50,528 research outputs found

    Enhancing Electrical Engineering Technology Capstone Experience

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    The College of Science and Technology (COST) at our university (XXX) offers degrees in Mechanical (MET), Civil (CET) and Electrical Engineering Technology (EET). All the Engineering Technology programs are ABET accredited and have been successful in achieving the TAC2000 outcomes. In particular, our Senior Design capstone course (TEET4010/ 4020) is a comprehensive three-credit, two-semester engineering design course, that all engineering majors are required to take as their capstone experience. We view this course as a very important component in the preparation of a trained EET professional. The course emphasizes both hard and soft skills and serves as an emulation of a real world engineering project. We use both, projects proposed by the faculty and projects contributed from local industry and we partner the teams of student with faculty and industry mentors. As a result of their participation in this course, students are subjected to a real world engineering project development experience for the first time. By participating in real engineering projects, students learn to deal with unplanned events such as: missed deadlines, working in team environment and dealing with difficult team members, even dealing with different industry or faculty mentors. From their participation in the course and the project students get a very valuable learning experience. In this paper, we describe the development of our industry-based projects senior design course. In the next sections we describe the role of the capstone design course in respect to ABET academic outcomes. We also present examples of the type of projects implemented and a summary and listing of future work

    OBE Method of Assessments for Capstone Civil Engineering Project Design

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    Civil Engineering capstone design course has been introduced in UNITEN since Semester 2 2006/2007. In theearlier of the introduction, this subject is considered as an elective subject but during Semester 2 2008/2009, thesubject has become compulsory due to the requirement by Engineering Accreditations Council (EAC). This subjectis a team design project applying engineering and project management principles for multidisciplinary designwhich would involve an integration of Civil Engineering including environmental, geotechnical, structural, watersupply and drainage system, sewerage system, project management and road design. This course has dividedthe design stage into two stages which are preliminary design and final design. This paper is a review paper onthe method of assessment for capstone design course and the example on the implementations of OBE methodassessment in UNITEN. Method of assessment in this subject should be based on the student’s participations,formal presentation, written reports, conceptual and detailed design and finally tender document andconstruction cost estimates. The assessments also including the bloom taxonomy to produce a well balancedstudent with ability to have critical thinking, soft skill and also technical skills. The rubric system makes theassessment easier by implementing range of marks to the quality of the works done by the undergraduate forthe capstone design course. The future predictions of this course would be giving the real engineering projectsto the students to help in the construction of a houses or buildings for poor community. This would expose thestudents to the importance of helping the community as the primary role of civil engineering is to help thecommunity

    Use of Role-play and Gamification in a Software Project Course

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    Soft skills are increasingly important to the engineering profession and course modifications are often needed to ensure students have opportunities to practice them prior to graduation. This suggests that engineering programs need to go beyond simply offering industry-based capstone courses and internships. Role-play has a long history as a tool for learning. It can be used to simulate real world practices in environments where consequences can be mitigated safely. In this paper, we discuss the use of team role-play activities to simulate the experience of working in a professional, game development studio as a means of enhancing an advanced undergraduate game design course. In conjunction with the role-play, a gamification framework was used within the course to allow students to customize their course participation. Gamification was used to reward students for compliance with software process steps and for taking the initiative to improve their “soft skills”. In this project, allowing students to negotiate the nature of their activities and rewards helped them develop those skills. We are using student feedback and our own lessons learned to plan the next iteration of this course

    Week 13: Promoting Occupational Balance During Trauma Healing Journey Post-Program Participation

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    This doctoral capstone project was completed in a partnership with REBOOT Recovery, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting trauma healing through participation in faith-based, peer-led courses. The purpose of this project was to provide program participants with additional content to promote improved occupational performance as they continue into the next phase of the healing journey after completing the original 12-week courses. The project was given the title “Week 13” within the organization to illustrate its role in guiding members’ next steps in trauma healing. Content areas included rebuilding healthy routines, reclaiming restful sleep, conflict resolution in personal relationships, education on participation in the existing REBOOT Advance course, and education about becoming a REBOOT course leader. Each content area also contained critical thinking questions, times for reflection, and step-by-step worksheets. Other content included a blog post to be utilized on the organization’s website. The ultimate goal of the “Week 13” project was that participants will gain knowledge and learn practical strategies to aid them in regaining balance as they continue the difficult journey of overcoming trauma

    Work-integrated learning as a component of the capstone experience in undergraduate law

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    There is currently little guidance in the Australian literature in relation to how to design an effective capstone experience. As a result, universities often fail to provide students with a genuine culminating experience in the final year of their degree. This paper will consider the key objectives of capstone experiences – closure and transition – and will examine how these objectives can be met by a work-integrated learning (WIL) experience. This paper presents an argument for the inclusion of WIL as a component of a capstone experience. WIL is consistent with capstone objectives in focusing on the transition to professional practice. However, the capacity of WIL to meet all of the objectives of capstones may be limited. The paper posits that while WIL should be considered as a potential component of a capstone experience, educators should ensure that WIL is not equated with a capstone experience unless it is carefully designed to ensure that all the objectives of capstones are met

    Benefits of Industry Involvement in Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Courses

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    Opportunities for industry involvement in capstone design courses go beyond industry sponsorship of capstone design projects. Representatives from industry can serve as guest lecturers, curriculum advisors, and design project sponsors and team mentors. Since 2000, industry participation has been a core part of the capstone design course at Marquette University. Practicing engineers provide a relevant, practical real-world perspective of their topic, reinforcing its importance to professional engineering practice. Students and faculty benefit from the up-to-date treatment of the topic provided by guest speakers from industry who have expertise in the topic and are willing to share their experiences with students. Students benefit from industry sponsorship of senior design projects through the opportunity to work on realworld problems of importance to industry, exposure to industry and company-specific project management and product development processes, and familiarity with economic, legal, and regulatory design constraints. This paper provides a brief description of the Multidisciplinary Capstone Design course at Marquette University, examples of industry involvement in the course, and the observed benefits of industry involvement to students, the university, and industry participants. It presents examples of current practices used at other schools as well as helpful recommendations for managing industry participation in capstone design courses

    The association between tolerance for ambiguity and fear of negative evaluation: A study of engineering technology capstone courses

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    For many students in engineering and engineering technology programs in the US, senior capstone design courses require students to form a team, define a problem, and find a feasible technical solution to address this problem. Students must integrate the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies at the college or university level. These truly integrative design activities do not have a single “correct” solution. Instead, there is an array of solutions, many of which could be used to achieve the final result. This ambiguity can cause students to experience anxiety during the projects. This study examined the main topics: • To what extent is a social anxiety (measured as fear of negative evaluation) related to tolerance for ambiguity in senior engineering capstone courses? • How does exposure to ambiguity prior to and during capstone courses affect tolerance for ambiguity? The study looked at the standard educational practices to see if they have unintended consequences, such a social anxiety in dealing with ambiguity. Those consequences are highly undesirable because they reduce students’ learning. It was hypothesized that the lecture-based approaches that are more common in the first three years of study would not prepare students for self-directed capstone courses because the students would rarely have experienced problem-based learning before. The study used a quantitative approach and examined students’ perceptions of their tolerance for ambiguity, and social anxiety before and after their senior capstone design experience. A survey instrument was adapted to measure exposure to ambiguity, which was studied as a potential moderator of the relationship between social anxiety and tolerance for ambiguity. The study indicated that social anxiety, as measured by fear of negative evaluation, does not play a major role in capstone courses. The second finding is that a single course, even if it was administered as a problem-based senior class, failed to increase students’ tolerance for ambiguity. Students with low tolerance have more problems with ambiguity, whereas students with high tolerance can more easily endure changes and find it easier to act in the absence of complete information. The third important finding was that exposure to ambiguity prior to capstone courses does affect tolerance for ambiguity while controlling for instructor and if exposure to ambiguity is included as a moderator. It was not in the scope of this study to explore the effect of instructor more deeply, but this provides a direction for future research, especially in this time of expanding implementation of project- and problem-based learning methods in technical curricula

    Lessons Learned from a 10-Year Collaboration Between Biomedical Engineering and Industrial Design Students in Capstone Design Projects

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    Engineers and industrial designers have different approaches to problem solving. Both place heavy emphasis on identification of customer needs, manufacturing methods, and prototyping. Industrial designers focus on aesthetics, ergonomics, ease of use, manufacturing methods, and the user’s experience. They tend to be more visual and more concerned with the interaction between users and products. Engineers focus on functionality, performance requirements, analytical modeling, and design verification and validation. They tend to be more analytical and more concerned with the design of internal components and product performance. Engineers and industrial designers often work together on project teams in industry. Collaboration between the two groups on senior capstone design projects can teach each to respect and value the unique contributions each brings to the project team, result in improved design solutions, and help prepare students for future collaboration in industry. Student feedback and lessons learned by faculty and students from a ten-year collaboration between engineering and industrial design students from Marquette University and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, respectively, are presented. Students learned to communicate with people in other disciplines, appreciate the complementary skills of each discipline, and value different approaches to problem solving
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