The impact of a freshmen-year seminar on students\u27 second-year retention

This study investigated the impact a freshman-year seminar course, UNIV 101, had on students’ second-year retention. Retention was determined based on a student’s subsequent enrollment at the university, one year after their initial semester. In addition, this study explored the relationship between selected independent variables found in literature and second-year retention. Finally, the study sought to determine if selected variables, completion of UNIV 101, and final letter grade earned by students in UNIV 101 was able to predict the probability of retention. The target population for this study was all first-time freshmen enrolled in a small, public, regional institution in Southeastern United States. The accessible population of this study was first-time freshmen in their initial enrollment in UNIV 101 during the Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, and Spring 2012 semesters (N=2,464). Data was analyzed using correlation and direct logistic regression. It was determined that a very large and very strong relationship exists between completers of an extended-orientation, freshmen-year seminar course with a common theme and attendance policy taught by professional academic advisors with students’ second-year retention. More specifically, completers of the freshmen-year seminar course were more than 11 times more likely to be retained than non-completers. It was further determined that the final letter grade that students’ earn in an extended-orientation, freshmen-year seminar course with a common theme and attendance policy taught by professional academic advisors can predict the probability of students’ second-year retention. More specifically, students who earned an A or B in the extended-orientation, freshmen-year seminar course with a common theme and attendance policy taught by professional academic advisors were more than 14 times and 8 times (respectively) more likely to be retained for a second year. Finally, other student attributes were also found to have a statistically significant relationship with second-year retention. Selected student attribute variables found in literature-included age, gender, ethnicity, high school grade point average, and highest composite ACT score

Orientation Effects on African-American Engineering Students: The LSU Case.

Extended orientation courses continue to be introduced as curriculum offerings that assist students to persist in post-secondary institutions. Research on the outcomes of such courses in terms of student retention and achievement is, with regard to race, however, not proceeding at the same pace as orientation course research in general. The purpose of this study was to apply the attrition models of Tinto (1987) and Pascarella, Terenzini, and Wolfe (1986) and examine extended orientation as a contributing factor to the retention and achievement of African-American engineering students. The sample of the study consisted of 354 African-American students who were members of the 1990-95 freshmen engineering classes of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One hundred and seventy-five of these students elected to enroll in an extended orientation course, Engineering 1050. Three hypotheses were tested to determine if differences existed between African-American freshmen engineering students who elected to enroll in the course and those who did not. The groups were compared on (a) retention rate, (b) academic achievement, and (c) graduation rate. The hypotheses examined the relationship of the perceived assistance of the course and the actual academic achievement of Engineering 1050 participants. Pre-enrollment characteristics that were used as independent variables included The American College Test (ACT) composite score, the high school grade point average, and gender. Retention rate, academic achievement, and graduation rate were used as dependent variables. T-tests, Chi-square tests, and descriptive statistics determined that ACT and GPA mean scores of the participants were generally higher than nonparticipants, but the differences were not statistically significant. The groups persisted at about the same rate, and although the academic achievement of the enrolled students was higher than that of the non-enrolled students, the differences were not statistically significant. The graduation rate of the 1990 cohort was statistically significant for the course participants. The qualitative study involving four students that participated in the course showed a parallel between their perceptions of the helpfulness of the course and their academic achievement. This led the investigator to conclude that enrollment in the extended orientation course was a beneficial experience, at least for the four students involved. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made to investigate extended-orientation efforts in several different contexts

Implementing Team Based Learning in Freshmen Engineering Courses

Team Based Learning (TBL) is a specific pedagogical tool that emphasizes collaborative learning. Oftentimes TBL is confused with group activities and other active learning strategies involving student teams. TBL is distinct because it follows a prescribed sequence of individual work and group work, and includes immediate feedback as well as peer evaluation. TBL is widely used in medical, pharmacy and nursing schools and the use of TBL in engineering education is growing. The advantages of using TBL in the class room include: (1) students are held accountable for individual (pre-class) and group (in-class) work. (2) The responsibility for learning shifts from the instructor to the students, promoting lifelong learning skills. (3) The majority of class time is used for team assignments that use the course content applied to large difficult problems. (4) The students are actively engaged during class time. Furthermore, TBL is suitable for courses having as little as 12 students, but is also used in courses having up to 400 students. Therefore, TBL is an ideal tool to be used in freshman engineering courses. Implementation of TBL in an Introduction to Engineering course at the University of Alaska Anchorage in the Fall of 2013 is in preparation. In spite of all the benefits of using TBL, a possible deterrent for faculty to adopt TBL is the time intensive development of TBL modules and the lack of available support to develop and improve classroom materials. It is the intent of the authors to form a national freshmen engineering TBL support group to facilitate the implementation of TBL in freshmen engineering courses

The Effects of a Freshman Orientation Course on Academic Achievement and Retention

Freshman business administration students were placed into an extended orientation course during their first semester of enrollment at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The 60 course participants met twice a week for fifteen weeks in a 55-minute class spending approximately 20% of class time in each of the following: (a) lecture; (b) skill exercises; (c) group discussion; (d) guest speaker presentations; and (e) a combination of reviews, quizzes, previews, and assignments. The purpose of the course was to provide students with information and the opportunity to acquire skills to help them to be more successful in college. Following the end of their first semester the records of the freshmen participating in the course were compared to two control groups; a random sample of 89 entering freshmen, and the 1985 entering class of 51 business administration students. Analysis of the study data led to the following conclusions: (a) The academic achievement of freshmen, as measured by academic standing, ratio of completed classes to hours for which enrolled, and grade point average was not found to be significantly impacted by attending the orientation course; (b) the retention of freshmen into a second semester was not fostered by course attendance; (c) the faculty members teaching the course were not unanimous in their praise of or continuing the course; and (d) the majority of students enrolled in the course did report the course to be beneficial to their academic and social adjustment and recommended that it continue to be offered to incoming freshmen. Recommendations resulting from the studies findings and conclusions included: (a) to use caution in relying on such courses to improve academic performance and retention; (b) to further explore benefits of such a course to assist in providing a smoother transition to college for freshmen; (c) in offering such courses greater care should be taken with the selection and training of instructors; (d) that benefits or lack of benefits of course participation be tracked over several semesters; and (e) that replication of this or other similar studies be undertaken and that the studies be constructed to limit self-selection into the study groups

Course-based Science Research Promotes Learning in Diverse Students at Diverse Institutions

Course-based research experiences (CREs) are powerful strategies for spreading learning and improving persistence for all students, both science majors and nonscience majors. Here we address the crucial components of CREs (context, discovery, ownership, iteration, communication, presentation) found across a broad range of such courses at a variety of academic institutions. We also address how the design of a CRE should vary according to the background of student participants; no single CRE format is perfect. We provide a framework for implementing CREs across multiple institutional types and several disciplines throughout the typical four years of undergraduate work, designed to a variety of student backgrounds. Our experiences implementing CREs also provide guidance on overcoming barriers to their implementation

Experience of Project-Based Learning for First-Year Engineering Students at GMIT

This study introduces the experience of a project-based learning (PBL) approach for first-year engineering students at German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology (GMIT), Mongolia. The engineering project course at GMIT is the first-ever PBL experience for engineering curriculum in Mongolia and adapted from the engineering program at the Technical University of Darmstadt and has been implemented since 2014. It is dedicated to preparing students for gaining both technical and soft skills through PBL from the beginning of their engineering education. The questionnaire surveys are taken regularly during the course period from students to improve the course quality. The current study presents the analysis of questionnaire surveys done in 2019 and discusses the benefits and challenges of the course. The responses by students revealed that the implementation of the course was beneficial in improving teamwork. Suggestions based on the PBL are given to improve the effectiveness of engineering education in Mongolia

Inquiry-Guided Learning (IGL) in Graphical Communications Course

Inquiry-Guided Learning (IGL) is an active learning technique which promotes students critical thinking through guided independent investigation of complex problems without a single solution, which has been studied and implemented by many researchers in science and engineering fields [1-8]. It is believed that IGL can provide an opportunity to the students to explore their desires and consequently enhance students’ learning experience in the classroom. Graphical Communications, as a common course taught at first-year undergraduate level at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is designed to familiarize the student with the basic principles of drafting and engineering drawing, to improve three dimensional visualization skills, and to teach the fundamentals of a computer aided design program (CATIA). Faculty members show students step by step how to build a model and make sure they can follow and understand the procedure. However, students’ ability to use this knowledge and comprehension to explore real engineering design is unknown

ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY 2015: NEEDS ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA’S ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Prior to the ASEAN Economic Community in the end of 2015, one of the keys for Indonesian engineers to outrank engineers from other ASEAN countries is mastering English language skills. This study aims at analyzing the English needs of undergraduate engineering students at Universitas Indonesia. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection methods. The questionnaires were spread to 111 alumni and 150 students from the Faculty of Engineering. The interviews were conducted with HRD from a multinational company, HRD from a local company, three heads of departments, and two lecturers from the Faculty of Engineering. The research reveals that students’ needs of English language learning are considered not as high as their needs of English language use. The recommendation given to the Faculty of Engineering is to conduct an optional course on English for Professional Purposes, and the course is to be handled by professional English teachers helped by the lecturers from the Faculty of Engineering

Scaffolding Undergraduate Engineering Design Education with the Wellbeing Framework

Increasingly, engineering design educators articulate wanting to embed social sustainability into student projects. Some educators observe that global calls, such as the Grand Challenges of Engineering and the Millennium Development Goals, foster social consciousness while supporting open innovation environments. Using a broad social goal like “poverty alleviation” to frame a course design challenge can help students connect engineering design processes to messages that proclaim engineering as a socially engaged profession [1]. Yet scaffolding student learning in engineering design for poverty alleviation should involve more than a simple directive to create a device for a poor person. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how defining poverty as systematic failures to achieve well being objectives scaffolds learning for both students and faculty members engaged in design for poverty alleviation.Theoretical frameworks of well being [2] explain the program evolution found in Ohio Northern University’s freshman capstone design course while offering valuable insights for further course improvements. As the professors piloted this innovative course [3, 4], the professors discovered a need to use design personas and community profiles rather than statistical income measures of poverty. Further, the capstone course facilitated greater student interest in implementing designs for various community partners. Researchers in development studies use well being frameworks to guide participatory data collection and participatory analysis required to produce contextually rich community profiles. The participatory analysis includes community members and development practitioners in order to identify priority projects that will improve the community’s quality of life. As Ohio Northern University moves towards more active community engagement,theoretical frameworks of well being can be used to outline best practices for engaging with communities at all stages in the design process.This paper identifies how well being frameworks 1) guide student classroom learning and 2)provide cautionary insights for community-based fieldwork. Well being frameworks have potential to bring best practices associated with community engagement into classroom settings,broadening student access to innovative community-centered engineering design methodologies.This unique international development methodology [5] centers on how various designs foster responsible well being by minimizing harms; thus, well being frameworks could inform social evaluations of engineering design

A Model for Incorporating Undergraduate Research into an Engineering Curriculum

A model is described for incorporating undergraduate research into an engineering curriculum through a vertically integrated design sequence. The sequence is composed of five courses: one each during the spring semester of the freshmen through junior years and two courses during the senior year. Each course offers skills that provide scaffolding for students to contribute to a team performing an engineering design project or research project. Teams are composed of freshmen through seniors (i.e., vertically integrated) and led by seniors. A strength of the model for undergraduate research is that upper level students can mentor lower level students, which allows for students to build on the accomplishments of previous years and create continuity in the research program. A current project on thermosiphon research will be used to illustrate how the model works. The thermosiphon project is in its seventh continuous year, has averaged 12 students per year, and has students working on both research and applications aspects of the project. Students on the teams are members for approximately two years on average, which gives them time to learn the details of the project and then mentor new members in critical areas of the project such as data acquisition and testing procedures. After an initial period of development in the collective knowledge of the research group lasting two years, team members have now written proposals successfully receiving funding from internal university groups and presented their results at regional and national undergraduate research conferences over the past four years