Stephanie Cutler

Estimates of Use of Research-Based Instructional Strategies in Core Electrical or Computer Engineering Courses

Many research-based instruction strategies (RBISs) have been developed; their superior efficacy with respect to student learning has been demonstrated in many studies. Collecting and interpreting evidence about: 1) the extent to which electrical and computer engineering (ECE) faculty members are using RBISs in core, required engineering science courses, and 2) concerns that they express about using them, are important aspects of understanding how engineering education is evolving. The authors surveyed ECE faculty members, asking about their awareness and use of selected RBISs. The survey also asked what concerns ECE faculty members had about using RBISs. Respondent data showed that awareness of RBISs was very high, but estimates of use of RBISs, based on survey data, varied from 10% to 70%, depending on characteristics of the strategy. The most significant concern was the amount of class time that using an RBIS might take; efforts to increase use of RBISs must address this.

An evaluation of the Australian engineers without borders challenge from the course coordinators' perspectives

One of the challenges for engineering professors is providing realistic design projects for their students to work on. Since 2007, Engineers Without Borders, Australia (EWBA) has coordinated a national first year engineering design challenge for students attending Australian universities. The EWB Challenge offers students the opportunity to work in a team on a real world problem aiming to improve conditions in a disadvantaged community. Since its inception, the EWB Challenge has had over 18,000 students at 31 universities participate. A majority of the participating universities have integrated the Challenge into their first year engineering course focusing on professional engineering. In 2010, the first semester course coordinators working with the Challenge were interviewed about their experience working with EWBA on the Challenge. These interviews were one component of an overall program level evaluation that began at the end of the first semester in 2010. The course coordinators are in a unique role of translating the provided EWBA resources into a learning exercise that is appropriate for their students. Coordinators emphasized the importance of utilizing the Challenge to provide the students with a real-world problem that would impact an actual community. The coordinators also discussed a number of different challenges they were facing that were not limited to working on the Challenge such as keeping their students motivated, finding the right balance of providing information and having the students conduct research on their own, as well having trouble facilitating teams and emphasizing communication skills.

2017 IEEE Education Society Awards, 2017 Frontiers in Education Conference Awards, and Selected IEEE Awards

The IEEE Education Society, the IEEE Computer Society, and the American Society for Engineering Education Educational Research and Methods Division (ASEE ERM) sponsored the 46th Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference in Erie, PA, USA, held October 12–15, 2016. James Sluss, President of the Society, Russell Meier, President of the ASEE ECE Division, and Elizabeth Eschenbach, Chair, FIE Steering Committee, presented awards sponsored by HP Enterprise, the FIE Conference, the Education Society of IEEE, and the ECE Division of ASEE to the 2016 recipients of these awards.

Innovation t-ball: Everybody wins!!

As we all come together at FIE to explore advancements in engineering education, many attendees may ask themselves, “How could I use this in my classroom?” At Penn State, the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education has been working with faculty for the last 25 years to help answer that exact question. This special session will offer FIE participants the opportunity to bring their new ideas together to collaborate with other participants, and members of the Leonhard Center, to develop specific strategies for how they can take that new idea (innovation) and turn it into classroom practice. The structure of this session will mimic a t-ball game to help exemplify the Leonhard Centers core values of exuberance and fun through learning while allowing participants to think about classroom practices from a different perspective.

The lord of PhD: Fellowship of the dissertation - A guide to surviving the pursuit of a PhD

Allegories have been used to represent ideas, concepts, and processes, primarily in classical literature. In engineering education, allegories have been used to describe the different roles within academia [1]. Here, we focus specifically on the path of a doctoral student in engineering working towards earning their degree and completing a dissertation. The path will be discussed as an allegory to “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien [2]. This allegory explores the milestones, characters, barriers, and support doctoral students will meet along their journey. The session will utilize identity-trajectory to guide discussion and encourage attendees to explore and share their experiences. The session is aimed at providing guidelines to students progressing through a doctoral degree and to assist graduate advisors in supporting their students on this journey.