Edward J. Mastascusa

A proposal for a remotely shared control systems laboratory

The authors present a futuristic approach to sharing one of the most expensive components of engineering education, the laboratory. The objective of the shared laboratory is to improve the effectiveness of the control and instrumentation laboratory experience for undergraduates. An experimental station can be operated from a computer in a classroom, or from a computer at a remote location or another campus. A multimedia configuration using a graphical user interface and remote logon capability is envisioned. The system will provide the tools to predict system performance with a simulation, show data as they are generated, analyze data after they are taken, and show a visual presentation of the experimental configuration with video disc. This facility will permit cooperative development of laboratory experiments and comparison of pedagogical approaches with others who use the experimental packages (software and hardware).<<ETX>>

Computer-controlled laboratory experiments

Inexpensive, safe, computer-controlled laboratory experiments which use modern sensors, digital storage oscilloscopes, and data acquisition units were developed for National Science Foundation Faculty Enhancement Workshops offered at Bucknell University. Although the experiments are simple in construction, rather complex data analysis using MATLAB or Excel applies. Detailed descriptions of the experiments will be available on the Internet.© 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc..

Project Catalyst: promoting systemic change in engineering education

Project Catalyst is an NSF-funded initiative to promote systemic change in engineering education by integrating instructional design techniques, transforming the classroom into a cooperative learning environment, and incorporating the use of information technology in the teaching/learning process. A conceptual framework is described to aid in shifting and supporting students and instructors activities in a transition from a traditional mode to a collaborative mode of instruction. In the first year of Project Catalyst, a core group of engineering faculty has begun implementing this focused shift by introducing a greater emphasis on team building, teamwork, cooperative learning, problem-based learning, and information technology. This paper discusses our enhanced instructional model and the supplementary skills modules that we will develop and use to implement this model. It concludes with the future work for the remaining two years of the NSF-funded project.

Incorporating "computer-graded" components into electronic lessons

Learning occurs at many levels. Students advance from basic knowledge of skills to use of those skills in analysis, synthesis design and evaluation. Faculty, however, have the task of grading student work in all of those areas. Demands on faculty time limit what can be done. Especially in courses early in the curriculum, an attempt to bring synthesis and design into a course means that time for grading design may come from time for grading basic skills. This dilemma could conceivably be resolved in either direction-put the time into grading work on basic skills or put the time into synthesis and design. However, the preferred direction of resolution is to put the time into synthesis and design if it is possible to take care of grading work in basic skills. This paper discusses an attempt to automate grading work on basic skills in electrical engineering. The grading program was written in an inexpensive authoring system and can be adapted to other disciplines.

Using courseware authoring to mentor faculty of the future

This paper discusses a novel method for recruiting faculty members-particularly female and minority faulty members-by introducing students to the duties and responsibilities of faculty members at an early stage of their undergraduate career. Students assisted faculty in preparation of electronic courseware in a ten-week long summer program as well as during the school year. Student participants were teamed with faculty mentors from their discipline. The courseware design was based on Kolb cycle principles for use in undergraduate courses. In addition to participating in their development teams, all students met weekly in a large group setting. In those meetings background material like Kolb cycle principles, were presented to the students, or they shared and critiqued their courseware design as well as discussing issues relating to life as a faculty member. Students were chosen for this project on the basis of an expressed interest in attending graduate school and in pursuing a career in academia. Nineteen students have participated in this program over a period of 4 years.

Concurrent tutorial and applications

It is pointed out that tutorial programs running side-by-side with application programs provide an effective way to teach many faces of introductory instrumentation and measurements. Side-by-side tutorials have been implemented for teaching use of instrumentation in stand-alone and IEEE-488 controlled situations (using C programs) and display and analysis of data in various application programs. An environment is discussed which permits students to learn how to use instruments manually and under computer control. The method has proven to be efficient because it permits an instructor to focus on students with problems and to let students proceeding well continue at their own pace. It is also an effective method when judged in terms of student learning.<<ETX>>