scholarly journals Introductory Course Content Targeting Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Engineering Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nihad Dukhan ◽  
Nassif Rayess
Author(s):  
Rod E. Turochy ◽  
Jon Fricker ◽  
H. Gene Hawkins ◽  
David S. Hurwitz ◽  
Stephanie S. Ivey ◽  
...  

Transportation engineering is a critical subdiscipline of the civil engineering profession as indicated by its inclusion on the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination and overlap with other specialty areas of civil engineering and as recognized by TRB, ITE, and ASCE. With increasing transportation workforce needs, low numbers of students entering the pipeline, and limited hours within undergraduate civil engineering programs, it is important to ensure that civil engineering students receive adequate preparation and exposure to career opportunities in the transportation engineering field. Thus, investigations into the status of transportation engineering within civil engineering programs and specifically the introductory transportation engineering course are essential for understanding implications to the profession. Relevant literature and findings from a new survey of civil engineering programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology is reviewed; that survey yielded 84 responses. The survey indicates that 88% of responding programs teach an introductory course in transportation engineering, and 79% require it in their undergraduate programs. Significant variation exists in the structure of the introductory course (number of credit hours, laboratory requirements, etc.). Common responses about improvements that could be made include adding laboratories, requiring a second course, and broadening course content. In addition, nearly 15% of instructors teaching the introductory course did not have a primary focus in transportation engineering. This finding should be investigated further, given that the course may be an undergraduate civil engineering student's only exposure to the profession.


1974 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 620-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Zimmermann ◽  
Larry Wise ◽  
Olin W. Smith

Final grades in an introductory psychology course were found to correlate significantly with a test representative of course content and ACT scores. Contrary to traditional predictions, the content specific test was not superior to the general abilities test in the prediction of final grades. Course content tests taken during the first three weeks of the academic quarter correlated .85 with course content tests taken during the last 3 wk. of the academic quarter. Both general ability tests and specific content tests given early in the academic year could be used to assign students to course programs that might provide the special assistance some students require to cope with traditional large lecture college courses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-134
Author(s):  
MVS Babu ◽  
KNS Suman ◽  
P Srinivasa Rao

In under graduate engineering education, engineering drawing is a basic course offered to 1st semester engineering students. With the advent of computers, the traditional engineering drawing practice in both industry and academia is being extensively replaced with computer aided engineering drawing. The present scenario in Indian engineering educational institutions has been studied and based on it an approach is proposed in the present paper, which involves the integration of software-based practice with client–server architecture. The proposed approach has been implemented to practice in our institute for few years. The use of this approach is required proper planning of the course content, delivery, practice and evaluation. The detailed discussion on the approach and its implications are examined through results. All the stakeholders are benefited by adopting this approach. The present paper focuses on the use of drafting software for the practice of engineering drawing-based courses in a secured client–server environment. This proposed approach guarantees multiple cascading advantages of improved understanding and enhanced spatial visualization among students. The proposed approach has been implemented for the students who admitted in the academic year 2014–15. The end exam results of these students have been compared with results of the batch admitted in academic year 2013–14. It was observed that the number of failures in the proposed approach were reduced up to 85% compared to conventional mode. Further, it facilitates to modernize the conduct of courses, provides data security, optimizes the utilization of computing facilities and most importantly it tests the students for the understanding of the topic and not for their artistic skills. Ultimately, it makes the engineering students industry-ready by enhancing their employability skills.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 324-325
Author(s):  
Kirstin M Burnett ◽  
Leslie Frenzel ◽  
Wesley S Ramsey ◽  
Kathrin Dunlap

Abstract The consistency of instruction between various sections of introductory courses is a concern in higher education, along with properly preparing students to enter careers in industry. The study was conducted at Texas A&M University, using an introductory course, General Animal Science, within the Department of Animal Science. This course was chosen due to the utilization of specific animal science industry related terminology within the course content in support of learning outcomes. The study was a quantitative nonexperimental research method that was conducted over a single semester in 2018. General Animal Science is a large-scale course that contains multiple sections, and this study evaluated assessments created by individual faculty members who instructed different sections, Section A and Section B. These sections were selected as they were composed of both animal science majors and non-majors. Section A had a significantly higher (P < 0.001) number of majors versus non-majors than Section B. Assessment questions were collected from all examinations and quizzes distributed throughout the semester and were compiled into a single document for coding. These specific terms were chosen from literature to provide a benchmark for a potential relationship between student performance on questions containing industry related terminology as opposed to those that do not. Comparing the use of specific industry coded terminology in assessment questions yielded no significant difference (P < 0.05) between the two instructors or sections. These findings demonstrate consistent use of benchmarked industry related terminology in assessment questions across multiple sections, irrespective of individual instructor or student major. This provides a necessary foundation for future analysis of student performance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
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T. Sidorenko ◽  
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T. Gorbatova

The article investigates the issues of the content of the foreign language training at technical universities. The authors analyze the goals and objectives as well as the requirements and the content of the postgraduate language training to identify some discrepancy, which prevents the university community from achieving the most effi cient outcomes in the training future researchers and engineers in terms of foreign language profi ciency. Based on the examples provided, the authors highlight the necessity to revise the curriculum in order to change its focus and the major components as well as to review the requirements for students at every stage of language learning. The authors do not propose the ready scenario and structure of the course, considering it as the exceptional privilege of each university. However, the model that they propose in the paper and the conclusions they make, might be taken by others as the ground for the course content design.


1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Li ◽  
Doyice Cotton

An introductory course in sport management should provide the student in the program with a basic understanding of the sport industry. However, the opinions of sport management educators vary as to what should be included in the introductory course. This diversity of opinions regarding course content is reflected in the texts that have been written for use in the introductory course. Each book has its own unique objective and range of topics (Chella-durai, 1985; Lewis & Appenzeller, 1987; Parkhouse, 1992; Parks & Zanger, 1991).


Author(s):  
Anne Parker ◽  
Aidan Topping

This paper will focus on the rubrics that we have developed for the technical communication course and the senior (capstone) design projects. As part of the C.E.A.B.’s and our own Faculty of Engineering’s mandate to more clearly define the goals of each course, the learning attributes associated with course content, and how these are assessed, we first developed rubrics that would help us track and assess students’ communicative competence. However, we soon learned that our presentation of the information impacts how well students assimilate it. Consequently, in our rubrics for the senior (capstone) design courses, we began to phrase the assignment requirements as action items, as something that must be done; for example, a document’s “layout and document design” must use “clear markers to create a visually appealing document,” and the illustrations must “communicate design elements and results.” In this way, students are encouraged to reflect on their individual performance, and one outcome for them is the opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the professor. One outcome for the professor is having the means to indicate a student’s position on a spectrum of performance. Finally, although linking attributes to learning objectives and determining “competency levels” can be very challenging, we hope to show how the rubrics we have designed may indeed make the task less daunting and more manageable for all stakeholders in the education of our engineering students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9693
Author(s):  
Jan DeWaters ◽  
Susan Powers ◽  
Felicity Bilow

Engineering graduates must be prepared to support our world’s need for a clean and sustainable energy future. Complex problems related to energy and sustainability require engineers to consider the broad spectrum of interrelated consequences including human and environmental health, sociopolitical, and economic factors. Teaching engineering students about energy within a societal context, simultaneous with developing technical knowledge and skills, will better prepare them to solve real-world problems. Yet few energy courses that approach energy topics from a human-centered perspective exist within engineering programs. Engineering students enrolled in energy programs often take such courses as supplemental to their course of study. This paper presents an engineering course that approaches energy education from a socio-technical perspective, emphasizing the complex interactions of energy technologies with sustainability dimensions. Course content and learning activities are structured around learning outcomes that require students to gain technical knowledge as well as an understanding of broader energy-related impacts. The course attracts students from a variety of majors and grade levels. A mixed quantitative/qualitative assessment conducted from 2019–2021 indicates successful achievement of course learning outcomes. Students demonstrated significant gains in technical content knowledge as well as the ability to critically address complex sociotechnical issues related to current and future energy systems.


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