Tesi sul tema "Engineering Education"

Abstract Despite favorable job-growth predictions for many engineering occupations(NSB, 2010), researchers and government agencies have described a crisis in education in the United States. Several simultaneous events have conspired to sound this alarm. First, when compared to other countries, the United States is losing ground in educational rankings, and research and development output and expenditures (NSB, 2014). Second, within the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) the ranks of engineering education have been identified as one of the most unwelcoming, inequitable, and homogeneous (Johri & Olds, 2014). Third, engineering educators at the university level has historically been select individuals from the dominant culture considered to be content experts in their fields, but having little or no background in educational theory (Froyd & Lohmann, 2014). Researchers and government agencies have recently claimed the changing demographics and need for more engineers in the United States signal a need for revolutionary changes in the way engineers are prepared and the need for a more welcoming and collaborative environment in engineering education (Jamieson & Lohmann, 2012; NSF, 2014). Understanding how to improve the culture of engineering education is an important and necessary ingredient for addressing national concerns with engineering and innovation.

My study seeks to explore the manifestation of the culture of engineering education in the experiences of five long-time engineering professors, who enrolled as part of a STEM PhD cohort, in a School of Education at a large research university in the northeastern United States. The overarching problem I will address is the persistent culture of engineering education that, despite decades of rhetoric about reform aimed at increasing the number of those historically underrepresented in engineering, continues to promote a hegemonic culture and has failed to take the necessary systemic steps to become more welcoming and more effective for all learners. This research involves the story, and the history, of an engineering education culture quick to identify the haves and the have-nots and dismissive of those individuals “not cut out” to become engineers.

My study is driven by the following research questions: (1) What are engineering educators’ perceptions of teaching and learning? (2) In what ways, if any, have participant experiences with constructivism and social constructivism influenced espoused beliefs, perceptions, and enactments of teaching? (3) What may be potential strategies for shifting the culture of veteran engineering educators toward reflective teaching practices and equitable access to engineering education?

Computing has its roots in mathematics, where lectures are the dominant mode of education. Software engineering (SE) education, born from computer science, is also traditionally taught using lectures, but has grown beyond its mathematical roots; as the name implies, it is an engineering discipline. It is arguably necessary for SE to rethink its approach to education. Studio education is one alternative being explored. Studios originated from architecture and design, and are complex spaces used by collocated students to collaboratively and individually work on projects; they emphasise a physical “home” for students, problem-based and peer-based learning, and mentoring by academic staff rather than formal lectures. There are inherent similarities between SE and the original studio disciplines: e.g. we often use the architecture of buildings as metaphors when designing and describing software. This suggests that studios in SE should be further explored, despite its apparent lack of uptake across institutions worldwide. This thesis aims to provide useful information for anyone considering utilizing a studio-based approach. Initially, with no widely accepted definition for studio education available, a series of interviews with design/architecture studio educators was conducted, culminating in an understanding in the form of the ‘studio framework’. This is followed by further interviews, with SE studio educators, to determine their perspective of studio education, and exploring the SE specific elements to studio education. Finally, experiences and observations are shared of Lancaster University’s recent SE studio, comparing it to the studio framework.

This thesis had been inspired by a rapid development of multimedia systems and opportunities arising for their use in engineering education. The author, being a professional developer of computer based training, has used her engineering and educational experience in the search for the optimal use of multimedia technology in engineering education at the tertiary level. Multimedia technology used for educational purposes requires not only technical expertise, but pedagogical and psychological as well. The possibility of the use of a different form in a multimedia educational system, merges a variety of disciplines that had not been considered before in tertiary education. All the above aspects are considered in the thesis, emphasising the difficulty of defining only one solution for every problem. The main goal of the project was to utilise theoretical knowledge in the practical form of working software. The multimedia educational software created by the author (recorded in the attached CD Rom) stands as a summary of her research work and professional experience in multimedia design and production. The author's software proves that it is possible nowadays to create highly efficient educational computer programs that can be used for engineering education.

Educational Reverse Engineering Activities referred to as the acronym -EREA- help engineering design students to: Acquire and develop a set of abilities that raise their awareness of the design process; expand their sources of inspiration, position their actions within the lifecycle of a product, and transform theoretical knowledge into practice. However, it was detected that although such activities sparked interest among engineering design educators, they were either absent from typical engineering design curricula or were not fully exploited. After analysing the causes for it and determining that the creation of a collection of resources for the study of educational reverse engineering activities was the best way to reach a geographically dispersed community and thus start trying to change the existing research situation, the development of such resources began with the goal to address as many of the concerns as possible found whenever trying to implement EREA into existing engineering design curricula. The contents selected for inclusion in the collection of resources then, were derived based on initial exploratory discussions with experts in academia and industry; from the feedback received from peer reviewed conference papers stemming from this doctoral research, and from the presentation of intermediate results to early reviewers of this project; for such reasons, the information presented in the different resources targets first time (or novice) instructors of reverse engineering activities and takes into account not only the technical but also the pedagogical and administrative considerations implicated in the study of academic activities, and their potential introduction into an existing engineering design curriculum Given that some relevant information about the topic already existed but it was dispersed across different areas of knowledge; rather than developing all topics from scratch again, a conscious effort was made to examine published literature and to consult with domain experts to integrate and contextualise all existing information into a coherent body that could be complemented with the original results originating from this project. The major sections comprising the collection of resources then, are listed below: - Resource 1: Fundamentals of Educational Reverse Engineering Activities - Resource 2: Reverse Engineering and Learning - Resource 3: Misconceptions about Reverse Engineering - Resource 4: Benefits of Reverse Engineering - Resource 5: A Proposed Methodology for Reverse Engineering Analysis in Engineering Design Education - Resource 6: A Suggested Pedagogy for the Teaching of Educational Reverse Engineering Activities - Resource 7: Integrated Example of an Educational Reverse Engineering Activity on a Disposable Camera - Resource 8: Conclusions and Final Remarks - Resource 9: Miscellaneous Resources for the Study of Reverse Engineering The abovementioned resources were of a self-contained nature, could be read either individually or sequentially, and were written using the "DRM" framework for research in the area of engineering design. Once finished, a number of academic institutions were contacted to measure their interest in the resources, and in the end 12 different ones in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Denmark and Germany showed their interest in the research project and agreed to receive the document for reading, thus helping fulfil one of the main goals of this research which was to disseminate the results from it. Other results from this project include five peer reviewed conference papers and a report presented at the Technical University of Ilmenau in Germany after spending a visiting internship abroad to learn about similar approaches to the research into reverse engineering by other schools and traditions of design
Las actividades educativas de ingeniería inversa “AEII” tambien conocidas como “EREA” por su acrónimo en inglés ayudan a los estudiantes de ingeniería de diseño a: Adquirir y desarrollar un conjunto de habilidades que elevan su conocimiento del proceso de diseño; tambien a expandir sus fuentes de inspiración, a situar sus acciones dentro del ciclo de vida de un producto, y a transformar conocimiento teórico en practico. Sin embargo, se detectó que a pesar de que tales actividades despertaban el interés de los profesores del área de ingeniería de diseño ellas estaban o ausentes de sus típicos programas de estudio o no explotadas en su totalidad Después de analizar las causas de ello y determinar que la creación de una colección de recursos para el estudio de las actividades educativas de ingeniería inversa era la mejor forma de acceder a un grupo geográficamente disperso y así intentar cambiar la situación de investigación existente, el desarrollo de tales recursos empezó con la meta de atender tantas inquietudes como fueran posible, de aquellas encontradas siempre que se intentaba implementar “AEII” en programas existentes de ingeniería de diseño Los contenidos seleccionados para formar parte de la colección de recursos, fueron definidos en base a conversaciones iniciales de exploración con expertos en la academia y la industria; en base a la retroalimentación recibida de los artículos presentados en conferencia procedentes de esta investigación doctoral, y de la presentación de resultados intermedios a los revisores preliminares de este proyecto; por tales razones, la información presentada en los diferentes recursos está dirigidas a instructores principiantes de actividades de ingeniería inversa y toma en cuenta no solo las consideraciones técnicas sino también las pedagógicas y administrativas involucradas en el estudio de actividades académicas y su potencial incorporación a un programa existente en ingeniería de diseño Dado que cierta información relevante al tema de investigación ya existía pero estaba dispersa entre varias áreas del conocimiento; en vez de desarrollar todos los temas desde cero nuevamente, se realizó un esfuerzo consciente para examinar la literatura existente y consultar con expertos en el tema, para así integrar y contextualizar toda la información disponible en un estudio coherente que pudiera ser complementado con los resultados originales producidos por esta investigación. Las secciones principales que comprenden la colección de recursos se enumeran a continuación: • Recurso 1: Fundamentos de las Actividades Educativas de Ingeniería Inversa • Recurso 2: Ingeniería Inversa y Aprendizaje • Recurso 3: Interpretaciones Equívocas acerca de la Ingeniería Inversa • Recurso 4: Beneficios de la Ingeniería Inversa • Recurso 5: Una Propuesta de Metodología para Utilizar Análisis de Ingeniería Inversa en la Enseñanza de la Ingeniería de Diseño • Recurso 6: Una Propuesta de Pedagogía para la Enseñanza de Actividades Educativas de Ingeniería Inversa • Recurso 7: Ejemplo de una Actividad Educativa de Ingeniería Inversa en una Cámara Desechable • Recurso 8: Conclusiones y Apuntes Finales • Recurso 9: Recursos Diversos para el Estudio de la Ingeniería Inversa Los recursos fueron escritos utilizando la metodología “DRM” para la investigación en el área de ingeniería de diseño y se contactó a diversas instituciones académicas para saber de su interés en tales recursos, al final 12 instituciones en el Reino Unido; Irlanda, Francia, Dinamarca y Alemania mostraron su interés en el proyecto y accedieron a recibir el documento, ayudando así a cumplir una de las metas principales de esta investigación que fue difundir sus resultados entre estudiosos de la ingenierÍa inversa educativa. Tambien como resultado final de esta investigacion se pueden contar 5 artículos presentados en conferencia y el reporte de trabajo de la estancia de investigación en el extranjero.

This research aims to improve engineering education in sustainability (EESD) through transdisciplinarity (td) learning approaches. The research comprised 3 phases. The first consisted of the analysis of how sustainability is approached in EE through a co-word analysis and characterization of the keywords networks of three relevant journals in the field of EESD over two decades. The journal networks evolution analysis suggested that the concern was growing to move to society. Td and related keywords constantly dripped along the ten years in all the journals and gained relevance, especially in International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (IJSHE) and Journal of Cleaner Production (JCLP). Additionally the IJSHE showed a will of reinforcing relationships beyond the university; the International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE) gave relevance to real case studies with a North-South component and to students’ representativeness; and the JCLP contributed aspects on competences and educational strategies. The characterisation brought as relevant categories towards sustainability those related to cross-boundary schemes (i.e. td, ethics, networking), institutional aspects, faculty professional development training and learning strategies. Finally, keywords related to td and collaborative networking spread throughout all the areas of knowledge addressed by the journals, indicating a widening interest. The second phase studied how emergent EESD initiatives were approached from td as valued competence for sustainability. The research indicated that most of the initiatives fitted in the problem solving discourse, where co-production of knowledge and method-driven aspects are relevant. Deepening this discourse, most initiatives corresponded to the real-world argument promoting science-society collaboration to solve societal problems (EU contexts); others looked for convergence of all sciences (life, human, physical and engineering) in pursuit of human well-being (innovation argument, US contexts); and some initiatives brought together students and entities in a team-based learning process with social purpose (transcendent interdisciplinary research “tir” argument). It is noteworthy that none of the initiatives mirrored the transgression discourse, which attempts to reformulate the establishment, no longer for society but with society. The last phase consisted in the implementation of a td learning environment experience in the course Action Research Workshop on Science and Technology (Sci&Tech) for Sustainability (5 ETCS) of the UPC Master degree in Sustainability Sci&Tech. Civil organisations, public administration, students and educators undertook collaborative research on real-life sustainability case studies, following two cycles of action-reflection. While the course mainly fitted in the real-world argument of problem solving, service learning (SL) or CampusLab schemes also reproduced a team-based learning with societal purpose (“tir” argument). We addressed the transgression discourse by means of SL focusing on social justice, which enhanced the development of complex thinking. Afterwards, some students engaged as professional researchers-activists in the participant organisations. Challenges of their learning process were: problem formulation, process uncertainty, stakeholder’s interests and roles integration, and interpersonal skills. Additionally, a well-valued Emotional Intelligence module was developed by the author to help students face some process paralyzing uncertainties. Finally this work proposes a set of fundamental features to be considered for an effective scheme for a td approach in EESD, methodically framing the science-society discourse on the issue at stake: work in real-world complex problems; involve diverse disciplines and fields cooperation; involve science-society cooperation and mutual learning processes; integrate types of knowledge; rely on disciplinary and cross-disciplinary practice.
Aquesta investigació té com a objectiu la millora de l'educació en enginyeria en sostenibilitat (EESD) a través d'un enfocament d'aprenentatge transdisciplinari, en 3 fases. La primera va consistir en l'anàlisi de com s'aborda la sostenibilitat a EE, mitjançant l'anàlisi de co-ocurrència i la caracterització dels mots clau d’articles de tres revistes rellevants en l’EESD, al llarg de 10 anys. L'anàlisi de l'evolució de les xarxes de revistes va suggerir una preocupació creixent per a traslladar el focus a la societat. La transdisciplinarietat (td) i els mots clau relacionats van degotar constantment al llarg del període a totes les revistes, guanyant rellevància, especialment a la International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (IJSHE) i la Journal of Cleaner Production (JCLP) A més, mostrà la rellevància de: la voluntat de reforçar relacions més enllà de la universitat, a la IJSHE; els estudis de casos reals amb component Nord-Sud, i la representativitat dels estudiants, a la International Journal of Engineering Education; i els aspectes sobre competències i estratègies educatives, a la JCLP. La caracterització va aportar com a categories rellevants per la sostenibilitat les relacionades amb esquemes “cross-boundary” (td, ètica, treball en xarxa), aspectes institucionals, desenvolupament professional del professorat i estratègies d'aprenentatge. Finalment, els mots clau relacionats amb td i xarxes de col·laboració s’identificaren al llarg de totes les àrees de coneixement empreses a les revistes, indicant un interès creixent. La segona fase va estudiar com les iniciatives de EESD, eren abordades des de la td. Indicà que la majoria encaixaven en el discurs de resolució de problemes, que emfatitza la coproducció de coneixement i els aspectes metodològics. Aprofundint aquest discurs, la majoria de les iniciatives s’esqueien a l'argument del món real que promou la col·laboració ciència-societat sobre problemes socials (context UE); altres buscaven la convergència de les ciències (vida, salut, física i enginyeria) en la recerca del benestar humà (argument d'innovació, context USA); i algunes reunien a estudiants i entitats en un procés grupal d'aprenentatge, amb propòsit social (argument d'investigació interdisciplinària transcendent "tir"). És rellevant que cap de les iniciatives es va vincular al discurs de transgressió, que persegueix la reformulació de l'”establishment” ja no per a la societat, sinó amb la societat. L'última fase va consistir en la implementació d'un entorn d'aprenentatge td al curs Taller d'Investigació-Acció (5 ETCS) del Màster UPC en Ciència i Tecnologia de Sostenibilitat. Organitzacions civils i de govern, estudiants i educadors van investigar col·laborativament en casos reals de sostenibilitat, a partir de dos cicles d'acció-reflexió. Si bé el curs encaixa principalment en l'argument del món real del discurs de resolució de problemes, els esquemes d'aprenentatge servei (ApS) o CampusLab poden reproduir l'argument "tir" d'aprenentatge basat en equips amb propòsit social. El discurs de la transgressió s'abordà mitjançant l’ApS per a la justícia social i va resultar en la implicació professional d'alguns estudiants en les organitzacions civils participants. Els reptes del procés d'aprenentatge foren: formulació de problemes; gestió d'incerteses; integració de diferents interessos i rols; i habilitats interpersonals. Per això, l'autora desenvolupà un valorat mòdul d'Intel·ligència Emocional, animat a encarar punts paralitzants del procés. Finalment, aquest treball proposa un conjunt d'elements fonamentals a considerar en un esquema eficaç per a aplicar l'enfocament td a l’EESD, que emmarqui de forma metòdica el discurs sobre la qüestió social en joc: treballar sobre problemes complexos del món real; involucrar diverses disciplines i àrees; facilitar la cooperació ciència-societat i els processos. Finalment, aquest treball proposa un conjunt d’elements fonamentals a considerar en un esquema eficaç per a aplicar l'enfocament transdisciplinarietat a l’EESD, que emmarqui de forma metòdica el discurs sobre la qüestió social en joc: treballar sobre problemes complexos del món real; involucrar diverses disciplines i àrees; facilitar la cooperació ciència-societat i els processos d'aprenentatge mutu; integrar tipus de coneixement; recolzar-se en pràctiques disciplinàries i interdisciplinàries

En el context social global actual, en el què un nombre considerable de senyals inequívocs indiquen que la
nostra societat està contribuint al col∙lapse del planeta, " és necessari un nou tipus d'enginyer, un enginyer que
sigui plenament conscient del que està succeint a la societat i que tingui les habilitats necessàries per fer front
als aspectes socials de les tecnologies "(De Graaff et al., 2001).

L'educació superior és un instrument essencial per superar els reptes del món actual amb èxit i per formar
ciutadans capaços de construir una societat més justa i oberta (Álvarez, 2000). Per tant, les institucions
d'educació superior tenen la responsabilitat d'educar els futurs titulats amb la finalitat que adquireixin una
visió moral i ètica i assoleixin els coneixements tècnics necessaris per assegurar la qualitat de vida per a les
generacions futures (Corcoran et al, 2002).

Amb l'objectiu d'assegurar que els futurs titulats siguin enginyers sostenibles, tres qüestions fonamentals han
guiat aquesta investigació:
Quines competències en sostenibilitat ha d'adquirir un enginyer a la universitat?
Com poden aquestes competències ser adquirides d'una manera eficient?
Quina estructura educacional és més eficaç per facilitar els processos d'aprenentatge requerits?

La primera pregunta es refereix a "Què?", és a dir, a quines competències relacionades amb la sostenibilitat
(coneixements, habilitats i actituds) ha de tenir un enginyer que es gradua en el segle 21. La segona qüestió es
refereix a "Com?" i es centra en com els processos educatius poden fer possible l'aprenentatge de les
competències en sostenibilitat a través de les estratègies pedagògiques adequades. L'última pregunta es
refereix a "On?" des de la perspectiva de quin pla d'estudis i quina estructura organitzativa són necessaris per
poder aplicar la didàctica més òptima per graduar enginyers amb competències en sostenibilitat.
Aquesta recerca s'ha enfocat des d'una vessant teòrico‐pràctica en què tant les estratègies pedagògiques com
les competències en sostenibilitat s'han estudiat en paral∙lel. Amb aquesta orientació, s'ha dissenyat una eina
d'avaluació que mesura aquests dos aspectes i la seva relació, i que s'ha aplicat a 10 casos d'estudi formats per
cursos de sostenibilitat de 5 universitats tecnològiques europees, en els quals hi han participat, en total, més
de 500 estudiants.

Per completar l'estudi, s'ha analitzat la introducció de la sostenibilitat en els plans d'estudi
de 17 universitats tecnològiques, i s'han entrevistat 45 experts en educació de sostenibilitat en l'enginyeria.
En relació a les preguntes clau, els resultats de la investigació han estat els següents:
En el moment de titular‐se, l'estudiantat d'enginyeria hauria d'haver adquirit les competències següents:
pensament crític, pensament sistèmic, ser capaços de treballar en un entorn transdisciplinari, i tenir valors en
consonància amb el paradigma de la sostenibilitat. D'altra banda, d'acord amb els requisits de l'EEES, també cal
establir un marc comú per definir, descriure i avaluar les competències en sostenibilitat a nivell europeu.

Després d'haver realitzat un curs en sostenibilitat, la majoria de l'estudiantat segueix prioritzant el rol
tecnològic de la sostenibilitat, pel que fa a la tecnologia com la solució als problemes ambientals, sense gairebé
considerar els aspectes socials. Per tant, els cursos sobre sostenibilitat han d'emfatitzar més la part social i
institucional de la sostenibilitat.

Existeix una relació directa entre l'aprenentatge de la transdisciplinarietat i el pensament sistèmic.
L'aprenentatge cognitiu de l'estudiantat augmenta, a mida que s'aplica una pedagogia més orientada a la
comunitat i més constructiva. Així, l'aprenentatge cognitiu de la sostenibilitat també millora a través d'una
l''educació activa, experiencial i multimetodològica. A més a més, en l'aprenentatge de la sostenibilitat, el
paper del professorat és molt important pel que fa a l'aprenentatge implícit de valors, principis i pensament
crític associats a la sostenibilitat

Les universitats tecnològiques actualment implementen l'educació en sostenibilitat a través de quatre
estratègies principals: un curs específic, una especialització en sostenibilitat, un màster en sostenibilitat o en
tecnologies sostenibles, i la integració del desenvolupament sostenible en tots els cursos. No obstant això, la
principal barrera per a la integració de la sostenibilitat en tots els cursos és la manca de comprensió del terme
per part del professorat. L'"enfocament individual" (Peet et al., 2004) ha demostrat ser un bon sistema per
superar aquesta barrera.
Hi ha una necessitat clara de lideratge per part de l'equip de govern de les universitats en el procés de canvi
cap a una educació en sostenibilitat. Aquest lideratge ha de promoure l'enfocament de baix a dalt.
Els processos d'educació en sostenibilitat es reforcen quan aquests no només integren l'educació, sinó també
totes les altres àrees clau d'activitat de la universitat: recerca, gestió i relació amb la societat.
En breu, l'estructura d'aquesta tesi és la següent. El capítol 1 introdueix el plantejament de la recerca. El
capítol 2 revisa l'estat de l'art i la literatura en relació a les competències que els enginyers han de tenir quan
es graduen, A continuació, el capítol 3 descriu les estratègies pedagògiques per al desenvolupament sostenible
i les analitza des d'un punt de vista teòric i metodològic presentant els avantatges i desavantatges de les més
utilitzades en l'ensenyament d'enginyeria El capítol 4 presenta les estructures curriculars que han de catalitzar
el procés d'aprenentatge en sostenibilitat. El capítol 5 desenvolupa el marc conceptual de la recerca, les
propostes metodològiques de la investigació i els casos d'estudi analitzats. El capítol 6 avalua
comparativament les competències en sostenibilitat definides en tres universitats tecnològiques que són líders
europeus en sostenibilitat. El Capítol 7 introdueix el marc metodològic per a l'avaluació de l'aprenentatge
cognitiu en sostenibilitat del estudiantat. Aquesta metodologia s'aplica en el capítol 8 als 10 cursos de
sostenibilitat impartits en 5 universitats tecnològiques europees, que conformen els casos d'estudi d'aquesta
recerca. A partir de les 45 entrevistes realitzades a experts en sostenibilitat provinents de 17 universitats
tecnològiques europees, el capítol 9 estudia les millors pràctiques en pedagogia per a l'aprenentatge de la
sostenibilitat i el capítol 10 examina l'estructura curricular que més facilita l'aprenentatge en sostenibilitat a
les universitats tecnològiques. En el Capítol 11 es comparen els resultats obtinguts en els diferents casos
d'estudi i s'avaluen les propostes plantejades en el capítol 1. Finalment, el capítol 12 planteja les conclusions
de la recerca i algunes recomanacions per a les institucions d'educació superior tecnològiques.
In today's world social context, in which a considerable number of contrasting signs reveal that our society is currently contributing to the planet's collapse, "a new kind of engineer is needed, an engineer who is fully aware of what is going on in society and who has the skills to deal with societal aspects of technologies" (De
Graaff et al., 2001).

Higher education is the essential instrument to overcome the current world challenges and to train citizens able to build a more fair and open society (Alvarez, 2000). Thus higher education institutions have the responsibility to educate graduates who have achieved an ethical moral vision and the necessary technical knowledge to ensure the quality of life for future generations (Corcoran et al, 2002).

In relation to graduating sustainable engineers, three main questions have been developed to guide this research:
1. Which Sustainability (SD) competences must an engineer obtain at university?
2. How can these competences be acquired efficiently?
3. Which education structure is more effective for the required learning processes?
The first main question is a "What" question, and focuses on which competences (knowledge/understanding, skills/abilities and attitudes) an engineer graduating in the 21st century should have in relation to SD.
The second main question is a "How" question and focuses on how can the education processes make this learning achievable through the proper pedagogical strategies. The last main question is a "Where" question and looks
at the perspective of the curriculum and the organizational structure needed to apply the optimal didactics to achieve the goal of graduating sustainable engineers.
The focus of this research requires a theoretical‐practical approach in which both pedagogical strategies and SD competences are studied in parallel.
An assessment tool that measures the two subjects and their relationship is developed and case studies are run in 10 SD courses at 5 European technological universities, where nearly 500 students have participated. Moreover, the different approaches to introduce SD in the
curriculum of 17 technological universities are analysed, and 45 experts on teaching SD to engineering students have been interviewed.

In relation to the key questions, the findings of this research are the following.
When graduating the engineering students should have acquired the following SD competences: critical thinking, systemic thinking, an ability to work in transdisciplinary frameworks, and to have values consistent with the sustainability paradigm. Moreover, following the requirements of the EHEA, a common framework to define, describe and evaluate SD competences at European level is needed.

Most students, after taking a course on SD, highlight the technological role of sustainability in terms of technology as the solution to environmental problems. Therefore SD courses need to place more emphasis on the social/institutional side of sustainability.
There is a direct relationship between transdisciplinary and systemic thinking learning.
Students achieve better cognitive learning as more community‐oriented and constructive‐learning pedagogies are applied. Multi‐methodological experiential active learning education increases cognitive learning of sustainability.
In addition, the role of the teacher is very important for SD learning in terms of implicit learning of sustainability values, principles and critical thinking.

There are four main strategies to increase EESD in universities: a specific SD course, a minor/specialization in SD, a Master on SD or Sustainable Technologies and the embedment of SD in all courses. Nevertheless the main barrier to embedding SD in all courses is the lack of comprehension to SD within the faculty. The
individual approach (Peet et al., 2004) has shown to be successful to overcome this barrier.

There is a need of clear top‐down leadership in the ESD process, which must promote the bottom‐up
approach. Additionally, ESD processes are reinforced when they encompass not only education but also all the key areas of the university: research, management, and society outreach.
This thesis is organised as follows. The introduction in chapter 1 is followed by the state of the art and literature review in competences that engineers should have when graduating in chapter 2. Chapter 3 introduces the pedagogical strategies for SD and develops a theoretical and methodological exploration of
these strategies, which presents the pros & cons and learning outcomes of the most common pedagogical strategies in engineering. Chapter 4 describes the curriculum structures that catalyse the process of sustainable education. Chapter 5 presents the development of the conceptual research framework,
propositions and case studies research methodologies. A comparative SD competence analysis of three European leading SD technological universities is presented in chapter 6. Chapter 7 introduces the methodology framework to evaluate the knowledge on SD acquired by students; this methodology is later
applied in chapter 8 to 10 case studies related to SD courses taught in 5 European technological universities.
From the results of the interviews with 45 experts from 17 European technological universities, chapter 9 analyses the best pedagogical practices for SD learning and chapter 10 analyses the curriculum structure that
most facilitates the introduction of SD learning in technological universities. Chapter 11 compares the different cases analyzed and evaluates the propositions developed in chapter 1. Finally, in chapter 12 conclusions are drawn and recommendations for technological higher education institutions are provided.

This thesis seeks to understand the past and present state of engineering education and to plot a course for its future evolution. This research is limited to engineering education as it has taken place in North American universities during the last half of the 20th century. Within this context, broad trends are described. The description is supplemented with a case study of a unique and innovative engineering programme. The trends and case study form the foundation of a synthesis, and alternative vision, for higher education and engineering education. The intended audience of this thesis includes those who teach, design curriculum, or administer engineering education programmes. The description of the current state of engineering education contains analyses of the state and of the gaps within it. Both of these analyses are based almost exclusively on publicly available documentation. The present state of engineering is drawn from accreditation criteria. Critiques of the current state and suggestions for future change are drawn from reports commissioned by groups affiliated with professional engineering. The discussions identify recurring themes and patterns. Unlike the analysis of the literature, the case study merges interview evidence and personal experience with the available documentation. The synthesis and visions continue the trend away from formal sources towards experiences and beliefs. Engineering education research is in its infancy and shows few signs of maturing. There is no documented, common framing of engineering education nor have there been any efforts in this regard. Few sources address broad issues and those that do lack theoretical rigour. The visions for engineering education are simple amalgams of visions for the profession and for general higher education. The Department of Systems Design Engineering has enjoyed great past successes because of its unique vision that combines the theories of systems, complexity, and design with the discipline of engineering. Its recent decay can be traced to its faculty having collectively lost this vision. The original vision for Systems Design Engineering holds promise as a means to reinvent and reinvigorate both the engineering profession and engineering education. For this renaissance to be successful a theoretically rigorous research programme assessing the past, present, and future of engineering and engineering education must be developed.

En el context social global actual, en el què un nombre considerable de senyals inequívocs indiquen que lanostra societat està contribuint al col∙lapse del planeta, " és necessari un nou tipus d'enginyer, un enginyer quesigui plenament conscient del que està succeint a la societat i que tingui les habilitats necessàries per fer frontals aspectes socials de les tecnologies "(De Graaff et al., 2001).L'educació superior és un instrument essencial per superar els reptes del món actual amb èxit i per formarciutadans capaços de construir una societat més justa i oberta (Álvarez, 2000). Per tant, les institucionsd'educació superior tenen la responsabilitat d'educar els futurs titulats amb la finalitat que adquireixin unavisió moral i ètica i assoleixin els coneixements tècnics necessaris per assegurar la qualitat de vida per a lesgeneracions futures (Corcoran et al, 2002).Amb l'objectiu d'assegurar que els futurs titulats siguin enginyers sostenibles, tres qüestions fonamentals hanguiat aquesta investigació:Quines competències en sostenibilitat ha d'adquirir un enginyer a la universitat?Com poden aquestes competències ser adquirides d'una manera eficient?Quina estructura educacional és més eficaç per facilitar els processos d'aprenentatge requerits?La primera pregunta es refereix a "Què?", és a dir, a quines competències relacionades amb la sostenibilitat(coneixements, habilitats i actituds) ha de tenir un enginyer que es gradua en el segle 21. La segona qüestió esrefereix a "Com?" i es centra en com els processos educatius poden fer possible l'aprenentatge de lescompetències en sostenibilitat a través de les estratègies pedagògiques adequades. L'última pregunta esrefereix a "On?" des de la perspectiva de quin pla d'estudis i quina estructura organitzativa són necessaris perpoder aplicar la didàctica més òptima per graduar enginyers amb competències en sostenibilitat.Aquesta recerca s'ha enfocat des d'una vessant teòrico‐pràctica en què tant les estratègies pedagògiques comles competències en sostenibilitat s'han estudiat en paral∙lel. Amb aquesta orientació, s'ha dissenyat una einad'avaluació que mesura aquests dos aspectes i la seva relació, i que s'ha aplicat a 10 casos d'estudi formats percursos de sostenibilitat de 5 universitats tecnològiques europees, en els quals hi han participat, en total, mésde 500 estudiants. Per completar l'estudi, s'ha analitzat la introducció de la sostenibilitat en els plans d'estudide 17 universitats tecnològiques, i s'han entrevistat 45 experts en educació de sostenibilitat en l'enginyeria.En relació a les preguntes clau, els resultats de la investigació han estat els següents:En el moment de titular‐se, l'estudiantat d'enginyeria hauria d'haver adquirit les competències següents:pensament crític, pensament sistèmic, ser capaços de treballar en un entorn transdisciplinari, i tenir valors enconsonància amb el paradigma de la sostenibilitat. D'altra banda, d'acord amb els requisits de l'EEES, també calestablir un marc comú per definir, descriure i avaluar les competències en sostenibilitat a nivell europeu.Després d'haver realitzat un curs en sostenibilitat, la majoria de l'estudiantat segueix prioritzant el roltecnològic de la sostenibilitat, pel que fa a la tecnologia com la solució als problemes ambientals, sense gairebéconsiderar els aspectes socials. Per tant, els cursos sobre sostenibilitat han d'emfatitzar més la part social iinstitucional de la sostenibilitat.Existeix una relació directa entre l'aprenentatge de la transdisciplinarietat i el pensament sistèmic.L'aprenentatge cognitiu de l'estudiantat augmenta, a mida que s'aplica una pedagogia més orientada a lacomunitat i més constructiva. Així, l'aprenentatge cognitiu de la sostenibilitat també millora a través d'unal''educació activa, experiencial i multimetodològica. A més a més, en l'aprenentatge de la sostenibilitat, elpaper del professorat és molt important pel que fa a l'aprenentatge implícit de valors, principis i pensamentcrític associats a la sostenibilitatLes universitats tecnològiques actualment implementen l'educació en sostenibilitat a través de quatreestratègies principals: un curs específic, una especialització en sostenibilitat, un màster en sostenibilitat o entecnologies sostenibles, i la integració del desenvolupament sostenible en tots els cursos. No obstant això, laprincipal barrera per a la integració de la sostenibilitat en tots els cursos és la manca de comprensió del termeper part del professorat. L'"enfocament individual" (Peet et al., 2004) ha demostrat ser un bon sistema persuperar aquesta barrera.Hi ha una necessitat clara de lideratge per part de l'equip de govern de les universitats en el procés de canvicap a una educació en sostenibilitat. Aquest lideratge ha de promoure l'enfocament de baix a dalt. Els processos d'educació en sostenibilitat es reforcen quan aquests no només integren l'educació, sinó tambétotes les altres àrees clau d'activitat de la universitat: recerca, gestió i relació amb la societat.En breu, l'estructura d'aquesta tesi és la següent. El capítol 1 introdueix el plantejament de la recerca. Elcapítol 2 revisa l'estat de l'art i la literatura en relació a les competències que els enginyers han de tenir quanes graduen, A continuació, el capítol 3 descriu les estratègies pedagògiques per al desenvolupament sosteniblei les analitza des d'un punt de vista teòric i metodològic presentant els avantatges i desavantatges de les mésutilitzades en l'ensenyament d'enginyeria El capítol 4 presenta les estructures curriculars que han de catalitzarel procés d'aprenentatge en sostenibilitat. El capítol 5 desenvolupa el marc conceptual de la recerca, lespropostes metodològiques de la investigació i els casos d'estudi analitzats. El capítol 6 avaluacomparativament les competències en sostenibilitat definides en tres universitats tecnològiques que són líderseuropeus en sostenibilitat. El Capítol 7 introdueix el marc metodològic per a l'avaluació de l'aprenentatgecognitiu en sostenibilitat del estudiantat. Aquesta metodologia s'aplica en el capítol 8 als 10 cursos desostenibilitat impartits en 5 universitats tecnològiques europees, que conformen els casos d'estudi d'aquestarecerca. A partir de les 45 entrevistes realitzades a experts en sostenibilitat provinents de 17 universitatstecnològiques europees, el capítol 9 estudia les millors pràctiques en pedagogia per a l'aprenentatge de lasostenibilitat i el capítol 10 examina l'estructura curricular que més facilita l'aprenentatge en sostenibilitat ales universitats tecnològiques. En el Capítol 11 es comparen els resultats obtinguts en els diferents casosd'estudi i s'avaluen les propostes plantejades en el capítol 1. Finalment, el capítol 12 planteja les conclusionsde la recerca i algunes recomanacions per a les institucions d'educació superior tecnològiques.
In today's world social context, in which a considerable number of contrasting signs reveal that our society is currently contributing to the planet's collapse, "a new kind of engineer is needed, an engineer who is fully aware of what is going on in society and who has the skills to deal with societal aspects of technologies" (DeGraaff et al., 2001).Higher education is the essential instrument to overcome the current world challenges and to train citizens able to build a more fair and open society (Alvarez, 2000). Thus higher education institutions have the responsibility to educate graduates who have achieved an ethical moral vision and the necessary technical knowledge to ensure the quality of life for future generations (Corcoran et al, 2002).In relation to graduating sustainable engineers, three main questions have been developed to guide this research:1. Which Sustainability (SD) competences must an engineer obtain at university?2. How can these competences be acquired efficiently?3. Which education structure is more effective for the required learning processes?The first main question is a "What" question, and focuses on which competences (knowledge/understanding, skills/abilities and attitudes) an engineer graduating in the 21st century should have in relation to SD. The second main question is a "How" question and focuses on how can the education processes make this learning achievable through the proper pedagogical strategies. The last main question is a "Where" question and looksat the perspective of the curriculum and the organizational structure needed to apply the optimal didactics to achieve the goal of graduating sustainable engineers.The focus of this research requires a theoretical‐practical approach in which both pedagogical strategies and SD competences are studied in parallel. An assessment tool that measures the two subjects and their relationship is developed and case studies are run in 10 SD courses at 5 European technological universities, where nearly 500 students have participated. Moreover, the different approaches to introduce SD in thecurriculum of 17 technological universities are analysed, and 45 experts on teaching SD to engineering students have been interviewed.In relation to the key questions, the findings of this research are the following.When graduating the engineering students should have acquired the following SD competences: critical thinking, systemic thinking, an ability to work in transdisciplinary frameworks, and to have values consistent with the sustainability paradigm. Moreover, following the requirements of the EHEA, a common framework to define, describe and evaluate SD competences at European level is needed.Most students, after taking a course on SD, highlight the technological role of sustainability in terms of technology as the solution to environmental problems. Therefore SD courses need to place more emphasis on the social/institutional side of sustainability.There is a direct relationship between transdisciplinary and systemic thinking learning.Students achieve better cognitive learning as more community‐oriented and constructive‐learning pedagogies are applied. Multi‐methodological experiential active learning education increases cognitive learning of sustainability. In addition, the role of the teacher is very important for SD learning in terms of implicit learning of sustainability values, principles and critical thinking.There are four main strategies to increase EESD in universities: a specific SD course, a minor/specialization in SD, a Master on SD or Sustainable Technologies and the embedment of SD in all courses. Nevertheless the main barrier to embedding SD in all courses is the lack of comprehension to SD within the faculty. Theindividual approach (Peet et al., 2004) has shown to be successful to overcome this barrier.There is a need of clear top‐down leadership in the ESD process, which must promote the bottom‐upapproach. Additionally, ESD processes are reinforced when they encompass not only education but also all the key areas of the university: research, management, and society outreach.This thesis is organised as follows. The introduction in chapter 1 is followed by the state of the art and literature review in competences that engineers should have when graduating in chapter 2. Chapter 3 introduces the pedagogical strategies for SD and develops a theoretical and methodological exploration ofthese strategies, which presents the pros & cons and learning outcomes of the most common pedagogical strategies in engineering. Chapter 4 describes the curriculum structures that catalyse the process of sustainable education. Chapter 5 presents the development of the conceptual research framework,propositions and case studies research methodologies. A comparative SD competence analysis of three European leading SD technological universities is presented in chapter 6. Chapter 7 introduces the methodology framework to evaluate the knowledge on SD acquired by students; this methodology is laterapplied in chapter 8 to 10 case studies related to SD courses taught in 5 European technological universities.From the results of the interviews with 45 experts from 17 European technological universities, chapter 9 analyses the best pedagogical practices for SD learning and chapter 10 analyses the curriculum structure thatmost facilitates the introduction of SD learning in technological universities. Chapter 11 compares the different cases analyzed and evaluates the propositions developed in chapter 1. Finally, in chapter 12 conclusions are drawn and recommendations for technological higher education institutions are provided.

Learning (CAL) by the computing industry, there remained a shortage of suitable titles in some subject areas, including engineering. Investigation revealed that the most significant barrier to the exploitation of multimedia technology concerned justification and payback for the substantial amount of development effort required to produce software of this kind. It was found that the size of the potential audience for a programme was all too easily limited by the exorbitant computer system requirements and limited flexibility which tended to be built into the software by default. It was aimed to investigate whether the elements of a multimedia programme which contributed greatly to its computer system requirements, cost and inflexibility were so closely linked to its educational effectiveness. The research was experimental in nature. It involved the creation of several pieces of multimedia software, this being an experiment in itself since it allowed measurement of the amount of effort required to incorporate the various media into an educational programme. Two particularly significant pieces of software are described in detail in the thesis; an advisory system meant to promote design for testability among electronic engineers, and a CAL system offering an introduction to process planning. Both of these featured, in places, a highly interactive style, involving the dynamic generation of images and animations in response to users’ input. This represented a radical departure from the conventional approach to multimedia, which was normally based upon the sequential playback of prerecorded material. The process planning software was used with groups of students; their comments were invited and their performance was measured in a test which used a novel method to identify any students who had prior knowledge of the subject. (Correct answers from such people could not reasonably be claimed to indicate that learning had taken place, but the results of the remaining students provided a more accurate sample.) Knowing how well students had performed on each question, when taught in a variety of different styles, it was possible to compare the educational effectiveness of each approach. Since the amount of time spent adding each feature and medium to the software was known, it was then possible to identify which media had been the most efficient. It was found that interactivity is the most vital single ingredient in CAL software. Experimental results clearly showed that learning was most likely to occur when the subjects were required to play an active role. Attractive, informative media such as photographs and diagrams did generally help to facilitate learning, but the effect of these was comparatively minor. The author theorises that effective computer-based education does not necessarily involve extensive use of high quality digital video and the like; rather that the means to effective computer-based learning predate the multimedia era.

Can engineers be educated more effectively, and if so, how would it be done, was the question at the heart of this study. The research investigated alternative ways of educating engineers, compared them with the current way of educating engineers at the North-West University Faculty of Engineering, and envisions a more effective way of educating engineers. It also recommends an improvement strategy based on business improvement principles, as an Engineering faculty is seen as a business with its core process being the education of engineers. An engineering education process model was developed to use as a measuring and comparison tool, and to give structure to the transformation vision. To achieve improvement of engineering education in the faculty, it is recommended that the further work be defined and managed as a business reengineering project, using project management and Business Process Reengineering methodology, supported by change management strategies.
Thesis (M. Ing. (Development and Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Collaborative groups are important both in the learning environment of engineering education and, in the real world, the business of engineering design. Selecting appropriate individuals to form an effective group and monitoring a group’s progress are important aspects of successful task performance. This exploratory study looked at using the concepts of cognitive social structures, structural balance, and centrality from social network analysis as well as the measures of emotional intelligence. The concepts were used to analyze potential team members to examine if an individual's ability to perceive emotion in others and the self and to use, understand, and manage those emotions are a factor in a group’s performance. The students from a capstone design course in computer engineering were used as volunteer subjects. They were formed into groups and assigned a design exercise to determine whether and which of the above mentioned tools would be effective in both selecting teams and predicting the quality of the resultant design. The results were inconclusive with the exception of an individual's ability to accurately perceive emotions. The instruments that were successful were the Self-Monitoring scale and the accuracy scores derived from cognitive social structures and Level IV of network levels of analysis.

This research evaluates the usefulness of transformative experience (TE) in engineering education. With TE, students 1) apply ideas from coursework to everyday experiences without prompting (motivated use); 2) see everyday situations through the lens of course content (expanded perception); and 3) value course content in new ways because it enriches everyday affective experience (affective value). In a three-part study, we examine how engineering educators can promote student progress toward TE and reliably measure that progress.

For the first study, we select a mechanical engineering technical elective, Flow Visualization, that had evidence of promoting expanded perception of fluid physics. Through student surveys and interviews, we compare this elective to the required Fluid Mechanics course. We found student interest in fluids fell into four categories: complexity, application, ubiquity, and aesthetics. Fluid Mechanics promotes interest from application, while Flow Visualization promotes interest based in ubiquity and aesthetics. Coding for expanded perception, we found it associated with students’ engineering identity, rather than a specific course. In our second study, we replicate atypical teaching methods from Flow Visualization in a new design course: Aesthetics of Design. Coding of surveys and interviews reveals that open-ended assignments and supportive teams lead to increased ownership of projects, which fuels risk-taking, and produces increased confidence as an engineer.

The third study seeks to establish parallels between expanded perception and measurable perceptual expertise. Our visual expertise experiment uses fluid flow images with both novices and experts (students who had passed fluid mechanics). After training, subjects sort images into laminar and turbulent categories. The results demonstrate that novices learned to sort the flow stimuli in ways similar to subjects in prior perceptual expertise studies. In contrast, the experts’ significantly better results suggest they are accessing conceptual fluids knowledge to perform this new, visual task. The ability to map concepts onto visual information is likely a necessary step toward expanded perception.

Our findings suggest that open-ended aesthetic experiences with engineering content unexpectedly support engineering identity development, and that visual tasks could be developed to measure conceptual understanding, promoting expanded perception. Overall, we find TE a productive theoretical framework for engineering education research.

This thesis provides a distance-learning laboratory for students of electrical and computer engineering department where the instructor can conduct experiments on a computer and send the results to the students at remote computers. The output of the experiment conducted by the instructor is sampled using a successive approximation Analog to Digital (A/D) converter. A microcontroller collects samples using high speed queued serial peripheral interface clock and transmits data to IBM-compatible personal computer over a serial port interface, where the samples are processed using Fast Fourier Transforms and graphed. The client/server application developed transfers the acquired samples over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network with operational Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the remote computers where the samples are processed and presented to students. The application was tested on all Windows platforms and various Internet speeds (56k modem, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Local Area Network (LAN)). The results were analyzed and appropriate methodology of Remote Experimental Station was formulated.

An assessment of a software engineering program has been carried out by reviewing state-of-the-art literature pertaining to software engineering education. Six surveys have been adopted and the result implies that the balance of the curriculum should be revised, and that software engineering education ought to expand the technical oriented knowledge areas somewhat. Relevant curriculum data have been derived hereby, which also confirms other studies in the area. This data, along with a benchmark of the software engineering program to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK), is very constructive to universities as it assists educators, trainers, and software engineering practitioners in evaluating, designing, and recommending existing and proposed curricula.
This is the final revision of the thesis. Author may be contacted on +464458038. See also paper at the 18th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T), Ottawa, Canada.

Conceptions of learning and teaching shape teaching practices and are, therefore, important to understanding how engineering professors learn to teach. There is abundant research about professors' conceptions of teaching; however, research on the conceptions of teaching of doctoral students, the future professors, is scarce. Furthermore, there is a need to understand not just future engineering professors' conceptions of teaching but also their conceptions of learning. The purpose of this study was to explore qualitative variations in future engineering professors' conceptions of learning and teaching as well as understanding how they came to these conceptions. The research questions that guided this qualitative study are the following: 1) How do future engineering professors describe their conceptions of learning engineering?, 2) How do future engineering professors describe the basis of their conceptions of learning engineering?, 3) How do future engineering professors describe their conceptions of teaching engineering?, and 4) How do future engineering professors describe the basis of their conceptions of teaching engineering? Twenty doctoral engineering students interested in academic careers were interviewed. A phenomenographic approach was used to explore variations in conceptions of learning and teaching. The basis of conceptions of learning and teaching were explored using thematic analysis. Six variations in future engineering professors' conceptions of learning engineering emerged and included learning engineering as 1) acquiring knowledge, 2) gaining an understanding, 3) practicing problem solving, 4) applying knowledge, 5) developing an approach, and 6) maturing. Each conception of learning was described by seven dimensions or features: focus, nature of knowledge, view of engineering, strategies, assessments, interactions, and relational. Participants described the basis for their conceptions of learning engineering through four general themes: undergraduate student experience, research, graduate school experience, and prior teaching experiences. Five categories of conceptions of teaching engineering emerged and included teaching engineering as 1) delivering knowledge, 2) helping understand and apply concepts, 3) motivating students, 4) helping students learn how to approach problems, and 5) preparing students to make socially conscious decisions. In describing conceptions of teaching, five dimensions were identified: focus, strategies, use of students' prior knowledge, faculty-student interaction, conception of learning, and projects. Observing professors, student experience, talking about teaching, and teaching experience were described by participants as the basis for their conceptions of teaching engineering. The findings of this study are consistent with previous categorizations of university professors' conceptions of teaching from teacher-centered/content-oriented to student-centered/learning-oriented. However, this study contributes to the literature of engineering education and faculty development by contextualizing the conceptions of learning and teaching of future engineering professors. Furthermore, this study provides richer descriptions of variations in other aspects of teaching and learning engineering such as future professors' views on student interactions, student development, assessment, motivation, problem solving, assumptions about knowledge, teaching and learning strategies. In addition, this study contributes to our understanding of how professors learn about teaching. In particular, the exploration of the basis for the conceptions of learning and teaching opens new avenues to explore how conceptions of teaching and learning evolve over time. This study closes with implications for faculty development and suggestions for further research.

A large number of Building Services Engineering (BSE) graduates from UK universities either already live and work abroad, or aspire to do so, and the destinations for such migrants are most often English-speaking countries or countries where English is commonly used in business. Academic programmes in BSE are usually professionally accredited by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) under licence from the Engineering Council (EC). In the common destination countries for UK BSE graduates the Washington, Sydney and Dublin Accord (WSDA) agreements prevail, meaning that there is a mutual recognition of engineering qualifications and professional accreditation of academic courses, and this facilitates international mobility. Since it is widely accepted that buildings account for as much as 50% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, it could be said that there is a worldwide sustainability agenda with respect to buildings. The common factor across national boundaries is that Building Services Engineers, as central members of building design teams, must provide much of the specialist practical knowledge to enable more energy efficient buildings to be designed and constructed, and it is therefore likely that UK educated engineers will be working in far more varied overseas locations in the near future. The main aim of the work is to synthesise an education and training model to encourage and enable international mobility of UK BSE graduates, and to carry out some evaluation of this model. This work sets out initially to question whether a UK education in BSE necessarily provides UK graduates with the best possible skillset for work abroad. The influence of the EC upon the content of BSE study programmes has been examined, and the research assesses the benefits of the EC’s influence in countries with different economic and political priorities to the UK, other western economies and to the WSDA countries. Following identification and analysis of the main issues, the model was constructed and evaluations were made using semi-structured interviews. The methodology used in this research is necessarily underpinned by a pragmatist paradigm, which has led to the use of a mixed methods blended approach. In addition to thorough review and analysis of literature, the practical methods employed include a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews in three phases: an exploratory phase, an in-depth analysis, and a concluding phase. The early conclusions indicated that the EC influence upon BSE study programmes is generally regarded as necessary and beneficial, since it provides an engineering skillset that is internationally respected and recognised. There is, however, less confidence in applying this in an international arena outside of the WSDA umbrella since different parts of the world face different economic challenges, divergent societal imperatives, and diverse attitudes to sustainability and green issues. An education and training model was constructed to address these issues and, after initial testing, was found generally to be a workable proposition to enhance the international prospects of UK BSEs, and further, could be adopted in the UK under the auspices of the Degree Apprenticeship initiatives. Such a model is, however, unlikely to be adopted in many overseas locations due to differing cultural views on the value of work-based learning and apprenticeship.

Students at KTH can take a course called IS1200 Computer Engineering. This course teaches some of the basic aspects of computer engineering. One important part of the course is the labs which are carried out on an Altera DE2 Development and Educational board. The labs utilize many of the buttons and LEDs on this board. Unfortunately, these boards are only available during the course lab sessions meaning students have no way of fully testing their programs at home. Altera does provide a simulator, but it is not able to simulate the features on the board. NIISim aims to solve this problem. NIISim (Nios II Simulator) is a simulator that will be able to simulate all the functionality on the DE2 board that is necessary to complete all the IS1200 course labs. It comes with support for the Nios II CPU from Altera, several of Altera’s I/O devices and many features on the DE2 board. With a simple graphical user interface the user is able to quickly load the appropriate files and start the simulation. The user is also able to communicate with the simulated program using a console that supports both text input and output. Testing has shown that NIISim simulates the IS1200 course labs without problems. This is a great success. Furthermore, the simulation is performed at a much faster rate than the simulator provided by Altera. The intention is now that NIISim will be used in the IS1200 course to help increase students learning experience as they will have much more time to experiment with the DE2 board features. NIISim also makes a great starting platform for future master’s thesis projects such as implementing a cache simulator or multi-core simulation support.

The number of students entering higher education has grown considerably during the last decade. High student numbers and the attendant large class sizes present significant challenges for teachers. Such challenges include knowing how to ensure students are engaging in appropriate out-of-class activity, how to provide prompt and personalised feedback and how to establish what students know and what they don't. If these challenges are left un-resolved the students' learning will not be well supported. This could ultimately lead to students failing modules. This research presents a response to the growth of the student population and was prompted by a high failure rate in a core first year engineering module. The large numbers of students enrolled on the module presented exactly the kinds of challenges noted above, and the existing assessment regime did little to motivate student learning. The response presented in this thesis is the design, development, testing, implementation and evaluation of a new assessment programme; an approach to assessment that provides students with unique weekly tasks. The tasks were formally assessed and contributed towards the students' marks for the module. To ensure the viability of the assessment programme, bespoke computer tools were developed to create, collect and mark the tasks, and to provide feedback to the students. The implementation has been evaluated through an exploration of the impact of the assessment programme on student support, teaching and student learning. In three of the four years where the students were exposed to the assessment programme, the failure rate on the module decreased. The reduction in failure rate is arguably associated with the alignment of the assessment programme with good pedagogy. During the implementation of the assessment programme, the students were engaging in appropriate out-of-class activity in relation to the current topic area. The students had an opportunity to engage in dialogue with their peers and were receiving prompt and regular feedback. The teachers also benefited, since they were able to prepare lectures according to the students' level of demonstrable understanding. In the case where the failure rate did not improve, the students themselves suggested they were downloading and using worked solutions to the problems from the internet. It is suggested that such activity neither provides meaningful opportunity to practise, nor alerts the students to their genuine levels of understanding of the topic areas. In this case the students were following solution procedures rather than developing their own. Student feedback on the assessment has been positive, with many noting how being led to engage with their studies was useful. Somewhat concerning was the feedback from students who noted "they thought the work would help them with their examinations", "they wanted the assessment programme used on other modules" and yet many indicated "they would not have engaged with the activity if it did not count towards the module grade".

Publisher version
From Introduction: The understanding that the science, engineering, technology and mathematics disciplines (STEM) have a significant and directly causal role to play in economic productivity and innovation has driven an increased focus on these fields in higher education. Innovation in this context is a shorthand for the harnessing of the knowledge economy and the provision of products with novel significant ‘added value’. The assumption in both developed and developing economies alike is that STEM will drive national growth (World Bank 2002; UNESCO 2009), and this impacts on demands that universities provide competent graduates in sufficient numbers. However, exactly what ‘competency’ might mean in this context is open to debate.

Design thinking ability is vital for engineers who are tasked with solving society's toughest sustainable development challenges. Prior research identified that the percentage of design thinkers among freshmen engineering students is greater than the percentage among the general population. However, engineering education's lack of attention to fostering creative ability may cause the design thinking ability of senior engineering students to suffer. The research addressed in this thesis compares the design thinking ability of engineering students across age groups, and compares design thinking ability between the design disciplines of engineering and architecture. To draw design thinking comparisons between these groups, a survey with a nine item design thinking instrument was distributed nationally to freshmen engineering students (n= 2,158), senior engineering students (n= 1,893), and senior architecture students (n= 336). The survey instrument was validated by conducting confirmatory factor analysis on the senior engineering and senior architecture samples' data. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was utilized to statistically compare scores across sample groups. Both the freshmen engineering students (2.80) and senior architecture students (3.30) scored significantly higher on the design thinking scale than senior engineering students (2.59). These results have important implications for engineering educators as engineering education may contribute to a decrease in design thinking among senior engineering students. A lower design thinking score among seniors was consistent across all engineering sub-disciplines and should be of concern to engineering educators, since design thinking skills are critical for the development of engineering solutions to grand societal challenges.
Master of Science
Design thinking is a way of thinking about the design process which places the user at the center of the design. Thinking about design in this way is a vital ability for engineers and other design professionals to develop because it enables them to solve “wicked” problems like sustainable development challenges. Wicked problems are those which are difficult to solve due to the number of conflicting components involved. Prior research has found that design thinkers are more prevalent among engineering students in their first year of study than among students in other majors. However, engineering education does not attribute much attention to the development of creative ability which could cause the design thinking ability of engineering students in their final year of study to be worse than the ability of those in their first year, as well as worse than the ability of students who study other design disciplines like architecture. This study compared the design thinking abilities of engineering students in their final year of study to engineering students in their first year and to architecture students in their final year. The goal of making these comparisons was to explore if engineering education helps or hinders the development of design thinking. A survey with nine questions related to design thinking was distributed nationwide. The data from the survey was collected and statistically analyzed. The results showed that the design thinking ability of engineering students in their final year was significantly lower than the ability of first year engineering students and significantly lower than the ability of final year architecture students. A decrease in design thinking ability between freshmen and senior year must be addressed by engineering educators. The National Academy of Engineers and industry leaders are calling for the development of engineers who are design thinkers, and the results of this paper suggest that some changes may need to occur within the engineering education curriculum to accommodate this need.

Technology and Engineering Education has deep roots in Project Based Learning, with its beginning in the Industrial Arts, and tracing its ancestry to craft apprenticeships. This constructivist philosophy supports the idea that the creation of an artifact lends itself to higher order cognitive processes. This study analyzed the content of middle school Technology and Engineering Education Rubrics for evidence that higher order cognition was being assessed. Five raters coded ninety-eight performance indicators from six rubrics for the evidence of declarative, procedural, schematic, and strategic knowledge. Gwet's AC1 and percent agreement were calculated to determine inter-rater reliability. Additionally, the performance criteria were coded for six engineering constructs. The Engineering Constructs from the performance criteria were extrapolated to the performance indicators to see which Engineering Constructs were supporting higher order cognition. Analysis included the determination of whether or not the rubrics that were analyzed supported higher order cognition as well as their performance indicators, performance criteria, and which Engineering Constructs support higher order cognitive processes.
Doctor of Philosophy
What used to be known as the shop class, or Industrial Arts, has morphed into Technology and Engineering Education. With the emphasis now on teaching engineering processes and Project Based Learning instead of manual skills, there is a lack of research on whether or not the assessments have evolved enough to assess higher levels of cognition. Higher level cognitive processes in engineering design are defined as those processes that are used to troubleshoot and create. This study analyzed middle school Technology and Engineering Education rubrics to look for evidence of assessing higher order cognition. Rubrics are a commonly used tool in Project Bases Learning as a form of assessment. Rubrics are separated into two distinct parts: performance criteria; and their performance indicators. The performance criteria were analyzed for six different Engineering Constructs, and the performance indicators were analyzed for four cognitive constructs. The analysis looked for evidence of higher-level cognitive constructs, and which Engineering Constructs supported higher level cognitive constructs.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain a better understanding of how induction programs might effectively support STEM K?8 teacher preparation. American schools are not producing competent STEM graduates prepared to meet employment demands. Over the next decade, STEM employment opportunities are expected to increase twice as fast as all other occupations combined. To meet the economic needs, the STEM pipeline must be expanded to educate and produce additional STEM graduates. The meeting of this objective begins with having the teachers working in American classrooms fully prepared and trained in STEM content, curriculum, and pedagogy. Research shows that the interest in STEM subjects starts in elementary school and, therefore, the preparation of elementary teachers to be proficient in teaching STEM to their students is vital. However, most induction programs do not focus on preparing their teachers in STEM. This study researched the Alternative Induction Pathway (AIP) program, which had STEM preparation as one of its core outcomes in the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD). It investigated the program?s effectiveness in preparing K?8 teachers with STEM content knowledge, curriculum, pedagogical instruction preparation, and the program elements that contributed the most to their experience in the program and overall STEM preparation as a result. This study was carried out over the course of approximately 6 months. Data included focused interviews with participants as well as analysis of existing documents in order to triangulate perspectives from multiple sources. The AIP program had varied levels of effectiveness in STEM content, curriculum, and pedagogy preparation. Relationships between the induction mentor, the administration, and the participating teacher, when strong and positive, were powerful contributions to the success of the acquisition and integration of the STEM content, curriculum, and pedagogy. The most effective components of the AIP program were the monthly support groups, the curricular resources, and the professional development nights facilitating the teaching and learning process for the participating teacher in STEM integration. The results of this training included examples of well-planned and executed STEM lessons with creative risk-taking, and enhanced confidence for teachers and administrators alike. At the same time, the AIP program had struggles in achieving the desired outcomes of STEM integration, due to lack of preliminary training for program administrators in STEM integration, varied needs between the MS and SS credential teachers, and state standard requirements that spoke to science and mathematics, but not engineering or technology. The main recommendation for policy from the results of this study is that STEM should be woven into preservice and continue through induction and professional development to become one of the main tenets of curriculum development and standards of effective teaching. This policy would affect colleges of education and district induction programs, requiring that STEM courses be added or embedded into the credential pathways. However, this approach would ensure that STEM integration is supported academically as an important and valued aspect of the teacher?s entrance to their career, and that pre-service teachers are ready to take advantage of induction offerings on STEM integration in the induction phase and throughout their careers in continuing professional development. The study also provides practice and research recommendations in regard to possible roles and supports for mentor teachers, including their relationships with resident teachers, as well as suggestions for and to maximize the benefits for effective teaching and learning during the induction process.

Educators have recommended the integration of engineering and the liberal arts as a promising educational model to prepare young engineers for global economic, environmental, sociotechnical, and ethical challenges. Drawing upon philosophy of technology, engineering studies, and educational psychology, this dissertation examines diverse visions and strategies for integrating engineering and liberal education and explores their impacts on students' intellectual and moral development. Based on archival research, interviews, and participant observation, the dissertation presents in-depth case studies of three educational initiatives that seek to blend engineering with the humanities, social sciences, and arts: Harvey Mudd College, the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, and the Programs in Design and Innovation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research finds that learning engineering in a liberal arts context increases students' sense of "owning" their education and contributes to their communication, teamwork, and other non-technical professional skills. In addition, opportunities for extensive liberal arts learning in the three cases encourage some students to pursue alternative, less technocentric approaches to engineering. Nevertheless, the case studies suggest that the epistemological differences between the engineering and liberal arts instructors help maintain a technical/social dualism among most students. Furthermore, the dissertation argues a "hidden curriculum," which reinforces the dominant ideology in the engineering profession, persists in the integrated programs and prevents the students from reflecting on the broad social context of engineering and critically examining the assumptions upheld in the engineering profession.

An education benefit available to all corporate and franchisee employees of the large quick service restaurant (QSR) under study is an opportunity to achieve a high school diploma at no cost by enrolling in online high school (OHS). The purpose of this research was to explore the role of Thomas Gilbert’s behavior engineering model factors—information/data, resources, incentives, knowledge/skills, capacity, and motives—in helping 15 QSR employees to graduate from an OHS program. This study was warranted because in order to improve employee OHS graduation rates, the QSR under study needed to better understand and cultivate the success factors for OHS program completion. A basic qualitative methodology was used for this study and semistructured telephone interviews were conducted as the primary form of data collection. Thirty online learner success themes were synthesized from the data during the analysis process. Technology, and study skills were the only factors identified by all 15 study participants as being factors in their program success. The most influential online learning success factors reported by study participants were design of instruction, program policies, the role of the academic coach, program accessibility, and student characteristic of persistence/determination. Lack of time to complete OHS lessons was the top challenge to success shared by study participants. The online learning success factors that are currently in place at OHS and the QSR under study and are recommended to continue include 24/7 availability of the program, accepting transfer credits, the role the academic coach, the ability to retake tests, and the QSR under study covering the cost of the program. Recommendations to improve QSR restaurant environmental success factors include increased OHS program follow-up by QSR corporate and franchise leadership, scheduling OHS lesson completion time on restaurant schedules, and providing a reliable computer/tablet.

This dissertation examines the culture and climate of disabled people and the disability community within society and the engineering field and the experience of disabled students in higher education. The theoretical lenses utilized is the Technology Acceptance Model which emphasizes the importance of end user's perspectives, and the Social Model of Disability which sees the world and society as disabling rather than the imposition of disability on a person. The perception of disability in engineering is examined through the use of a systematic literature review within Chapter 3 by comparing general engineering academic literature and engineering education literature housed within the American Society of Engineering Education national database. Chapter 4 of this dissertation quantitatively examines the digital accessibility landscape of learning management systems utilized within engineering and engineering related courses that first and second year engineering students are required to take. Finally, Chapter 5 utilized a mixed method approach to examine disabled and non-disabled engineering students' perspectives on the usability of their Learning Management System within their engineering courses. The second part of this research study utilizes individual design interviews to have students redesign their Canvas experiences such that it minimizes digital accessibility barriers. Chapter 6 details tangible digital accessibility recommendations for developers, designers, and instructors/content managers. These recommendations are based on the results within the previous chapters of this dissertation.
Doctor of Philosophy
This dissertation examines the culture and climate of disabled people and the disability community within society and the engineering field and the experience of disabled students in higher education. The research presented is understood by looking at disability as not a detriment to the individual and is imposed by society. Chapter 3 talks about how disabled people are and are not included within the engineering field. It compares a more general engineering academic literature with engineering education academic literature from American Society of Engineering Education national proceedings. The second study researches the accessibility of engineering and engineering related course websites from a higher education institution. This research shows the most common digital accessibility errors that are found along with the types of web pages that have the most accessibility errors. Finally, the third study researches the digital accessibility barriers encountered by disabled and nondisabled engineering students. These results are broken down by the specific disability that was disclosed by the participant. Chapter 6 details tangible digital accessibility recommendations for developers, designers, and instructors/content managers. These recommendations are based on the results within the previous chapters of this dissertation.

In the recent years, more and more manufacturing firms recognize the benefit of providing products together with related services with an aim to gain higher profits as compared to supplying products without additional services. On the other hand, the competition in the global markets has been increased dramatically through increased sales of services in order to gain additional value for their products. In addition, several environmental challenges such as climate change, pollution, global warming impact, greenhouse gases emissions have played a vital role by influencing on the production protocols and trend of the companies. These challenges forced manufacturing countries to take into consideration environmentally conscious approach to their design thinking and industrial production processes. As a result, it became an important drive for manufacturing industries to shift from traditional product-oriented to service-oriented business models that has been witnessed during the last few years.   The objective of this study research is to develop common questions that capture fundamental and common issues about Integrated Product Service Engineering (IPSE), Design for Environment (DFE) and Engineering education are effectives for industries to check and develop their knowledge, because the Engineering education plays a necessary role in associating socio-ethical knowledge with scientific and technological advances. The strategy taken to conduct this thesis task was first to study and understand the concept of Product Service System (PSS), IPSE, and Ecodesign as well as Engineering Education. Informative knowledge on these concepts were collected by reviewing several related journal articles, CIRP IPS2 conference proceedings.   In this thesis the concepts of PSS, IPSE, DFE and Engineering Education discussed to develop the key common questions and issues to address the environmental, economic and social problems. Since PSS aims to reduce consumption through alternative schemes of product use as well as to increase overall resource productivity and dematerialization, but IPSE does not focus on a single factor but incorporates a wide range of factors such as environmental, social and economic issues. Whilst one of the main problems in this research focused on how to develop and strengthen the relationship between the academia and industry, and how this relation can be used to improve the academic performance and scientific research at universities and transfer them to industry.   Sustainability and the life cycle concept have become a main solution for various problems such as a growing world population and a change in the industrial culture to come. As results Ecodesign and environmental considerations, financial aspects, product improvement as well as the commercial aspects were discussed in this project by understanding the previous concepts. The university considered as an important base of cultivating the talents, basic of inputs business organizations which help them to develop and improve their level of performance and quality of their products and services, and enhance its competitive position in the market. Changes in organized science further encouraged university interests in expanding technology transfer, because the scientific disciplines play an important role in influencing the type of interactions with industry as well as the University and Industry collaboration became the basic method of solving the problems to achieve (environmental, economic and social) sustainability.

Despite its commitment to global sustainability pacts, Nigeria does not currently have a framework for sustainability in engineering education. This study aims to formulate a sustainability education intervention for the Nigerian engineering curriculum. Using the mixed-method approach, the study assessed the level of sustainability knowledge of the Nigerian engineering community, examined the sustainability content of the Nigerian engineering curriculum, and proposed a context-relevant sustainability education intervention. Data for the study were sourced variously from publications of regulatory bodies, engineering handbooks, surveys and workshops with stakeholders. The Nigerian engineering community was discovered to have low sustainability literacy based on a sustainability literacy test, level of stakeholder awareness of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, and self-assessment of sustainability knowledge. Both content analysis and stakeholder survey converged on the low sustainability content of the Nigerian engineering curriculum. With insights gained from the findings, a bipartite intervention consisting of a guideline and an introductory sustainable engineering course is proposed. Whilst the guideline specifies roles for government, regulators, university leaders and faculty, the designed course features 15-weekly topics for adoption in the engineering handbooks. Aspects of the proposed course trialled in a sustainable engineering workshop indicated favourable prospects for the introduction of the course. Workshop participants were unanimous in declaring the usefulness and expediency of sustainability education in the Nigerian engineering curriculum. Although the research findings are particularly relevant to the Nigerian engineering curriculum, the study confirms the slow uptake of sustainability education in the developing world. By closely examining the feasibility of sustainability education intervention in the engineering curriculum in a different cultural and social setting, the research contributes to the global efforts towards the reorientation of engineering education to sustainability.

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 38).
In 2004, The National Academy of Engineers (NAE) released a report calling for changes to be made to the current engineering education system in response to the growing need for engineering graduates who would be able to understand engineering problems in a larger context. The present study hopes to gain a better understanding of the growth of flexible engineering education by determining differences in student characteristics and their effect on a student's choice of academic program, identifying the perceptions of the MIT community of flexible and traditional engineering programs and how these perceptions changed over time, and establishing whether or not a correlation exists between students' perceived self-efficacy in engineering and professional abilities and his or her career plans. An online survey was developed and administered to the Course 2 and Course 2-A student body. Significant differences in motivation, opinion of Course 2 and Course 2-A, as well as perceived self-efficacy were found between Course 2 and Course 2-A students.
by Shanette A. Go.
S.B.

Engineering Education is a developing field, with new research and ideas constantly emerging and contributing to the ever-evolving nature of this discipline. Textual data (such as publications, open-ended questions on student assignments, and interview transcripts) form an important means of dialogue between the various stakeholders of the engineering community. Analysis of textual data demands consumption of a lot of time and resources. As a result, researchers end up spending a lot of time and effort in analyzing such text repositories. While there is a lot to be gained through in-depth research analysis of text data, some educators or administrators could benefit from an automated system which could reveal trends and present broader overviews for given datasets in more time and resource efficient ways. Analyzing datasets using Natural Language Processing is one solution to this problem. The purpose of my doctoral research was two-pronged: first, to describe the current state of use of Natural Language Processing as it applies to the broader field of Education, and second, to demonstrate the use of Natural Language Processing techniques for two Engineering Education specific contexts of instruction and research respectively. Specifically, my research includes three manuscripts: (1) systematic review of existing publications on the use of Natural Language Processing in education research, (2) automated classification system for open-ended student responses to gauge metacognition levels in engineering classrooms, and (3) using insights from Natural Language Processing techniques to facilitate exploratory analysis of a large interview dataset led by a novice researcher. A common theme across the three tasks was to explore the use of Natural Language Processing techniques to enable the computer to extract meaningful information from textual data for Engineering Education related contexts. Results from my first manuscript suggested that researchers in the broader fields of Education used Natural Language Processing for a wide range of tasks, primarily serving to automate instruction in terms of creating content for examinations, automated grading or intelligent tutoring purposes. In manuscripts two and three I implemented some of the Natural Language Processing techniques such as Part-of-Speech tagging and tf-idf (text frequency-inverse document frequency) that were found (through my systematic review) to be used by researchers, to (a) develop an automated classification system for student responses to gauge their metacognitive levels and (b) conduct an exploratory novice led analysis of excerpts from interviews of students on career preparedness, respectively. Overall results of my research studies indicate that although the use of Natural Language Processing techniques in Engineering Education is not widespread, although such research endeavors could facilitate research and practice in our field. Particularly, this type of approach to textual data could be of use to practitioners in large engineering classrooms who are unable to devote large amounts of time to data analysis but would benefit from algorithmic systems that could quickly present a summary based on information processed from available text data.
Ph. D.

Engineering students entering the workforce often struggle to meet the competency expectations of their employers. Guided by constructivist theory, the purpose of this case study was to understand engineers’ experiences of engineering education, deficiencies in practical skills, and the self-learning methods they employed to advance their technical and professional competencies. Working engineers were asked about their experiences overcoming practical skill deficiencies and bridging the gap between education and practice. Interviews with 15 chemical, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers were analyzed by coding for common statements and identifying themes. Firsthand experiences of the participants captured 3 themes: overall perceptions of engineering education, deficiencies in skills, and self-learning experiences. According to study findings, engineering education did not supply sufficient practical skills for working engineers. The study also provided descriptions of training and self-learning methods employed by practicing engineers to advance their technical and professional competencies. The study found that although universities might provide some practical skills through industry collaboration, engineering graduates still required professional development to ensure a smooth transition from academic learner to acclimated working engineer. The project is a practical training, developed for recent graduates, that could achieve positive social change by making strides toward bridging the gap between theory and practice for the participants. This study may also incite positive social change as it contributes to the evidence that there is a lack of practical experience in colleges of engineering, which may therefore improve their curriculum.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri--Rolla, 2007.
Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed November 27, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-87).
A wide variety of engineering activities benefit from the use of rough estimates of the type commonly referred to as back-of-the-envelope calculations. These include evaluating the feasibility of an idea, planning experiments, sizing components, and setting up and checking detailed analyses. The overall goals of this thesis were to understand how people make rough estimates for physical quantities and to understand how that activity relates to undergraduate engineering education. The specific objectives of this thesis were to describe the nature and extent of mechanical engineering students' estimation capabilities, to develop a framework describing estimation activity and to characterize the relationship between rough estimation activities and learning activities. The intent of these objectives was to develop conceptual knowledge useful for assessing and teaching rough estimation skills as well as for guiding estimation activity in practice. Students were found to have considerable difficulty making estimates for common engineering quantities, such as force and energy. Students were also found to have difficulty applying basic engineering concepts in rough estimation situations even at the senior level. In order to identify concepts that give students difficulty, a new assessment method based on students' ability to associate correct units with common engineering quantities was developed. The mediated action framework that was developed consists of three components: effective actions people take when they make estimates, mediating characteristics and the resulting limitations imposed on these actions, and compensation methods people use to circumvent these limitations. The primary focus of this thesis was on identifying the effective actions. A set of effective actions was identified that was sufficient to describe a large number of people's solutions to a variety of estimation problems. The relationship between rough estimation and engineering curricula was examined by comparing rough estimation activities in practice and learning activities in curricula. Rough estimation activities were found to be incongruent with typical undergraduate engineering curricula. The differences between these activities suggest ways in which curricula might be changed to improve students' estimation skills.
Benjamin M. Linder.
Ph.D.

International service learning (ISL) has been integrated into engineering education and has become increasingly more popular in co-curricular experiences. While prior research investigates each of these avenues of ISL, we have not investigated how these experiences compare to one another in terms of student learning outcomes or understood these experiences from a national perspective. The purpose of this thesis is to address these gaps in existing literature and to provide a comprehensive, holistic perspective of ISL experiences ability to impact student learning on a national scale. To better understand student learning outcomes in engineering ethics, agency and identity and draw comparisons in student career choices, several survey instruments were used within a nationally-representative survey distributed to engineering seniors (n=1911) at four-year universities within the United States. Descriptive statistics were used to categorize he responses by type of ISL experience: capstone, work, or co-curricular. The survey instruments were used to measure the individual learning outcomes: engineering ethics contained 5 items, engineering identity contained 14 items, and engineering agency contained 12 original items. Each survey instrument was validated using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine the relevant factor groups for each construct. An ANOVA test or Kruskal Wallis, the non-parametric equivalent test, was used for each dataset depending on normal distribution of the data. Responses in engineering ethics showed a significantly higher score in students’ ethics understanding with ISL capstone (p< 0.001) and work experience (p<0.0001) and a medium effect size for both (Cohen’s d=0.3). Responses in engineering agency scores showed a significant difference with ISL capstone (p<0.05) and co-curricular experience (p<0.05) with a medium effect size (Cohen’s d=0.3). Additionally, responses to predicted career choice post-graduation showed a lower percentage of students anticipating leaving engineering from the 9% population rate to 6% for those with ISL capstone experience and 5% for those with ISL co-curricular experience. These results give reason to consider more frequent incorporation of ISL projects into engineering courses such as senior capstone design.
Master of Science

This study examines the relationship between international fee-paying students and career pathways through courses of study in Science and Engineering. International education is a significant endeavour in Australia in terms of any measure (students, dollars, associated employment). Over the last two decades it has grown in scope, beyond international fee-paying students, so that it now crosses all sectors of education and training (schools, vocational education and training, and higher education). Australian institutions have expanded their enrolment offshore and engaged in a variety of joint venture activities to capitalise on this surge of interest. The study examined international fee-paying students and career pathways shortly after the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducted two major studies in 2004 into career education and transnational education amongst member countries. The links between course and career intentions were investigated by focusing on the subject fields of Science and Engineering. The term career pathway is used as a metaphor to describe the way students move through the Australian education and training system, with such movements possibly occurring through sequential levels or by sectors. A literature review was conducted initially, and a mixed research methodology (involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches) was adopted for the study. A survey instrument was used with a sample of 110 international fee-paying students drawn from students studying Science and/or Engineering at nine institutions across sectors of Australian education and training, then a further sample of 22 students was interviewed in order to gain an understanding of the underlying reasons for students making the decisions, in relation to courses and careers that they do.These samples provide the opportunity to evaluate international students' understandings of the Australian education and training system, especially the entry procedures into Science and/or Engineering courses. As part of the methodology the preliminary results were shared with the institutions involved to gain their input. Major findings were that 68 percent of the sample did not have career preparation or advice before coming to Australia; 52 percent of the sample was able to explain the term 'credit-transfer'; 53 percent of the sample had researched the recognition of their course in their home country, and careers advice was sought by 58 percent of the sample whilst studying in Australia. Resulting from the study are a number of recommendations for major stakeholders associated with international education (Australian Educational International, the Graduate Careers Council of Australia, government policy makers, institutions, the related professional bodies in the fields of Science and Engineering, and international fee-paying students). The findings of this study have implications for the way in which careers services are provided to international fee-paying students at Australian institutions. The outcome of this study is presented in two volumes. Volume One contains the body of the thesis in 6 Chapters. Volume Two (on disk) includes the associated documents of this study, presented in twelve Appendices.