The purpose of this study was to understand how refrigeration, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (RHVAC) service technicians (techs) learned from troubleshooting. This understanding resulted in instructional and curricular strategies designed to help community colleges prepare vocational students to learn more effectively from informal workplace learning. RHVAC techs were studied...
As the Tekbots program expands into senior and graduate level classes at Oregon State University, so does the need arise for more complex learning platforms. These complex hardware platforms cannot be adequately tested in a manufacturing environment as we have done previously. Also, due to their complexity, these platforms require...
Problem-based learning (PBL) is one type of inquiry-based learning. Many community college instructors use inquiry-based learning as an instructional strategy. There is much literature on the use of problem-based learning in undergraduate, graduate and medical school education, with a multitude of examples of specific techniques and problems to be addressed,...
Reform in science education has often emphasized task-based learning as an instructional method to improve student understanding and retention of concepts, and to promote the development of reasoning and problem-solving. Yet studies assessing student knowledge at the beginning and end of a task-based class show mixed results. Students in task-based...
What are the most effective ways to improve the engineering curriculum? Improvements should result in increased student retention, undergraduates who are more industry-ready and graduates who are better prepared to be leaders. Current research suggests that the best predictor of persistence is a person’s self-efficacy. The focus of this thesis...
Prior research has noted the changing demographics of higher education since the Civil Rights Movement and the expanded need for multicultural education. Armando Hernandez Morales (2003) wrote that, “A multiculturally competent person is aware of and knowledgeable about cultural differences, their own cultural identity, and the history and contemporary struggles...
From September, 1984 through March, 1985, I worked as a Visiting
Intern for the Division of Special Programs, College of Arts and Sciences,
Northeastern University (NU). My position entailed the administration and
promotion of university marine related projects. The Division of Special
Programs is responsible for the development, implementation and...
The purpose of study was to investigate college algebra students' understanding of function concepts. In addition, their solution strategies and algebraic thinking and reasoning were explored. Twenty-four volunteer students from one college algebra
recitation class participated in the study to access their understanding of functions. Five
out of 24 volunteer...
Geospatial technology is a rapidly growing and changing field. The term geospatial technology (GST) refers to geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and remote sensing (RS), all emerging technologies that assist the user in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of spatial data. The speed at which new fields...
The purpose of the study was to provide a method for evaluating the effect, impact or role that (as perceived by automotive, diesel, automotive collision faculty and administrators) the nationally recognized industry training standards developed by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) have on the...