First-Year Engineering Computing Courses in Canadian Engineering Programs

1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Maw ◽  
Janice Miller Young ◽  
Alexis Morris
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Expected Value ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
First Year ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Digital Computation ◽  
Pedagogical Philosophies ◽  
Introductory Computing

Most Canadian engineering students take a computing course in their first year that introduces them to digital computation. The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board does not specify the language(s) that can or should be used for instruction. As a result, a variety of languages are used across Canada. This study examines which languages are used in degree-granting institutions, currently and in the recent past. It also examines why institutions have chosen the languages that they currently use. In addition to the language used in instruction, the types and hours of instruction are also analyzed. Methods of instruction and evaluation are compared, as well as the pedagogical philosophies of the different programs with respect to introductory computing. Finally, a comparison of the expected value of this course to graduates is also presented. We found a more diverse landscape for introductory computing courses than anticipated, in most respects. The guiding ethos at most institutions is skill and knowledge development, especially around problem solving in an engineering context. The methods to achieve this are quite varied, and so are the languages employed in such courses. Most programs currently use C/C++, Matlab, VB and/or Python.

Nurturing Creativity and Design Teaching: Are We Doing All We Can?

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gu¨l E. Okudan ◽  
Ann McKenna ◽  
Carolyn Plumb ◽  
Hyun K. Ro ◽  
Alexander Yin
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Contextual Awareness ◽  
Faculty And Administrators

In this paper, we report on the results from a qualitative study of six exemplary engineering programs focusing on the ways and the extent of nurturing creativity in engineering students. The study (P360: Prototyping the Engineering of 2020) included data collection from students, faculty, and administrators at the six institutions. This data collection focused mainly on three student outcomes, including design and problem solving. Creativity and how creativity was nurtured, both inside the classroom and outside, often emerged as a major theme. We also support our qualitative findings with quantitative data. Overall, the results indicate that although students improve their creativity in design settings, this result is mostly a by-product of design teaching, and creativity is not taught per se. Quantitative results show that program emphasis on creativity and innovation significantly correlates to skill levels in design problem solving, interdisciplinarity, contextual awareness, and recognizing perspectives. Qualitative data provide supporting evidence for this.

EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTEMPORARY PRINCIPLES ON LEARNING AND TEACHING A FUNDAMENTAL FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING COURSE

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. X. Zhang ◽  
C. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Teaching Principles ◽  
Engineering Mechanics ◽  
Teaching Pedagogies

Statics is the most fundamental component of Engineering Mechanics, and it is usually delivered in the first year in a common core course for engineering programs. The delivery of this key unit to the fresh first-year engineering students is very challenging and thus teaching pedagogies, strategies and methods should be further developed in response to the challenges in this important course which critically facilitates the transition of the students from high school to university and establishes their foundation knowledge on Engineering Mechanics. This paper reports the effective implementation of contemporary learning and teaching principles in a first-year core engineering course-Statics. The learning and teaching activities designed in this course include independent learning and collaborative learning, problem and project-based team work and peer learning, and progressive assessments. Effective teaching pedagogies, strategies and methodologies are developed on the basis of these educational principles to engage and motivate the first-year engineering students at most. The proposed methodologies are demonstrated effective in engaging a medium to large size class and the results of formal course surveys demonstrate the efficiency of these methods.

scholarly journals The Use of an Open-Ended Project to Improve the Student Experience in First Year Programming

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Hulls ◽  
Chris Rennick ◽  
Sanjeev Bedi ◽  
Mary Robinson ◽  
William Melek
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
The University

Prior to 2010, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering students at the University of Waterloo were taught an introductory programming course using C++ in first year. Historically, the emphasis was on learning syntax; practising problem-solving was a distant second priority. In addition, many students were noticeably disengaged in lectures, and the assessments used were not authentic.Starting in 2010, a course project was implemented to address these concerns. The project was immediately well received by students, as evidenced by a noticeable number of students going well beyond the minimum project requirements and the variety of projects implemented. Since the project was introduced, the students have been able to successfully answer less structured final exam questions. The increase in problem-solving and thinking skills more than offsets the reduction in language-specific facts. The logistics, challenges and resources required to implement a project of this scope will be described

scholarly journals A Laboratory-Centered Approach to Introducing Engineering Students to Electric Circuit and Electric Systems Concepts

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyrus Shafai ◽  
Behzad Kordi
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electric Circuit ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
First Year ◽  
Computer Engineering ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Electrical Systems ◽  
Different Types

The teaching of electric circuit analysis traditionally involves problem solving to ensure understanding of analysis theorems, complemented by laboratory experience. When taught to first year Engineering students, this approach lacks a motivational component and presents difficulties due to the weaker mathematics and problem solving skills of first year students. This paper presents a laboratory-centered approach to introduce engineering students to electric devices and systems. Using open-ended design projects, students explore and construct different types of electrical systems. Laboratories are selected so as to develop student intuition in electrical concepts, scientific fundamentals, provide a historical background, and demonstrate systems-level design issues. Over the past three years in our Department, using this approach, increased student motivation and engagement has been observed, supported by a significant increase in Electrical and Computer Engineering enrollment.

First-year engineering students' computational reasoning abilities

2022 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Concepcion Rebollar ◽  
Carolina Varela ◽  
Olatz Eugenio
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
First Year ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
New Students ◽  
Measurement And Evaluation ◽  
Computational Reasoning ◽  
Algorithmic Thinking

Computational thinking is an essential skill set for today's students, given the digital age in which we live and work (CT). Without a precise definition, it is generally understood to be a collection of abilities and attitudes required to deal with difficulties in any aspect of life, whether or not a computer is involved. Measurement and evaluation of students' progress in CT abilities are critical, and this can only be done using instruments that have been tested and shown to work before. New students at the Basque Country's University of the Basque Country's Engineering Degrees are tested for critical thinking, algorithmic thinking, problem solving, cooperation and creativity using a previously proven tool.

scholarly journals Componential Theories of Creativity: A Case Study of Teaching Creative Problem Solving

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Rennick ◽  
Kenneth McKay
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Domain Specific Knowledge ◽  
Verification Process ◽  
Engineering Pedagogy

Engineering is the discipline of applying scientific and mathematical tools to solve practical problems for society. At the core of a person’s problem-solving abilities is their creativity. This is a preliminary and exploratory theory-based paper summarizing the two most prevalent componential theories of creativity as applied to a case study. These theories outline a set of processes which contribute to a person’s ability to be creative in a domain. The components differ slightly between models, but include: motivation; domain-specific knowledge, skills, and abilities; and cognitive process of creativity including problem finding, ideation, and evaluation.To demonstrate the practical application of these theories to engineering pedagogy, they will be applied to a case study of a 2-day academic hackathon called “Tron Days”. Tron Days guides students through a multi-step modelling and verification process and concludes with teams of students designing and constructing a robotic arm. At the end of the second day, students demonstrated their functioning robotic prototypes. This event has now been run twice for first semester Mechatronics Engineering students, and similar implementations with different problems have been run in seven other engineering programs at the same institution. Each section of this paper will demonstrate the application of componential theories of creativity by drawing connections to the Tron Days event.

scholarly journals INTEGRATING OPEN-ENDED DESIGN IN A SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS BASED ENGINEERING PROGRAM

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Winkelman
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Teachers ◽  
Correct Answer ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Ideal

With curricula based largely on science and mathematics, engineering programs promote the ideal of striving for that one predetermined, correct answer. Design, being open-ended, cannot promote that single, correct answer. Thus, the paradigm of design and that of science and mathematics are not the same, presenting pedagogical challenges. The metaphor of the podium is used to highlight these challenges and suggest ways that engineering curricula might be reconstructed to honour design as well as science and mathematics. Case studies, consisting of interviews and focus groups of prospective and first-year engineering students, as well as high school teachers, provide the data for the research.

scholarly journals IMPACT OF LANGUAGE AND STRUCTURE OF INSTRUCTIONS ON STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE TOWARDS COMPLETING ASSIGNMENTS

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Hong ◽  
Chirag Variawa
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Level ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
First Year ◽  
Plain Language ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
The Impact

First-year engineering students usually spend more time on courses assignments and projects that they perceived to be more difficult, which increases students’ workload and impacts their persistence in engineering programs. Students possess a higher level of confidence also tend to perform better on the tasks. Therefore, it is important to explore the impact of different aspects of assignment instructions on students’ perceived confidence, and establish a comprehensive set of guidelines for first-year course instructors and curriculum designers in instruction writing. This research builds on existing first-year engineering student workload survey to identify the students’ confidence level on assignments in each first-year courses taught in University of Toronto. We compared assignment instructions in first-year engineering courses that students perceived to be difficult and easy, and conducted a focus group study to analyze students’ confidence level towards the same assignments but two different instructions. Observations suggest that students perceived assignments involving new concepts and complex problem context appear to be more difficult. Qualitative responses from students suggest that short instructions with explanations of course connections using plain language could increase students’ self-confidence towards completing these assignments.  

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