Vocabulary Notebooks as a Noteworthy Powerful Instrument in Technical Vocabulary Learning

This study evaluated metacognitive changes of three groups of engineering students working on a design project. Those three groups are electrical-computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science students. Two metacognitive features, cognitive self-appraisal and cognitive self-management were used to indicate students' metacognitive level. The Engineering Design Project Inventory (EDPI) was used to assess students' cognitive self-appraisal and management. One hundred and sixty engineering students working on 60 different senior design projects participated in this study. They were asked to complete the EDPI twice: at the early and final stages of the project. Statistical results revealed significant change in mechanical engineering students' metacognition while engaged in the senior design project. Discussion on why significant metacognitive change occurred only in mechanical engineering students is included in the paper.

This paper presents pedagogy and experiences in teaching system modeling and analysis as well as feedback control systems in the engineering curriculum. The course is a required multidisciplinary course to be offered at the junior level for both electrical and mechanical engineering students. In addition, electrical engineering (EE) students and mechanical engineering (ME) students who pursue an electrical engineering (EE) minor are required to concurrently complete a laboratory course. But regular ME students who do not pursue an EE minor are not required to take the laboratory course. The motivation for offering this multidisciplinary course is to increase learning efficiency for ME students pursuing the EE minor, since there is no need for them to take a dynamic system modeling course and a feedback control system course separately, and to efficiently use faculty resources. Furthermore, the course will enhance a collaboration between EE and ME students. This multidisciplinary course consists of two parts. The first part covers modeling and analysis of dynamic systems, including mechanical, electrical, thermal and electromechanical systems with an emphasis on mechanical system modeling, to meet the ME program requirement; and the second part deals with control system theory and applications consisting of both open loop and closed loop system analysis, and feedback control system design to meet the EE program requirement.

All scholars know that preparing a manuscript of new research work for scholarly publication is a lot of work. Shepherding a submitted manuscript to its eventual publication among meritorious peers in JMD is also a lot of work. This shepherding, formally referred to as the publication process, happens only because of the untiring volunteer efforts of the JMD Editorial Board. The Board consists of the (Technical) Editor and Associate Editors. The Editor serves for five years, and the Associate Editors for three years with the possibility for one time renewal. All appointments must be approved by the ASME Design Engineering Executive Committee and the ASME Publications Committee.The JMD publication process follows closely the society guidelines of ASME, summarized here.1A manuscript or other work is submitted to the journal.2The Editor reads the work and determines if it is appropriate and worthy of review.3The Editor assigns the work to an Associate Editor, who oversees the review process.4The Associate Editor assigns the work to qualified reviewers.5The work is reviewed in accordance with ASME standards and requirements.6Based on the reviews, the Associate Editor makes a recommendation to the Editor, who makes the final determination of acceptance or rejection.7Accepted works are processed for publication; rejected works are returned to the authors.The primary responsibility of the Editor is to oversee the technical content and operation of the journal. In overseeing the technical content, the Editor is responsible fordetermining acceptance or rejection of all materials considered for publication;managing the Associate Editors and overseeing their roles and responsibilities in coordinating the review process;maintaining commitment to standards of high quality;enrolling and maintaining qualified reviewers to consistently contribute and support the journal by judging the technical merit of potential material;maintaining the health of the journal and inspire new growth;maintaining technical currency in the overall journal subject matter.In overseeing the operation of the journal, the Editor is responsible forencouraging and supporting the Associate Editors;nominating potential Associate Editors to the Publications Committee for approval;cooperating with the ASME Technical Publishing Department staff to ensure timely publication of journal issues and implementation of state-of-the-art technologies in the production process;staying current with publishing technologies to assist and support authors, Associate Editors, and reviewers;overseeing the management of the editorial office and related journal administrative functions;participating in meetings and activities of the Board of Editors.The primary responsibility of the Associate Editor is to oversee the peer review process of the technical works assigned. Associate Editors are responsible forenrolling and maintaining qualified reviewers to consistently contribute and support the journal by judging the technical merit of potential material;ensuring the review is completed in a timely manner and in accordance with Society policy and standards;recommending acceptance or rejection of all materials considered for publication to the journal Editor;maintaining active communication with authors and reviewers during the peer review process;ensuring authors address review comments and prepare and complete their work in accordance with Society guidelines and standards;maintaining commitment to standards of high quality;assisting and supporting the Editor in maintaining the health of the journal and inspiring new growth;maintaining technical currency in the overall journal subject matter and in a personal specialty area;staying current with publishing technologies to assist and support authors;cooperating with the ASME Technical Publishing Department staff to ensure timely publication of journal issues and implementation of state-of-the-art technologies in the production process.As a design educator, I am fond of checklists. It is the simplest way to get you to think in a focused way without limiting you. The checklists above provide daily guidance to all of us on the JMD Editorial Board, as we strive to serve our community. The list below provides names and short biographies of the current members of the JMD Editorial Board, and two associate editors who just completed their second term of service: Shapour Azarm and Larry Howell. You can follow editorial board composition changes in www.asmejmd.org.On behalf of our community, I would like to thank all of our associate editors, past, present, and future, for their selfless, competent service.Panos Y. Papalambros, Ph.D., P.E., is the Donald C. Graham Professor of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He also holds faculty appointments in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the School of Art and Design. He holds a diploma in mechanical and electrical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He has co-authored the textbook Principles of Optimal Design: Modeling and Computation (1988, 2000). He is a Fellow of ASME and SAE, and recipient of the JSME Systems and Design Achievement Award, ASME Design Automation, ASME Machine Design, and ASME Spira Outstanding Design Educator Awards. Areas of interest: design optimization, design scienceJanet K. Allen, Ph.D., is Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech Savannah. She received her S.B. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and an Honorary Member of Pi Tau Sigma, the mechanical engineering honor society. Areas of interest: systems design, robust design, intellectual foundations of design Email: janet.allen@me.gatech.eduDiann Brei, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She received her BSE degree in Computer Systems Engineering and her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University. She co-directs the General Motors/University of Michigan Smart Materials and Structures Collaborative Research Laboratory. She is currently the Technical Chair of the ASME Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems. She serves on the ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Technical Committee and has been the chair of the AIAA Adaptive Structures Technical Committee. She has over 90 publications in the area of Smart Material Device Innovation with several best paper awards and is a holder of 3 US patents. She is an AIAA Associate Fellow and recipient of the Hartwell Award, UM Ruth and Joel Spira Outstanding Teaching Award, and National Multiple Scierosis Society Da Vinci Award. Areas of Interest: device innovation, smart materials and structures, actuationJonathan Cagan, Ph.D., P.E., is the George Tallman and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor in Engineering, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, with appointments in the School of Design and Computer Science. At Carnegie Mellon, Cagan co-directs the Master in Product Development program and co-directs the Center for Product Strategy and Innovation. He is the co-author of Creating Breakthrough Products (with Craig Vogel) and The Design of Things to Come (with Craig Vogel and Peter Boatwright), and the co-editor of Formal Engineering Design Synthesis (with Erik Antonsson). He is the recipient of the engineering college's Outstanding Research Award. Cagan is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and serves on the Advisory Board for The Design Society. Dr. Cagan received his Bachelor of Science in 1983 and Master of Science in 1985 from the University of Rochester, and his Ph.D. in 1990 from the University of California at Berkeley. All of his degrees are in Mechanical Engineering. Areas of interest: product development, computational innovation, cognitive-based engineeringThomas R. Chase is a Professor and Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Chase received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1984. He chaired the Design Engineering Division in 2002–2003, the Mechanisms Committee in 1993–1994, and the Design Engineering Technical Conferences in 1994. Areas of interest: mechanism synthesis, machine element design, hydraulics, the design of apparatus for high energy physics experiments, database design for computer aided engineeringMary Frecker is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. She has a B.S. from the University of Dayton, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. When she joined Penn State in 1997, she was awarded the Pearce Endowed Development Professorship in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Frecker has also been awarded the GM/Freudenstein Young Investigator Award by the ASME Mechanisms Committee (2002), the Outstanding Advising Award by the Penn State Engineering Society (2002), and the Outstanding Research Award by the Penn State Engineering Society (2005). She is a Fellow of the ASME. Dr. Frecker is an Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, and serves as Chair of the ASME Adaptive Structures Technical Committee. She is also a member of the ASME Mechanisms Committee. Areas of interest: compliant mechanism design, medical device design, smart structuresJohn K. Gershenson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Technological University and the director of the Product and Process Architecture Alignment Center and heads the center's Life-cycle Engineering Laboratory. He also is the department's Manufacturing/Industrial Area Director. Dr. Gershenson is a graduate of Cornell University and The Ohio State University and holds a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho. Areas of interest: product family design, product platforms, modular product design, assembly systems platforming, lean engineering, life-cycle design, lean manufacturing, and systems design for the environmentAshitava Ghosal is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Centre for Product Design and Manufacture at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He obtained B.Tech, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, University of Florida at Gainesville, and Stanford University, respectively. Prior to joining Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore he had research appointments at Carnegie Mellon University and at Integrated Systems, Inc., Santa Clara. He is interested in various aspects of robotics and multi-body mechanical systems, design of mechanical systems, and product design, and has published over 70 papers in international journals, conference proceedings, and workshops. He has authored the textbook Robotics: Fundamental Concepts and Analysis (Oxford University Press, 2006). More details on his research and other activities are available at http://www.mecheng.iisc.ernet.in/~asitava Areas of interest: robotics and product design Email: ashitava@asmejmd.orgJeffrey W. Herrmann is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, where he holds a joint appointment with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute for Systems Research. He is the director of the Computer Integrated Manufacturing Laboratory and Associate Director for the University of Maryland Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) Honors Fellows Program. He is a member of INFORMS, ASME, IIE, SME, and ASEE. He was the chair of the ASME Design for Manufacturing Technical Committee. Dr. Herrmann earned his B.S. in applied mathematics from Georgia Institute of Technology. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow from 1990–1993, he received his Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Florida. Areas of interest: engineering design decision-making, design optimization, design for manufacturing, operations researchYan Jin is a Professor of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at University of Southern California and Director of USC IMPACT Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from the University of Tokyo. Prior to joining the USC faculty in 1996, he worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo and as a Senior Research Scientist at Stanford University. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1998), TRW Excellence in Teaching Award (2001), Best Paper in Human Information Systems (5th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, 2001), and Xerox Best Paper Award (ASME International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology, 2002). He is currently an Editorial Board member of International Journal of AI in Engineering Design, Analysis, and Manufacturing (AIEDAM) and International Journal of Advanced Engineering Informatics. He also served as Conference Chair and Program Chair of the ASME Design Theory and Methodology (DTM) Conferences, and Vice Chair of the DTM Committee. Areas of interest: design cognition, conceptual design method and technology, self-organizing and complex systems, and engineering collaborationPierre M. Larochelle, Ph.D., P.E., is the Assistant Dean for Academics & Accreditation and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. At Florida Tech he is the founder and director of the Robotics and Spatial Systems Laboratory (RASSL). He received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at San Diego (1989), and his Masters of Science (1991) and Ph.D. (1994) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Irvine. He has over 100 publications, is the holder of one US patent, and has served as a consultant to a number of companies in the areas of robotics, automation, machine design, and computer-aided design. He is a Fellow of ASME and a recipient of the MDI Mechanical Simulation Software Award. Areas of interest: kinematics, robotics, mechanisms, machines, and design of robotic mechanical systemsZissimos P. Mourelatos, Ph.D., is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Before joining Oakland University, he spent 18 years at the General Motors Research and Development (GM R&D) Center. He holds a diploma in Marine Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, two M.S. degrees (Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering) from The University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. degree (Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering) from The University of Michigan. He is active in the dynamics and vibrations as well as design automation communities. Dr. Mourelatos has published over 110 journal and conference publications in the areas of design under uncertainty and structural dynamics. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Reliability and Safety, an Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, and a SAE Fellow. Areas of interest: design under uncertainty, probabilistic and non-probabilistic uncertainty theories, structural dynamicsKarthik Ramani is a Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering and of Electrical and Computer Engineering (by Courtesy) at Purdue University. He earned his B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in 1985, an M.S. from The Ohio State University, in 1987, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1991, all in Mechanical Engineering. He has been recognized by Purdue University through a University Faculty Scholars Award (2002), Discovery in Mechanical Engineering Award (2005), Research Excellence Award throughout the College of Engineering at Purdue University in 2007. He serves in the editorial board of Elsevier Journal of Computer-Aided Design. He is also serving on the Engineering Advisory Board for the National Science Foundation (Industrial Innovation and Partnerships) for 2007–2010. He also serves as the technology-business advisor at Imaginestics, that launched the world's first commercial on-line shape-based search engine for the manufacturing supply chain. https://engineering.purdue.edu/~ramani/ Areas of interest: digital and computational geometry, shape design and analysis, shape and ontology search, computational tools for early design innovationJosé M. Rico, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Institute of Technology at Celaya. He received a B.S. degree from the Calaya Institute of Technology in 1975 and a Masters from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in 1977, both in Mechanical Engineering. Since his retirement in 2005, he is affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Guanajuato, Campus Irapuato-Salamanca. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Florida, Arizona State University, University of California-Davis, and the French Institute of Advanced Mechanics under the sponsorship of Professor Joseph Duffy, Professor Joseph K. Davidson, Professor Bahram Ravani, and Professor Grigore Gogu, respectively. He has been author or co-author of 40 papers in archival journals and 60 papers in conferences and has been an ASME member since 1975. Areas of interest: theoretical and computational kinematics and applied mathematicsJames P. Schmiedeler, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Notre Dame and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from The Ohio State University, all in mechanical engineering. He was previously an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa (2002–2003) and at The Ohio State University (2003–2008). In 2002, he was a summer faculty research fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, and in 2007, he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for his work in modeling human motor coordination and robot-assisted rehabilitation. Areas of interest: machine design, robotics, biomechanicsTimothy W. Simpson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA. He also holds faculty appointments in the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs and the College of Information Sciences and Technology. He received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the lead editor on the book Product Family and Product Platform Design: Methods and Applications (2005). He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and is active in ASME and ASEE. He is the recipient of a NSF Career Award, SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Technical Committee Outstanding Service Award, and the Pennsylvania State University President's Award for Excellence in Academic Integration. Areas of interest: product family design, product platforms, metamodeling, visualizationAvinash Singh, Ph.D., is a Senior Staff Engineer in the Advanced Power Transfer Group of GM Powertrain, General Motors Corporation. He received his B.Tech. degree from the Institute of Technology, BHU, India in 1990, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Ohio State University in 1992 and 1997. Dr. Singh works on power transmission component technology and his research interests are in the areas of gear system design and analysis, gear system dynamics and noise, development and validation of high fidelity models, power losses, rotating system diagnostics, and fatigue life prediction. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the ASME Power Transmission and Gearing committee of the DED. Areas of interest: transmission component design and analysis, model development and validationAlexander H. Slocum is the Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Alex has written two books on machine design, Precision Machine Design and FUNdaMENTALs of Design (free download on http://pergatory.mit.edu), published more than 150 papers, and has over seven dozen patents issued or pending. Alex regularly works with companies on the development of new products and has been significantly involved with the invention and development of 11 products that have been awarded R&D 100 awards. Alex is a Fellow of the ASME and the recipient of the Society of Manufacturing Engineer's Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal, ASME Leonardo daVinci Award, and the ASME Machine Design Award. Areas of interest: machine elements, precision machine design, MEMsJanis Terpenny, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Engineering Education and Mechanical Engineering and an affiliate faculty of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. She is the Director of the Center for e-Design, a five-university NSF industry/university cooperative research center. She is an Advance Professor and Diggs Teaching Scholar at Virginia Tech and a Dean's Faculty Fellow in the College of Engineering. Formerly, she was an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has prior industrial work experience with General Electric (GE) Corporation, including the completion of a two-year corporate management program. She received her B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from Virginia Commonwealth University (1979). She earned her M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (1981) and Ph.D. degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering (1996) from Virginia Tech. She is a member of ASME, ASEE, and senior member of IIE. Areas of interest: design process and methods, knowledge engineering, product families and platforms, product obsolescence, student learning and engagement related to design educationKwun-Lon Ting is a Professor of Center for Manufacturing Research and Mechanical Engineering Department at Tennessee Tech University. He has a B.S. degree from National Taiwan University, an M.S. degree from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. degree from Oklahoma State University. During his tenure at Tennessee Tech, he received eight research grant awards from National Science Foundation, Caplenor Faculty Research Award from the university, and Kinslow Engineering Research Award twice from the engineering college. He was the recipient of the South-Pointing Chariot Award and Bernard Roth Award from Applied Mechanisms and Robotics Conference. He is a Fellow of ASME. Areas of interest: kinematics, mechanisms, robotics, linkage mobility, geometric designPhilippe Velex graduated from INSA Lyon (France) in 1984 with Meng. in Mechanical Engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. from the same establishment in 1988. He was appointed Full Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 1998. He is head of the “Mechanical Systems and Contact” research group of LaMCoS (INSA Lyon) and director of the CETIM-INSA joint laboratory on Mechanical Transmissions. His research topics comprise the analysis of interactions between lubricated contacts and the static and dynamic behavior of mechanical systems. He is also the director of the International English-Speaking Undergraduate Section at INSA Lyon. Areas of interest: gear dynamics, power losses, loads and stresses, lubrication in gearsHong-Sen Yan is an NCKU Chair Professor at the National Cheng Kung University (Tainan, Taiwan) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He also serves as the Director of the NCKU Museum. He holds a B.S. degree from the National Cheng Kung University, M.S. degree from the University of Kentucky, and Ph.D. degree from Purdue University, all in mechanical engineering. He is the author of two Springer books, Creative Design of Mechanical Devices (1998) and Reconstruction Designs of Lost Ancient Chinese Machinery (2007). He is a Fellow of ASME, and recipient of ASME Best Paper Award (Mechanism Conference) and National Chair Award (Ministry of Education, Taiwan, ROC). And, he collects ancient Chinese padlocks as a Areas of interest: kinematics, conceptual design of and machines, design of ancient Ph.D., P.E., is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland College He holds a faculty appointment with the Applied Mathematics and Computation Program at He has M.S., and Ph.D. all in mechanical engineering, from the University of George University, and the University of Michigan, respectively. He is the chair of the ASME Design Design and Design Engineering He is the recipient of the Design Award. He is a Fellow of ASME. Areas of interest: optimization, optimization, analysis, Ph.D., P.E., is a Professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Young University where he holds a University Professor received his B.S. degree from Young University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University. Prior to joining in he was a visiting professor at Purdue University, a element analysis consultant for Engineering Inc., and an on the design of the for the He is a Fellow of ASME and chair of the ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Committee. Professor patents and technical publications on compliant and systems. He is the author of the book Mechanisms published by Areas of interest: compliant mechanisms, systems design

We have developed a course combining a Mechanical Engineering Materials Laboratory with a Materials Science lecture for a small combined population of undergraduate Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering students. By judicious selection of topic order, we have been able to utilize one lecture and one laboratory for both Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering students (with limited splitting of groups). The primary reasons for combining the Mechanical and Biomedical students are to reduce faculty load and required resources in a small university. For schools with medium or small Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering programs, class sizes could be improved if they could include other populations. The heterogeneous populations also aid in teaching students that the same engineering techniques are useful in more than a single engineering realm. The laboratory sections begin with the issues common to designing and evaluating mechanical testing, followed by tensile, shear, and torsion evaluation of metals. To introduce composite materials, wood and cement are evaluated. While the Mechanical Engineering students are evaluating impact and strain gauges, the Biomedical Engineering students are performing tensile studies of soft tissues, and compression of long bones. The basic materials lectures (beginning at the atomic level) are in common with both Mechanical and Biomedical student populations, until specific topics such as human body materials are discussed. Three quarters of the term is thus taught on a joint basis, and three or four lectures are split. Basic metal, plastic and wood behavior is common to both groups.

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) have become an important tool adopted by higher education institutions worldwide to support online and blended courses, or even to complement face-to-face learning. The adoption of these platforms by Moroccan universities remains limited, and there is a notable paucity of studies examining student perceptions and satisfaction when these platforms are used in instruction. Accordingly, the principal objective of this case study was to explore pharmacy and engineering students’ experiences with Canvas LMS in a blended English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course. Data were collected from 74 respondents via a questionnaire consisting of Likert-scale items measuring perceived usefulness, ease of use, system quality, and overall satisfaction, along with open-ended questions. Participants generally viewed Canvas as useful, easy to use, and of good system quality. Moreover, satisfaction correlated significantly and positively with all three factors, with perceived usefulness showing the strongest association. In addition to providing further support for the quantitative results, the qualitative data highlighted additional benefits, challenges, and recommendations for enhancing the use of LMS platforms to support the blended course. Based on these findings, this study recommends providing teachers with professional development that addresses not only technical aspects but also best practices for using LMS tools to support students’ learning.

<span lang="EN-US">This study analyzed the perception of Mechanical Engineering and Systems Engineering students in the process of evaluating teacher performance in online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was descriptive-correlational research. The results showed that the Systems Engineering students performed a better perception with the class session management factor and low qualification to the didactic strategies factor. Likewise, the Pearson correlation test indicated a significant relationship (0.000) between the specific factors on the overall performance factor. The topic factor has the greatest strength on the qualification of the overall performance factor, with a constant Pearson's correlation of 0.964. The Mechanical Engineering students showed a better perception with the class session planning factor and low qualification to the didactic strategies factor. Likewise, the Pearson correlation test indicated a significant relationship (0.000) between the specific factors on the overall performance factor. The didactic strategies factor being the one that has the greatest strength on the qualification of the overall performance factor, with a correlation constant Pearson's of 0.983.</span>

Over the last several decades, graduate students from engineering courses have faced a challenge of regular rejections in the work market despite their outstanding academic qualifications. In response to this challenge, many universities across the globe have introduced in their curricula the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses tailored to the need of engineering students. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the ESP course for engineering students introduced at Dhofar University in Oman. The study participants were first- and second-year undergraduates from the Faculty of Engineering. The participants responded to a 26-item survey that addressed the course content and the changes in the students’ English language proficiency. The results demonstrated that taking the ESP course had a positive impact on the course content, participants’ vocabulary and grammar, as well as on their specific English language skills. The limitations of the study include a relatively small sample of participants and the self-reporting bias inherent in the use of a self-report methodology. Therefore, further research using more objective measures to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of ESP courses on English proficiency of engineering students would be needed.

An innovative capstone design course titled “Design of Fluid Thermal Systems,” involves groups of seniors working on various semester-long design projects. Groups are composed of 3 or 4 members that bid competitively on various projects. Once projects are awarded, freshmen enrolled in the “Introduction to Mechanical Engineering” course are assigned to work with the senior design teams. The senior teams (Engineering Consulting Companies) function like small consulting companies that employ co-operative education students; e.g., the freshmen. In Fall 2006, the Engineering Consulting Companies also worked with students enrolled in a Technical Editing (TE) course—“Writing and Editing in the Professions”—within the English Department. The TE students would be given reports or instructional manuals that the Mechanical Engineering (ME) students had to write as part of their capstone project, and the resulting editing of their documents would be done by these TE students. Subsequently, the ME students were given a survey and asked to comment on this experience. In addition, the TE students were also surveyed and asked to comment as well. It was concluded that the collaboration should continue for at least one more cycle, and that the TE students were more favorably inclined toward this collaboration than were the engineering students.

Abstract. Learning vocabulary is an essential part of language learning linking the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing together. This paper considers the incidental vocabulary teaching and learning within the framework of task-based activities in the hope of improving learners’ vocabulary acquiring in English for Specific Purposes courses (ESP), concentrating on Mechanical Engineering students at Islamic Azad University of Hashtgerd, Iran. A total number of 55 male and female students who were taking their ESP courses participated in the study as a control and an experimental group. Homogeneity of the subjects was ascertained by a Nelson Proficiency Test. The test consisted 50 items. Traditional teaching methods of vocabularies were applied for the control group, whereas in the experimental group, technical vocabularies were taught on the basis of task based approach. A teacher-made test of technical vocabulary knowledge was administered as the pre-test. At the end of the semester, a post-test was given to the students to determine the influence of the treatment on the experimental group. The data analysis using SPSS (version 19.0) revealed that the subjects in the experimental group performed better on the post-test than the control group. The results of this study confirm the strong effects of task-based language teaching compared to the traditional approach in teaching technical vocabulary to Iranian ESP learners.

Introducing mechanical engineering (ME) students to microcomputer applications in data acquisition and control areas needs to be done appropriately. It would not be the type of training suitable for ME students if excessive hardware associated details are involved. This paper describes the development of a subject with such ‘appropriateness’ in mind. The subject, as an elective, has been welcomed and enthusiastically participated in by a larger percentage of the final year (i.e. fourth year) and postgraduate students during the last few years. This is in a way indicative that the approach taken is appropriate for ME students.

The need for English language teaching to address specific language needs for a discipline has instigated growing demands for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses in higher education institutions in Malaysia. In the context of a university which focuses on engineering programmes, monitored by an engineering professional body, ESP courses designed and developed for higher education are expected to include learning outcomes which reflect integration between English language and engineering fields. In other words, these English language courses need to address the language needs in the engineering field. Thus, English language educators within this context need to have relevant knowledge and skills to enable them to design and develop appropriate ESP courses. Questions arise in relation to how English language courses developed have addressed this expectation. This paper examines the extent to which this expectation is translated into the ESP courses at one technical university in Malaysia. The findings showcase how this expectation is disseminated to the English language educators. This paper provides insight into the complex process of designing English language courses that could address the language needs of the engineering field. In addition, this paper highlights aspects to consider when designing an ESP course for a specific discipline.

Creative Writing (CW) is an important skill that helps students achieve progress in learning English as a Foreign Language (FL). It also helps them improve fluency, motivation, confidence, and creativity. However, most English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses focus on technical English, and CW is under-utilized as a skill to practise. As a result, this study examines university students’ perceptions of ESP CW to improve the learning process and enhance its quality. This study used a qualitative research method and interviewed twenty engineering students from Abu Dhabi. The findings demonstrated that creativity needs to be developed in ESP courses by reading and writing, while extracurricular linguistic activities should also be considered to promote CW. In addition, students also need to be well motivated and should think in a FL when they practice the writing process. They need to be encouraged to think creatively in a logical way rather than relying on memorization. Finally, this study recommends developing CW activities in ESP courses and encouraging students to practise CW inside and outside the classroom to improve the quality of FL learning and creativity for lifelong academic and employment purposes.

Communication and technology are critical to education. However, using technology in education is not an easy task as communication barriers emerge. The aim of this research is to analyze the ICT attitudes from different faculties at the Obuda University that is between the mechanical engineer students from the Mechanical Faculty and technical manager students from the Economics Faculty. The students from these two groups will use different ICT tool at work after their graduation; the mechanical engineering students will work mostly with designer ICT tools, the technical manager students will use mostly knowledge management and decision support systems. It would be important to know whether instructors, when using ICT, have to follow different teaching methods and approaches in these two different groups or not. We measured the ICT attitude with a tool consisting of 23 items (Likert scaled. We worked with 210 students. The data analysis was performed with SPSS software using descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney test. The results show both groups having the same positive ICT attitude however with one difference.

The current study explores the learning transfer between English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses at an international university in China. Drawing on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 11 science and engineering students, the research explores academic skills transferred from the EAP to ESP courses and factors that affect such transfer. The findings revealed five key categories of transferred skills: research skills (e.g., logical thinking and literature reading), speaking skills (e.g., public speaking and presentation skills), language skills (e.g., appropriate vocabulary use and writing as a process), confidence, and time management skills. Factors affecting the transfer were classified as task-related (e.g., task type and difficulty), personal factors (e.g., personal interest and learning methods), and course-related (e.g., similarities and differences between EAP and ESP courses, as well as cross-disciplinary differences). This study enhances the understanding of learning transfer in EAP and ESP contexts and provides strategies for improving English language instruction for academic and professional purposes. Our findings suggest that EAP course design should emphasize higher-order skills and facilitate the transfer of academic literacies across disciplinary contexts.

English has the status of a global language and nowadays, it is “a must tool“. In order to be successful in any field of study you need to know the language that is spoken or known worldwide. Therefore, English should be included in any fields of study or disciplines. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Courses have been offered at the public universities in Kosovo as an elective or compulsory course at many departments, at least for two semesters. Teaching English courses in higher education should be designed based on students’ needs by analyzing their level of English and study disciplines, concretely, English for specific purposes courses. Even though, ESP looks as an “easy peasy” issue, in this study has been involved the challenges that ESP teachers and students come across during the complexity of teaching and learning process. In general, this paper also presents an overview of the current situation of ESP courses profile at three public universities in Kosovo. The study has been carried out using three different evaluative research instruments, concretely, has been included a quantitative questionnaire with students and ESP teachers, a qualitative questionnaire (interview) with ten ESP teachers, currently teaching English specific courses at the three universities and also a class observation at three main public universities in Kosovo (Prishtina, Peja and Prizren). Based on the findings, the course content affects directly beliefs, motivation and interests of the students. Hence, ESP courses should be designed based on students’ specific language and professional needs in each discipline, while studying at Higher Educational Institutions.