scholarly journals Creativity in Design Engineers: Attitudes, Opinions and Potentially Influential Factors

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Neufeld ◽  
Omid Mirzaei ◽  
Mark Runco ◽  
Sean Maw
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
Creativity Research ◽  
College Of Engineering

Is creativity important in engineering design? If it is, then why do most undergraduate engineering programs spend so little time teaching creativity? And therefore, as a result of our programs, do our students emerge more creative, less creative or no different compared to when they arrived? If creativity is worth developing, can we accurately measure it in our students, and can we enhance it systematically?These were some of the questions that motivated the initiation of a creativity research program in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. The assumption was that creativity is important in engineering, especially in design. The intent was to understand how we could assess creativity in our students and then enhance it.The focus of this initial study is a precursor to many of these more applied questions. We had students and faculty from a variety of Colleges, including Engineering, answer an online survey that probed attitudes towards creativity, respondent personality characteristics, opinions regarding conditional influences on creativity, and potential demographic factors influencing the creativity of individuals. As well, we employed a validated creativity attitudes and beliefs measurement tool (rCAB) as an accepted benchmark for assessment.The survey included both closed- and open-ended questions. The results from some of the open-ended questions have been analyzed to determine emerging groups of similar types of answers, and then efforts have been made to relate the groups in a meaningful framework.The results for the Engineering students are emphasized, but they are also compared with students and faculty from other Colleges. Closed questions were analyzed using inferential statistical tests (distributions, means, standard deviations, t-tests, ANOVA, Cronbach’s alpha), while the open-ended responses are compared more qualitatively when they cannot be quantified easily.The survey went through ethics approval and was distributed in the latter half of the Fall 2015 term.

scholarly journals Creativity in Design Engineers: Attitudes, Opinions and Potentially Influential Factors – Part II

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omid Mirzaei ◽  
Paul Neufeld ◽  
Jade Knoblauch ◽  
Jessica Gerbrandt ◽  
Mark Runco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
The Other ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University

.Abstract – In the latter half of 2015, a survey looking at attitudes and beliefs about creativity was distributed on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan. Over 2000 responses were gathered, including more than 200 in the College of Engineering. Initial quantitative results from this study were reported in 2016 in Neufeld et al [2].  In terms of the methods used in the study, as discussed in Neufeld et al [2], an online pilot survey was distributed to students and faculty from a variety of the Colleges at the University. Survey questions probed respondents’ affinity for creativity, their personality characteristics, their opinions on state, trait and skill-based viewpoints on creativity, and demographic details.  The first part of the survey was a validated Creative Attitudes and Values measurement tool (part of the Runco Creativity Assessment Battery (rCAB)© 2012), as discussed in Acar and Runco [1]. This tool consists of 25, 5-point Likert scale items. Of these 25 items, 15 and 10 were indicative and contraindicative items, respectively. Contraindicative items were reverse coded so that they could be used along with the indicative ones. Both past research and our results showed good inter-item reliability scores for this measurement tool.  In Neufeld et al [2] we presented results covering all of the closed-form, quantitative questions along with some correlational calculations with the rCAB scores. The focus of the current paper is on the qualitative results, as well as on a factor analysis of the rCAB questions.  The factor analysis was quite successful. We used SPSS and forced a correlation of items, reducing to three factors. We have just over 29% of variance accounted for, with 10% non-redundant residuals. We have strong anti-correlation between one factor and the other two, and no correlation between the other two. These results will be compared to those of the rCAB authors [3].  As for the qualitative data, we asked several open-ended questions to probe how respondents defined creativity, whether they regarded it as a positive behavior, as well as how they felt about creativity in terms of it being a skill, trait and/or state. For example, pairs of questions asked when creativity is difficult and easy, when it should and should not be used, and when it grows and diminishes. For each of the 9 questions that had open-ended answers, concepts were extracted from individual responses. Concepts were then grouped into themes. Themes and concepts were compared across questions and were aligned. Responses were then coded for concepts and themes. At this point, the text data could be quantitatively examined. This paper presents those results, and discusses the implications of the concepts, themes, and their statistics for how we talk about creativity, and how we can teach it. Comparisons will be made between the results from engineering students and staff versus non-engineers.  This paper completes the first level of evaluation of the results of this initial survey focused on attitudes and beliefs about creativity. Future work will focus on examining correlations between the results of different questions, including the rCAB scores.  

scholarly journals The Significance of Including an Entrepreneurship Course in Engineering Programs

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mosly
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Introductory Course ◽  
Sufficient Knowledge ◽  
Willingness To Change ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
Study Participants

This paper studied the significance of entrepreneurship education in engineering programs. It looked into its influence on engineering students’ perception and willingness to change their future job direction. The study was performed at the College of Engineering-Rabigh Branch, of King Abdulaiziz University in Saudi Arabia. Entrepreneurship education was introduced in 2013 to all of the college’s engineering programs in the form of an introductory course on entrepreneurship (IEN 481). This study reveals the importance of entrepreneurship education to engineering students, as the majority of study participants seek to establish their own business in the future. Moreover, 90% of the participants agreed that the IEN 481 course provided them with sufficient knowledge and skills required to establish their future businesses. In addition, the IEN 481 course changed the students’ mindsets and increased their entrepreneurial awareness.

scholarly journals EMBEDDING LIBRARIANS IN ENGINEERING PROGRAMS: THREE CASE STUDIES WITH ENGINEERING STUDENTS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Figueiredo ◽  
Helen Power ◽  
Kate Mercer ◽  
Matthew Borland
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Embedded Model ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University ◽  
Information Landscape

As the information landscape becomes increasingly complex, librarians must adapt accordingly. With information so readily available, students overestimate their research skills and lack awareness of how the library can help. However, librarians’ academic training makes them ideal resources to support students’ complex information needs - whether students know it or not. In this paper, we argue that embedded librarianship is the solution to this disconnect between librarian and user. Specifically, this paper provides case studies at two Canadian universities of librarians approaching embedded librarianship from different directions. At the University of Waterloo, two engineering librarians worked toward an embedded model of librarianship where this was not yet an established model in the Faculty of Engineering. At the University of Saskatchewan, a librarian was hired with the intention of the new position being embedded, without a formal structure or precedent for this within the College of Engineering.  The term “embedded librarian” describes a service model where an academic librarian participates in an academic course or program on a continuing basis in order to understand the learning objectives and determine which resources best support them. In order to “do this, the librarian has to be familiar with the work and understand the domain and goals. Doing this, the librarian becomes an invaluable member of the team” [1]. The variables associated with embeddedness include location, funding, management and supervision, and participation [1]. To this end, the authors explore how each of these variables contribute to the success of moving towards this embedded model: how moving out of the library influences overall connection, how they acquired funding to grow a new collection, how management supports the overall goal, and how sustained participation in the program grows new opportunities.  At both universities, librarians have seen most success embedding in programs with a strong emphasis on integrated STEM education where the focus is on providing real-world context with the aim of graduating well-rounded engineers [2]. The authors will discuss how programmatic learning outcomes and trends in integrated and interdisciplinary education have allowed them to stretch beyond the traditional boundaries of academic librarianship to demonstrate value to the Engineering departments in new ways.  This paper reports on the experiences, advantages, and lessons learned in moving toward this model, and provides concrete examples for adapting these concepts to programs at other institutions. Through an intrinsic case study [3] the authors aim to understand how librarians’ embeddedness can adapt and change to support student learning in different contexts. This session is targeted towards practicing engineering librarians and engineering faculty members and educators. Attendees will leave the session with ideas on how to stimulate new partnerships between their library and Engineering programs.  

scholarly journals High School Pre-Engineering Programs: Do They Contribute To College Retention?

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Cole ◽  
Karen High ◽  
Kathryn Weinland
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
College Retention ◽  
Descriptive Data ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Technology Center ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Course Sequence ◽  
College Of Engineering

The study examines the retention of studentsin the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma StateUniversity that enter college with a defined course sequence in a pre-engineeringprogram from a regional career technology center as compared with the retentionrates of university engineering students for the same time period. In additionto descriptive data, results from one-sample

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF “INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING” COURSES FOR FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS: A FOCUS ON STUDENT ATTITUDES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel B. Frey ◽  
Ryan Banow
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
College Of Engineering

Many students entering an engineering program have a strong appreciation of the importance of math- and science-based skills for their future career as an engineer, but often have little grasp of what it means to be entering a professional college.  For this reason, many engineering programs in Canada include some form of an “Introduction to the Engineering Profession” in their first-year program.  The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering has been working toward the launch of a completely redesigned first year program.  This project has afforded the College an opportunity to apply a novel and transferable approach to shaping this “Introduction to the Engineering” experience.  The structure of the proposed new first year program has allowed for short and intensive “Introduction to Engineering” modules, which bookend each of the regular session terms.  This timing makes them an orientation for the program, allowing for timely deep dives into matters of importance to engineering students: study skills, time-management, teamwork, self-assessment, support services, student well-being, ethics, academic integrity, and health and safety.  The timing of the modules also allows for completion of term-long assignments and reflection on both personal and academic growth. This paper describes the process employed to develop the course learning outcomes, schedule of topics and activities, and syllabi.  The process focused on over-arching target attitudes, such as “I am on the path to becoming a professional”, and ensured constructive alignment between these attitudes and the learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessment.  The nature of the process made it easy to clarify what was essential to include in the courses, and to make a compelling case for the importance of the courses in the context of a myriad of foundational technical topics.   

Entrepreneurial Mindset

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nusa FAIN ◽  
Michel ROD ◽  
Erik BOHEMIA
Keyword(s):  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Future Study ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Design Students ◽  
Commerce Students ◽  
Case Based

This paper explores the influence of teaching approaches on entrepreneurial mindset of commerce, design and engineering students across 3 universities. The research presented in this paper is an initial study within a larger project looking into building ‘entrepreneurial mindsets’ of students, and how this might be influenced by their disciplinary studies. The longitudinal survey will measure the entrepreneurial mindset of students at the start of a course and at the end. Three different approaches to teaching the courses were employed – lecture and case based, blended online and class based and fully project-based course. The entrepreneurial mindset growth was surprisingly strongest within the engineering cohort, but was closely followed by the commerce students, whereas the design students were slightly more conservative in their assessments. Future study will focus on establishing what other influencing factors beyond the teaching approaches may relate to the observed change.

Feeding the Recruitment of Inner City Kids to MSE by Keeping 5TH Graders on Track for Engineering in College

2000 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Brower
Keyword(s):  
Inner City ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Fifth Graders ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
College Of Engineering

ABSTRACTThe fifth grade inner city volunteer teaching project (5GVP) at Marquette University's College of Engineering has attempted to inform and inspire Milwaukee's inner city fifth graders about engineering for the last ten years. Each year I have recruited our engineering students to volunteer to take self contained science lessons into the Milwaukee Public Schools'fifth grade classrooms. Although the lessons are on science and the career touted is engineering in general, the lessons are flavored by my being in MSE. Being excited about a career is certainly a precursor to choosing that career. I have found the fifth graders very excited about seeing and experiencing science in action as the engineering students present it to them. Hopefully, the program at Marquette will result in more inner city students choosing to enter college as engineers, with MSE garnering its usual share.

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.

Assessment Of Dry Eye Symptoms And Quality Of Sleep In Engineering Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1202-1207
Author(s):  
Pavithra S ◽  
Dheepak Sundar M
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Dry Eye ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Quality Of Sleep ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Eye Symptoms ◽  
Dry Eye Symptoms

To assess dry eye symptoms (DES) and quality of sleep in engineering students during the Covid19 pandemic lockdown and also to assess the association between DES and sleep quality. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was carried out among 396 engineering students studying in Saveetha engineering college. The study tool used was a semi-structured google form questionnaire designed for assessing digital device usage, symptoms of dry eye disease and sleep pattern. Responses were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests. Overall 64.1% attained a score of more than 10, indicating the presence of DES. 70.2% of the study population used digital screens for more than 13 hours. A statistically significant association was found between increased screen time and presence of DES(p<0.05). 64.9% had a score of >18 indicating reduced sleep quality. About 77.1% of the students with DES had reduced sleep quality, and a significant association (p<0.01) was observed between the two. During the Covid19 pandemic lockdown, there appears to be rising prevalence of DES in student population, one of the reasons being increased screen time. The sleep quality was also found to be reduced, and a significant association was found between DES and sleep quality.

scholarly journals Modelling End-User Behavior and Behavioral Change in Smart Grids. An Application of the Model of Frame Selection

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 6674
Author(s):  
Sebastian Hoffmann ◽  
Fabian Adelt ◽  
Johannes Weyer
Keyword(s):  
Smart Grids ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
End Users ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
System Stability ◽  
End User ◽  
Frame Selection ◽  
Model Of Frame Selection ◽  
Modes Of Governance ◽  
Strong Control

This paper presents an agent-based model (ABM) for residential end-users, which is part of a larger, interdisciplinary co-simulation framework that helps to investigate the performance of future power distribution grids (i.e., smart grid scenarios). Different modes of governance (strong, soft and self-organization) as well as end-users’ heterogeneous behavior represent key influential factors. Feedback was implemented as a measure to foster grid-beneficial behavior, which encompasses a range of monetary and non-monetary incentives (e.g., via social comparison). The model of frame selection (MFS) serves as theoretical background for modelling end-users’ decision-making. Additionally, we conducted an online survey to ground the end-user sub-model on empirical data. Despite these empirical and theoretical foundations, the model presented should be viewed as a conceptual framework, which requires further data collection. Using an example scenario, representing a lowly populated residential area (167 households) with a high share of photovoltaic systems (30%), different modes of governance were compared with regard to their suitability for improving system stability (measured in cumulated load). Both soft and strong control were able to decrease overall fluctuations as well as the mean cumulated load (by approx. 10%, based on weekly observation). However, we argue that soft control could be sufficient and more societally desirable.

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