Cindy Waters

“Unmuddying” course content using muddiest point reflections

Class instruction is a living and ever evolving process aimed at providing students with a quality education. Instructors are responsible for analyzing their courses to ensure that delivery of information is effective. Changes made are usually based on student assessments; however, our reactions to assessments are flawed without student insight. One method to obtain student feedback is through muddiest point reflections. This activity asks students to reflect on what was just taught allowing students the opportunity to share what was “muddy”. This mixed-methods study provides vignettes from faculty members on their use of muddiest point reflections and an assessment of what value students associate with such an intervention. Faculty members who have used this approach say it drives change within their classes. The analysis of student value beliefs revealed muddiest point reflections as an intervention that positively impacts interest, attainment, and utility value without negative cost. The appeal of muddiest points was also evident with 77% of students hoping to see muddiest point reflections in another class and 93% agreeing to recommend their course experience to a friend. These findings suggest that students agree more than disagree that muddiest point reflections are a valuable addition to their educational experience.

Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning

BackgroundResearch has shown that active learning promotes student learning and increases retention rates of STEM undergraduates. Yet, instructors are reluctant to change their teaching approaches for several reasons, including a fear of student resistance to active learning. This paper addresses this issue by building on our prior work which demonstrates that certain instructor strategies can positively influence student responses to active learning. We present an analysis of interview data from 17 engineering professors across the USA about the ways they use strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning in their undergraduate engineering courses.ResultsOur data reveal that instructor strategies for reducing student resistance generally fall within two broad types: explanation and facilitation strategies. Explanation strategies consist of the following: (a) explain the purpose, (b) explain course expectations, and (c) explain activity expectations. Facilitation strategies include the following: (a) approach non-participants, (b) assume an encouraging demeanor, (c) grade on participation, (d) walk around the room, (e) invite questions, (f) develop a routine, (g) design activities for participation, and (h) use incremental steps. Four of the strategies emerged from our analysis and were previously unstudied in the context of student resistance.ConclusionsThe findings of this study have practical implications for instructors wishing to implement active learning. There is a variety of strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning, and there are multiple successful ways to implement the strategies. Importantly, effective use of strategies requires some degree of intentional course planning. These strategies should be considered as a starting point for instructors seeking to better incorporate the use of active learning strategies into their undergraduate engineering classrooms.

Integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine student resistance to active learning

ABSTRACT Engineering education researchers are increasingly integrating qualitative and quantitative research methods to study learning and retention in engineering. While quantitative methods can provide generalisable results, qualitative methods generate rich, descriptive understanding of the investigated phenomenon. On the other hand, a mixed methods approach provides benefits of the two approaches by incorporating them in a single study. However, engineering faculty often faces difficulty in integrating qualitative and quantitative methods and designs in their education research. This article discusses mixed methods in the context of an actual ongoing engineering education research project investigating student resistance to active learning. We describe the research design in phases that show the integration of quantitative and qualitative results, and how these data sources can help influence the direction of the research and triangulate findings. Our mixed method research experience highlights the importance of thinking iteratively between qualitative and quantitative data sources during the instrument development process.

Creation and Characterization of Doped Hydroxyapatite With Strontium Carbonate Thin Film Coating on Titanium Substrates Using Pulse Laser Deposition for Biological Applications

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate mechanical properties of thin films of strontium carbonate (Sr2CO3) doped with hydroxyapatite (HA) on titanium substrates using nanoindentation techniques. The variation in the weight percentages of strontium carbonate of 0 wt %, 2.5 wt % and 100 wt % of Sr2CO3 in hydroxyapatite on a titanium substrate were used to investigate the effect of strontium carbonate on the surface modification for biological application. The hope is to use these results to improve the surface hardness of dentures and boost cavity prevention, and to improve menopause bone loss and help in its remodeling. The hardness and elastic moduli of different weight percents of variation in the compositions of strontium carbonate in Sr2CO3 - HA thin film layers deposited at 600 °C on titanium substrates using Pulse Laser Deposition (PLD) at high vacuum of 10−6 Torr were measured. The effect of varying Sr2CO3 in HA on the crystallinity, on the microstructure and on film thickness was determined using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and stylus profilometer respectively. The Sr2CO3 - HA with the composition of 2.5 wt. % of Sr2CO3 has average film thicknesses of each composition of the film were also recorded and a hardness performance of 3.89 GPa, good peak broadening was also observed in the 2.5 wt % composition Sr2CO3 using XRD. The variations in the composition of strontium Carbonate in Hydroxyapatite in term of hardness and elastic moduli were reported.Copyright

Work in progress — Tracking the success of African American women undergraduates majoring in engineering

Relatively few studies have focused specifically upon racial and/or ethnic minority cohorts who choose to matriculate within engineering. This research will consider one such underrepresented group, African American women, who are making successful progress toward undergraduate degrees in any of the engineering disciplines. This work in progress examines the following questions: 1) What are the womens reasons for selecting engineering? 2) Having chosen to remain in engineering, what strategies are assisting them in their efforts to succeed and excel? And 3) What are the issues that are of special concern to them as African American women who have chosen a field of study that has traditionally been viewed as overwhelmingly White and male?

Work in progress - they prepared, they came, they participated! improving student performance

Educators all agree that there are several key factors in a students ability to succeed in the highly demanding Engineering curriculum. In an ongoing attempt to improve undergraduate education the Deans office at North Carolina A&T State University organized a group of core topic engineering educators to meet regularly and discuss and share ideas on classroom topics. The importance of classroom management can never be understated. A successful experience for our students begins with preparation and as professors, the internet and online tools offers a means to encourage this preparation. Then we have shown more evidence that attendance is also crucial. Finally, the quality of good notes is noted for the most successful students. More importantly, attention to taking more complete notes can help the lower end students achieve greater success.