University-based makerspaces are receiving increasing attention as promising innovations that may contribute to the development of future engineers. Using a theory of social boundary spaces, we investigated whether undergraduate student users at two university-based makerspaces in the United States viewed these spaces as affording their development as well-rounded professionals equipped...
In order to support first-year women in engineering, a program was designed to help their transition to college and promote connection with other women. The program focused on three main areas based in research: mentor matching with mentee input, regular formal meetings in small mentoring groups, and the formation of...
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between career development and locus of control as
they relate to barriers encountered in career development.
The sample included 144 students in the engineering
program at Oregon State University. The Rotter Internal-
External Scale and the Career Development Inventory (Form...
An interpretative philosophical framework was applied to a case study to document the particular experiences and perspectives of ten women engineering transfer students
who once attended a community college and are currently enrolled in one of two university
professional engineering programs. This study is important because women still do not...
Engineering students spend a significant amount of their undergraduate careers focused on technical theory and practice. This intensive student prepares them for their technical challenges in the future. This training is so intense that often the more 'soft skills' such as communication, leadership, design, and troubleshooting are left out or...
Retention of engineering students is a problem for many universities, especially during the first year. The problem of introducing students to engineering while increasing retention rates has recently been addressed by many different universities. Implementing novel lab structures, adjusting the lecture to incorporate more effective teaching techniques, and using orientation...
The purpose of this thesis is to explore civil engineering students’ and professional civil engineers' understanding of concepts within statics and fluid mechanics. The studies described herein begin to examine theories of situated cognition utilizing concept inventories, which are sets of multiple-choice questions where the incorrect answers are based on...
A theoretical argument is presented to suggest that engineering curriculum be
designed to develop social capital. Additionally, the value of social capital in the
retention of students in the College of Engineering, and the development, role, and value
of social capital in an electrical engineering laboratory is evaluated. Data collected...
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Chapter 3 Student Social Capital and Retention in the College of Engineering ............ 35
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...
As people learn new concepts, they experience a process termed conceptual change. There are several theories that attempt to explain conceptual change, and this paper uses the framework theory to explain how students learn mechanics of materials. Semi-structured interviews with ninety students were qualitatively analyzed for this research in an...