bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Engineering Education at the University of Toronto
Authors: McCahan Susan , Bazylak Jason , Beach David , Evans Greg , Foster Jason , Karney Bryan , Kinnear Penny , Korst Bruno , Romkey Lisa , Sheridan Patricia , Sticket Micah , Variawa Chirag , Weiss Peter
Published: April 2017

Engineering education research at the University of Toronto is very active and growing. We currently have multiple faculty involved in individual and collaborative projects, and two Ph.D. candidates. Project topics areas include: teaching and assessment of teamwork and leadership; development of professional identity through portfolios; inverted classroom teaching methods; teaching effectively to diverse student populations; retention and grittiness; use of technology in the classroom and innovative pedagogy; outcomes based assessment methods; and collaborating on a study in critical thinking. We maintain an informal research group called PEER (Practitioners in Engineering Education Research) that meets approximately monthly. PEER group is a community of practice intended to help members develop research projects and proposals, provide additional perspectives on results, and discussion of shared interests. This network has been very effective in leveraging individual expertise and supporting a vibrant research community. Our Faculty is now taking the next step to establish a pathway for students pursuing a Ph.D. in engineering education. A task force to create a research based graduate program in engineering education was initiated in January and is currently developing a plan. In this session we will talk about the projects that are on-going and the plans for the future.
PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCHES CONDUCTED AT UNIVERSITÉ DE SHERBROOKE
Authors: Lachiver Gérard
Published: April 2017

The USherbrooke Faculty of Engineering is recognized as a leader in innovation and research in engineering education. The Université de Sherbrooke was the second university in Canada to offer co-op programs for its students in 1966 and is now among the top 10 higher education institutions in North America for the significance of its co-op system. The faculty of engineering was the first in Canada to offer an undergraduate mechanical engineering program based on professional competencies with design as the ultimate competency integration activity - the backbone of the entire program. In 2001, we introduced completely redesigned electrical and computer engineering programs based on two complementary frameworks. The first one is a competency-based framework used to have a better alignment between teaching/learning activities, program objectives and competences development. The second one, called the learning framework, introduces a paradigm shift from passive to active learning methodologies with the deployment of problem and project based learning situations. Over the years, the faculty of engineering has developed many original approaches to both design of curriculum and faculty organisation. We also developed considerable expertise to improve teaching and learning especially integration of curriculum elements, the development of team skills and of a professional culture, the use of design projects extending over more than one year with links to industry, the use of portfolio to track competencies development, active learning environment such as problem and project-based learning and in utilising novel assessment techniques to improve learning. All these initiatives have been made possible by creating winning conditions to involve faculty members in pedagogical research activities and implementation methodologies. To do that we provided institutional financial support (faculty, university), encouragement, teaching load relief, recognition of faculty involvement in tenure and promotion, professional support for CEAB accreditation requirements, etc.
Collaboration between faculty members and the Center for teaching and learning at Polytechnique Montreal
Authors: Kozanitis Anastassis , Forest Lina
Published: April 2017

The Center for teaching and learning at Polytechnique Montreal (PM) was created in 1977. Its mission is to encourage and help instructors to improve their teaching, and ultimately, contribute to improve student learning at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Among its many activities, the CTL provides a compulsory orientation, training, and integration program for new faculty members; offers consultations, workshops, and conferences; manages grants for pedagogical initiatives; and conducts house studies on pedagogical or academic issues. With time, CTL has had the opportunity to collaborate with PM leaders and faculty members, on a number of issues. For example, it has conducted house studies on the following topics: students’ learning strategies; students’ motivation to learn within different pedagogies (project-based; e-learning; traditional lecturing); three year follow-up study on the impact the revised programs have had on student learning and retention. CTL has published many articles whether in scientific or professional journals. CTL encourages and provides support for faculty members that publish in general or discipline specific engineering education journals. PM also funds and conducts engineering education research projects with the MATI (Maison des Technologie, house of technologies), specifically on the use of technology in the classroom and innovative pedagogy. MATI is a three-way partnership between HEC Montreal, University of Montreal and PM. They are currently working on the e-portfolio for the development of professional attributes in engineering. PM has also created a new category of instructors, called “chargé d’enseignement”. Their job is to teach full time at the undergraduate level. What sets them apart from ordinary part time instructors is that they must conduct research on their teaching, and actively participate in engineering education conferences. Finally, PM is contemplating allocating a chair for the scholarship of teaching and learning. This chair would be under a faculty member’ responsibility, and would help fund research on engineering education. It would also allow hiring PhD and master’s degree students.
Mapping Topics for Program Enhancement in Undergraduate Process Engineering Education
Authors: Spracklin-Reid Darlene , James Lesley , Hawboldt Kelly , Shirokoff John , Ahmed Salim
Published: April 2017

Identifying recurring themes and creating a topics map provides a useful tool for program enhancement. Topic maps can be used to streamline teaching and create opportunities for introducing supplementary topics. It encourages consistency and continuity within a program and opens dialogue among faculty members. It gives students context for their current learning within the overall program picture. This 2 Results and Discussion on Mapping paper examines how the Discipline of Process Engineering at Memorial University collectively examined their program, identified seven common themes and mapped their evolution through the program. The outcomes of this examination will be presented and potential implementation strategies to further enhance the program and assist student learning will be discussed.
Investigating the Impact of Model Eliciting Activities on Development of Critical Thinking
Authors: Frank Brian , Kaupp Jake , Chen Ann
Published: April 2017

This paper presents a portion of a study on how model eliciting activities (MEAs) impact critical thinking development in first year engineering. Model eliciting activities (MEAs) are realistic problems used in the classroom that require learners to document not only their solution to the problems, but also their processes for solving them. Studies have shown MEAs to be valuable in helping students to develop conceptual understanding, knowledge transfer , and generalizable problem--‐solving skills. This study is investigating the impact of the MEA- integrated course on students’ development of critical thinking skills. Ultimately, the team aims to determine whether the MEA-integrated course facilitates students’ critical thinking. During the fall semester of the 2012/2013 academic year three instruments will be used to evaluate the critical thinking skills (CTS) of first year engineering students. These instruments will be used as both a pre--‐ and post--‐test in order to benchmark CTS of the incoming first year students, and determine the effectiveness of MEA instruction on developing student critical thinking ability. These instruments are the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z (Cornell Z), the International Critical Thinking Essay Test (ICTET) and the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). This paper will present the preliminary findings from analysis of the MEA results and pre and post tests from the study.
ExCEL: A Unique Approach to Providing Experiential Learning Opportunities
Authors: Friedrich Kelton
Published: April 2017

McMaster University’s proposed Engineering Centre for Experiential Learning (ExCEL) is a novel example of providing a deep student learning experience outside of the traditional academic experience, and one in which experiential learning opportunities are intended to drive the development of additional learning opportunities. The ExCEL Initiative has students engaged in goal setting and fundraising, and actively involved in the design, construction and management of an engineering student centre building that will support future experiential learning opportunities for students. This integrates a diverse range of engineering pedagogical topics including open ended design, multi-disciplinary collaboration, sustainability, work-integrated learning, industry-academic collaboration, project-based learning and professional development. This learning opportunity will be analyzed on how it was leveraged and integrated to address this host of pedagogical topics through a real world project. Detailing this unique example will allow the rich learning aspects of it to be implemented by other educators in other engineering education institutions.
A TRAINING DEMONSTRATION FOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN OPC BASED PROCESS AUTOMATION DATA ACCESS
Authors: Wanyama Tom , Singh Ishwar
Published: April 2017

The focus of university classrooms is changing from a lecturing approach to a learning-by- doing approach. Consequently, many universities are moving towards incorporating hands-on or experiential learning approaches in their teaching methods. In this paper we present a training demonstration that we have developed to support experiential learning in the teaching of Open Process Control (OPC) based access to process automation data. This is a topic in the Advanced Components and System Integration course of the joint McMaster University and Mohawk College bachelor of technology program. Generally, the paper presents the design and implementation of an OPC data access system, and how the system is used as demonstration to inspire learning.
TRAINING PROGRAM IN ENGINEERING DESIGN FOR GRADUATE TEACHING ASSITANTS
Authors: Firmani Flavio , McWilliam Michael , Wild Peter , McGuire Michael , Dechev Nikolai , Bradley Colin
Published: April 2017

This program is an initiative of the Chair in Design Engineering of the University of Victoria Faculty of Engineering to an NSERC mandate to improve engineering design instruction. To date, there are not enough qualified personnel to support design projects and help students. This problem will be more evident in the upcoming years when the number of undergraduate students will increase and professors will not have the time to guide all the student teams. Therefore, it is imperative the support of highly qualified personnel specialized in design engineering. To this end, a totally new and unique program that trains graduate students to be “Design Teaching Assistants” (DTAs) has been recently launched. In this training program, graduate students learn about engineering design, teaching and mentoring. The program includes a series of workshops, discussion panels and seminars.
USING RUBRICS IN A CAPSTONE ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE
Authors: Zytner Richard G. , Donald John , Gordon Karen , Clemmer Ryan , Thompson Jason
Published: April 2017

Rubrics have been developed to assess the proposal,interim report, final report and proposal as related to theengineering capstone project, to better assess theperformance of the students and provide feedback to thestudents. The presentation will outline how the rubricswere developed and highlight some the challenges thatarose in implementing them. In addition, the rubrics werestructured to address the majority of graduate attributesoutlined by the Canadian Engineering AccreditationBoard (CEAB). As such the rubrics assess studentperformance in the following graduate attributes: design,problem analysis, investigation, communication skills,impact of engineering on society and environment, andeconomics and project management. Through thelearning management system used at the SOE, the rubricdata can also be collected and reviewed as part of thegraduate attribute process that has become an importantcomponent of the CEAB accreditation process.Challenges in using the learning management system willalso be discussed.
GET A HEAD START! EXPERIENCES OF RUNNING A SUMMER ONLINE CALCULUS COURSE FOR INCOMING FIRST YEAR STUDENTS
Authors: Cohen Shai , Stickel Micah
Published: April 2017

One of the great advantages of developing online courses is that it enables the institution to reimagine how they can deliver that content to their students. In recent years, the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto has worked to develop a set of first year calculus courses in an online format. These courses were designed specifically for engineering students to: (a) situate the material in an engineering context through multiple real-world examples and “on-site” videos, (b) place an increased emphasis on the form of the solution, and (c) incorporate a significant experience in mathematical modeling through a self-defined project.In July and August of 2014, the Calculus for Engineers I online course was offered to incoming first-year students that were to start in September 2014. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the experiences related to this unique offering from the perspectives of the students as well as the Faculty administration and course instructor.Of the 900 students that were invited to take the course, 170 initially registered for the course in early July, and of those 48 students completed the course at the end of August. Of the 44 students that passed the course, 20 (48%) decided to continue on with the online offering of Calculus for Engineers II in the fall 2014 term.Overall, students were quite positive about their online learning experience and were glad to have the opportunity to complete a credit before their official start. This allowed them to either take an elective in their first year or have a lighter workload in one of the terms.In their course survey comments, they noted that they appreciated the opportunity to learn and review the material at their own pace, the way in which the instructor connected the mathematics to an engineering context, and having an early introduction to the university learning environment.Delivering an online university-level calculus course to incoming first-year students is an exciting and novel way to enhance the engineering student experience in first year. This paper provides an introductory summary of this approach from the students’, instructor’s, and administrators’ perspectives.
Hands-on Explorations as Background Research for First-Year Design Projects
Authors: Trivett A. , Rathlin J.
Published: April 2017

Collectively and individually, first-yearstudents in Mechanical Engineering lack familiarity withreal mechanical systems. Individual students have notedthat they have not grown up able to simply “take stuffapart”. As a result, the mechanical engineeringundergraduates have minimal skills or knowledge ofcommon mechanical devices. The foundations course forthe Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics at theUniversity of Waterloo has adopted the role of giving newstudents opportunities to interact with hardware in an“Engineering Clinic” environment.This paper will provide a preliminary work-inprogressreport on the activities and the role theseactivities played in the student experience. The paper willreport on the delivery of the activities, and the initialstudent reactions to the hands-on activities in this context.
FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN – GUELPH’S TEDDY BEAR WHEEL CHAIR EXPERIENCE
Authors: Stiver Warren
Published: April 2017

First year engineering design courses arenow common across Canadian engineering schools.These courses can be challenging to develop and deliver.They are often stuck in the chicken versus egg problem.Can I teach design with no engineering? Can I teachengineering with no design? How does one introducefour years of engineering education and an engineeringcareer in one course? How to do so across many or allengineering disciplines? How to do so in a foundationalmanner? Can it be done in a meaningful way? Can it beengaging and fun? A Teddy Bear Wheel Chair (TBWC)design project is the focal point of Guelph’s first yearengineering design course. The TBWC integratescomputers, mechanics, biomechanics (Teddy Bear style),environment, safety, sustainability, materials, costing,hands-on, perseverance, ethics and DESIGN. The TBWCparticipates in curling, sprinting and scoring goals. Theresult is a challenging and fun competition thatintroduces all of Guelph’s engineering students to theirengineering design careers. This paper and presentationwill share one instructor’s efforts to make all of this work.
USING MICRO-VIDEO PROJECTS IN LARGE ENGINEERING CLASSES TO DIFFERENTIATE ASSESSMENT
Authors: Erochko Jeffrey
Published: April 2017

A new assessment tool is introduced thatuses one minute long, individual micro-videopresentations to give students an opportunity todemonstrate mastery of specific engineering conceptsorally instead of in the typical written form. The shorttime-frame of the videos requires students to thinkcritically about the concept and to explain it concisely. Italso reduces assessment time, allowing teachingassistants to grade it quickly, even in a large class.Three micro-video projects were implemented in athird year and fourth year civil engineering course atCarleton University with 180 and 96 students,respectively. The format of the micro-video tool isdiscussed in detail, including the assessment rubric thatwas used. Three anonymous elective student surveys wereconducted at different stages to solicit student opinions.Students generally thought that the micro-videoassignment was valuable, enjoyable, and provided a fairevaluation of their understanding.
USING WEIGHTED SCORING RUBRICS IN ENGINEERING ASSESSMENT
Authors: Salinas Juan J. , Erochko Jeffrey
Published: April 2017

When evaluating student work by deducting marks for errors,it is possible to underestimate the importance ofdominant concepts and assign grades at a level that mightnot be in agreement with academic policies. Rubrics facilitateand expedite the marking process but it is importantto examine in detail the parameters and limitations of thisstructured approach to assessment. The structure of thescoring rubric considered in this study promotes the consistencyand validation of the assessment process and discriminatesbetween evaluation components by assigningdifferent weights to dominant and secondary criteria. Theshape of the weight distribution function plays an importantrole in this process. In the proposed rubric structure,an array of performance levels is multiplied by anarray of task components to arrive at a mark and a grade.A uniform weight distribution is easy to develop and utilize,especially for large classes, but it fails to recognizethe importance of dominant components. The proposedapproach allows the incorporation of single and multipledominant criteria modeled by using step or linear distributionfunctions and adjusting the relative value of dominantand secondary components.
Using Textbook Readings, YouTube Videos, and Case Studies for Flipped Classroom Instruction of Engineering Design
Authors: Merrett Craig G.
Published: April 2017

Flipped classroom instruction places the transfer of information outside of the class and focuses on the application of the information in the class. Applying flipped classroom instruction to engineering design courses is challenging because design is open-ended.Three approaches were tested for second year and fourth year students taught by the same instructor in six course offerings. All course offerings used case studies. Three offerings were taught using traditional methods such as blackboard notes or PowerPoint presentations. The other course offerings used flipped classroom instruction that applied assigned textbook readings or assigned, instructor-created YouTube videos. A statistical assessment of the final exam scores show that flipped classroom instruction using assigned textbook readings result has a negative impact on final exam performance. YouTube videos and case studies have positive impacts on final exam performance.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CAPSTONE DESIGN COURSE GOES FLIPPED!
Authors: Jamieson Marnie V. , Church Len , Vagi Frank , Pick William , Onuczko Tracy , Nychka John , Nocente Norma , Shaw John M.
Published: April 2017

The Capstone Design Course instructional team was selected to participate in the digital learning initiative at the University of Alberta. The goals of this initiative are to increase student engagement and promote flexible, independent learning. The objectives of the instructional team were to enhance the interactions between instructors and student design teams in the face of increasing enrolment and to align the course strategically with attributes expected for graduating engineers set out by the University and elaborated in the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) Guidelines. Existing course materials were redeveloped to an asynchronous online format for individual student engagement and related activities were completed in class. Course delivery effectiveness is being evaluated by comparison with previous cohorts, improvements in post course student self-assessment, student engagement and satisfaction, and will include post course interview and survey data. This preliminary report focuses on elements of course design and preliminary findings.
TEACHING DESIGN PATTERNS IN A REAL-TIME EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INTERFACING COURSE
Authors: Kinsner Witold
Published: April 2017

This paper presents an overview of designpatterns for teaching an undergraduate course oninterfacing of microcontrollers, microprocessors andmicrocomputers for real-time systems. Such design patternsare useful because the course must cover a wide range oftopics for both wired and wireless systems, and is intendedfor a variety of microcontrollers. Without the patterns,teaching all the material from ground up might not befeasible.
AN EXPERT-FOLLOWER APPROACH TO ENHANCE GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES IN LABORATORY COURSES
Authors: Ahmed Salim , Zhang Yan , Spracklin-Reid Darlene
Published: April 2017

An “expert-follower” approach toconduct laboratory courses is outlined in this article. Themain objective of the proposed procedure is to enhancegraduate attributes. Two important attributes namely,investigation and team work are focused. In this setting,one team becomes the designated expert team for anexperiment. Based on the range of operating conditions ofequipment, the expert team will decide different sets ofexperimental conditions. The expert team will first run theexperiment and the follower teams will run in thefollowing weeks, each at a different set of conditions. Thefollower teams will be briefed by the expert team prior toand during the experiment. The expert team will gatherdata from the follower teams every week. Each team willbe designated expert for one experiment while followerfor the others. The expert team will have a large set ofdata to investigate the characteristics of thecorresponding equipment. They will have to analyze data,identify any abnormality and probable causes, and drawconclusions. The success of each team will be mutuallydependent and this will be the key for enhancing teamworkskills. This approach will be implemented in alaboratory component of a Term 5 course in the ProcessEngineering program at Memorial University ofNewfoundland. Data on the learning outcomes in atraditional setting are being collected in the current year.The new approach will be implemented during Winter2016 and data on learning outcomes will be collected toanalyze the effectiveness of the approach.
TOWARDS IMPROVED LEARNING OF FLUID MECHANICS VIA INTEGRATION OF A COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE PACKAGE INTO AN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
Authors: Campbell Scott , Latulippe David R.
Published: April 2017

The integration of software packages intochemical engineering courses is widely regarded tobenefit students in two ways. First, the active learningenvironment encourages a deep understanding of thecourse material. Second, it gives students practicalexperience with ‘state of the art’ tools that are used inindustry. However, surveys of chemical engineeringprograms have shown that the use of software packagesinto traditional fluid mechanics courses is quite low (lessthan 10%). Recently, the software package PIPE-FLO(from Engineered Software Inc.) was integrated into thesecond-year fluid mechanics course (ChE 2O04) atMcMaster. The software performs a full hydraulicnetwork analysis for a variety of piping configurationswith numerous piping components such as pumps,compressors, and control valves. The implementation ofPIPE-FLO as a simulation tool is in accordance with therecent initiative by the Canadian EngineeringAccreditation Board (CEAB) to determine directions forprogram improvement. A set of ten self-guided tutorialswere prepared to teach the students how to use the fullprofessional version of PIPE-FLO that was available inthe campus computer labs. Each tutorial was developedto enhance the understanding of the theory learned inclass and included references to the appropriateequations from the course textbook. Feedback from thestudents was overwhelmingly positive and encouragedgreater integration of the software into future offerings ofthe course.
Introduction of Gamification in Common Core Engineering
Authors: Tolman Matt , Eggermont Marjan , Hugo Ron
Published: April 2017

The Schulich School of Engineering is currently redesigning its first-year curriculum and will be piloting a number of new approaches in the Fall15/Winter16 academic year. In addition to experiences with flipped classrooms and online professional skills modules, we will be adding a component of gamification to one of our first-year courses. Gamification is the application of the typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to education in order to encourage engagement with the course material in a compelling and familiar way. This paper will describe the following: underlying game mechanics; game design techniques; and how these can be integrated into/applied to/used to enhance engineering education. Approaches covered will include the following: using experience points to replace traditional grading; user -generated content; and a tiered rewards system giving students choices that enable them to strategically manipulate their relationship with the course material. Gamification has the ability to let students make choices based on their strengths. Given the four-player archetypes of Explorer, Achiever, Socializer, and Predator, it is important to include incentives that motivate each type of student. Effective gamification achieves not only engagement, but it also attends to cross-archetype engagement. That is, the Socializers will constantly inform the other students of achievements that have been discovered by mainly the Explorers, but when Explorers receive a new achievement, they will feel compelled to become a Socializer and tell everyone of their discovery. Predators might earn an achievement for passing a certain number of people on a leaderboard or for creating a question that was very challenging. They will then feel a sense of ownership and likewise will play the role of Socializer and inform others of their achievement.Examples of ways that gamification can be applied to current practices will be provided.
AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITY TO PROMOTE SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS
Authors: Bishop W. , Hurst A. , Mantin B. , Bedi S.
Published: April 2017

This paper describes an experientiallearning activity to promote skill development infirst year engineering students. The exercise involvesthe assembly of a remote-control car using readilyavailable part kits. Students work in small teamsunder the mentorship of experienced faculty membersfrom a variety of engineering backgrounds. The goalof the exercise is to introduce engineering design intofirst year engineering by providing students with anengaging, hands-on experience. The exercise is oneof several new activities being incorporated into theIdeas Clinic Experience for engineering students atthe University of Waterloo.
INDUSTRY PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE COMPETENCIES
Authors: Petkau Donald S.
Published: April 2017

Through the CEAB accreditation program, graduate attribute competencies are currently being standardized throughout the engineering programs in Canada. Challenges of these requirements are in understanding the implementation process and determining the outcome levels of the students. This study went outside of the university environment to determine the outcome levels found in graduated students. It consisted of a series of interviews with two groups of engineers working in a major energy corporation in the Province of Manitoba. One group consisted of senior engineers with a minimum of 15 years experience while the other was of new graduates with at minimum 18 months of service. The groups were asked questions on job requirements for new graduates with a follow-up survey on levels of competency for each graduate attribute. This paper describes the process and the analysis of the information. Results were consistent between both groups but show levels of competency at lower levels than determined from a student perspective at time of graduation
FIRST-YEAR STUDENT PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY IN THE ENGINEERING DESIGN CLASSROOM
Authors: Variawa Chirag
Published: April 2017

This paper investigates first-year engineering student assumptions about diversity in the classroom. Based on two qualitative surveys, administered at the start and end of term, a team of professors at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts ask questions that elicit responses about what students assume their first year engineering classroom is like. The data from this study is categorized into student/student and student/instructor interfaces, with a more general set of findings that are applicable holistically to engineering education. This study suggests that students are moving from a “what engineering looks like” perception to a more “what engineering qualities and characteristics help the world” perception. The results of this exploratory study can help instructors get a better understanding of their students, to help enhance diversity in the classroom
GRADE 9/10 STUDENTS’ PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE OF ENGINEERS AND THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION
Authors: Compeau Scott , Strong David S.
Published: April 2017

An increase in student awareness of the engineering profession is needed to ensure students have the knowledge to make informed career choices, which may lead to achieving high-quality engineering graduates and diversifying the profession. One way to meet this demand may be ensure that pre-university students have sufficient knowledge of the engineering profession in order to make an informed decision in considering engineering as a possible choice for post-secondary study. The purpose of this research study is to understand the knowledge and/or perceptions that Grade 9 and Grade 10 students have about the engineering profession. While the study is a work in progress, this paper highlights an emerging trend from the early data analysis, indicating that students perceive a relationship between engineering and the skilled trades, but have difficulty distinguishing differences between the two. This relationship will be further investigated as the study progresses.
Preliminary Investigation into Causal Factors for Engineering Enrollment
Authors: Armstrong Jake , Strong David S.
Published: April 2017

In Canada, the majority of university-bound students are required to choose their post-secondary program during their final year of high school. This is an important decision, and is difficult and confusing for many students with limited information to make these career-impacting choices. Past research suggests that the engineering profession is not understood in the public domain, especially in elementary and secondary schools. To further investigate this issue, a mixed-methods study is being conducted to examine the factors behind students’ selection of engineering. Self-reported retrospective satisfaction with program selection is used as an indicator for successful decision-making. Indicated factors were compared with demographics to determine if they vary in importance by gender, year or personal relationships with professional engineers. This paper discusses trends that are evolving from the first phase of processing. Extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis is still underway on the full package of data, and further findings will be published at a later date.
The Canadian Engineering Education Association Research Collaboration (CEEA-RC): Annual Survey of Canadian Engineering Instructors
Authors: Kaupp Jake , Doré Sylvie , Young Sue Fostaty , Frank Brian , Ostafichuk Pete , McCahan Susan , Nesbit Susan
Published: April 2017

This paper will focus on the design anddevelopment of the Survey of Canadian EngineeringInstructors (SCEI), from framework to final implementedversion. The primary goal of this project was to increasethe experience and capacity for rigorous educationalresearch within the CEEA community, and to benchmarkengineering faculty attitudes towards teaching andlearning.The development, approval and implementation of thestudy are a key focus presented in this paper, with theintent of providing a holistic view of how the project ismanaged and enacted. Alongside this narrative are thepreliminary findings from the project thus far. Thesefindings provide insight into faculty perceptions andattitudes towards teaching and learning. These responseshighlight the need for a more in-depth analysis todetermine the interesting trends observed in the data.
An Intervention-Based Active Learning Strategy Employing Principles of Cognitive Psychology
Authors: Sidhu Gaganpreet , Srinivasan Seshasai
Published: April 2017

The objective of this research is to investigate an intervention-based active learning strategy incorporating the principles of cognitive psychology to enhance student learning in an undergraduate engineering mathematics course. In this strategy, the classroom was completely flipped, i.e., the students were assigned weekly reading assignments and had to take a quiz before joining the classroom. Inside the classroom, the lectures were replaced with group-problem solving sessions. Specifically, students were divided into small groups where they collectively solved worksheets containing several problems. By design, the worksheets integrated the key principles of cognitive science in learning that are conducive to long term retention of the topics, namely, reinforcement, spacing and instant feedback. Subsequently, the students were given take-home practice problem sets to master the concepts. On comparing the student learning outcomes from this strategy with the outcomes from the traditional lecturing approach, it was found that the students indulging in the carefully designed active learning environment performed better. It can be concluded that the improved student learning and retention can be attributed to the combination of active learning and the effective intervention strategy employed in the course
A FRAMEWORK PROPOSAL FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECTS THAT SUPPORT PERFORMING ARTS
Authors: Willink Teodoro , Yu Lochi
Published: April 2017

An important characteristic of the technologicaldevices that support performing arts is that they involvea strong component of creativity and initative. Dueto this nature, work in this type of projects becomes wellsuitedfor engineering education, since it promotes motivationand the development of both technical and nontechnicalskills.In this paper we present a flexible framework, consistingin structure and methodology proposals, for an engineeringeducation program that aims to design, build and operateprojects that support performing arts. The proposed frameworkis still under evaluation, but has already shown interestingresults in terms of improvement of motivation andskills.
SHEDDING LIGHT ON CUSTOMER REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATIONS, FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS LISTS – HOW ENGINEERS LEARN THE CORRECT DOCUMENTATION OF REQUIREMENTS
Authors: Mattmann Ilyas , Gramlich Sebastian , Kloberdanz Hermann
Published: April 2017

Engineering students face a confusion of requirements and product properties during task clarifi-cation in product development projects. As requirements are mainly documented in the form of desired product properties, customer needs and expectations may not be sufficiently considered during the development of new and innovative products.This paper presents the results of a systematic litera-ture analysis of existing requirement documentation forms and analyses the documentation process as it is taught to engineering students. Requirements are often documented through a tripartite process of translating customer ex-pectations from the customer requirement specification to the functional specification, while the requirements list provides the base for the product development process. The contents of these documents appear theoretically different, however, they are barely distinguishable from each other in practice.Therefore, the paper provides a new model-based un-derstanding for the documentation of requirements through gradual concretisation of requirements during the product development process, leading gradually from customer needs and expectations to requirements. Engi-neering students must be able to gradually concretise requirements then document desired product properties to avoid early fixation on specific product properties. Un-dergraduate and graduate engineering students should be taught to consider requirements according to the pro-posed approach as it enables prospective engineers al-ready in the early phases of their engineering education to design highly complex technical products. Thus, the model provides a valuable base for formally supported requirements documentation and the systematic determi-nation of product properties
CAPSTONE PROJECTS WITH LIMITED BUDGET AS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Authors: Balan L. , Yuen T. , Centea D. , Singh Ishwar
Published: April 2017

This paper describes a method that is used inSchool of Engineering Technology Department atMcMaster University to promote experiential learning atundergraduate level through capstone projects.The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that capstoneprojects with limited budget can be effectively used toimplement experiential learning methodology toengineering students.According to this methodology, students work ingroups of three over two academic terms, to completecapstone projects that require designing, building,testing, and prototyping a final product. The methodologyis addressed from the perspective of experiential learningtheory, and several project cost-reducing strategies arepresented.Selected results from student capstone projects atMcMaster University are presented and discussed.Results indicate that capstone projects can besuccessfully implemented into experiential learningmethodology when adequate strategies for reducing theproject costs are considered.
IMPACTS AND ETHICS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AS A VEHICLE FOR ASSESSING CEAB OUTCOMES IN A FIRST YEAR CHEMICAL ENGINEERING COURSE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
Authors: Hassel Katharina , Quinlan Patrick , Moresoli Christine
Published: April 2017

The CEAB outcomes “Impact of Engineering on Society and the Environment”, and “Ethics and Equity” differ from the majority of the technical content of engineering curricula. These outcomes largely involve the affective learning domain rather than the cognitive domain. Teaching and measuring affective domain outcomes can be challenging and has received limited attention in engineering curriculum.To help address this disconnect, we have selected to integrate ethical considerations within an engineering course, namely the first year Engineering Biology course of the Chemical Engineering program at University of Waterloo.This learning activity was successful in providing an opportunity for students to establish a sense of awareness as to the impact of engineering on society and the environment. It also created opportunities for students to practice and develop their communication skills. Next steps should consider the potential need to formally expose students to the ethical decision making process and to evaluate if this type of teaching has modified the student awareness of ethics, social values and responsibilities of the engineer.In this paper, we will comment on the successes and challenges faced in promoting student learning and fairness in a structured panel format learning activity. The careful design of assessment tools will also be discussed.
CHALLENGES IN ENGINEERING DESIGN EDUCATION: VERTICAL AND LATERAL LEARNING
Authors: Czekanski Aleksander , Al-Dojayli Maher , Lee Tom
Published: April 2017

Engineering practice and design in particular have gone through several changes during the last two decades whether due to scientific achievements including the evolution in novel engineering materials, computational advancements, globalization and economic constraints as well as the strategic needs which are the drive for innovative engineering. All these factors have impacted and shaped to certain extent the educational system in North America and Canada in particular. Currently, high percentage of the engineering graduates would require extensive training in industry to be able to conduct reliable complex engineering designs supported by scientific verification and validation, understand the complete design stages and phases, and identify the economic and cultural impact on such designs. This task, however, faces great challenges without educational support in such vastly changing economy.Lots of attention has been devoted to engineering design education in the recent years to incorporate engineering design courses supported by team design projects and capstone projects. Nevertheless, the lack of integrated education system towards engineering design programs can undermine the benefits of such efforts. In this paper, observations and analysis of the challenges in engineering design are presented from both academic and industrial points of view. Furthermore, a proposed vertical and lateral engineering education program is discussed. This program is structured to cover every year of the engineering education curricula, which emphasizes on innovative thinking, design strategies, support from and integration with other technical engineering courses, the use of advanced analysis tools, team collaboration, management and leadership, multidisciplinary education and industrial involvement. Its courses have just commenced for freshmen engineering students at the newly launched Mechanical Engineering Department at the Lassonde School of Engineering, York University.
TEACHING FEEDBACK CONTROL THEORY USING AN INTEGRATING DESIGN PROJECT
Authors: Couturier Michel F.
Published: April 2017

Teaching feedback control theory is challenging because it is important to cover theoretical material intended for fundamental understanding as well as material directly related to industrial practice. One approach to reach this dual objective and prevent control theory from becoming abstract to students is to assign a design project that requires integration of all main concepts taught in class. This approach has been successfully used in eight offerings of the course ChE 3601 Process Dynamics and Control in the Chemical Engineering program at the University of New Brunswick. The one-semester course is an introduction to the dynamic behavior of chemical processes and feedback control loops. The project is assigned at the beginning of the course and involves the design of a feedback control system for a realistic chemical process. The design project is divided into five milestones with deliverables due every two weeks. The final report due at the end of the course must include a description of the proposed system using a P&I diagram, specifications for all control equipment, a dynamic model for all components of the feedback loop, settings for the tuning parameters of the PID controller, and dynamic simulations using Polymath to validate the proposed solution. The course is organized around the project in a manner similar to that used in problem-based learning. The active learning approach used in ChE 3601 provides a deeper understanding of control theory and its application.
ASSESSING LIFE-LONG LEARNING IN A FIRST-YEAR DESIGN AND COMMUNICATION COURSE
Authors: Brennan R.W. , Eggermont M. , Rosehart W. , Deacon A.K. , Larson N. , O’Neill T.A.
Published: April 2017

This paper reports on a pilot study of theassessment of CEAB (Canadian EngineeringAccreditation Board) graduate attribute 3.1.12 “life-longlearning” in a first year design course. We proposeequating life-long learning with self-directed learning,and use the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale(SDLRS) developed by Guglielmino. The results of oursurvey show our first year students’ readiness for selfdirectedlearning is very consistent with the adult averagereported by Guglielmino and that the SDLRS instrumentappears to be a good choice for the assessment of lifelonglearning.
Evaluation of Student Work Using a Letter Grading Scheme in Design and Calculus
Authors: Maw Sean , Lagu Indy
Published: April 2017

This paper presents methods, pros and consof using a letter grading system versus a percentagegrading system, in engineering course componentevaluations. In making evaluation criteria acrossdeliverables qualitatively similar, letter grading showsperformance equivalency across courses and subjectareas, as well as departments, faculties and universities.What is worth an ‘A’ is not always a trivial discussion.But it is an easier discussion than what is worth 83%versus 85%. How to letter grade various types ofdeliverables in a valid and equivalent fashion can still bechallenging. But with thoughtful marking rubrics, manydeliverables can be evaluated using letter grades. Thesecan be combined to produce valid final letter grades.Overall, there are advantages to taking such an approachto evaluation, and these are discussed in the paper.
An Introductory Design Project Case Study: Cardboard Beds for Emergency/Refugee Situations
Authors: Maw Sean
Published: April 2017

In the Fall of 2013, first-year Mount RoyalUniversity engineering design students completed a 5-week long team-based project with the objective ofproducing a cardboard bed for emergency/refugeesituations. The project was a success and this paperdetails how it was run, what lessons were learned, and thenature of the outcomes. For those considering a similartype of project in the future, resources and client groupsare described. Ultimately, the student groups were ableto design a variety of cardboard beds that supported atleast one adult, comfortably. Variations included bedsfor African cholera outbreaks, Syrian and African refugeecamps, and Canadian emergency shelters.