101 research outputs found
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Extending an alginate drug delivery experiment to teach computational modeling and engineering analysis to 1st year biomedical engineering students
Engaging biomedical engineering (BME) students in the first year has been an important part of The University of Texas at Austin’s strategy to improve student motivation, retention, and self-efficacy. First year engineering curricula across the country have increasingly included an introduction to engineering or design course in addition to core math and science courses. At UT Austin, a first-year design course and drug-delivery design class module has been previously described[1]. This course has since been expanded from 1 credit hour to 3 credit hours and the drug-delivery design module has been enhanced to include computational design and analysis using 2 different tools (Microsoft Excel and MATLAB). Previously, students analyzed their experimental data using simple curve fitting to determine the diffusivity constant. This paper describes the instruction of a Fick’s law-based computational simulation implemented in both Excel and MATLAB in order to match students’ experimental data. Students were able to use their simulation to solve for the diffusion coefficient and to estimate the amount of drug (a dye was used as a surrogate for a drug) lost in the drug delivery device loading process. In addition, students learned how to use both Excel and MATLAB for engineering analysis so that they will be prepared for future engineering courses. General Excel and MATLAB competencies were tested using low-stakes in-class quizzes and students’ attitudes were measured from end-of-semester course and instructor surveys. Students showed functional Excel and MATLAB knowledge and responded positively on course and instructor surveys.Cockrell School of Engineerin
Innovation and failure in mechatronics design education
Innovative engineering design always has associated with it the risk of failure, and it is the role of the design engineer to mitigate the possibilities of failure in the final system. Education should however provide a safe space for students to both innovate and to learn about and from failures. However, pressures on course designers and students can result in their adopting a conservative, and risk averse, approach to problem solving. The paper therefore considers the nature of both innovation and failure, and looks at how these might be effectively combined within mechatronics design education
Failure is an option:an innovative engineering curriculum
PurposeAdvancements and innovation in engineering design are based on learning from previous failures but students are encouraged to ‘succeed’ first time and hence can avoid learning from failure in practice. The purpose of the study was to design and evaluate a curriculum to help engineering design students to learn from failure.Design/Methodology/ApproachA new curriculum design provided a case study for evaluating the effects of incorporating learning from failure within a civil engineering course. An analysis of the changes in course output was undertaken in relation to graduate destination data covering 2006 to 2016 and student satisfaction from 2012 to 2017 and a number of challenges and solutions for curriculum designers were identified.FindingsThe design and delivery of an innovative curriculum, within typical constraints, can provide opportunities for students to develop resilience to failure as an integral part of their learning in order to think creatively and develop novel engineering solutions. The key issues identified were: the selection of appropriate teaching methods, creating an environment for exploratory learning, group and team assessments with competitive elements where practicable, and providing students with many different pedagogical approaches to produce a quality learning experience.OriginalityThis case study demonstrates how to design and implement an innovative curriculum that can produce positive benefits of learning from failure. This model can be applied to other disciplines such as building surveying and construction management. This approach underpins the development of skills necessary in the educational experience to develop as a professional building pathologist
Analysing students' attitudes towards the learning of specialized software
In this article the situation of teaching in engineering courses using specialized software support is evaluated and analysed.The statistics courses in engineering often come off as element of formal exposure to statistical analysis and research methods. The software support during classes intends to facilitate and reinforce learning with computational resolution of statistical specific problems. We report a research that investigates students' attitudes towards computers and their effect on statistics unit performance. The preliminary results of research using a small sample of 47 students enrolled in the experimental statistics unit of the 1st year of the master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Minho indicate that software perceived usefulness has a positive effect on student success, although perceived ease of use and perceived self-performance do not influence.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Explorando la Implementación de un Laboratorio Remoto de Impresión 3D para la Enseñanza de las TIC
El uso de las TecnologÃas de la Información y la Comunicación, incluida la impresión 3D, es esencial en la vida moderna, pero su implementación en escuelas se enfrenta a limitaciones como el tiempo, el desperdicio de material y la accesibilidad. Los laboratorios remotos ofrecen una solución al brindar acceso a diversos recursos, mejorando la experiencia de aprendizaje para estudiantes. Se evaluó un laboratorio de impresión 3D proporcionado por LabsLand en centros de secundaria, utilizando un diseño pre/post test. Los resultados demostraron que el laboratorio remoto ayuda a los alumnos a comprender esta tecnologÃa, especialmente en términos de orientación de impresión. La experiencia de usuario también fue medida y los estudiantes mostraron una gran satisfacción, lo que les ayudó a aprender mejor la tecnologÃa. La integración de estos laboratorios remotos puede potenciar la educación en TIC en las escuelas y superar las limitaciones tradicionales
Work in Progress: Vertical Integration of Engineering Design in an Undergraduate BME Curriculum
Relevant and robust biomedical engineering programs integrate challenging, hands-on engineering design projects that require student teams to develop and deliver functional prototypes in response to biomedical design problems. The inclusion of such projects throughout Biomedical Engineering (BME) curricula not only brings active learning to the classroom but helps students improve as team members, decision makers, and problem solvers. This work highlights how sophomore and junior level engineering design projects can increase students’ fundamental engineering design knowledge and self-reported confidence in approaching design projects. By steadily increasing the complexity of engineering design experiences throughout the BME undergraduate curriculum, our continued work studies whether intentional, vertical alignment of engineering experiences ultimately better prepares BME undergraduates for their senior design capstone projects and their professional pursuits
Integration of a wireless sensor network project for introductory circuits and systems teaching
This paper presents an integration of a wireless sensor network design project in an introductory course about circuits and systems. In the project, students will design a wireless sensor network that constitutes of sensors, for a creative surveillance application. Through a versatile project vehicle, project-oriented learning modules, a comprehensive assessment strategy and public learning communities, students can learn contemporary concepts of circuits and systems from the system perspective, as well as develop ability to design a basic electronic system. © 2013 IEEE.published_or_final_versio
Advancements in using a machine design project for teaching introductory electrical engineering
Project-based learning is commonly used in teaching electrical/electronic engineering content. This paper analyses a proposed course that used a Rube Goldberg machine design project for introductory electrical engineering teaching. To facilitate students' learning, two main enhancements of the original course development are described: i) a refurnished project vehicle and new curriculum-framing questions have been proposed to assist students achieving the course's learning outcomes, and ii) tools for idea cultivation, design progress monitoring and design/learning collaboration technologies have been proposed to assist students to direct their learning. © 2013 IEEE.published_or_final_versio
UIndy Engineering DesignSpine: Engineering Leadership Development through Interdisciplinary Teams and Early Exposure to Real Life Problems
The engineering challenges facing the world are very complex, and they require a new type of engineer who can work in interdisciplinary teams as well as multicultural teams to solve open-ended problems. Employers are looking for engineers who have not only technical competency but also systems (broad) and business mindsets. To develop these engineers, the R. B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis (UIndy) developed the DesignSpine. The DesignSpine framework makes it possible to create interdisciplinary teams of students who apply knowledge and principles of Six Sigma, project management, research methods, entrepreneurship, and leadership and communication (SPREL). Furthermore, in the DesignSpine, students create innovative solutions to real-world problems from external stakeholders beginning from their sophomore year. This paper describes the DesignSpine framework and the implementation strategy
Aprendizaje a partir de maneras complementarias de desarrollar capacidades experimentales
Engineering education has solid needs of
experimental competences development.
Nowadays these competences can be worked
not only in traditional laboratories (hands on) but
also through the use of computer simulations
and remote labs. The use of diversified methods
in education and the exploration of new
resources and techniques in classroom may
allow teachers to motivate more students, and
capture their attention due to their different
learning styles.
The main objective of this project is to better
understand the effects on students’ learning
outcomes in different contexts (country, type
of institution, background, etc.). Students
are subjected to similar design approaches
that all use an enquiry-based teaching and
learning methodology. The methodology of
the didactical implementation is based on the
simultaneous use of experimental resources
(hands on, simulation and remote labs) together
with calculus, in class and assessment. To
accomplish this research, several insights
must be taken into consideration, including the
teachers’ mediation in class, in each case, and
the didactical implementations adaptations, but
also external factors, such as socio-cultural and/
or political factors.La educación en ingenierÃa tiene sólidas
necesidades de desarrollo de competencias
experimentales. Hoy en dÃa estas competencias
pueden desarrollarse no solo en los laboratorios
tradicionales (hands-on), sino también a través
de simulaciones y laboratorios remotos. El uso
de métodos diversificados en la educación y la
exploración de nuevos recursos y técnicas en el
aula puede permitir que los maestros motiven a
más estudiantes y capten su atención.
El objetivo principal de este diseño es
comprender mejor los efectos sobre los
resultados de aprendizaje de los estudiantes en
diferentes contextos (paÃs, tipo de institución,
etc.), cuando están sujetos a enfoques de
diseño similares utilizando una metodologÃa
de enseñanza y aprendizaje basada en la
investigación. Esta metodologÃa emplea el uso
simultáneo de recursos experimentales (handson,
simulaciones y laboratorios remotos) junto
con cálculo, en clase y en evaluación. Para
lograr este objetivo, hay que tener en cuenta
varios puntos de vista, como la mediación de
los profesores en cada caso y las adaptaciones
didácticas, además de factores externos, como
por ejemplo los factores socioculturales y/o
polÃticos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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