teams integrated through a traditional strategy were compared, during the task of DB conceptual design. In the second experiment, individual students were the experimental subjects, the performance of the Belbin roles identified in them were compared, in the task of the DB logical design. The dependent variables in both experiments were the effort in the task, and the quality of the generated design. Results in the first experiment did not show significant differences in both variables, a possible limitation was the complexity of the task. The second experiment also did not show significant differences in the effort variable; however, in the variable related to the quality of the logical design, the monitor-evaluator role presented significant differences when compared with the other six identified roles; these results are consistent with previous studies identified in the literature. We plan to continue experimenting with other tasks in order to get a deeper understanding of applying the Belbin's theory in software process to accumulate experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the various themes of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is based on numerous papal documents and ecclesiastical statements. While this paper provides a summary of a number of these documents, this paper focuses on two themes: the common good and care of the environment, and on three documents authored by Pope John Paul II in 1990, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, and by Pope Francis in 2015. By analyzing these documents from an engineer’s perspective, the author proposes a model for Socially Responsible Engineering. The proposed model is intended to serve as a guide for engineering students and practicing engineers of all faith traditions and to those with no faith tradition at all who wish to incorporate CST in the daily conduct of their personal and professional lives; to provide guidance for the professional the author terms the aspiring Socially Responsible Engineer; and to offer engineers a preferred alternative to the undesirable aspects of the technocratic paradigm. While intended primarily for engineers, this document also serves as a guide for those with expertise in social justice and who, by gaining a better understanding of the thought processes of engineers, can become better mentors for engineering students and practicing engineers seeking to incorporate CST into their daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reported an AR based teaching method adopted during the movement control period for undergraduate engineering students to perform electrical machine laboratory. In this work, Unity 3D development platform and Vuforia Engine software development kit are applied to create the AR system. The content of the practical component is projected onto the mobile display mimicking the actual machine setup from the physical laboratory in real life. Investigation of the effectiveness of the AR tools on delivering the coursework component has been conducted and evaluated accordingly. The suitability of the proposed AR system is gauged based on the motivation and learning experience of the students using the technology to complete their laboratory. Based on the results, the AR tools are able to stimulate the motivation of students and the laboratory work can be performed smoothly without any issue. In cases where machines are malfunction or students are prohibited to travel from home, the proposed AR system could serve as an alternative tool to ensure the syllabus is delivered on-time. Overall, majority of the participants are able to comprehend and relate the experiment conducted in the AR system to the actual equipment located in the physical laboratory. The students are comfortable to the use of AR and able to complete the laboratory using the proposed system. Based on the outcome, it can be concluded that the mobile AR system is suitable as an alternative tool to conduct the electrical machine laboratory at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling is a key concept in software engineering education, since students need to learn it in order to be able to produce large-scale and reliable software. Quality tools are needed to support modeling in education, but existing tools vary considerably both in their features and in their strengths and weaknesses. The objective of the research presented in this paper was to help professors and students choose tools by determining which strengths and weaknesses matter most to students, which tools exhibit which of these strengths and weaknesses, and how difficult to use are various tools for students. To achieve this objective, we conducted a survey of the use of modeling tools among students in software engineering courses from Brazil, Canada, USA, Spain, Denmark, UK and China. We report the results regarding the 31 UML tools that 117 participants have used, focusing on the nine tools that the students have used most heavily. Common benefits quoted by students in choosing a tool include simplicity of installing and learning, being free, supporting the most important notations and providing code generation. The most cited complaints about tools include lack of feedback, being slow to use, difficulty drawing the diagrams, not interacting well with other tools and being complex to use. This research also compares the results with the findings of another survey conducted among professors who taught modeling. The results should benefit tool developers by suggesting ways they could improve their tools. The results should also help inform the selection of tools by educators and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research exploring undergraduates' tool preferences in tertiary mathematics is currently limited. In this paper, we explore the tools mathematics and engineering students use when studying mathematics and the ways undergraduates combine these tools. Results from our survey (N = 628) showed that students in our sample use mostly their notes, the university's virtual learning environment (VLE), other students and textbooks. Mathematics students were found using more online encyclopaedias, the university's VLE, instant messaging and other students, whereas engineering students reported using more textbooks. By performing a cluster analysis, undergraduates were assigned to five distinct tool-use profiles: the peer-learning group (above average use of other students, instant messaging apps and social media); the online-learning group (above average use of online videos, online encyclopaedias, Wolfram Alpha and the university's VLE); the blended-learning group (above average use of all the tools at their disposal); the no-users group (below average use of all tools except textbooks); and the selective-learning group (above average use of textbooks, online videos and lecturers). The majority of mathematics students were distributed across the peer-learning, online-learning and blended-learning groups, whereas most of the engineering students were found in the blended-learning, no-users and selective-learning groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of Bandura's (Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive perspective, Princeton-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1986) social cognitive theory (SCT), we investigated the roles of four different entrepreneurial factors: entrepreneurial qualities (EQ), entrepreneurial knowledge (EK), perceived entrepreneurialism (PE) and entrepreneurial inspiration (EIN), in entrepreneurial intention (EI) formation. Alongside, this paper explored the unique role played by entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a mediator among the list of determinants and EI. The study approached with a sample of 1062 final year engineering student from 15 premier technical institutes in India. The findings show that the effects of EQ, PE, and EIN on EI are partially mediated by entrepreneurial self-efficacy whereas a full mediation between EK and EI, which is consistent with the SCT framework. The implications suggest for improving the EK delivery system, which in turn will make students feel self-efficacious toward being entrepreneurial. The article argued on various pedagogical as well as the policy-related context of business venturing at Indian technical institutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on empirical results about the influence of two different teaching designs on the development of tertiary students' modelling competency and attitudes towards modelling. A total of 144 first year engineering students were exposed to a diagnostic entrance test, a modelling unit consisting of five lessons with ten tasks, enframed by a pre- and a post-test, and at the end a questionnaire on attitudes towards mathematical modelling. Similar to the German DISUM study, in the modelling unit, one group of participants followed an independence-oriented teaching style, aiming at a balance between students' independent work and teacher's guidance, while two other groups were taught according to a more traditional teacher-guided style. Linear mixed regression models were used to compare pre- and post-test results. The results show that all groups had significant learning progress, although there is much room for further improvement, and that the group taught according to the independence-oriented design had the biggest competency growth. In addition, this group exhibited more positive attitudes than the other groups in five of six attitudinal aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For sustainable and effective innovation, who should own an academic patent obtained as a result of funded research? The issue of ownership can influence the motivation of academic researchers. In this paper, we address this issue from the perspective of engineering graduate students who have experience of R&D projects. We aim to investigate engineering graduate students' views on inter-organizations aspects of patent ownership; and patent ownership policies within university. In this paper, we carried out classification tree analyses of preferred ownership categories, using various factors related to 'researchers and the environment for R&D,' 'technology,' 'patenting activities,' 'sponsors,' 'currently existing ownership policy,' and 'compensation policy'. Our findings can help design an effective ownership policy that promotes innovation by incorporating the views of students who will be important asset for future innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This aim of this paper is to provide recommendations for developing sports engineering education research (SEER) both at the individual and community levels. The emergence of this field can be positively informed by reflection on similar developments in other fields, particularly engineering education and health science education research. The large traditional engineering disciplines, including chemical, electrical and computer, and mechanical, have well-developed communities and publication venues for educational research. Health professions, including kinesiology, rehabilitation, nursing, and medicine, have allied with sports engineering to develop educational research that can inform methods and provide opportunities for dissemination. As an interdisciplinary field, it is also critical to draw on the growing body of interprofessional education research. The rich literature relating to discipline-based educational research (DBER) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) can support individuals moving into this field, and observations by communities in other disciplines can provide guideposts for sports engineering. There are well-established processes and methodologies that can be adapted from other discipline-based educational research fields. As stand-alone sports engineering education programs are relatively rare and young, there is an opportunity available to create a culture that values research on education in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research shows, on a wide dataset of students, that evaluation methods to promote active learning improve students' academic success and performance. On a database of 4622 engineering and design students, we demonstrate that this result holds when correcting the selection bias—more engaged students opt for active learning. The intriguing result is that the percentage of students that opt for active learning decreases along time. The discussion points to the role of faculty as crucial to decrease the resistance of students to active learning. The general methodological approach in this paper may be useful to assess the performance of any change in a subject's evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of engineering education programs have defined learning outcomes and course-level competencies, and conducted assessments at the program level to determine areas for continuous improvement. However, many of these programs have not implemented a comprehensive competency framework to support the actual delivery and assessment of an individual course. This paper highlights how a competency framework can be used across the life cycle of a course to effectively deliver and assess course content, and give valuable, timely feedback to students thus, improving teaching, student motivation and learning. A framework for leveraging course competencies during course design and delivery is presented, and addresses the following five phases of a course, namely, content design, assessment design, content delivery and assessment, assessment results analysis and feedback, and content review. Using a large first-year core course of the BSc (Information Systems Management) program, at School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University, Singapore-called Information Systems Software Foundation (ISSF)-as an example, this paper shows how course competencies support the framework's five phases. Data from a student survey indicates that the framework has contributed to enhancing their motivation to learn, provides enhanced learning experiences in terms of helping students prepare for each assessment, providing better feedback by raising awareness of what they know and do not know, and revisiting topics that relate to competencies that have not been fully acquired. Results from interviewing instructors revealed that the competency framework provides valuable and timely feedback on how students are performing, and additionally what changes are required to both the content and method of delivery in order to improve teaching. This contributes towards more effectively closing the 'teaching and learning loop'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well accepted that many mechanical engineering (ME) design processes are complex. We believe that many ME design approaches include unnecessary complexity, intended to assist the teaching of engineering knowledge. This technical complexity has contributed to many critical issues in ME education, including decreased enrolments in many countries; diminished pre-existing skills amongst University entrants and increasing numbers of students abandoning courses. This has resulted in fewer fully competent graduate engineers, amongst whom a reduced understanding of essential knowledge leads to a consequent reduction in their capability. Unnecessarily complicated theoretical knowledge is taught to students of mechanical engineering design. Empirical evidence is provided to demonstrate this, along with the difficulty experienced by students when they attempt to apply their theoretical knowledge to gear design exercises. A proposed remedy for this issue has been thoroughly evaluated for the ME design and machine design project courses taught in Turkey. The findings indicate that most of the students cannot cope with excessively complex design approaches, and are reluctant to use them. This paper proposes an alternative solution, a generic method for the reductive, simplified problem-solving of typical design problems, without materially sacrificing accuracy. The basic implementation of the method is provided as a road map to show its application. If academics continue the efforts to extend the implementation of the method, in particular for machine components, this would reduce the issue of reduced numbers of capable graduate engineers. The method can also improve the self-confidence of students, as opposed to limiting their professional capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Many Industrial Design professionals in Spain have difficulties when it comes to getting a job related to their field. They also have difficulties incorporating into the labor market as what they have learnt as students does not correspond with the demands of the labour market as far as industrial designers are concerned. By using a nationally representative survey sample of 195 professionals and 36 companies, this paper analyzes competencies, skills and knowledge acquired in Industrial Design Engineering and Product Development Degree, as well as the requirements of the labor market in order to check if this degree has correctly been adapted to the spanish workplace. Results shows the acquired skills' level is not bad, as a general rule, but this does not mean the labor market needs are fulfilled. There are even more differences between what has been learnt and what is demanded. There is too much content as far as variety is concerned that is generally not demanded by companies. Other demanded knowledge and skills are not taught at all or in a scarce and an insufficient way. This research invite engineering educators and businesses to collaborate redefining skills, competencies and knowledge correctly by transforming the degree's academic plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a technology the effect of the Internet of Things (IoT) is so strong that it has changed the way of living. The transition is also apparent in the field of education, as statutory technical training bodies have made IoT a mandatory course in engineering education. But in terms of design and instruction, implementing this course at the freshman-level is difficult. The target, of course, must be planned in such a way as to link newly enrolled learners to engineering disciplines and promote professional learning. This paper focuses on the freshman level designing and implementing of the course. A reliability test was performed to assess the internal consistency between student learning attitude, student engagement actions in the classroom and acceptance of technology. In addition, it analyzed the effect of gender differentiation. One hundred and twenty-three First Year Engineering Students participated in a survey questionnaire based on the five - point Likert scale provided at the end of the course. The findings show Cronbach's alpha value of 0.93 for 12 test items, suggesting that the questionnaire was suitable for use as an assessment method for assessing how successful the course is in terms of learning attitude, behavioral engagement, and acceptance of technology. The reliability test results show a high correlation between acceptance of the technology and the behavioral engagement of the student. The internal consistency between the learning attitude with the conducted acceptance of the technology, and the result showed α = 0.715, making slight connection between two. Further the effect of gender on these parameters analyzed and found to be insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the use of role plays in ethics education for engineering students. After presenting a rough taxonomy of different objectives, we illustrate how role plays can be used to broaden students’ perspectives. We do this on the basis of our experiences with a newly developed role play about a Dutch political controversy concerning pig transport. The role play is special in that the discussion is about setting up an institutional framework for responsible action that goes beyond individual action. In that sense, the role play serves a double purpose. It not only aims at teaching students to become aware of the different dimensions in decision making, it also encourages students to think about what such an institutional framework for responsible action might possibly look like. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to make young scientists aware of their social responsibilities is widely acknowledged, although the question of how to actually do it has so far gained limited attention. A 2-day workshop entitled “Prepared for social responsibility?” attended by doctoral students from multiple disciplines in climate science, was targeted at the perceived needs of the participants and employed a format that took them through three stages of ethics education: sensitization, information and empowerment. The workshop aimed at preparing doctoral students to manage ethical dilemmas that emerge when climate science meets the public sphere (e.g., to identify and balance legitimate perspectives on particular types of geo-engineering), and is an example of how to include social responsibility in doctoral education. The paper describes the workshop from the three different perspectives of the authors: the course teacher, the head of the graduate school, and a graduate student. The elements that contributed to the success of the workshop, and thus make it an example to follow, are (1) the involvement of participating students, (2) the introduction of external expertise and role models in climate science, and (3) a workshop design that focused on ethical analyses of examples from the climate sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-based software engineering gains further attention these days. To better support it, the use of constraint languages is important in order to bridge expressiveness gaps and eliminate ambiguity. Nevertheless, the use of model-based constraint languages, like the Object Constraint Language (OCL), is quite limited and the specification of constraints is left to the implementation stage. One option for these practices might be the misconception that model-based constraint languages are difficult to work with. In this paper, we examine the usages of representative constraint languages, namely OCL, for model-based constraint languages, and Java, for implementation-based constraint languages. In particular, we examine their usage in understanding and developing constraints. We evaluate these usages via a controlled experiment with 110 Information Systems Engineering undergraduate students. We found out that using OCL outperforms using Java for both understanding and developing constraints. Yet, the students had more confidence with Java. The results indicate that the aforementioned misconception is wrong and there is a need for further education regarding model-based constraints languages, so to get more practice and confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current technology has the capacity for affording a virtual experience that challenges the notion of a teaching laboratory for undergraduate science and engineering students. Though the potential of virtual laboratories (V-Labs) has been extolled and investigated in a number of areas, this research has not been synthesized for the context of undergraduate science and engineering education. This study involved a systematic review and synthesis of 25 peer-reviewed empirical research papers published between 2009 and 2019 that focused on V-Labs. The results reveal a dearth of varied theoretical and methodological approaches where studies have principally been evaluative and narrowly focused on individual changes in content knowledge. The majority of studies fell within the general domain of science and involved a single 2D experience using software that was acquired from a range of outside vendors. The perspective largely assumed V-Labs to be a teaching approach, providing instruction without any human-to-human interaction. Positive outcomes were attributed, based more on novelty than design, to improved student motivation. Studies exploring individual experiences, the role of personal characteristics or environments that afforded social learning, including interactions with faculty or teaching assistants were noticeably missing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents research that aims to expose students' understanding of the this reference in object-oriented programming. The study was conducted with high school students (N = 86) and college engineering students (N = 77). Conceptualization of this reflects an understanding of objects in general and involves aspects of programming variants and programmers' preferences as well. To examine students' conceptions, perceptions, and misconceptions we developed a diagnostic tool that uses this in various contexts, such as in constructors, as a visible parameter, for calling an overloaded constructor in class, or while transiting a non-static method using this to a static one. The detailed analysis revealed difficulties, in both groups of participants, in conceptualizing the meaning of this as the current object and in its various uses in the code. The discussion presents students' conceptions of "what is this", nine misconceptions that we characterized, and answers to our research questions. The conclusion offers recommendations for teaching and learning processes in light of the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present research was to explore the use of concept maps as an assessment tool. The research question posed was: can concept maps be used to quantitatively assess the learning of a physics topic in an engineering course? This paper describes a new approach to quantifying concept maps. The research was preceded by a pilot project that allowed the necessary processes for the proper conduct of the research to be developed. The sample comprised 47 first-year engineering students who were asked to construct a concept map about the content of electrostatic interactions. The concept maps the students prepared were valued quantitatively and qualitatively by an expert instructor. To validate the approach, an analysis of the relationship between the scores given in the three evaluation forms was made. A comparative statistical analysis of the multiple-choice examination data with the quantitative and the qualitative evaluations of the concept maps found not only that there were no significant differences between them in either case, but also that they were moderately, but significantly, correlated. These results suggest that we are on the right track to obtain an effective and easy-to-use tool to evaluate the students' learning results based on the quantitative assessment of the conceptual maps elaborated by them. Moreover, the analysis of the concept maps in the pilot stage allowed the difficulties that the students had during their learning to be detected, which led to the sequencing of the content of the electrostatic interactions topic being changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineers create airplanes, buildings, medical devices, and software, amongst many other things. Engineers abide by a professional code of ethics to uphold people's safety and the reputation of the profession. Likewise, students abide by a code of academic integrity while learning the knowledge and necessary skills to prepare them for the engineering and computing professions. This paper reports on studies designed to improve the engineering student culture with respect to academic integrity and ethics. To understand the existing culture at a university in the USA, a survey based on a national survey about cheating was administered to students. The incidences of self-reported cheating and incidences of not reporting others who cheat show the culture is similar to other institutions. Two interventions were designed and tested in an introduction to an engineering course: two case studies that students discussed in teams and the whole class, and a letter of recommendation assignment in which students wrote about themselves (character, strengths, examples of ethical decisions) three years into the future. Students were surveyed after the two interventions. Results show that first-year engineering students appreciate having a code of academic integrity and they want to earn their degree without cheating, yet less than half of the students would report on another cheating student. The letter of recommendation assignment had some impact on getting students to think about ethics, their character, and their actions. Future work in changing the student culture will continue in both a top-down (course interventions) and bottom-up (student-driven interventions) manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional communities are experiencing scandals involving unethical and illegal practices daily. Yet it should not take a national major structure failure to highlight the importance of ethical awareness and behavior, or the need for the development and practice of ethical behavior in engineering students. Development of ethical behavior skills in future engineers is a key competency for engineering schools as ethical behavior is a part of the professional identity and practice of engineers. While engineering educators have somewhat established instructional methods to teach engineering ethics, they still rely heavily on teaching ethical awareness, and pay little attention to how well ethical awareness predicts ethical behavior. However the ability to exercise ethical judgement does not mean that students are ethically educated or likely to behave in an ethical manner. This paper argues measuring ethical judgment is insufficient for evaluating the teaching of engineering ethics, because ethical awareness has not been demonstrated to translate into ethical behavior. The focus of this paper is to propose a model that correlates with both, ethical awareness and ethical behavior. This model integrates the theory of planned behavior, person and thing orientation, and spheres of control. Applying this model will allow educators to build confidence and trust in their students' ability to build a professional identity and be prepared for the engineering profession and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experience in developing professional ethics by an approach that integrates knowledge, teaching methodologies and assessment coherently. It has been implemented for students in both the Software Engineering and Computer Engineering degree programs of the Technical University of Madrid, in which professional ethics is studied as a part of a required course. Our contribution of this paper is a model for formative assessment that clarifies the learning goals, enhances the results, simplifies the scoring and can be replicated in other contexts. A quasi-experimental study that involves many of the students of the required course has been developed. To test the effectiveness of the teaching process, the analysis of ethical dilemmas and the use of deontological codes have been integrated, and a scoring rubric has been designed. Currently, this model is also being used to develop skills related to social responsibility and sustainability for undergraduate and postgraduate students of diverse academic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new perspective/direction on assessing and encouraging creativity in concept design for application in engineering design education and industry. This research presents several methods used to assess the creativity of similar student designs using metrics and judges to determine which product is considered the most creative. Two methods are proposed for creativity concept evaluation during early design, namely the Comparative Creativity Assessment (CCA) and the Multi-Point Creativity Assessment (MPCA) methods. A critical survey is provided along with a comparison of prominent creativity assessment methods for personalities, products, and the design process. These comparisons culminate in the motivation for new methodologies in creative product evaluation to address certain shortcomings in current methods. The paper details the creation of the two creativity assessment methods followed by an application of the CCA and MPCA to two case studies drawn from engineering design classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research misconduct has been thoroughly discussed in the literature, but mainly in terms of definitions and prescriptions for proper conduct. Even when case studies are cited, they are generally used as a repository of 'lessons learned.' What has been lacking from this conversation is how the lessons of responsible conduct of research are imparted in the first place to graduate students, especially those in technical fields such as engineering. Nor has there been much conversation about who is responsible for what in training students in Responsible Conduct of Research or in allocating blame in cases of misconduct. This paper explores three seemingly disparate cases of misconduct-the 2004 plagiarism scandal at Ohio University; the famous Robert Millikan article of 1913, in which his reported data selection did not match his notebooks; and the 1990 fabrication scandal in Dr. Leroy Hood's research lab. Comparing these cases provides a way to look at the relationship between the graduate student (or trainee) and his/her advisor (a relationship that has been shown to be the most influential one for the student) as well as at possibly differential treatment for established researchers and researchers-in-training, in cases of misconduct. This paper reflects on the rights and responsibilities of research advisers and their students and offers suggestions for clarifying both those responsibilities and the particularly murky areas of research-conduct guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent policy documents position engineering as a way to broaden participation for students in STEM fields. However, a recent review of the literature on engineering education found that fewer than 1% of reviewed articles focused on issues of equity and broadening participation. For this reason, there are few frameworks to build on when designing for equitable engineering instruction in K-12 settings. Diversifying participation in engineering means that we need to not just bring learners into existing engineering practices, structures, and ways of knowing, but that we take a critical look at the field of engineering education and challenge researchers and educators to create learning opportunities that build on diverse ways of knowing about engineering and being engineers in the world, with a focus on relating course materials to learners' everyday lives. In this paper, we leverage the diverse histories, epistemologies, and ways of knowing in engineering to outline the possibilities for learners to critically engage with engineering in K-12 settings and we ask the question, "How can we design learning environments to help students critically understand the intrinsic and systemic sociotechnical relationships between people, communities, and the built environment?" To answer this question, we propose an instructional framework for developing learners' critical sociotechnical literacy, which is a place-based approach for critically engaging learners in understanding the impacts of engineering and technology on their own communities and everyday lives in order to restory these spaces for a more equitable and just future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When students are unable to purchase a textbook because of rising prices and/or are unwilling to carry heavy textbooks, their education is compromised. Open educational resources (OERs) are gaining in popularity because they solve these problems by providing free study materials in electronic formats, but students from different backgrounds and situations are impacted by OER in different ways. The aim of this paper is to analyze the usefulness of OER materials for students who are majoring in engineering, as well as those whose majors are in another (non-engineering) field. The impact of OER materials on students of different financial statuses, is also investigated. For this purpose, two classes of a graduate-level risk management course taught by the same instructor were selected. One class followed a web-based interactive OER system, and the other class followed the traditional textbook method. A survey was developed and distributed to measure 19 aspects of students' perceptions towards the web-based interactive OER system, and multiple statistical methods were used to analyze the collected survey data. Students' grades were also collected to analyze their academic performance. It was concluded that students majoring in engineering and students with financial constraints had a significantly more positive attitude towards the implementation of electronic OER materials. Furthermore, it was concluded that up-to-date OER materials with integrated advances in the field attract engineering students; whereas, free and/or low-cost educational resources are very appealing for students with higher education loans. The findings of this study will enable universities and colleges to effectively allocate financial resources towards the development and implementation of the OER materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Many degree-seeking college students struggle academically and ultimately never graduate. Academic challenges and persistence within the major are especially salient issues for students who major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Academic probation serves as a means for informing students that they are at risk of dismissal, and many colleges and universities offer services to help students placed on probation to succeed academically. This paper presents two studies that examined the effectiveness of a goal-setting academic advising intervention for improving the grades of engineering students who were on academic probation; one study used a regression discontinuity design, and the other used an experimental design. The findings of both studies support the same overall conclusion: The intervention notably increased the grades of engineering students on probation who are beyond their first year of college, but it was not effective for students in their first year. This brief academic enhancement intervention appears to constitute a cost-effective strategy for bolstering the academic success of at-risk college students after their first year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]