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.

An Integrated Approach for Teaching Robotics based on the Development of Low-Cost Parallel Robots

2012 ◽  
pp. 105-129
Author(s):  
Alexandre Kawano ◽  
Eduardo Aoun Tannuri ◽  
Jun Okamoto ◽  
Marcos Ribeiro Pereira Barreto ◽  
Newton Maruyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Parallel Robots ◽  
The Other ◽  
Basic Sciences ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Way

From the academia viewpoint, the process of qualifying engineering students demands they acquire a deep understanding of basic sciences and technological aspects. On the other hand, it is quite a challenge to keep them motivated throughout their graduation period. Taking into account these issues, an integrated approach for teaching can provide good results. Basically, the way that such integration might be accomplished requires a single project per period. In addition, the disciplines taken by the students in a specific period should provide them the necessary background to conclude that project. Focusing on teaching robotics, this chapter describes the authors’ experience with mechatronics engineering students in the 7th-period of their graduation.

scholarly journals Mathematics Training in Engineering Degrees: An Intervention from Teaching Staff to Students

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (13) ◽  
pp. 1475
Author(s):  
María Teresa López-Díaz ◽  
Marta Peña
Keyword(s):  
Linear Algebra ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Basic Sciences ◽  
Mathematical Concepts ◽  
Teaching Of Mathematics ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Low Motivation

There has always been a great concern about the teaching of mathematics in engineering degrees. This concern has increased because students have less interest in these studies, which is mainly due to the low motivation of the students towards mathematics, and which is derived in most cases from the lack of awareness of undergraduate students about the importance of mathematics for their career. The main objective of the present work is to achieve a greater motivation for engineering students via an intervention from the teaching staff to undergraduate students. This intervention consists of teaching and learning mathematical concepts through real applications in engineering disciplines. To this end, starting in the 2017/2018 academic year, sessions addressed to the teaching staff from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Spain were held. Then, based on the material extracted from these sessions, from 2019/2020 academic year the sessions “Applications of Mathematics in Engineering I: Linear Algebra” for undergraduate students were offered. With the aim of assessing these sessions, anonymous surveys have been conducted. The results of this intervention show an increase in students’ engagement in linear algebra. These results encourage us to extend this experience to other mathematical subjects and basic sciences taught in engineering degrees.

An Affordable Machining Laboratory Approach for Undergraduate Engineers

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnu Vardhan Chandrasekaran ◽  
Lewis N. Payton ◽  
Chase Wortman ◽  
Wesley Hunko
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Production System ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Machine Shop ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Graduate Research ◽  
Simple Machines ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Research Students ◽  
The University

Designers in any industry need to understand the processes involved in making a part beforehand in order to communicate with technicians from trade schools and industry. Even a simple engineering drawing can often not be created due to process limitations (e.g., a perfectly drawn internal 90 degree angle in a CAD drawing does not occur in nature OR in a machine shop). This paper describes an affordable way to teach manufacturing to undergraduate engineering students and in the process provide them with hands on training in a machine shop environment. The goal here is not to create machinists, but to enable future Engineers to understand and talk with designers/machinists. The theme here is not to spend on expensive super machines but on simple machines as emphasized in the Toyota Production System. Students learn the techniques that let technicians produce perfect parts on imperfect, simple machines. The result for Auburn University has been an affordable laboratory that mutually supports undergraduate students, graduate research students, and the university as a whole.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Religious Beliefs and Mental Health of Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Seyyedeh Zahra Seyyed Mirzayi ◽  
Mohammad Reza Belyad ◽  
Masoumeh Zhian Bagheri
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Religious Attitude ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Mental Health Questionnaire ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of religious beliefs on mental health of students in Islamic Azad University of Karaj. The research method was regression and Pearson correlation. For this purpose, the population of study was selected from normal undergraduate students of Islamic Azad University in Karaj. Sample of study was included 120 students (60 girls and 60 boys), in academic years of 2015-2016 and they were selected by multi-stage random cluster sampling method. In this study, mental health questionnaire of Goldberg with 28 questions and Baraheni’s religious attitude questionnaire with 25 questions were used. The results showed that, there is a significant relationship between religious beliefs and mental health. In the sense that, when religious attitude is more positive, people will have better mental health.

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.

scholarly journals Active Aging in ASEAN Countries: Influences from Age-Friendly Environments, Lifestyles, and Socio-Demographic Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8290
Author(s):  
Sariyamon Tiraphat ◽  
Vijj Kasemsup ◽  
Doungjai Buntup ◽  
Murallitharan Munisamy ◽  
Thang Huu Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
World Health ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Active Aging ◽  
Older Population ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Health Organization

Active aging is a challenging issue to promote older population health; still, there is little clarity on research investigating the determinants of active aging in developing countries. Therefore, this research aimed to examine the factors associated with the active aging of the older populations in ASEAN’s low and middle-income countries by focusing on Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. The study is a cross-sectional quantitative research study using multi-stage cluster sampling to randomize the sample. The sample consists of 2031 older people aged 55 years and over, including 510 Thai, 537 Malaysian, 487 Myanmar, and 497 Vietnamese. We collected a quantitative questionnaire of age-friendly environmental scale and active aging scale based on the World Health Organization (WHO) concept. The predictors of active aging include age-friendly environments, lifestyles, and socioeconomic factors; the data are analyzed by using multiple logistic regression. After adjusting for other factors, we found that older people living in a community with higher levels of age-friendly environments are 5.52 times more active than those in lower levels of age-friendly environments. Moreover, the older population with healthy lifestyles such as good dietary intake and high physical activity will be 4.93 times more active than those with unhealthy lifestyles. Additionally, older adults with partners, higher education, and aged between 55 and 64 years will be 1.70, 2.61, and 1.63 times more active than those with separate/divorce/widow, primary education, and age at 75 years or higher, respectively. Our results contribute considerable evidence for ASEAN policy-making to promote active aging in this region.

scholarly journals Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Differing Research Expectations of First-Year Students and Professor

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meg Raven
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Instruction Strategies ◽  
Research Instruction ◽  
The University

Objective: This study sought to better understand the research expectations of first-year students upon beginning university study, and how these expectations differed from those of their professors. Most academic librarians observe that the research expectations of these two groups differ considerably and being able to articulate where these differences are greatest may help us provided more focused instruction, and allow us to work more effectively with professors and student support services. Methods: 317 first-year undergraduate students and 75 professors at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS were surveyed to determine what they each expected of first-year student research. Students were surveyed on the first day of term so as to best understand their research expectations as they transitioned from high school to university. Results: The gulf between student and professor research expectations was found to be considerable, especially in areas such as time required for reading and research, and the resources necessary to do research. While students rated their preparedness for university as high, they also had high expectations related to their ability to use non-academic sources. Not unexpectedly, the majority of professors believed that students are not prepared to do university-level research, they do not take enough responsibility for their own learning, they should use more academic research sources, and read twice as much as students believe they should. Conclusions: By better understanding differing research expectations, students can be guided very early in their studies about appropriate academic research practices, and librarians and professors can provide students with improved research instruction. Strategies for working with students, professors and the university community are discussed.

scholarly journals Food Security Analysis of Smallscale Fishermen in Karanggongso, Trenggalek Regency

2019 ◽  
Vol 006 (02) ◽  
pp. 183-193
Author(s):  
Candra Adi Intyas ◽  
◽  
Agus Tjahjono ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Dietary Pattern ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Security Analysis ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Fish Processing ◽  
Fresh Fish ◽  
Smoked Fish ◽  
Multi Stage

Sea resources that open access are causing competitive competition among fishermen. This mainly affects 87.5% of small-scale fishermen in Indonesia who are commonly in poverty. The problems faced are the marketing and production institutions that have not been optimal also the mindset of fishermen who are still subsistence. One way that small-scale fishermen try to increase their income is processing fresh fish to become smoked fish (traditional methode). The purpose of this study was to analyze the level of food security of small-scale fishermen household who also do smoked fish processing activities (NKPA) compared to small-scale fishermen household who did not undertake smoked fish processing (NKNPA). The sampling method uses multi stage cluster sampling. Data analysis used an analysis of food security using the Desirable Dietary Pattern. From the results of the study on the quantity aspect, overall AKE and AKP values in NKPA were 100.71% (good category) and 119.35% (the conditions were very food-resistant) while the NKNPA were 82.58% (moderate category) and 101.50 % (the conditions were very food-resistant). In terms of quality, the calculation of Desirable Dietary Pattern consumption from NKPA had a score of 88.49 and NKNPA of 71.77 which means that the conditions are quite ideal.

scholarly journals Motivate or Demotivate? Factors Influencing Choice of Media as a Career

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 239
Author(s):  
Kavitha Iyer ◽  
Anupam Siddhartha
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Female Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Career Option ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Undergraduate Programme

The choice of media as a career has conventionally not been a top priority amongst undergraduate students in India. Despite the surging need for responsible media professionals in a developing country like India, this career is not widely accepted or chosen. This research aimed at determining specific motivations among the first-year undergraduate students choosing a career in media. The same were determined through expert interactions followed by an online survey to include over 400 students pursuing an undergraduate programme at various colleges across India. The analysis showed that undergraduate media students are passionate with a deep interest in the concerned field and have an enhanced need to be different from others. They are creative, highly communicative, would like to pursue their interest and passion as well as distinguish themselves from conventional career seekers. Choice of media as a career at the undergraduate level is preferred more by female students compared to their male counterparts. Most interestingly and importantly, media as a career is mostly against the wishes of parents; the influence of parents being negative. This study contributes to a deep understanding of motivational factors and their criticalities in influencing the young generation in India. The factors can aid the educational policymakers, academicians, industry experts, and researchers to develop strategies to encourage students to choose a career in media. This research also serves as a starting point to generate discussions to change the belief and attitudes of parents towards media as a career option for their wards.

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