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Standards based grading is a formal assessment mechanism that tests for student achievement of specified learning objectives, or standards. Standards-Based-Grading has been gaining in popularity in K-12 education, and also has been seeing increased use in higher education. With increased pressure from ABET to measure achievement of student outcomes, Standards-Based Grading provides a method to do that within the traditional course setting without having to generate a separate set of data outside the normal course grading. This paper describes how Standards-Based Grading was implemented in a junior-level fluid mechanics course that included both lecture and laboratory components. A total of nine learning objectives were specified for the course. These learning objectives are: calculate fluid thrust forces, calculate aerodynamic forces, solve pipe flow problems, select a pump for a system, select a flowmeter for a system, write a computer program to solve transient fluids problems, write a professional quality lab report, acquire and analyze laboratory data, and be a valuable member of team that successfully completes a project. The learning objectives can be mapped to ABET student outcomes. In this implementation of Standards-Based Grading, all assessments are done on a pass-fail basis. That is to say, there is no partial credit given. Once a student passes an assessment, usually given in the form of a quiz, on a given learning objective, it is assumed the student has mastered that concept and is not tested on it again. Students are allowed to re-test on particular objectives if they do not pass them on the first try. The final exam serves as a last chance for students to pass any objectives they did not complete earlier in the semester. Student achievement of the learning objectives is compared to that in previous semesters where a traditional grading scheme was used, and grade distributions are also compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two Space Shuttle tragedies, Challenger and Columbia, have led to many papers on case studies on engineering ethics. The Challenger disaster in particular is often discussed due to the infamous teleconference that took place the night before the launch in which some engineers tried to postpone the launch. However, the space shuttle program itself is worthy of study as it relates to the engineering design process, and the details of the Challenger and Columbia disasters are worthy of discussion as they relate to a variety of sub-disciplines, including material science, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. This paper summarizes the major technical findings of the Rogers Commission and the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). An overview of the history of the space shuttle program, going back to the end of the Apollo program, is presented, including some of the design compromises that were made in order to get political support for the space shuttle program. A detailed bibliography is given that will aid instructors in finding additional material they can tailor to their particular class needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pedagogical literature has consistently and repeatedly shown that active learning is more effective than passive learning in teaching students fundamental engineering concepts, yet the lecture persists as the primary method of classroom organization for the vast majority of professors. Even among those professors who have read the literature and are willing to change their teaching methods, a barrier to adoption of active learning strategies is the time and effort required to develop the classroom activities for a particular course. This paper describes a series of experiments that can be done in class with low-cost equipment in an introductory circuits course. In each class period, a brief lecture at the beginning of the course went over the relative circuit theory, such as Ohm's Law and Kirchoff's laws. Then the instructor worked out a numerical example for a given circuit. Finally the students are instructed to build a circuit corresponding the example problem and make the necessary measurements to verify the theory. The class was divided into teams of four students each, and each team was given an equipment pack during the first week of class. The equipment packs included a budget digital multimeter (DMM), a number of resistors, a capacitor, LED, hobby-size DC motor, 9V battery, and lead wires with alligator clips for connecting the components. Students were instructed to bring the equipment packs to class every day, and they were also given homework assignments that required the use of the equipment packs. Though some breakage will occur and batteries may be accidentally discharged, the equipment packs can be re-used from year to year. Once the initial investment has been made, further upgrades with additional components can also be done in subsequent years. This paper contains a complete list of experiments that can easily be implemented by other instructors, and is also suitable for use in "flipped" classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]