The following is a list of all publications generated by the Foundation Coalition, listed by author. These documents require the use of the Adobe Acrobat software in order to view their contents.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

1992

• Erdman, C.A., Glover, C.J., Willson, V.L., 1992, “Curriculum Change: Acceptance and Dissemination,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.
• Glover, C.J., Erdman, C.A., 1992, “Overview of the Texas A&M/NSF Engineering Core Curriculum Development,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: In an effort to encourage new approaches to teaching engineering, the National Science Foundation has supported the development of four new courses at Texas A&M University build a solid TAMU). These new courses are designed to foundation for further engineering study and practice and are intended to replace the content normally taught in a set of “core” engineering sciecne courses. This paper addresses the overall philosophy and approach of the program and the roles of each of the four courses. Other elements of the program and details of the courses are discussed elsewhere.

  Briefly, the motivation for this project arose out of several concerns which have been expressed at national engineering education meetings. These are discussed elsewhere1 but are summarized as 1) a national concern for the state of engineering education, 2) a recognition of the fact that technology h as been changing faster than education, 3) a need for more efficiency in education as the body of knowledge grows, and 4) a need more creative design content. As a result, it was concluded that a need existed for a radical change in the engineering science core course concept.

• Glover, C.J., Jones, H.L., 1992, “TAMU/NSF Engineering Core Currciulum Course 4: Conservation Principles for Continuous Media,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: In an effort to encourage new approaches to teaching engineering, the National Science Foundation has supported the development of four new courses at Texas A&M University (TAMU). These new courses are designed to build a solid foundation for further engineering study and practice and are intended to replace the content normally taught in a set of “core” engineering science courses. This paper addresses key elements of one of these new courses (Course 4). Other elements of the program are discussed elsewhere.

  Course 4, to a great extent, parallels course 1. It has four primary objectives, 1) to develop the basic equations of engineering analysis for use with continua, 2) to review properties and behavior of materials from the perspective of continua, 3) to present applications of the basic equations to the analysis and understanding of processes in continua such as heat transfer, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and 4) to carry out the above objectives with an emphasis on understanding the physical meaning of the fundamental laws as represented in the mathematical equations. From this perspective, it combines the concepts of course 1 with the mathematical language of multivariable calculus.

  In this course we further develop the unifying theme of conservation principles and in doing so further instill in the students the tremendous wealth of information which lies in the handful (plus one) of physical laws. The laws are revisited, although on a microscopic scale, to provide details such as temperature profiles associated with heat conduction, stress and strain in deformable solids, and velocity profiles of flowing fluids. As in course 1, it is our objective that students practice approaching problems from a viewpoint of applying the laws, one by one, and asking the questions “What does counting mass (energy, linear momentum, angular momentum, charge, entropy, mechanical energy, thermal energy, electrical energy, etc.) tell me?". This approach further establishes a strong understanding of the fundamental physical laws and provides students with a foundation for approaching new problems in a creative and conceptual way.

• Glover, C.J., Lunsford, K.M., Fleming, J.A., 1992, “TAMU/NSF Engineering Core Curriculum Course 1: Conservation Principles in Engineering,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: In an effort to encourage new approaches to teaching engineering, the National Science Foundation has supported the development of four new courses at Texas A&M University build a solid TAMU). These new courses are designed to foundation for further engineering study and practice and are intended to replace the content normally taught in a set of "core" engineering science courses. This paper addresses key elements of one of these new courses (Course 1). Other elements of the program are discussed elsewhere.

  Course 1 is the keynote course of this four-course sequence. As such it has our primary objectives, 1) to present the unifying structure of engineering and science, 2) to develop the basic equations of engineering for macroscopic systems, 3) to provide experience with applying fundamentals to problems in traditional areas, and 4) to present the big picture. Additionally, it serves to provide a transition from physics, chemistry, and mathematics to engineering.

  In this course we try to open the students’ eyes to the vast amount of understanding that can be achieved simply by counting a variety of extensive properties for a variety of systems. From this perspective our primary goal throughout the course is to move the students to a point of view that in approaching problems, whether they are problems they have seen before or not, they should do so from a perspective of applying the laws and of counting extensive properties. We believe that if they approach problems by asking “What does counting mass (energy, linear momentum, angular momentum, charge, entropy, mechanical energy, thermal energy, electrical energy, etc.) tell me?“, then they can have a very strong foundation for approaching new problems in a creative and conceptual way.

1995

• Roedel, R.J., Kawski, M., Doak, B., Politano, M., Duerden, S., Green, M., Kelly, J., Linder, D., Evans, D.L., 1995, “An Integrated, Project-based, Introductory Course in Calculus, Physics, English, and Engineering,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Arizona State University is a member of the NSF-sponsored Engineering Education Coalition known as the Foundation Coalition. This paper describes the development of an integrated introductory course delivered to freshman engineering students at ASU in the Fall '94 semester as a part of the Foundation Coalition program.

  The course combined and integrated material from introductory courses in calculus, physics, English composition, and engineering, normally taught in a stand-alone format. The calculus used in this course was based on the ``Harvard reform model'' and include d a review of functions, the derivative, the definite integral, and application of these topics to physics and engineering problems. The physics was mechanics-based, with emphasis on kinematics, dynamics, conservation principles, rotational motion, and re lativity.

  What differentiated this integrated package from versions found at other institutions in the Coalition was (a) the inclusion of English composition, and (b) the project-based introduction to engineering. In this integrated course, the students learned to organize and develop ideas for both technical and general audiences. In addition, they learned the use of rhetorical principles with readings from the philosophy of science, engineering case studies, and so on.

  The over-arching framework for the class was the use of engineering projects to teach design and modeling principles. The three projects incorporated the calculus and physics that had been learned to date in the class. The first utilized kinematics and curve-fitting to functions to design and build a simple projectile launcher; the second employed dynamics and numerical integration to design and build a bungee drop system; and the third project, which also served as the final exam, used rotational motion concepts and a data acquisition system to identify the shape and material of a hidden object.

  The integrated course also employed considerable use of computers in an active learning environment that stressed teaming and other quality tools.

• Griffin, R.B., Everett, L.J., Keating, P.B., Lagoudas, D., Tebeaux, E., Parker, D., Bassichis, W., Barrow, D., 1995, “Planning the Texas A&M University College of Engineering Sophomore Year Integrated Curriculum,” Fourth World Conference on Engineering Education, St. Paul, Minnesota, October 1995, vol. 1, pp. 228-232.

1996

• Doak, B., McCarter, J., Green, M., Duerden, S., Evans, D.L., Roedel, R.J., Williams, P., 1996, “Animated Spreadsheets as a Teaching Resourse on the Freshman Level,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Computer animation can serve as a powerful teaching tool. Too often, however, interactive computer animation degenerates into a video game, with students blithely entering data and enjoying "gee-whiz" graphics while managing to ignore completely the underlying physics and math - the understanding of which is the actual intent of the animation! Such unfocused trialand- error engagement can be largely avoided if the animation is introduced as a tool rather than as a "black box." Spreadsheets lend themselves very well to this. One simple, easily-understood macro to "step" time is all that is required. Graphs based on formulas referencing this time immediately become animated. If the student has entered and understood the spreadsheet formulas in the first place, the animation is a completely natural extension of a familiar tool. The visual impact is just as great as with more sophisticated animation but is a natural outgrowth of the underlying physics and math rather than being simply the output of a "black box."

• Green, M., Duerden, S., 1996, “Collaboration, English Composition, and the Engineering Student: Constructing Knowledge in the Integrated Engineering Program,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: To meet the needs of today’s engineering students in a global technology-based environment, programs like the Freshman Integrated Program in Engineering (FIPE) must produce engineers who can work creatively in teams. Our program must also produce students who can think critically about engineering, who can construct knowledge in teams, and who can do so both through talking and through writing. To meet this goal, we present writing as problem-solving thereby helping students to construct knowledge about issues and ethical dilemmas in engineering through writing. Hence, English composition can enhance and reinforce the construction of knowledge that is occurring in other classes the students take. If the composition teacher ties collaborative writing tasks to engineering issues and ethical dilemmas, the students will benefit in two ways: from the practice they gain in collaborative writing before they take more senior technical writing classes and from the ability to explore issues and ethics that other classes may raise but do not have time to thoroughly develop. One example of a collaborative writing task on which students collaborate from invention to final revision is the team research paper our students write on a technological versus a social fix to a problem they choose to study. Our paper will briefly address the composition theory behind collaborative writing and then show how students can collaborate on such a paper from invention to revision.

• Evans, D.L., Doak, B., Duerden, S., Green, M., McCarter, J., Roedel, R.J., Williams, P., 1996, “Team-Based Projects for Assessment in First Year Physics Courses Supporting Engineering,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Two team-oriented, project-based exercises developed and used for student assessment in an integrated freshman program are described. These projects allow assessment of student progress toward meeting desirable student outcomes such as ability to work in teams, ability to communicate, and able to apply science and engineering to the solution of problems. One project involves measurement of the velocity of a projectile; the other one involves the measurement of the ambient magnetic field strength. Lists of parts supplied to each student team are include as are photos and sketches of the more complex pieces of equipment. Student comments and faculty roles are also discussed.

• Roedel, R.J., Evans, D.L., Doak, B., Kawski, M., Green, M., Duerden, S., McCarter, J., Williams, P., Burrows, V., 1996, “Use of the Internet to Support an Integrated Introductory Course in Engineering, Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and English,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Arizona State University has been offering an introductory course that integrates engineering design and modeling, calculus, physics, chemistry, and English through the Foundation Coalition, an Engineering Education Coalition sponsored by the National Science Foundation. One of the critical components of courseware developed through the Foundation Coalition is the infusion of technology enhanced education. This paper will describe the use of the Internet, through the World Wide Web and through videoconferencing, to support this introductory course. It is interesting to note that the success of Internet usage is directly tied to the performance of the net. That is, when Internet traffic or bandwidth problems arise, both the students and the faculty become less enthusiastic about using the technology.

1997

• Gershenson, J.K., 1997, “A Course in Life-Cycle Engineering,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: This paper describes the development and implementation of a class in the mechanical aspects of life-cycle engineering. This course teaches students to use cutting edge design methodologies and analysis tools and apply them to the redesign of industrial products. The life-cycle engineering course benefits from recent advances in design education across the country and at The University of Alabama (UA). The course fills a gap in the set of analysis tools that students are given in their formal education.

• Cordes, D., Parrish, A., Dixon, B., Borie, R., Jackson, J., Gaughan, P., 1997, “An Integrated First-Year Curriculum for Computer Science and Computer Engineering,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: The University of Alabama is an active participant in the NSF-sponsored Foundation Coalition, a partnership of seven institutions who are actively involved in fundamental reform of undergraduate engineering education. As part of this effort, the University of Alabama has developed an integrated first-year curriculum for engineering students. This curriculum consists primarily of an integrated block of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and engineering design. The engineering design course is used as the anchor that ties the other disciplines together.

  While this curriculum is highly appropriate (and successful) for most engineering majors, it does not meet the needs of a computer engineering (or computer science) major nearly as well. Recognizing this, the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering recently received funding under NSF’s Course and Curriculum Development Program to generate an integrated introduction to the discipline of computing.

  The revised curriculum provides a five-hour block of instruction (each semester) in computer hardware, software development, and discrete mathematics. At the end of this three-semester sequence, students will have completed the equivalent of CS I and CS II, a digital logic course, an introductory sequence in computer organization and assembly language, and a discrete mathematics course.

  The revised curriculum presents these same materials in an integrated block of instruction. As one simple example, the instruction of basic data types in the software course (encountered early in the freshman year) is accompanied by machine representation of numbers (signed binary, one and two’s complement) in the hardware course, and by arithmetic in different bases in the discrete mathematics course. It also integrates cleanly with the Foundation Coalition’s freshman year, and provides a block of instruction that focuses directly upon the discipline of computing.

• Griffin, R.B., Everett, L.J., Lagoudas, D., 1997, “Development of a Sophomore Year Engineering Program at Texas A&M University,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Texas A&M University is a member of the Foundation Coalition. This program, funded by the National Science Foundation, has been working on the educational reform at Texas A&M and the other schools for four years. The Sophomore Team at Texas A&M University began working on the development of a series of engineering science courses in late fall of 1994. The first courses were taught in fall 1995. This paper will discuss the development of the courses and the institutionalization of them within the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University.

  The goals of the coalition are: active and collaborative learning, teaming, and the use of technology in the classroom.

  The Foundation Coalition sophomore engineering educational program was based on the above goals and the use of conservation principles to describe engineering systems. iv The five courses, the sequencing of the courses, and engineering areas covered are shown in the following table.

  An effort has been made to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. One measure was to examine the grade point ratios of students in the coalition and in the traditional program. Another is to use similar examination questions and compare the results. This has been done for three of the courses and the results will be presented and discussed. The assessment and evaluation area is important and considerably more work needs to be done. An assessment and evaluation plan will be described, and future plans for the coalition activities will be discussed.

• Roedel, R.J., Green, M., Garland, J., Doak, B., McCarter, J., Evans, D.L., Duerden, S., 1997, “Projects that integrate engineering, physics, calculus, and English in the Arizona State University Foundation Coalition freshman program,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: The Foundation Coalition at Arizona State University has been offering a novel first year program in engineering for the last three years.[1-5] This program integrates coursework in English composition and rhetoric, calculus, freshman physics, and introductory engineering concepts through student projects. The projects increase in complexity as the term progresses, to keep pace with students' increasing knowledge of science and engineering. The purpose of this paper is to describe the projects, the process used to deliver them, and their impact on the learning in this class.

• Duerden, S., Graham, J.M., Garland, J., Doak, B., McCarter, J., Roedel, R.J., Evans, D.L., Williams, P., 1997, “Scaling Up Arizona State University's First-Year Integrated Program in Engineering: Problems and Solutions,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: This paper discusses how scale-up from a pilot of 32 students to 80 students affected the integrated delivery of material in English composition, physics, and engineering to a cohort of freshman engineering students. It also discusses how collaborative learning and projects were structured to fit 80 students, the effects of class size on student-to-student interaction and student-to-faculty interactions in and out of the classroom, and what modifications were made to the classroom facilities to accommodate these projects. Although there were some detrimental effects accruing to the scale-up, for the most part, student performance was unaffected or slightly improved.

• Gunn, W., Corleto, C.R., Kimball, J.L., 1997, “The Portfolio as a Tool to Evaluate and Assess the Effectiveness of a First-Year Integrated Engineering Curriculum,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: This paper presents the results of using an across-the-curriculum portfolio as one means to assess the effectiveness of the First-Year Integrated Engineering Curriculum (FYIEC) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

• Duerden, S., Green, M., Garland, J., Doak, B., McCarter, J., Roedel, R.J., Evans, D.L., Williams, P., 1997, “Trendy Technology or a Learning Tool? Using Electronic Journaling on Webnotes for Curriculum Integration in the Freshman Program in Engineering at ASU,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Lately, technology has transformed our world, with millions of users negotiating everything from purchasing goods to accessing research. The pressure to embrace this technology has grown to the point that even in the composition classroom, instructors are exploring ways to most profitably use it. Given the growth and commercialism of the World Wide Web (WWW), it is not always easy to distinguish the hype from the useful. However, one worthwhile application is WebNotes¥,[1] a commercial, WWW-based electronic forum software product that has become a powerful journaling tool for fostering connections, delivering information, and creating an online community in and out of the classroom. In our first two iterations of the NSF Foundation Coalition integrated program for first-year students at Arizona State University, we used journaling to encourage students to connect their classes by explaining math, physics, or engineering concepts to the non-specialist (English teachers), discussing teaming and teaming issues, and providing feedback. Before the use of WebNotes¥, the English teachers collected the journals and passed them on to the other faculty members, usually in the space of one week, causing many logistical problems. With Webnotes, students now write entries in a word processing program, which encourages them to check spelling and grammar, and then they paste them into a WebNotes¥ forum. The faculty can then read the entries at their convenience and respond to each student via e-mail. These entries can be kept hidden from other students until or unless the moderators (faculty) choose to release them. Assessment of student responses to this form of journaling, in the form of anecdotes and a survey, has been very positive. Students like the individual and immediate responses they receive via e-mail -- always a popular form of communication with students. Moreover, they appreciate the fact that multiple faculty may read a single entry. As a learning tool, an integration tool, and a feedback tool, this technology has proved that technology is not simply “trendy.” Sometimes it really can enhance learning and communication.

1998

• Garcia, A., Keller, G., McHenry, A., Begay, F., 1998, “Enhancing Underrepresented Student Opportunities Through Faculty Mentoring and Peer Interactions,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: During the past seven years, an alliance of colleges and universities within Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Western Texas along with professional organizations, government laboratories, educational organizations, and corporations has been committed to one of the most challenging goals in higher education: increasing the number of African American, American Indian, and Hispanic bachelor degrees in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. This alliance, known as the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities (WAESO), has relied heavily on engaging students in academic and research activities outside the classroom involving science and engineering faculty and student peers in order to improve retention and increase graduation rates of underrepresented students.

  Over the past six years we have had 4,251 student participations within our alliance activities which include: (1) peer study groups; (2) summer bridge programs; (3) faculty-directed undergraduate students research; and (4) graduate preparation, mentorships, and research conference participations. In order to provide such a large number of student participations, our alliance calls upon over 500 resource individuals at 75 campuses and organizations where approximately 85% are scientists, engineers, and other faculty, and 15% are administrators. This paper will present our strategies for: (1) engaging science and engineering faculty and students in these activities which depends upon inter-institutional cooperation; (2) documentation of student information and student outcomes; and (3) institutionalization of these activities through the use of the Internet and through faculty development.

• Sathianathan, D., Sheppard, S., Jenison, R., Bilgutay, N.M., Demel, J.T., Gavankar, P., Lockledge, J., Mutharasan, R., Phillips, H., Poli, C., Richardson, J., 1998, “Freshman Design Projects: Lessons Learned in Engineering Coalitions,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: NSF established the Engineering Education Coalition programs for the purpose of creating systemic changes in engineering education. Coalitions are groups of institutions of higher learning who work collaboratively to achieve their coalition's mission. The first Coalition program was established in 1990. There are now eight Engineering Education Coalitions representing some 59 Universities (roughly 20% of all of the undergraduate institutions in the United States).

  Most coalitions have developed freshman design projects to increase the interest of new engineering students and to begin the integration of design across the curriculum. These activities are multi-week project approach, where students are engaged in hands-on experimental learning. The projects require that the members of the team must work together to complete the task. The multi-week projects dominate the course and the project theme motivates both the fixed and the flexible content covered during the course.

  This special session will discuss the various types of freshman design projects used and lessons learned by the Engineering Coalitions. Short presentations from the various coalitions will review what has been done and the lessons learned. The sessions will be interactive, involving the audience in the discussion of these lessons learned. A list of projects used in the coalitions along with a list of publications will be made available.

• Duerden, S., Garland, J., 1998, “Goals, Objectives, & Performance Criteria: A Useful Assessment Tool for Students and Teachers,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: In this paper, we will discuss how we have applied the Assessment Plan Development Guide developed by Gloria M. Rogers & Jean K. Sando at Rose Hulman for the Foundation Coalition to the English Freshman Composition course in the first-year integrated program in engineering at Arizona State University. Assessment in composition courses is especially difficult, and experts in composition disagree on the nature and validity of assessment. However, to examine student learning and course effectiveness, instructors need assessment tools. Our Goals/Objectives/ Performance Matrix has enabled us to begin this assessment. Although originally developed for freshman composition, we have found that this matrix which defines goals, objectives, and performance criteria can easily be employed by instructors in other disciplines. Developing such a matrix not only provides instructors with a useful assessment tool, it also provides them with a powerful tool for reevaluating course content and course development. It also provides students with a way to reflect on and evaluate their own learning, and when students are self-reflective about their own learning, we believe that they tend to do better.

• Reed-Rhoads, T., Dozier, R.J., Garland, J., 1998, “Views about Writing Survey - A New Writing Attitudinal Survey Applied to Engineering Students,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: The development and initial administration results of a new attitudinal instrument, the Views about Writing Survey (VAWS), are presented. The goal of the VAWS is to measure the attitudes, beliefs, values, and perceptions that students have about writing at the beginning of the composition course and again at the end of the semester to show if and how their attitudes change. To this end, the instrument is used as a pre- and post- semester tool to compare students taught in a traditional English composition course with those taught in an English composition course that has been integrated with the engineering, physics, and calculus courses.

  The VAWS was administered to 50 freshmen engineering students within the Foundation Coalition program and to 155 freshmen students within regular sections of English in the first week and again in the last week of classes in the fall semester of 1997. This paper will discuss the development of the instrument including the course objectives addressed by the survey. Further, initial validation results of this new instrument and statistical results from comparisons of the engineering students within the Foundation Coalition and students in regular English courses will be presented.

1999

• Pendergrass, N.A., Kowalczyk, R.E., Dowd, J.P., Laoulache, R.N., Nelles, W., Golen, J.A., Fowler, E., 1999, “Improving First-year Engineering Education,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD) began a successful, thirty-one credit, integrated first-year engineering curriculum in September 1998. The program was modeled after many of the most effective and innovative programs in the NSF-sponsored Foundation Coalition as well as from other universities and colleges. The new program at UMD includes

  1) integrating the introductory sequences in physics, calculus, chemistry, English and engineering

  2) teaching and using teamwork among students and faculty

  3) using a specially designed technology oriented classroom

  4) using active and cooperative learning methods

  5) encouraging formation of a community of students by block-scheduling classes and grouping students in the dorms

  6) reducing the cost of delivering courses by making more efficient use of instructional time

  7) using careful assessment to evaluate performance.

  This paper describes the new curriculum, some of the practical considerations in its design, and the way it has functioned. It will also give a detailed snapshot of assessment results after one semester of operation. Additional assessment data on the second semester will be provided in the presentation and upon request.

2001

• Pendergrass, N.A., Kowalczyk, R.E., Dowd, J.P., Laoulache, R.N., Nelles, W., Golen, J.A., Fowler, E., 2001, “Improving First-Year Engineering Education,” Journal of Engineering Education, 90:1, 33-41.

  Abstract: The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD) began a successful, thirty-one credit, integrated first-year engineering curriculum in September 1998. The program was modeled after many of the most effective and innovative programs in the NSF-sponsored Foundation Coalition as well as from other universities and colleges. The new program at UMD includes

  1) integrating the introductory sequences in physics, calculus, chemistry, English and engineering

  2) teaching and using teamwork among students and faculty

  3) using a specially designed technology oriented classroom

  4) using active and cooperative learning methods

  5) encouraging formation of a community of students by block-scheduling classes and grouping students in the dorms

  6) reducing the cost of delivering courses by making more efficient use of instructional time

  7) using careful assessment to evaluate performance.

  This paper describes the new curriculum, some of the practical considerations in its design, and the way it has functioned. It will also give a detailed snapshot of assessment results after one semester of operation. Additional assessment data on the second semester will be provided in the presentation and upon request.

• Duerden, S., Garland, J., Helfers, C., Roedel, R.J., 2001, “Integration of first year English and Introduction to Engineering Design: A Path to Explore the Literacy and Culture of Engineering,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: One of the goals of the Foundation Coalition’s Freshman Integrated Program for Engineers (FIPE) at Arizona State University is to help students attain a critical awareness of the culture in which they live and work. Therefore, through sustained and ongoing dialogue with the engineering professor, the English teachers in the FIPE program have designed a curriculum that asks students to engage with other perspectives, both cultural and historical, about issues relevant to them as future engineers. As Samuel Florman explains, “[w]ithout imagination, heightened awareness, moral sense, and some reference to the general culture, the engineering experience becomes less meaningful, less fulfilling than it should be. In this first of two semesters, the engineering students explore the rhetorics, literacy, and culture of engineering in the university and in the professional workplace. They are exposed to the historical and cultural background of issues related to engineering, they explore rhetorics of inquiry to discover ways of knowing and thinking in engineering, which leads them to more informed arguments, decisions, and use of language. Through a freshman English class that has been carefully integrated with the engineering curriculum, we are able to help students contextualize, explore, question, and apply concepts learned in engineering to their writing in English.

• Garland, J., Duerden, S., Helfers, C., Rodriguez, A.A., 2001, “Integration of First-year English with Introduction to Engineering Design with an Emphasis on Questions of Ethics,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Fundamental to engineering education, and mandated by ABET is that students engage with questions of ethics. Too often, however, this does not occur until late in the student’s career. In the Foundation Coalition Freshman Integrated Program in Engineering at Arizona State University, we believe that concern for ethics must be integrated vertically into the curriculum beginning in the first year of the student’s career. This can be successfully achieved if freshman English and engineering design are integrated, as we have been able to do. We introduce our students in their first semester to the ancient rhetors’ concept of values and use that to explore specific engineering codes of ethics and decision-making tools employed in engineering. This foundation then allows students to critically analyze case histories and discover for themselves that ethical considerations are and must be part of the decision-making processes they employ, even when the tools they use cut out such considerations. This foundation allows us to then explore ethical considerations vertically throughout their careers as engineering students. Therefore, we urge educators to consider the possibility of developing integrated courses that allow students to connect the intellectual rhetorics of inquiry developed in freshman English classes with their engineering classes so that students can truly appreciate and comprehend the importance of ethics in their future professional lives.

• Griffin, R.B., Creasy, T.S., 2001, “The Development of a Combined Materials/Manufacturing Process Course at Texas A&M University,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University is reducing the required number of undergraduate degree credit hours from 138 to 130 or 132 credit hours. Two long-standing courses, Properties of Materials (4 credit hours) and Manufacturing Processes (3 credit hours), will become one new junior level course (4 credit hours). Both of the predecessor courses had laboratory components as will the new course. This paper describes the process used to develop the course. An outline of the topics covered and the laboratory activities are included in the paper. One thrust of the laboratory portion of the course will allow students to make choices and to plan their laboratory activity rather than following a cookbook recipe for the activity. The paper provides and discusses several examples of this.

• Graham, J.M., Caso, R., Rierson, J., 2001, “The Effect of the Texas A&M University System AMP on the Success of Minority Undergrduates in Engineering: A Multiple-Outcome Analysis,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: The Texas A&M System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (a.k.a. TX AMP), is a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary National Science Foundation program designed to foster significant increases in the number of underrepresented minority students earning baccalaureate degrees in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (SMET) disciplinesi. There are currently 25 LSAMP projects in existence across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The Texas A&M System AMP was among the first six to be funded, beginning in Fall 1991. In addition to Texas A&M University (TAMU), the TX AMP has actively included 4 other Texas A&M System Universities and 9 community colleges .

  Each campus has pursued the objectives of the AMP Program by implementing strategies intended to increase retention, enrich learning, and encourage progression through SMET BS programs into SMET graduate programs for under-represented minority students. While many activities for nurturing the academic success of under-represented minority SMET students were employed in several or all TX AMP partner institutions, the particular repertoire of tactics employed have varied by campus, depending upon the particular needs of their students, as well as their particular institutional mission and culture. A description of TX AMP program activities is provided in Appendix A. Over the years it has also become a fundamental aim of the NSF AMP program to affect the institutional internalization of the program’s objectives and institutional “ownership” of program activities.

  On the TAMU main campus, the AMP Program has operated from within the College of Engineering as part of the Engineering Academic Programs Office. The program’s focal strategy has revolved around building an inviting academic and emotionally supportive minority student community for prospective and enrolled minority students, in which retention and individual academic achievement are fostered. Specific tactics have included high-school to university bridge programs, transfer student bridge activities, scholarship or stipend funding, matching with peer, faculty and/or administration mentors, clustering students, supplemental instruction, special industry internship opportunities, and undergraduate research opportunities.

  The TAMU AMP program has traditionally sought to include those minority students often considered most at risk: first generation college students, students with great financial need, and students unprepared to take engineering calculus in their first semester. Since 1996 the TX AMP program has operated under constraints imposed by the Hopwood Decisionii, which prohibits admission or access to special programs, services or incentives based upon racial or ethnic selection. In 1997, the TX AMP program worked to find legal means by which to hold ground on gains which had been achieved in attracting, nurturing, and increasing pools of under- represented minority engineering students, as well as an effective means of continuing to provide underrepresented minority students with a nurturing academic community and access to academic enrichment. A strategy adopted in the TAMU College of Engineering, in 1998, was to incorporate and institutionalize within the freshman engineering academic program many of the practices which had been initially seeded and supported by the AMP programiii.

  Yearly Annual Reports and progress updates to NSF regularly report on the program’s principal success indicator, the number of minority SMET BS students graduated by the TX AMP across all campuses. Our motives for undertaking this study were to probe and evaluate the effect of the AMP program and AMP program tactics upon some of the other important student performance outcomes which reflect upon students’ educational experience. We believe that this objective may be accomplished most meaningfully and usefully by studying the individual TAMU main campus program, taking into consideration the particular repertoire of program tactics employed and the particular contexts in which they have been implemented. The Coordinators of the TAMU campus AMP program were interested in exploring both the effectiveness of their program, but also the differential effect of various program tactics, all with an eye toward further improving the TAMU AMP program. Specifically, the current study uses a variety of outcome variables to measure the effectiveness of the TAMU AMP program across time and at different periods in students’ academic careers. Additionally, post hoc explorative analyses were conducted to provide possible explanations for findings.

2002

• Krause, S.J., Decker, J.Ch., Niska, J., Alford, T.A.., Griffin, R.B., 2002, “A Materials Concept Inventory for Introductory Materials Engineering Courses,” National Educators Workshop.
• Wheeler, E., Grigg, C., Chambers, Z., Layton, R.A., 2002, “Effective Practices in the Electrical Systems Service Course,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: There is a national need to improve the electrical systems service courses taken by mechanical engineering (ME) students. The systems that engineers work with are becoming increasingly multidisciplinary. Engineers, particularly team leaders and engineering managers, are finding it increasingly important to acquire some technical competence outside their core disciplines. Product design and development is coming to be viewed not as an assortment of problems in mechanics, electronics, hydraulics, and so forth, but as a systems problem, requiring a systems perspective. The automobile industry is only one example of an industry where this trend can be readily identified. Thus, knowledge of electrical systems is an integral part of every mechanical engineer's background, and it follows that electrical systems service courses are an integral part of mechanical engineering curricula.

  Those who teach these courses know that the problems are not primarily ones regarding content but rather of delivery. The very real problems that can appear in these service courses are often due to a lack of motivation or interest on the part of students, a classroom/laboratory design that does not meet the discipline-specific needs of the students, and a learning environment lacking tools that encourage students to come to class prepared and that permit them to study effectively outside of class. We focus on the role that the course plays in the ME curriculum and the benefits it offers in the ME students' education.

  Motivating students and engaging their interest is vital to the success of any course. These courses, however, often fail to interest or motivate students and many times do not meet their primary objective of enabling students to use the principles of electrical systems in their chosen discipline. This is partly because material is offered to the mechanical engineering student from the perspective of an electrical engineer. From the students' viewpoint, these service courses become a collection of unrelated topics with little relevance to their interests. Mechanical engineering departments must work with electrical and computer engineering (ECE) departments to improve these courses and to help ensure that the needs of ME students are met. ME departments can take steps to ensure that students come to these classes motivated and engaged. They can help faculty from ECE choose relevant topics that interest ME students.

  In this paper, we describe steps being taken at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to address these issues. This is an ongoing project and course design will likely undergo significant modifications over the next 2-4 years. We report here the steps taken to date and our present plans. We begin with some background information, follow with course and curriculum design considerations, and conclude with our plans for assessment.

2003

• Weinstein, J., Griffin, R.B., 2003, “A Novel Approach to Integrating Design into Manufacturing and Materials Education through the Fabrication of a Scale Model Cannon,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: Prior to 2001 the materials and manufacturing laboratories were independent initiatives. Recently, these courses have been combined into one entity. It was proposed that if these two courses integrated fully under one project, that the students would better understand the place of materials and manufacturing in design. The proposed project was a 1/8th-scale replica of a 12-lb. Civil War Napoleon in a field mount. Existing labs were modified so that each topic contributed to the production of the cannon. Assessment of the lab was performed using three student surveys and two open-ended qualitative essays graded using analytic rubrics. Survey results indicate that the students are highly enthused by the new class and feel they have improved in the required subjects. Analysis of the essays shows that the students in cannon class have a better understanding of the role and application of materials selection and manufacturing in design.

• Krause, S.J., Decker, J.Ch., Niska, J., Alford, T.A.., Griffin, R.B., 2003, “Identifying Student Misconceptions in Introductory Materials Engineering Classes,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: Numerous student misconceptions in an introductory materials engineering class have been identified in order to create a Materials Concept Inventory (MCI) to test for the level of conceptual knowledge of the subject matter before and after the course. The misconceptions have been utilized as question responses, or “distracters”, in the multiple-choice MCI test. They have been generated from a literature survey of assessment research in science and engineering in conjunction with extensive student interactions. Student input consisted of: weekly short-answer, open-ended questions; multiple-choice quizzes; and weekly interviews and discussions. In a simplified way, the questions tied fundamental concepts in primary topical areas of atomic structure and bonding, band structure, crystal geometry, defects, microstructure, and phase diagrams to properties of materials in the families of metals, polymers, ceramics, and semiconductors. A preliminary version of the MCI test was given to students in introductory materials courses at Arizona State University (ASU) and Texas A&M University (TAMU). Results showed conceptual knowledge gains between 15% and 37% between course pre-test and post-test scores. This lower gain score, as shown by Force Concept Inventory work, is typical of traditionally delivered, lecture-base instruction. Scores from 30% to 60% are moderate gains and are often evidenced in courses using active learning methods. Early results of the MCI showed differences between ASU and TAMU on some questions. It appears that they may be due to curricular and course content differences at the two schools.

• Wheeler, E., Grigg, C., 2003, “Improving the Effectiveness of the Electrical Engineering Service Course,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: The objective in this project is to improve learning outcomes from electrical systems courses often included in undergraduate mechanical engineering (ME) curricula.

  Our methods involve three primary elements: (1)integration of the course into the mechanical engineering curriculum, (2) development of course material that maximizes the relevance of the course to mechanical engineering students, and (3)development of tools for effective delivery of this material.

• Evans, D.L., Gray, G.L.., Krause, S.J., Martin, J.K.., Midkiff, C., Notaros, B.M., Pavelich, M., Rancour, D., Reed-Rhoads, T., Steif, P., Streveler, R., Wage, K.E., 2003, “Progress on Concept Inventory Assessment Tools,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: The Foundation Coalition and others have been working on the development of Concept Inventory (CI) assessment instruments patterned after the well-known Force Concept Inventory (FCI) instrument of Halloun and Hestenes. Such assessment inventories can play an important part in relating teaching techniques to student learning. Work first got started two years ago on CIs for the subjects of thermodynamics, solid mechanics, signals and processing, and electromagnetics. Last year work got under way on CIs for circuits, fluid mechanics, engineering materials, transport processes, and statistics. This year work began on chemistry, computer egineering, dynamics, electronics, and heat transfer. This panel session will discuss the progress on these concept inventories. More importantly, the panelists will discuss the early student data that are emerging from the process of continuous improvement of the instruments. Results will be compared to the data collected by Hake that are segregated by how the content was managed and delivered (e.g., "traditional" lecture mode compared to the "interactive engagement" mode, as defined by Hake). Discussions of effective practices for use in the development of CIs will also be discussed.

• Gray, G.L.., Evans, D.L., Cornwell, P.J., Costanzo, F., Self, B., 2003, “Toward a Nationwide Dynamics Concept Inventory Assessment Test,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: This paper describes our efforts to develop a national concept inventory test in undergraduate dynamics, that is, a Dynamics Concept Inventory. This paper presents the current state of development and discusses future efforts and directions of this project.

• Krause, S.J., Decker, J.Ch., Griffin, R.B., 2003, “Using a Materials Concept Inventory to Assess Conceptual Gain in Introductory Materials Engineering Courses,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference.

  Abstract: A materials concept inventory (MCI) has been created to measure conceptual knowledge gain in introductory materials engineering courses. The 30-question, multiple-choice MCI test has been administered as a pre- and post-test at Arizona State University (ASU) and Texas A&M University (TAMU) to classes ranging in size from 16 to 90 students. The results on the pre-test (entering class) showed both "prior misconceptions" and knowledge gaps that resulted from earlier coursework in chemistry and, to a lesser extent, in geometry. The post-test (exiting class) showed both that some "prior misconceptions" persisted and also that new "spontaneous misconceptions" had been created during the course of the class. Most classes showed a limited, 15% to 20%, gain in knowledge between pre- and post-test scores, but one class, which used active learning, showed a gain of 38%. More details on these results, on differences in results between ASU and TAMU, and on the nature of students' conceptual knowledge will be described.

2004

• Krause, S.J., Tasooji, A., Griffin, R.B., 2004, “Origins of Misconceptions in a Materials Concept Inventory from Student Focus Groups,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: A Materials Concept Inventory (MCI) that measures conceptual change in introductory materials engineering classes uses student misconceptions as question responses, or “distracters,” in the multiple-choice MCI test. In order to understand the origin of the misconceptions, selected sets of questions on particular topics from the MCI were discussed and evaluated with student focus groups. The groups were composed of six to ten students who met for two hours at the beginning of a semester with two “new” groups that had not taken the introductory materials course and two “prior” groups of students that had taken the course. Two examples of questions from one of the sets of topics that were discussed are presented from two areas of the thermal properties of metals. It was found that the logic and rationale for selection of given answers which were misconceptions arose from a variety of sources. These included personal observation, prior teaching, and television shows, as well as other sources. Some discussions led to suggestions of possible interventions for improving student learning and conceptual knowledge of a topic. Implications of the results and suggestions for possible improvements in teaching of introductory materials classes are discussed.

• Griffin, R.B., 2004, “Use of Cambridge Engineering Selector in a Materials/Manufacutring Course,” Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference.

  Abstract: During the 1998–1999 academic year, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University decided to combine a materials course that included a laboratory and a manufacturing course that contained a laboratory. As part of this activity, we decided to increase the design activity and material selection within the new course. Starting in fall 2002, we made a copy of a materials selection program, CES-4 (Granta Design Limited) available to each student taking the course. A number of activities were devised to help the students become familiar with the program. The culminating activity was for each laboratory group to design a children’s playground. They were to select the materials and the manufacturing processes for a playground that could handle 20 to 40 children from the ages of 2 or 3 to about 12 to 13 years old at one time. The Parks and Recreation Departments of both communities wanted the equipment to last 20 to 25 years with minimum maintenance. The application of the CES-4 program to the design is discussed and examples are shown.