Derek T. Reamon

Project-Based Service-Learning and Student Motivation

We know from motivation theory that enhanced motivation in students is positively correlated with engagement and active learning, interest, and value. We know less about the types of instructional strategies and curricular interventions that work to enhance student motivation in a typical engineering course. Grounded in motivation theory, the purpose of this research is to evaluate how the context of project-based service-learning affects aspects of student motivation in a required undergraduate Mechanical Engineering course. Our research aims to answer: 1) How does project-based service learning affect students’ motivation as compared to conventional (non-service) project-based learning? 2) How are women affected differentially by project-based service-learning? The research, which began in 2010, is being completed over a two-year period. The students and activities in Component Design, an existing junior-level course at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will serve as the research focus. Specifically, project-based service-learning curriculum will be implemented into a required design and build activity for Component Design students. Using a conventional design project as the control, how the context of project-based service learning affects aspects of student motivation will be studied. This paper will discuss the research design, theoretical framework, and the results from our first year of research. Our objective is to provide a more thorough understanding of the effects of service-learning on engineering education. Although service-learning may not be appropriate for every engineering course, we can strive to identify and implement specific elements of service-learning that are correlated with student motivation.Copyright

Using Random Forests to Identify Factors of Student Motivation in a Project-Based Learning Course

Grounded in motivation theory, the purpose of this research is to use random forest analysis to identify factors of motivation of students who participate in a project-based learning experience. Our research aims to answer: 1) How does project-based service learning affect students’ motivation as compared to conventional (non-service) project-based learning? 2) How are women affected differentially by project-based service-learning? The research, which began in 2011, was completed over a two-year period. The students and activities in Component Design, an existing junior-level course at the University of Colorado at Boulder served as the research focus. Specifically, project-based service-learning curriculum was implemented into a required design and build activity for Component Design students. Using a conventional design project as the control, how the context of project-based service learning affects aspects of student motivation was studied.This paper discusses the research design, theoretical framework, data analysis methods, and random forest results. Our findings indicate that students’ initial non-technical skills were the most important predictor of motivation in the conventional project-based learning experience and that students’ perceived value of the course and the project were the most important predictors of motivation in the project-based service-learning experience.Copyright

An Innovative Approach to Creating, Developing, and Delivering a New Course Entitled Global Engineering

In 2005, the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) began a discussion about the subject of outsourcing engineering offshore and the possibility of teaching a course to prepare mechanical engineering students for this environment. This in turn, led to the formation of a committee and a series of discussions and recommendations for the content for such a course. The ad-hoc committee comprised of a few IAC members, a few M.E. department design faculty members, and some faculty from the business school. The original course covered the following topics: engineering economics, creating product requirements and specifications, identifying the core competencies of a company, project management, developing a business plan, supply chain logistics/management, intellectual property, understanding cultural and language differences, team dynamics, communication, and creativity. This broad array of subject matter dictated that the course be taught in a non-conventional manner. A team of instructors, comprised of two mechanical engineering professors, two business school professors, three engineers and two businessmen from industry, who are intimately involved with outsourcing, and a patent attorney were assembled to teach different portions of the course. The students also participated in a hands-on outsourcing term project. The class was broken up into ten teams, with each team developing a product in conjunction with a company from India. Each team submitted a set of specifications for a unique product to the offshore company. The company designed the product and produced an approved CAD drawing. After student approval, the company manufactured a prototype of the product, and shipped it to the respective team for analysis. Each team then presented a report on their outsourcing experience, their testing results, and a financial analysis for the product. The class was comprised of mechanical engineering senior and graduate students, with a few students from other engineering disciplines and the business school. Based upon course surveys, this course was very well received by the students and provided an important introduction to business. The semester project proved to be a valuable tool for the students to obtain some direct experience with outsourcing.Copyright