Women Studies In Engineering Education: Content Analysis In Three Referred Journals

Little is known about the research characteristics of past women studies in engineering education. In order to add knowledge base about the advanced development of women studies in current engineering education research, the purpose of the study is to investigate research characteristics of past women studies published in three referred engineering education journals from 2000 to 2009 and to propose specific research patterns for engineering educators. This study adopts a four-stage model of content analysis to analyze the collected data. The model contains four major research procedures, including sampling, conceptualization, operationalization, and coding verification. The findings show that the research patterns of past women studies are: (1) The number of annual publication for women studies is limited; (2) Few scholars from South America and Asia-Pacific engage in women studies; (3) Mixed-methods methodology is the less used research design in women studies; (4) Female engineering faculty and K-12 female students are not focuses for engineering educators; (5) Researchers tend to focus on general engineering; and (6) The current trend of research topic centers on female college engineering students’ learning experiences. The research patterns serve as research guidelines for engineering educators who try to explore women issues in engineering education. It is expected that future studies may fill the identified research gaps. Additional in-depth discussion of women studies may be increased as a result of this research.

Students Perceptions Of Success In The Online Graduate-Level Classes: A Self-Directed Learning Perspective

The purpose of this study is to examine the phenomenon of successful online learning, defined as a higher academic performance (A or 90) and to find if there is the evidence to confirm the role of self-directed learning in the online graduate-level courses. A qualitative method was used to analyze learners perceptions of online learning experiences. Six graduate students from an American public university participated in this study. The qualitative analysis yielded six major themes, which confirm the relationship between self-directed learning and academic performance

The Relationship Between Engineering Students Self-Directed Learning Abilities And Online Learning Performances: A Pilot Study

This study aimed to explore engineering students self-directed learning abilities in an online learning environment. The research centered on the correlation relationship between students self-directed learning abilities and learning outcomes. The instructional activity in one experimental study was to simulate an online learning task in the real-world online courses. The results of the study showed that a significant, positive relationship existed between engineering students self-directed learning abilities and online learning performances. High level of self-directed students performed better in the criterion test

Effect Of Instructor-Provided Concept Maps And Self-Directed Learning Ability On Students Online Hypermedia Learning Performance

The purpose of this experimental study was to explore the instructional effectiveness of integrating varied instructor-provided concept maps into an online hypertext learning environment, and the effect of learners self-directed learning abilities on their learning performance. The research adopted a randomized posttest with two-control-group design. Two major instructional treatments were traditional and interactive concept maps embedded in the online hypertext material. One hundred twenty-six undergraduate students from a public university in the U.S. participated in the study. Student participants were segregated into two levels of self-directed learning groups. Three criterion tests, including identification, terminology, and comprehension tests, were used to measure students learning performance. Results indicated that (a) the interactive concept map was superior to the traditional concept map in facilitating students knowledge acquisition, (b) students self-directed learning abilities did not influence their learning performance, and (c) the concept mapping strategy did not increase students self-directed learning abilities

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Smart Technology for Sustainable Curriculum: Using Drone to Support Young Students’ Learning

The study developed a sustainable curriculum in which one smart technology (drone) was employed to inspire student learning. The study investigated the effect of using drones on the development of students’ spatial visualization and sequencing skills and examined related instructional tasks for drone use in the classroom. An after-school drone-flying program was developed at a public elementary school in Taiwan, with 10 third-grade students voluntarily participating in a six-week educational experiment. During drone programming training, young children used a visual block programming language on tablet computers to code lightweight drones. A two-phase research model was adopted to collect the necessary information. In the first phase of the model, a design-based research methodology facilitated the overall instruction preparation process for the four-week workshops. The second phase of the model emphasized a mixed-method research approach, employing a quasi-experimental pretest and post-test design to analyze the effect of drone use and a qualitative method to observe students’ learning behavior and programming work. The results showed that drone programming significantly improved students’ learning of spatial visualization and sequencing skills. Gender, as a potential variable, only influenced students’ programming patterns. Specific programming styles, learning behaviors, and instructional design issues were identified for further discussion

Using a Tablet Computer Application to Advance High School Students’ Laboratory Learning Experiences: A Focus on Electrical Engineering Education

This study proposed an innovative instructional strategy for pre-college engineering education. Learning topics on electrical engineering education in a laboratory setting were selected for further exploration. Specifically, the study investigated how tablet computers with one adopted application influenced student engineering learning. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest research design. The educational experiment lasted for 6 weeks. The research participants comprised 57 ninth-grade students from a public high school in Taiwan. The students employed either a tablet computer or laptop computer to engage in weekly 3-h laboratory studies. A criterion test was developed to measure student knowledge of electrical engineering. The results revealed that the instructional effectiveness was identical for all the students, regardless of whether they used a tablet or laptop computer. However, those using the tablet computers achieved greater learning improvement. In addition, the qualitative data indicated that the tablet computers facilitated student learning in various engineering learning activities. The results of the study suggested that engineering educators in different educational levels might consider similar instructional methods to inspire students’ engineering learning