Undergraduate Engineering Students Research Articles

Design, implementation and evaluation of end-of-course skills of undergraduate students in environmental health engineering using Objective Structured in field Examination (OSFE): An action research study

Design, implementation and evaluation of end-of-course skills of undergraduate students in environmental health engineering using Objective Structured in field Examination (OSFE): An action research study

Estimating micro- and small hydroelectric generation potential: A learning tool

This article presents a computational tool to calculate some parameters of hydroelectric plants, focusing mainly on microhydroelectric generation; it also evaluates the energy potential of small hydro plants. This computational tool was developed using MATLAB, and it presents a graphical interface that makes it user friendly. The computer program and related knowledge are easy to understand and apply; because the equations implemented are very simple, the tool is not computationally demanding. In fact, although it was developed and designed to help teach undergraduate electrical engineering students attending on classes hydroelectric generation, this tool can be used to estimate the hydroelectric generation potential of a site, which is the first step before starting a hydro plant project.

COVID-19 pandemic influence on undergraduate female engineering students’ performance in Bangladesh

<span lang="EN-US">This paper explores the impact of the online teaching-learning of the Computer Science and Engineering program’s female students at the Central Women’s University in Bangladesh due to the COVID-19 epidemic. A survey was directed to comprehend the students’ perspectives on online engineering education. The performances of the same students under the same course instructor of various courses as well as of different students under the same course instructor of the same courses before the pandemic and during the pandemic were investigated. After that, this paper analyzed students’ experiences of the evaluation method before and during the outbreak, and then found out the transformation of the students’ concerns regarding online engineering education. The research was based on the student surveys and observations, and their academic performances. All indicators exhibited that the procedure that was implemented had a positive impact on students’ achievement. Students’ involvement, particularly in the core courses that are essential to fulfilling their degrees, had improved. Furthermore, students gained more precise and constructive knowledge from the course teachers during the pandemic, as such the impact on the students’ learning due to the online teaching of Computer Science and Engineering students were positive than before the pandemic.</span>

From Diversity to Inclusion: Centring the Voices of Undergraduate Engineering Students

Some Canadian undergraduate engineering programs report 30–40% of enrolled students are women. Kanter’s tipping point theory argues that women become less tokenized when they make up 30% of a group’s population. Other scholars have found that in comparable situations, women continued to experience discrimination, hostility, and competition. This critical study provides further evidence against a tipping point for equity by centring the experiences of traditionally underrepresented undergraduate students studying at a faculty of engineering with 35% women undergraduates enrolled. Reflective thematic analysis of experiences shared bywomen, racialized students, 2SLGBTQ+ students, and students from lower socio-economic statuses found instances of discrimination, varying perceptions of capabilities, and inequitable access to support, community, and on-campus leadership roles. Therefore, institutions need to acknowledge the intersectional experiences of students and work toward changing campus culture in addition to diversity efforts.

Overview of the current situation relating to chemical engineering degree courses

In 2020, the Conference of Chemical Engineering Directors and Deans (CODDIQ) proposed the creation of an observatory to monitor chemical engineering degrees in Spain. This representative radiography of Chemical Engineering studies offers an initial point to observe the future changes when Royal Decree 822/2021 and proposed challenges in the last Ministerial Conference on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) will be implanted. The survey data from CODDIQ partners allow us to know important data such as (i) the 24 international quality accreditations at Spanish universities, (ii) the high demand and the required marks, an average of 7.25, for the Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s degree, (iii) 9560 undergraduate students in this degree in Spain and their gender profile which is around 43% of women, similar than women lectures, (iv) the difficulty of this Bachelor’s degree through some indicators like duration of studies (5.25 years), graduation rate (41%) and drop-out rate (26%), (v) the employability after obtaining the Bachelor's degree is very high (>70%). In addition, Chemical engineering undergraduate and graduate students indicate their expectations are covered. In this paper, some consequences of the pandemic on students' performance (lower than before COVID-19) are analyzed, despite lectures tried to innovate in their classes and the university provided adequate tools for online teaching.

A Proposed Case-Based Learning Framework for Fostering Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Creative and Critical Thinking

A Proposed Case-Based Learning Framework for Fostering Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Creative and Critical Thinking

Clinical Immersion of Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Students: Best Practices for Short-Term Programs.

Many biomedical engineering degree programs lack substantial immersive clinical experiences for undergraduate students, creating a need for clinical immersion programs that contribute to training objectives that emphasize current clinical needs (Becker in Eur J Eng Educ 31:261-272, 2006; Davis et al. in J Eng Educ 91:211-221, 2002; Dym et al. in J Eng Educ 94:103-120, 2005). Immersive clinical experiences have the potential to bridge the gap between clinical and non-clinical learning objectives in biomedical engineering curriculum. In collaboration with Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, we have created, executed, and evaluated a two-week cardiovascular clinical immersion program for biomedical engineering undergraduate students at Purdue University. As of August 2022, this program has run 11 times since 2014 with 60 participants to date, exposing students to intensive and non-intensive care environments, facilitating interactions with medical professionals, and encouraging exploration of innovative technologies shaping the training of clinicians with direct patient interaction. The variety of cardiovascular topics discussed and clinical settings observed has provided students with a unique, highly beneficial learning opportunity. Keys to the continued success and growth of similar programs include: recruiting a diverse team, support from administrative staff/clinicians, a funded student intern position, and careful consideration of liability/risk management. Areas of future consideration include, streamlining the order of scheduled events, determining if offering course credit would be beneficial to students, and tracking career trajectories after participations.

Enhancing the Construction Site Safety Knowledge and Awareness Amongst Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

Enhancing the Construction Site Safety Knowledge and Awareness Amongst Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

Serving the Underserved Amid COVID-19: The Case of a Virtual, Culturally Responsive Summer Engineering Camp

The societal disruptions due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are well noted, especially in the context of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Absent a concerted effort to sustain hands-on learning opportunities in STEM amid the crisis, the consequences of COVID-19 may exacerbate existing inequities and racial disparities among youth of color further stratifying the STEM fields. In the current study, we applied a mixed-method descriptive case study design, using online learning theory and culturally responsive pedagogy as our conceptual framework, to describe how participants experienced this camp, held online due to disruptions of COVID-19, in the southeastern region of the USA. We also share findings from the implementation of a justice bots project, which enabled participants to connect social justice and engineering. Participants included middle school youth, undergraduate engineering students, and in-service math and science teachers. Data sources entailed focus groups, pre-post surveys, observations, and artifacts. Our results indicated that participants experienced gains in their communication skills, positive changes in attitudes toward STEM for middle school youth, established meaningful connections, and enhanced their technical knowledge. Middle school youth reported enjoying the online summer camp environment, though they had experienced more than a year of education online. Undergraduate engineering students asserted that it was challenging to communicate coding and other technical knowledge virtually but having to do so strengthened their capacity to teach others while honing their own competencies. Lastly, in-service math and science teachers reported a better understanding of the connection between engineering and social justice based on their experiences in the camp. We conclude this article with implications for engineering education.

Impact of Mobile Technology on Collaborative Learning in Engineering Studies

<p style="text-align: justify;">Collaborative learning has been identified as an essential aspect in the process of learning. As accelerated advancement continues to characterize the developments of technology, innovative mobile technology appears to be transforming the way collaborative learning is taking shape. This study focused on identifying whether mobile technology has a significant impact on collaborative learning in engineering studies in a private University in Malaysia. Using a quantitative approach, an online survey was administered for the data collection. Some 221 participants were selected randomly among undergraduate engineering students in the University. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS. The research findings revealed that mobile technology has a significant impact on collaborative learning. The findings also indicated that two of the mobile technology dimensions, namely mobility and immediacy have significant impact on collaborative learning. Consequently, this research suggests engineering educators can integrate mobile technology into their future instruction for more collaborative learning and create a smart workforce consisting of fast and adaptive engineers as well as other learners in Malaysia.</p>

Developing an industry‐inspired and engaging interdisciplinary unit for undergraduate engineering students: A depiction of the operations management unit at the University of Manchester

AbstractEngineering students hardly allocate equal level of engagement to their management units, even when such units are very complex or whether the teacher is from within or outside engineering disciplines, which often reduces student engagement as well as the accomplishments of the entire cohort. Although it is well‐established that the structure, format, and content of units' assessments play vital roles in how much university students interact with their units, there are compelling evidence for and against the efficacy of different assessment methods deployable by educators that teach management units. Therefore, the focus of this study is to ascertain the reason(s) for the subpar interest in management units by engineering students. Data was gathered using Fishbone diagrams (FBDs) that depicted possible root causes of the research question. In addition to data generation, the use of FBDs also enabled deeper understanding of continuous improvement and increased the response rates. Responses showed that “perception of engineering” and “nature of contents” were the most prominent root cause groups. Further observations depicted that the perception of engineering among the students is that of an entirely technical discipline, thereby making science, engineering, technology, and mathematics units the most important. Furthermore, several respondents underrated the contents of management units, due to insufficient alignment with emerging engineering concepts as well as their inadequate academic challenge. To examine the influence of the implemented changes to assessment method on students' achievements, the performance indicators of five different cohorts were compared, and the outcomes of the comparison depicted a consistent pattern of students' attainment. Furthermore, a students' scores match of >95% was observed between cohorts, which so far indicates consistency.

Students’ Systems Thinking Competencies Level Identification through Concept Maps Assessment

Systems Thinking Competencies have become extremely important and widely studied due to increasing systems complexity. Because of this, when they are taught, it is extremely useful to identify whether or not students own Systems Thinking Competencies in order to design a specific teaching strategy. This research applied an Adapted Holistic Scoring Method to assess Concept Maps developed by postgraduate and undergraduate engineering students in order to identify Systems Thinking Competencies. It had two phases. At the first one, Students showed an acceptable knowledge of cost estimation drivers, and a certain level of Systems Thinking Competencies. In the second phase, both cost estimation drivers and Systems Thinking Competencies showed an improvement. Mann-Whitney U-test was applied in order to identify if there were significant differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2. Confidence level of 95%, and a significance level of 0.05 was considered.

Mastery, models, messengers, and mixed emotions: Examining the development of engineering self‐efficacy by gender

AbstractBackgroundEngineering self‐efficacy, or the belief in one's own capabilities to complete engineering tasks, has been shown to predict greater motivation, academic performance, and retention of engineering students. Investigating the types of experiences that influence engineering students' self‐efficacy can reveal ways to support students in their undergraduate engineering programs.Purpose/Hypothesis(es)The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine how undergraduate engineering students describe the sources of their engineering self‐efficacy and whether patterns in students' responses differed by gender.Design/MethodParticipants (N = 654) were undergraduate engineering students attending two public, land‐grant universities in the U.S. Open‐ended survey questions were used to identify the events, social experiences, and emotions that students described as relevant to their engineering self‐efficacy. Chi‐square analyses were used to investigate whether response patterns varied by gender.ResultsStudents described enactive performances as their most salient source of self‐efficacy, but interesting insights also emerged about how engineering students draw from social and emotional experiences when developing their self‐efficacy. Women more often referred to social sources of self‐efficacy and reported fewer positive emotions than did men.ConclusionFindings suggest ways that educators can provide more targeted opportunities for students to develop their self‐efficacy in engineering.

An Effective Build Your Own Robot (BYOR) Skill Development Course for First Year Engineering Students to promote Interdisciplinary Learning Environment

In recent years, a lot of focus has been laid on interdisciplinary subjects and projects in Engineering education. Robotics is the one field of engineering, which can be introduced at the first year to promote the interdisciplinary learning environment among the undergraduate engineering students. In this paper, we describe the curriculum of Build Your Own Robot (BYOR) Course introduced for the first engineering students as a skill development program and presented the students’ learning experiences on the course based on the survey conducted for first year 780 students. The survey shows the positive feedback received for the effectiveness of the implemented course and has helped in improving the curriculum for further development. Keywords—Skill Development; Robotics; Interdisciplinary; Self-competence; C Programming; Curriculum

A Strategy for Implementation of Project-Based Learning in Civil Engineering Curriculum

Abstract: One of the prime objectives of Outcome Based Learning is to enable students with the capacity to think innovatively and confidently for the successful applications of academic concepts to solve real world problems. This article focusses on highlighting the role and significance of project-based learning in engineering education with the help of two case studies, wherein undergraduate students in Civil Engineering have taken project works as a part of their academic curriculum. In the first case study, a group of students undertook a problem to study the complex phenomena of liquefaction of soils, whereas in the second case study efficiency of stone columns as one of the ground improvement techniques was studied. The important and notable thing in both these studies was the innovative alternatives used by the students in lieu of the complex and costly test setup otherwise required. Also, the way students were able to communicate the test results and demonstrate their understanding of the underlying concepts of liquefaction and stone columns was praiseworthy. Further, taking the existing Civil Engineeringcurriculum of an Institution of National Importance as basis, a strategy is illustrated for the implementation of Project-Based Learning in undergraduate program leading to a Bachelor of Technology degree in Civil Engineering. Keywords: Project-based learning, Case studies, Civil engineering, Curriculum strategy

Stacking ensemble learning model for predict anxiety level in university students using balancing methods

BackgroundAnxiety is known as one of the most common health disorders affecting a large part of the population with a high social and personal impact, which affects about 25% of people worldwide; it is so when it comes to anxiety in students, it is evidenced that in 2018, 63% of high school students in the United States reported having experienced “excessive anxiety” in recent years. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to propose a method and 4 combined models based on Stacking with the aim of predicting anxiety levels in college students. In addition, an end-user web interface was developed with the best model proposed in this study. MethodsThe data set used consisted of a sample of undergraduate students of systems and computer Engineering from a public university with a total of 284 participants. The data was then cleaned and preprocessed using the Python program. In the data balancing, the data were divided into 5 values obtained and the oversampling method was performed, distributing the data according to the condition. Then the portioning of the balanced data proceeded, using the cross-validation method for data training. For the modeling and evaluation, 5 independent algorithms were used and 4 combined models combined algorithms were proposed. ResultsThe proposed approach, called Stacking 4A: KNN-Ensemble with data oversampling balancing, was shown to obtain the best results in several evaluation metrics. Specifically, the following values were achieved: Accuracy = 97.83%, sensitivity = 98.44%, f1-score = 97.88%, MCC = 97.08% and specificity = 99.32%, these results exceeded those obtained by the other algorithms. However, the Stacking 2A: SVM-Ensemble technique with data oversampling balance achieved the best value in the precision metric with a result of 97.83%. ConclusionsThis article focuses on applying the Ensemble Stacking technique to identify anxiety levels at an early stage among students attending a public university in Peru. Therefore, by using the combined method, an improvement in anxiety prediction was observed, surpassing the performance of the independent algorithms used.

The Basics of Transmission Line Theory in Four Arrows [Educator’s Corner

Transmission line (TL) theory can be considered a simplified and consistent framework within general electromagnetic theory, so the governing equations of the line and their solutions can be viewed as more tractable and understandable versions of their corresponding electromagnetic counterparts <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[1]</xref> . This is particularly appealing for undergraduate students in electrical engineering since the vector nature of the field vanishes, and the propagation phenomenon in the line can be understood in terms of forward and backward scalar voltage waves. The presentation of the Smith chart <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[2]</xref> , <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[3]</xref> within this context gives a boost to this initial attraction since the chart beautifully replaces all complex calculations involved in TL analysis with mere geometrical considerations.

The Integration of Digital Techniques in Engineering Education: A Case Study to Evaluate Student’s Motivation and Performance

The importance of a paradigm shift in the current traditional teaching strategies is becoming of high importance. Integrating disruptive technologies into undergraduate civil engineering students can improve their performance and motivation levels. Students were assessed on their ability to identify mistakes in a concrete design developed using Autodesk Revit®. The students were divided into three different groups and assessed using three different media: 2 dimensional plans (2D), 3 dimensional models (3D) and virtual reality (VR). The results have shown that 3D and VR students managed to score 54.9% and 62.5% respectively. 2D students scored 20.5%. This shows a substantial difference between VR and 3D relative to the 2D group. From the surveys conducted, it was also perceived that students found 3D and VR methods more motivating than the 2D traditional method. Spearman correlation also indicated a positive and medium to strong correlation between the level of motivation and performance of VR students. The results show that VR is a valid alternative to conventional methods of teaching. This study is part of an ongoing research effort related to utilization of VR in engineering education.

Validation Study of a Computer-Aided Design Augmentation Tool for Cost Estimation

AbstractWhile fundamentals of DFMA (design for manufacturing and assembly) are widely accepted and used in the engineering community, many CAD environments lack tools that address manufacturing concerns by providing rapid feedback about costs resulting from design choices. This article presents an experiment-based testing and validation of a rapid feedback tool that provides users history-based prediction of manufacturing time based on the current state of the design. A between-subject experiment is designed to evaluate the impact of the tool on design outcomes based on modeling time, part mass, and manufacturing time. Participants in the study included mechanical engineering graduate and undergraduate students with at least one semester of experience using solidworks. The experiment included three modeling activities and three tool conditions. Participants completed up to three sessions with different experimental conditions. Analysis of the data collected shows that the use of the design tool results in a small but nonsignificant increase in modeling time. Moreover, the use of the tool results in reduced part mass on average (both between subjects and within subjects). Tool use reduced manufacturing time in open-ended activities, but increased manufacturing time when activities focus more on mass reduction. Participant feedback suggests that the tool helped guide their material removal actions by showing the impact on manufacturing time. Finally, potential improvements and future expansions of the tool are discussed.

“Activity based teaching learning in Engineering Education, a course on: Embedded Systems”

The activity-based teaching and learning approach is presented in this paper for undergraduate engineering students. The primary goal of this undertaking is to maximize the student learning. The conventional teaching-learning environment induces monotonicity due to repetitive nature of teaching and absence of activities which does not provide much beneficial effects on increasing students’ levels of knowledge. The activity-based teaching-learning circumvents the shortcomings of the conventional approach in transmission of educational content. In this paper, various modes of progressive pedagogy to increase the student participation in active learning are explored. Activity based teaching-learning is anything related to course in which all the students in a class to participate actively rather than to simply sit, watch, listen and take notes. This paper explains various activities developed and practiced in order to accomplish the goal. The activities described in this paper were implemented with the students majoring in Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) in their sixth semester mandatory course called "Embedded Systems". After examining the efficacy of the activities it was observed that the recommended strategy of active learning offers additional possibilities to learn outside of the traditional classroom setting. The performance of the Continuous Internal Evaluation (CIE) serves as the metric for determining the effectiveness of these activities. Keywords— Activity-based teaching, learning approach, Electronics and Communication Engineering, embedded systems