Susan Haag

Developing Advanced Courses for Undergraduates: A Case Study in Databases

Computer science and engineering education is faced with the need to respond to rapid changes in a global economy while still fulfilling the role of teaching the fundamentals. This paper presents techniques for assessing the development of an advanced database concepts course for undergraduates that responds to an industry perspective of the technological advances in the field. Cooperative learning and hands-on assignments relating theory to practice are the pedagogical foundation for an advanced undergraduate course. An alumni survey illustrates that students perceived that the course activities and strategies enabled them to attain the course objectives.

Delayed Memory for Visual-Haptic Exploration of Familiar Objects

Long-term memory of haptic, visual, and cross-modality information was investigated. In Experiment 1, subjects briefly explored 40 commonplace objects visually or haptically and then received a recognition test with categorically similar foils in the same or the alternative modality both immediately and after 1 week. Recognition was best for visual input and test, with haptic memory still apparent after a week’s delay. Recognition was poorest in the cross-modality conditions, with performance on the haptic—visual and visual—haptic cross-modal conditions being nearly identical. Visual and haptic information decayed at similar rates across a week delay. In Experiment 2, subjects simultaneously viewed and handled the same objects, and transfer was tested in a successive cue-modality paradigm. Performance with the visual modality again exceeded that with the haptic modality. Furthermore, initial errors on the haptic test were often corrected when followed by the visual presentation, both immediately and after 1 week. However, visual test errors were corrected by haptic cuing on the immediate test only. These results are discussed in terms of shared information between the haptic and visual modalities, and the ease of transfer between these modalities immediately and after a substantial delay.

Effects of vision and haptics on categorizing common objects

Most research on object recognition and categorization centers on vision. However, these phenomena are likely influenced by the commonly used modality of touch. The present study tested this notion by having participants explore three-dimensional objects using vision and haptics in naming and sorting tasks. Results showed greater difficulty naming (recognizing) and sorting (categorizing) objects haptically. For both conditions, error increased from the concrete attribute of size to the more abstract quality of predation, providing behavioral evidence for shared object representation in vision and haptics.

EVALUATING A COMMUNITY COLLEGE HONORS PROGRAM: PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTIVENESS AND VALUE

In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and value of the Maricopa Community College District Honors Program. The results of a faculty questionnaire revealed favorable attitudes toward the program, with more than 90% of respondents indicating that they enjoy teaching honors courses. Telephone interviews with faculty revealed that they especially enjoy working with honors students because they are motivated and willing to learn. Alumni questionnaire respondents were also generally positive about the program and felt that they are currently applying the knowledge and skills they acquired as honors students. Current student responses were also favorable toward the honors program, agreeing in most cases with alumni responses. A primary finding of this evaluation was that all of the evaluation participants considered increasing on‐campus recruitment and retention efforts as a means of improving the honors program. Eliminating concurrent classes and making more honors courses available to students were als...

Engineering undergraduate persistence and contributing factors

The engineers of 2020 must be technically sound in their disciplines, global citizens, as well as aspirational, ethical leaders. To foster a new generation of engineering talent, modern curricula must advance strong analytical skills, teamwork, professionalism, and leadership. However, new curriculum with poor student retention cannot be deemed successful. We believe we possess the key components of a successful program, such as well-designed curricula, dedicated faculty and strong support services, yet many students leave our School. There is widespread speculation about the reasons for leaving, including financial need and lack of academic preparedness. To address these national and local retention phenomena, an evaluation process was designed to obtain quantitative information about why our students leave. The study assessed student attitudes associated with educational experiences in their new major contrasted to their engineering experiences. Thus, information gained could be a basis for decision making for future processes and proposed improvements. Engineering is committed to the challenge of developing solutions to increase the overall retention rate and diversity of engineering graduates to meet both internal and external pressures for accountability and industry demands. This paper will address some of the viable solutions to counter the problems identified in our study as well as a discussion of how they have been implemented in our school.

Industry Perceptions of Solar Energy Policy in the American Southwest

The American southwest has among the best solar resources in the world. For this reason, the solar industry monitors the progress of solar energy development there closely. Yet, meaningful adoption has been slow, particularly in the state with the richest resource, Arizona. This article reports on the results of internet surveys and personal interviews to explain why this is true. We focused on identifying industry-perceived barriers to solar adoption. We asked three questions: (1) Which industry factors slow the speed of adoption of solar energy in Arizona? (2) Are there unmet workforce needs that slow adoption in Arizona? (3) Which policy incentives are needed to accelerate solar development? We identified a need for the following steps: establish financial security for projects with newly created and targeted statutory instruments, develop standardized college-level solar curriculum to train a local workforce, and provide conspicuous government support and supportive policy commitments that are sustainable. A systematic and integrated effort with government, industry, educational, and public representation is needed to make solar energy a significant contributor to the future economic vitality of the state, thereby helping to advance such adoption in other places with similar opportunities for solar energy development.

Work in progress - collaborative multidisciplinary J-DSP software project

This NSF Phase 3 CCLI multidisciplinary project consists of a collaborative implementation and national dissemination effort that involves Arizona State University (ASU), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Prairie View A&M University, University of Washington-Bothell (UWB), Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, University of New Mexico (UNM), and the University of Cyprus (UCY). The project involves significant educational technology innovations and software extensions that will enable the online software J-DSP to be used in multiple disciplines including digital signal processing, earth systems, renewable energy, biologically-inspired sensors, and arts and media. Problems addressed include the delivery of technology-enhanced laboratory experiences to undergraduate students using novel Java tools and the requirement of a broad assessment of these practices at several universities.

Work in progress - multi-university development and dissemination of online laboratories in probability theory, signals and systems, and multimedia computing

This collaborative effort involves five universities, namely, Arizona State University, the University of Washington-Bothell, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Rhode Island, and the University of Central Florida. The paper describes educational technology innovations and software extensions that enable the on-line software Java-DSP to be used in three courses at five different universities. The project includes educational innovations, software extensions to support on-line computer laboratories in four courses at five universities, and a dissemination and assessment plan

A structured survey to inventory EC 2000 instructional materials

This study is using web-based surveys to obtain information about instructional material for the EC 2000 a-k competencies from institutions with ABET accredited programs. The first survey involves 105 institutions selected to provide a balanced distribution of engineering schools with large, medium, and small research expenditures and large, medium, and small graduating classes. The second survey involves the remaining 226 institutions with ABET accredited programs and is intended to add to the database. All survey responses are being collected online and automatically incorporated into the database.

Reengineering the curriculum: embedding effective assessment

The National Science Foundation funded Foundation Coalition (FC) offered an integrated freshman or first-year program as part of a systemic reform initiative. Embedded within this curricular reform were student learning outcomes implemented and measured across selected subject areas. The student learning outcomes were emphasized for student academic success and retention. As a result of these outcomes, academic performance, attitudes and retention have been significantly higher for students participating in the program than in the more traditional engineering programs. This paper focuses on the assessment results from two very different participating member institutions, Arizona State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and the process of effective assessment and feedback to facilitate reengineering of the curriculum.