scholarly journals Evidence of probability misconception in engineering students—why even an inaccurate explanation is better than no explanation

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Kaplar ◽  
Zorana Lužanin ◽  
Srđan Verbić
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Illusory Correlation ◽  
Development Of Competencies ◽  
Lower Test

Abstract Background In the rapidly changing industrial environment and job market, engineering profession requires a vast body of skills, one of them being decision making under uncertainty. Knowing that misunderstanding of probability concepts can lead to wrong decisions, the main objective of this study is to investigate the presence of probability misconceptions among undergraduate students of electrical engineering. Five misconceptions were investigated: insensitivity to sample size, base rate neglected, misconception of chance, illusory correlation, and biases in the evaluation of conjunctive and disjunctive events. The study was conducted with 587 students who attended bachelor schools of electrical engineering at two universities in Serbia. The presence of misconceptions was tested using multiple-choice tasks. This study also introduces a novel perspective, which is reflected in examination of the correlation between students’ explanations of given answers and their test scores. Results The results of this study show that electrical engineering students are, susceptible to misconceptions in probability reasoning. Although future engineers from the sample population were most successful in avoiding misconceptions of chance, only 35% of examinees were able to provide a meaningful explanation. Analysis of students’ explanations, revealed that in many cases majority of students were prone to common misconceptions. Among the sample population, significant percentage of students were unable to justify their own answers even when they selected the correct option. The results also indicate that formal education in probability and statistics did not significantly influence the test score. Conclusions Results of the present study indicate a need for further development of students’ deep understanding of probability concepts, as well as the need for the development of competencies that enable students to validate their answers. The study emphasizes the importance of answer explanations, since they allow us to discover whether students who mark the correct answer have some misconceptions or may be prone to some other kind of error. We found that the examinees who failed to explain their choices had much lower test scores than those who provided some explanation.

Electric Vehicle Technology — A Timely Course for Electrical Engineering Students

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. T. Chau ◽  
C. C. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Electric Vehicle ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Reference Materials ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Course Work ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Vehicle Technology

A new optional course, Electric Vehicle Technology, for final-year electrical engineering undergraduate students is presented. The purpose is to provide the students with up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on electric vehicle technology. This paper outlines the rationale of the course, as well as describing the course structure, reference materials, field demonstrations, course work and course evaluation.

scholarly journals The development of, and response to, an academic writing module for electrical engineers at the University of Bath

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda Armstrong ◽  
Jackie Dannatt ◽  
Adrian Evans
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Principal Direction ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Electrical Engineers ◽  
The University

The academic writing module for electrical engineering students, offered at the University of Bath, is the result of collaboration between the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE) and the English Language Centre (ELC) and is currently designed to deliver academic writing support to undergraduate students embarking on their engineering studies at Bath. The need for the course arose from subject tutor recognition of the students’ lack of awareness of the genre within which they were expected to write, suggesting that not only the subject content but also the expression of that content needed input and support. This paper presents details of the academic writing input provided by the University of Bath English Language Centre, the background to the module and ongoing development based on feedback from students, academic staff and EAP (English for Academic Purposes) tutors. Feedback indicates that the course succeeds in supporting students in their writing. The principal direction for future development lies in tailoring the course to fit the modular nature of students’ degrees, addressing issues connected to language proficiency and the nature of assessment.

Entering the world of electrical engineering: A gateway course for first-year students at Wuhan University, China

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinsong Tao ◽  
Haihong Han ◽  
Xishan Wen ◽  
Ju Tang
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
First Year ◽  
Personal Interest ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Feedback Questionnaire ◽  
The World

Chinese students, unlike those in western countries, have little control over their majors or courses. Many students are registered in electrical engineering based on GaoKao test scores, not personal interest in the field. As a consequence, many first-year students know little, or even nothing, about electrical engineering. To increase disciplinary knowledge among these students and improve retention rates, a gateway course, named Entering the World of Electrical Engineering, was established in the school of Electrical Engineering at Wuhan University, P.R. China especially for freshman electrical engineering students. To stimulate and inspire these new entrants to the World of Electrical Engineering, this course underscores the relevance of electrical engineering to everyday life and directs the attention of these newcomers to the dynamic and interesting research areas of the field. This paper describes the contents of this gateway course, the structure of the teaching materials, and analyzes the results of a feedback questionnaire administered at the end of the term. The results show that the gateway course successfully engages students’ interests in electrical engineering.

Competencies for Innovating in the 21st Century

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahed Siddique ◽  
Jitesh Panchal ◽  
Dirk Schaefer ◽  
Sammy Haroon ◽  
Janet K. Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Transfer Task ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Group Setting ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Development Of Competencies

This is the first paper in a four-part series focused on a competency-based approach for personalized education in a group setting. In this paper, we focus on identifying the competencies and meta-competencies required for the 21st century engineers. These competencies are the ability to be able perform a specific task, action or function successfully. In the second paper, we provide an overview of an approach to developing competencies needed for the fast changing world and allowing the students to be in charge of their own learning. The approach fosters “learning how to learn” in a collaborative environment. We believe that two of the core competencies required for success in the dynamically changing workplace are the abilities to identify and manage dilemmas. In the third paper, we discuss our approach for helping students learn how to identify dilemmas in the context of an energy policy design problem. The fourth paper is focused on approaches to developing the competency to manage dilemmas associated with the realization of complex, sustainable, socio-techno-eco systems. A deep understanding of innovation-related competencies will be required if we are to meet the needs of our graduates in preparing them for the challenges of the 21st century. In recent years development of competencies for innovation, especially in engineering, has received signification attention. The nature of innovation and its components needs to be identified and analyzed to determine proper ways to nurture and develop them in engineering students. There are two levels of competencies in any professional field, field-specific task competencies, and generalized skill sets, or meta-competencies. The task-specific competencies are benchmarks for graduates in a given field. Their level of attainment defines how well graduates are prepared to meet job demands and excel in the future. The general (meta) competencies are skill sets that enable them to function more globally, such as to work with others, function in organizations and meet organizational demands, and transfer task-specific skills to new challenges they have not encountered before.

scholarly journals EXPERIENCE TEACHING CIRCUIT COURSES TO CIVIL ENGINEERS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cooper-Stachowsky ◽  
Ayman El-Hag
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Circuit Theory ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Experience Teaching ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The University ◽  
Civil Engineers

At the University of Waterloo, students from many non-electrical engineering programs are required totake basic circuits courses. These courses are often disliked by students who do not see their relevance andcannot contextualize the material. In 2019 a new version of this course was developed to cater to the specific needs of civil engineering students. The new course was based around teaching civil engineers circuit theory through relevant examples and focusing on the content that civil engineers would reasonably be expected to see in the field.  Lab exercises were developed to encourage independent capacity in circuit building and deep understanding of sensors and instrumentation. Student satisfaction with the course and performance on assessments has increased with the changes.

scholarly journals Undergraduate basic sciences and engineering students’ understanding of the concept of derivative

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 277-298
Author(s):  
Saeid Haghjoo ◽  
Ebrahim Reyhani
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Basic Sciences ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Line Slope

Derivative is one of the most important topics in calculus that has many applications in various sciences. However, according to the research, students do not have a deep understanding of the concept of derivative and they often have misconceptions. The present study aimed to investigate undergraduate basic sciences and engineering students’ understanding of the concept of derivative at Tehran universities on based the framework of Zandieh. The method was descriptive-survey. The population included all undergraduate students of Tehran universities who passed Calculus I. The sample included 604 students being selected through multi-stage random cluster sampling. The measurement tool was a researcher-made test for which the reliability coefficient was obtained using Cronbach's alpha (r=.88). Inspired by Hähkiöniemi’s research, nine tasks on derivative learning were given to the students. The students’ responses were evaluated using a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using descriptive responses. The results indicated that students have no appropriate understanding of the basic concepts of derivatives in numerical, physical, verbal, and graphical contexts. Basic sciences students performed meaningfully were better in understanding the tangent line slope compared to engineering students, while engineering students performed meaningfully were better than basic sciences students in the rate of change.

A Control Project for Electronics Engineering Students

1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-369
Author(s):  
M. Braae
Keyword(s):  
Control Theory ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Electronic Circuits ◽  
Data Logging ◽  
Full Data ◽  
Graphic Display ◽  
Control Electronics ◽  
Altitude Control

A control project for electronics engineering students The relevance of control theory to electrical engineering can be demonstrated vividly to undergraduate students by its application to the design of linear continuous electronic circuits that control the height of a hovering helicopter, animated on a PC screen. The object of the student project is to design altitude control electronics by using control theory. The flexibility of the PC allows for full data logging and graphic display features as well as giving each student a unique set of parameters.

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