First-year Engineering Design Research Articles

Meaning-making and Lexicogrammatical Accuracy Relationships on Multilingual Engineering Teams

The present reliance on lexicogrammaticalaccuracy seems to be an impoverished construct on whichto assess students’ understanding and students’ ability toproductively interact and use engineering concepts inteam settings. I propose supplementing accuracy with theconcepts of agility and efficacy because meaning-makingseems to be more critical to a student’s ability tosuccessfully engage in the complex process ofcommunication than accuracy alone. However, beforethese can be assessed it is necessary to determine whatmeaning-making, agility and efficacy look like in practice.This study examines emergent meaning-making practicesof video-recorded team meetings in two first-yearengineering design courses. Analysis revealed thatlexicogrammatical accuracy did not reflect a team’s orindividual’s ability to communicate-to make meaning.

Triangulated authentic assessment in the HEQCO Learning Outcomes Assessment Consortium

The Higher Education Quality Council ofOntario (HEQCO) has established a consortium ofinstitutions committed to the development of usefullearning outcomes assessment techniques and to theirwide-scale implementation in their institutions. Queen'sUniversity is one of three universities and three collegesof the consortium, and the Faculty of Engineering andApplied Science (FEAS) is participating due to familiaritywith assessing learning outcomes as part of accreditation.The specific learning outcomes that are of interest toQueen's are Critical Thinking, Problem Solving,Communication and Lifelong learning.The goal of this three-year project is to assess theaforementioned general learning outcomes and cognitiveskills using three assessment methods simultaneously:embedded course assessment, using meta--rubrics toscore student artifacts, and using standardizedtests/surveys. The study will document cost and timerequired to access each of these methods in specificcourses, analyze correlation between scores from thethree methods, and evaluate developments of the genericlearning outcomes over the duration of a program. Weaim to ensure that the work of outcomes assessment issustainable, works within standard course contexts, andcan be integrated into regular course activities. Thepaper identifies the goals of the project, currentapproach, and an example of data collection in one firstyearengineering design course.

Engineering students' perceptions of team conflict and high-performance teams

Our study investigates the role of team conflict in the context of student design project work. We are interested in how students experience conflicts in a team environment and how these conflicts relate to other aspects of teamwork such as communication, division of work, shared goals, and leadership. We are using a mixed-method approach to data collection through peer-review data, team observations, and reflective memos. This paper reports results from a study implemented in a required first-year engineering design course. The majority of participants recognise the benefits that task and procedural conflicts have on team performance. Specifically, teamwork aspects such as communication, open-mindedness, and working towards a common goal were connected to cognitive conflict. The peer-review data illustrates that some class sections showed statistically significant improvements in goal commitment, idea communication during conflicts, conflict engagement and attentive listening over time. The results of the post-hoc tests further suggest that students in teams with a predominantly male composition (three males and one female) reported a statistically significant decrease in goal commitment and attentive listening during the ten-week evaluation period. Finally, methodologically we found that the reflective memos and team observations were better instruments for capturing team conflict, more so than peer-review surveys.

INFLUENCE OF LEARNING PREFERENCE ON SELF-EFFICACY AND PERFORMANCE IN MIXED-MODALITY FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN

All students have preferences for the way they receive and distribute information when the objective is learning. These preferences can be shown to have an effect on self-efficacy and on performance. The relationships between learning preference, self-efficacy and performance were studied using survey and grade data obtained from a first-year Engineering Design and Graphics course. The students were placed in one of three groups according to the modality (type) of design project they were given; a Simulation-Based project (SIM) using a software simulation tool, a Prototyping project (PRT) using a 3D printer, or a Simulation and Prototyping project (SAP) where they had to complete a design using both tools. Participants were given a custom survey that assessed self-efficacy and the VARK learning styles inventory which assesses learners on Visual, Aural, Read / Write and Kinesthetic learning preferences. 97 students were surveyed representing a response rate of 22.6%. Student performance was assessed by examining scores on a subset of questions related to design visualization on the final examination for the course. Data analysis involved examining the correlation between learning style and self-efficacy, and scores on final examination for each of the three course modality groups. Findings from this study include higher performance for Kinesthetic learners assigned a simulation-based project and low performance for Read/Write learners with a prototyping project. This study supports the hypothesis that student performance may depend on learning preferences coupled with design project modality.

Five Major Shifts in 100 Years of Engineering Education

In this paper, five major shifts in engineering education are identified. During the engineering science revolution, curricula moved from hands-on practice to mathematical modeling and scientific analyses. The first shift was initiated by engineering faculty members from Europe; accelerated during World War II, when physicists contributed multiple engineering breakthroughs; codified in the Grinter report; and kick-started by Sputnik. Did accreditation hinder curricular innovations? Were engineering graduates ready for practice? Spurred by these questions, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) required engineering programs to formulate outcomes, systematically assess achievement, and continuously improve student learning. The last three shifts are in progress. Since the engineering science revolution may have marginalized design, a distinctive feature of engineering, faculty members refocused attention on capstone and first-year engineering design courses. However, this third shift has not affected the two years in between. Fourth, research on learning and education continues to influence engineering education. Examples include learning outcomes and teaching approaches, such as cooperative learning and inquiry that increase student engagement. In shift five, technologies (e.g., the Internet, intelligent tutors, personal computers, and simulations) have been predicted to transform education for over 50 years; however, broad transformation has not yet been observed. Together, these five shifts characterize changes in engineering education over the past 100 years.

A COMPETENCY-BASED, STUDENT-CENTERED ASSESSMENT MODEL FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN

The new first-year engineering design and communications course at the University of Calgary has adopted a competency-based, student-centered model for assessing learning. Satisfactory performance in this course requires mastery of core competencies in four categories: ability to function as a member of a team, ability to contribute effectively to product or process design, ability to communicate effectively using the written word, ability to communicate effectively through the medium of drawing. Every assignment in the course is aimed at evaluating one (or more) of the core competencies from these categories. Student work is assessed as Excellent, Good, or Requires Additional Work. Because our focus is on competency, we permit students to redo any of their work to achieve a better assessment. Students must achieve the minimum of a Good on every assignment to have established competency and pass the course. Students can also redo assignments to move from a Good to Excellent assessment. Students compile term work into portfolios. The portfolios illustrate the progression of learning to both instructors and students. Students also use the portfolio to highlight their design and communication abilities to future employers. The new competency-based approach used at the University of Calgary is more effective than traditional assessment models because it requires students to learn from one another and to reflect on their learning. Students receive feedback by following a four-step process: 1) Comparison to posted examples of student work, 2) Discussion with other students, 3) Generation of a written self-assessment, 4) Feedback on self-assessment by instructors. This assessment approach reinforces the skills needed for engineering design.

DESIGN FOR THE FUTURE: INTEGRATING INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTO CANADIAN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING CURRICULUM

With an ever-increasing need to address the future of engineered sustainability in our global communities, a simple, brief, study of sustainability factors in undergraduate engineering curriculum is no longer adequate. With exponentially rising problems in the global society such as water contamination and shortages, food processing needs, ineffective irrigation practices, technology shortfalls, and underdeveloped sanitation practices, engineering curriculum today must address these international development issues, along with sustainability concepts, using effective, hands-on methods to prepare Canadian graduates for the competitive and challenging workforce they will enter. In this contribution, the importance of considering international development problems in the engineering design component of undergraduate curriculum is analyzed. We then go on to discuss the various methods that can be utilized to implement and teach an international development curriculum. International development engineering curriculum should not only focus on the hands-on design requirements, but should introduce the student to issues such as education, health care, political stability, and economy in the developing world. Topics such as cultural sensitivity and community integration, which are concerns that must be an integral part of any international development project, should also be incorporated into this curriculum. Finally, a case study is presented in which a Canadian university has successfully enhanced their first-year engineering design curriculum by integrating international development problems into their syllabus.

BEST PRACTICES REVIEW OF FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN EDUCATION

This work reviews best practices in first-year engineering design courses at 40 universities across Canada and the United States. The authors reviewed the subject matter and instructional methods of these engineering design courses. University selection was based on prominence, level of engineering design content, and availability of data. The authors narrowed the scope of the study to seven Canadian programs and eight American programs for further investigation: University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, University of Manitoba, Queen’s University, University of Sherbrooke, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, University of Colorado, Franklin W. Olin Engineering College, Harvey Mudd College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stanford University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The authors then identified six reoccurring themes in the methods of engineering design instruction: full-scale project, small-scale project, case study analysis, reverse engineering project, design tools and methods instruction, and integration. These themes are then discussed from the point of view of educators looking to develop first-year engineering design courses.

DESIGN-BUILD PROJECT APPROACH IN A FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE

We found that first-year engineering students often have difficulties to visualize and manipulate three-dimensional objects mentally, especially if the assembly involves multiple parts that need to work together in sequence to produce a required function. Ultimately, this lack of ability leads to poor representation of intended students’ design concepts in paper sketches, as well as poor or unacceptable detailed designs in CAD. Therefore, it is imperative that students develop their ability to manipulate complex objects in space very early in their academic careers. In this context, this paper focuses on the introduction and implementation of a challenging design-build project in the first-year engineering design course at UOIT intended to provide students with early opportunities to physically realize the spatial relationships and the three dimensional causality of the interaction of moving parts in an assembly.

Incorporating Real-Life Open-Ended Design Projects In A First Year Design Course

At Memorial University, for the last several years, instructors of the first-year engineering design course have worked closely with the local chapter of the Tetra Society of North America to provide meaningful open-ended doable design projects that are needed by actual clients. Founded in 1987, The Tetra Society of North America is an independent non-profit charitable organization that recruits skilled technical volunteers to design and fabricate custom assistive devices for people with disabilities. In this paper, several projects that have been assigned to students in the past will be described and example solutions provided by students will also be shown. From the feedback of students, instructors, and clients, this collaboration with the Tetra Society has been very successful in providing real, needed, doable projects, with real clients for first year engineering students.

Service-learning in engineering: a valuable pedagogy for meeting learning objectives

Service-learning is an educational practice that has been used successfully in many disciplines, and is defined as ‘a credit-bearing, educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility’ (Bringle, R. and Hatcher, J., A service-learning curriculum for faculty. Michigan J. Community Service-Learning, 1995, 2, 112–122). This research examines a first-year biological engineering design course that incorporated a service-learning project. Students participated in a survey and in focus groups to explore how well the service-learning project helped them to meet EC 2000 a–k objectives. Results showed that the service-learning project was a useful teaching method for accomplishing the learning objectives set forth by the instructor and by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology. Women and non-white participants in this study generally assessed their learning outcomes to be greater than white males, which could have important implications in the recruitment and retention of such students in engineering.

Balancing technical and social issues: a new first-year design course

The new ABET EC2000 accreditation guidelines call for greater emphasis on social and ethical issues in the education of engineering students. Universities are responding in varied ways - generally through increased liberal arts content and, in a few instances, through design activities, but generally, design education focuses primarily on the technical and process aspects. This is especially true in the new first-year engineering design courses that have evolved in the 1990s. A first-year Introduction to Engineering Design course has been developed at the University of Dayton that seeks to achieve a balance between technical, social and ethical issues throughout the design process to help ground the education of engineering students with the ideals of social and ethical responsibility as part of their profession. This grounding has been achieved through interdisciplinary projects, which teach students, through self-discovery, the relevance of social, environmental, cultural, political and ethical factors to their normal engineering functions.