Novel Method of Assessing Practical Intelligence Acquired in Mechatronics Laboratory Classes

Author(s):  
Zol Bahri Razali

Practical intelligence is often referred to as the ability of a person to solve practical challenges in a given domain. The lack of practical intelligence may be due to the way in which explicit knowledge is valued and subsequently assessed in engineering education, namely via examinations, tests, laboratory reports, and tutorial exercises. The lack of effective assessments on practical intelligence indicates implicit devaluation, which can significantly impair engineering students' ability to acquire practical intelligence. To solve this problem, the authors propose a new method of assessment for measuring practical intelligence acquired by engineering students after performing engineering laboratory classes. The novices-experts approach is used in designing the assessment instruments, based on the behaviors' of novices/experts observed and novices/experts representative work-related situations. The practical intelligence can be measured by calculating the difference between participants' and the experts' ratings; the closer the novices to experts, the higher the practical intelligence acquired.

Author(s):  
Franz-Josef Kahlen ◽  
George Swingler ◽  
Anabela C. Alves ◽  
Shannon Flumerfelt

A number of studies conducted since the turn of the millennium have identified several deficits in engineering education; the most widely cited are deficits in critical analysis, systems thinking, and visualizing non-linear cause-effect chains. The field of engineering education has undergone a number of notable changes in response to such identified deficits but recent field studies such as Vision 2030 identified remaining shortfalls in engineering competencies as well as significant discrepancies in the perception of the severity of these deficits. While academic engineering programs feel that their programs adequately prepare engineering students for the practice of engineering, entry-level hiring managers disagree. In the practice of medicine, decision-making in practicing physicians is a critical competency which can make the difference between appropriate and incorrect diagnoses, and may affect the patient’s well-being or his life. Making a decision for an appropriate treatment plan in the face of insufficient or contradicting data points often times is compounded by the fact that time-scales can be significantly shorter than in the case of a machine design project. And while the majority of patients is discharged from hospital care in better health, medical professionals and educators are questioning their own approach to decision making in light of technological advances affecting their disciplines, and because of an improved understanding of the biochemistry and opportunities of genetic manipulations of the human body. Therefore, the field of medical decision making is also undergoing an overhaul in the education and training of medical students. This paper contrasts the current decision-making competencies that are imparted as part of the respective fields’ academic education, identifies the challenges in each discipline, and identifies opportunities for cross-pollination of better practices to develop decision-making competencies.


Author(s):  
David R. Waller ◽  
David Strong

There appears to be an existing disconnect between engineering education and creativity that is partly caused by a lack of understanding of creativity’srole in engineering as well as the lack of value placed on creativity in the academic environment. This paper used mixed methods research to investigate this disconnect through the perceptions of undergraduate engineering students. A survey was used to gather definitions of engineering creativity and to measure the value students place on creativity in engineering.Results indicated that students have a wide variety of definitions and understanding of engineering creativity. It was found that students generally valued creativity in an engineering context, but Year 4+ students had statistically significant less value for creativity than all other years ofstudy. The findings support the need for a well-developed and universally accepted definition of engineering creativity. Causation for the difference in value Year 4+ students place on engineering creativity should be furtherinvestigated.


2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zol Bahri Razali ◽  
James Trevelyan

Experience in an engineering laboratory is important for engineering students and expected to enhance understanding of engineering concepts for which they have learned the theory. Although the aim of the laboratory is an opportunity to learn and gain experience or practical intelligence (PI), the authors do not know much about what actually happens in a typical laboratory class. The development of practical intelligence is expected to be happened when students are performing tasks in the laboratory exercises and they may possibly be able to detect and solve problems or diagnose faults in similar equipment. Thus the purpose of this study is to assess students’ practical intelligence as the outcome of performing laboratory exercises and relating to the ability to diagnose equipment faults. Comparison of novel-expert rating approach is used in this study. The findings demonstrated that practical intelligence can be measured by calculating the difference between students’ ratings and the experts’ ratings. 


Author(s):  
I Ketut Widana

The working practice of the engineering students is part of the learning process that is irreducible and indispensable. The composition of  lecturing between theoretical and practical one is 40% to 60%. With this condition, the students spend more time at the laboratory. Generally, the students perform in the laboratory work by standing position. The design of research is observational cross-sectional. The method applied is observation, interview and measuring. The subjects of research are practicing students amounting to 21 students. Referring to the analysis of statistical test or Wilcoxon signed ranks test, the difference of effect of work position is significant, namely p < 0.05 towards musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) before and after working. The quantity of the average complaint after working is score 44.62 ± 9.47. The result of Wilcoxon signed rank test shows that there is significant different effects of standing work position, namely p < 0.05 towards fatigue generally before and after working. The degree of the working pulse is on the average of 110.78  ± 17.80 bpm (beats per minutes) which can be categorized into the medium workload. Using paired t-test, the result is p < 0.05.


Author(s):  
Rod D. Roscoe ◽  
Samuel T. Arnold ◽  
Ashley T. Clark

Instruction and coursework that link engineering and psychology may enable future engineers to better understand the people they are engineering for (e.g., users and clients) and themselves as engineers (e.g., teammates). In addition, human-centered engineering education may empower engineering students to better solve problems at the intersection of technology and people. In this study, we surveyed students’ conceptions and attitudes toward human systems engineering. We aggregate responses across three survey iterations to discuss students’ knowledge and beliefs, and to consider instructional opportunities for introductory courses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-47
Author(s):  
Zhaoqiong Qin

This study aims to investigate the literature in product distribution and channel competition. In this study, past work related to the product distribution through different channels is extensively reviewed. Based on the channel differentiation, channel competition is also reviewed. Finally, the study proposes that the future research may focus on helping the producer make a decision whether to sell the product through its own direct channel (online) through a physical channel or both based on the difference between these two channels.


Author(s):  
Vincent Chang

With a growing need to reform Chinese higher engineering education, University of Michigan—Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (JI) initiated multinational corporation-sponsored industrial-strength Capstone Design Projects (CDP) in 2011. Since 2011, JI has developed 96 corporate-sponsored CDPs since its inception, which include multinational corporation sponsors such as Covidien, Dover, GE, HP, Intel, NI, Philips, and Siemens. Of these projects, healthcare accounts for 27%, energy 24%, internet technology (IT) 22%, electronics 16%, and other industries 11%. This portfolio reflects the trends and needs in the industry, which provides opportunities for engineering students to develop their careers. An accumulated 480 JI students have been teamed up based on their individual backgrounds, specifically electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, and biomedical engineering. The corporate-sponsored rate grew from 0% in 2010 to 86% in 2014.


Author(s):  
Janna Rosales ◽  
Gloria Montano

What do engineers need to know beyond the textbook? Success as an engineer today also depends on the ability to hone skills such as team work, social intelligence and interdisciplinary collaboration, qualities that extend far beyond engineering itself. Dialogue education is one effective method being used in higher education to enhance student success, and it offers intriguing possibilities when paired with the curriculum for professional degrees. When students participate in dialogue education they not only sharpen professional communications skills, but also cultivate a richer understanding of the diverse perspectives which they encounter as they learn to engage constructively with the world around them. What can engineering education gain from dialogue education? In March 2011, the MetaKettle Project (Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland), sponsored the "Dialogue Lab", a participatory workshop for graduate and undergraduate engineering students. The purpose of this workshop was to explore the ways that dialogue can be used as a practical and effective tool within the engineering profession in order to construct positive social, political, economic, civic and personal outcomes. This paper will report and reflect upon the results of the Dialogue Lab and examine what role dialogue can play in engineering education. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 598-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Garrett ◽  
Stuart R. Graham ◽  
Roger G. Eston ◽  
Darren J. Burgess ◽  
Lachlan J. Garrett ◽  
...  

Purpose: To compare the sensitivity of a submaximal run test (SRT) with a countermovement-jump test (CMJ) to provide an alternative method of measuring neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) in high-performance sport. Methods: A total of 23 professional and semiprofessional Australian rules football players performed an SRT and CMJ test prematch and 48 and 96 h postmatch. Variables from accelerometers recorded during the SRT were player load 1D up (vertical vector), player load 1D side (mediolateral vector), and player load 1D forward (anteroposterior vector). Meaningful difference was examined through magnitude-based inferences (effect size [ES]), with reliability assessed as typical error of measurements expressed as coefficient of variance. Results: A small decrease in CMJ height, ES −0.43 ± 0.39 (likely), was observed 48 h postmatch before returning to baseline 96 h postmatch. This was accompanied by corresponding moderate decreases in the SRT variables player load 1D up, ES −0.60 ± 0.51 (likely), and player load 1D side, ES −0.74 ± 0.57 (likely), 48 h postmatch before also returning to prematch baseline. Conclusion: The results suggest that in the presence of NMF, players use an alternative running profile to produce the same external output (ie, time). This indicates that changes in accelerometer variables during an SRT can be used as an alternative method of measuring NMF in high-performance Australian rules football and provides a flexible option for monitoring changes in the recovery phase postmatch.


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