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Sample records for project students design

  1. Student design projects in applied acoustics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bös, Joachim; Moritz, Karsten; Skowronek, Adam; Thyes, Christian; Tschesche, Johannes; Hanselka, Holger

    2012-03-01

    This paper describes a series of student projects which are intended to complement theoretical education in acoustics and engineering noise control with practical experience. The projects are also intended to enhance the students' ability to work in a team, to manage a project, and to present their results. The projects are carried out in close cooperation with industrial partners so that the students can get a taste of the professional life of noise control engineers. The organization of such a project, its execution, and some of the results from the most recent student project are presented as a demonstrative example. This latest project involved the creation of noise maps of a production hall, the acoustic analysis of a packaging machine, and the acoustic analysis of a spiral vibratory conveyor. Upon completion of the analysis, students then designed, applied, and verified some simple preliminary noise reduction measures to demonstrate the potential of these techniques. © 2012 Acoustical Society of America

  2. Student-Designed Service-Learning Projects in an Undergraduate Neurobiology Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katharine V. Northcutt

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available One of the challenges in teaching a service-learning course is obtaining student buy-in from all students in the course. To circumvent this problem, I have let students in my undergraduate Neurobiology course design their own service-learning projects at the beginning of the semester. Although this can be chaotic because it requires last-minute planning, I have made it successful through facilitating student communication in the classroom, requiring thorough project proposals, meeting with students regularly, and monitoring group progress through written reflection papers. Most of my students have strong opinions about the types of projects that they want to carry out, and many students have used connections that they have already made with local organizations. Almost all projects that students have designed to this point involve teaching basic concepts of neurobiology to children of various ages while simultaneously sparking their interest in science. Through taking ownership of the project and designing it such that it works well with their strengths, interests, and weekly schedule, students have become more engaged in service learning and view it as a valuable experience. Despite some class time being shifted away from more traditional assignments, students have performed equally well in the course, and they are more eager to talk with others about course concepts. Furthermore, the feedback that I have received from community partners has been excellent, and some students have maintained their work with the organizations.

  3. Project-Based Learning and Design-Focused Projects to Motivate Secondary Mathematics Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remijan, Kelly W.

    2017-01-01

    This article illustrates how mathematics teachers can develop design-focused projects, related to project-based learning, to motivate secondary mathematics students. With first-hand experience as a secondary mathematics teacher, I provide a series of steps related to the engineering design process, which are helpful to teachers in developing…

  4. A series of student design projects for improving and modernizing safety helmets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beurden, van K.M.M. (Karin); Boer, de J. (Johannes); Stilma, M. (Margot); Teeuw, W.B. (Wouter)

    2014-01-01

    The Saxion Research Centre for Design and Technology employs many students during research projects. This paper discusses a series of student design projects on safety helmets in the Safety@Work project. At construction sites workers are required to wear personal protective equipment during their

  5. Implementing a Student-Designed Green Chemistry Laboratory Project in Organic Chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Kate J.; Jones, T. Nicholas; Schaller, Chris P.; McIntee, Edward J.

    2014-01-01

    A multiweek organic chemistry laboratory project is described that emphasizes sustainable practices in experimental design. An emphasis on student-driven development of the project is meant to mirror the independent nature of research. Students propose environmentally friendly modifications of several reactions. With instructor feedback, students…

  6. Cultivation of students' engineering designing ability based on optoelectronic system course project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Danhua; Wu, Yubin; Li, Jingping

    2017-08-01

    We carry out teaching based on optoelectronic related course group, aiming at junior students majored in Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering. " Optoelectronic System Course Project " is product-designing-oriented and lasts for a whole semester. It provides a chance for students to experience the whole process of product designing, and improve their abilities to search literature, proof schemes, design and implement their schemes. In teaching process, each project topic is carefully selected and repeatedly refined to guarantee the projects with the knowledge integrity, engineering meanings and enjoyment. Moreover, we set up a top team with professional and experienced teachers, and build up learning community. Meanwhile, the communication between students and teachers as well as the interaction among students are taken seriously in order to improve their team-work ability and communicational skills. Therefore, students are not only able to have a chance to review the knowledge hierarchy of optics, electronics, and computer sciences, but also are able to improve their engineering mindset and innovation consciousness.

  7. Educational Designs Supporting Student Engagement Through Network Project Studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jørgen Lerche

    2016-01-01

    Internationally, new pedagogical approaches emphasizing collaboration or learning in networks have been developed following the introduction of new technologies, especially the spread of social media. It is interesting to see such pedagogical developments in relation to similar approaches......, developed from the traditions of organizing university studies through student-driven project work and problem-driven learning approaches, which have been developed at the Danish universities of Roskilde and Aalborg as early as from the beginning of the 1970s. Specific educational designs integrating...... digital media are discussed, especially focusing on student engagement and the implications of organizing the pedagogical practice as networked project work. The discussions are based on the author’s experiences during 16 years of teaching and supervising at the Danish Master’s Program of ICT and Learning...

  8. 20% Research & Design Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spear, Beth A.

    2015-04-01

    A project allowing employees to use 15 % of their time on independent projects was established at 3M in the 1950's. The result of this project included products like post it notes and masking tape. Google allows its employees to use 20% of their time on independently pursued projects. The company values creativity and innovation. Employees are allowed to explore projects of interest to them one day out of the week, 20 % of their work week. Products like AdSense, Gmail, Google Transit, Google News, and Google Talk are the result of this 20 % program. My school is implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as part of our regularly scheduled curriculum review. These new standards focus on the process of learning by doing and designing. The NGSS are very hands on and active. The new standards emphasize learning how to define, understand and solve problems in science and technology. In today's society everyone needs to be familiar with science and technology. This project allows students to develop and practice skills to help them be more comfortable and confident with science and technology while exploring something of interest to them. This project includes three major parts: research, design, and presentation. Students will spend approximately 2-4 weeks defining a project proposal and educating themselves by researching a science and technology topic that is of interest to them. In the next phase, 2-4 weeks, students design a product or plan to collect data for something related to their topic. The time spent on research and design will be dependant on the topic students select. Projects should be ambitious enough to encompass about six weeks. Lastly a presentation or demonstration incorporating the research and design of the project is created, peer reviewed and presented to the class. There are some problems anticipated or already experienced with this project. It is difficult for all students to choose a unique topic when you have large class sizes

  9. The Effect of STEM Learning through the Project of Designing Boat Model toward Student STEM Literacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tati, T.; Firman, H.; Riandi, R.

    2017-09-01

    STEM Learning focusses on development of STEM-literate society, the research about implementation of STEM learning to develope students’ STEM literacy is still limited. This study is aimed to examine the effect of implementation STEM learning through the project of designing boat model on students STEM literacy in energy topic. The method of this study was a quasi-experiment with non-randomized pretest-posttest control group design. There were two classes involved, the experiment class used Project Based Learning with STEM approach and control class used Project-Based Learning without STEM approach. A STEM Literacy test instrument was developed to measure students STEM literacy which consists of science literacy, mathematics literacy, and technology-engineering literacy. The analysis showed that there were significant differences on improvement science literacy, mathematics technology-engineering between experiment class and control class with effect size more than 0.8 (large effect). The difference of improvement of STEM literacy between experiment class and control class is caused by the existence of design engineering activity which required students to apply the knowledge from every field of STEM. The challenge that was faced in STEM learning through design engineering activity was how to give the students practice to integrate STEM field in solving the problems. In additional, most of the students gave positive response toward implementation of STEM learning through design boat model project.

  10. Feasibility, Design and Construction of a Small Hydroelectric Power Generation Station as a Student Design Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, James N.; Hess, Herbert L.

    An undergraduate capstone engineering design project now provides hydroelectric power to a remote wilderness location. Students investigated the feasibility of designing, building, and installing a 4kW hydroelectric system to satisfy the need for electric power to support the research and teaching functions of Taylor Ranch, a university facility…

  11. System design projects for undergraduate design education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batill, S. M.; Pinkelman, J.

    1993-01-01

    Design education has received considerable in the recent past. This paper is intended to address one aspect of undergraduate design education and that is the selection and development of the design project for a capstone design course. Specific goals for a capstone design course are presented and their influence on the project selection are discussed. The evolution of a series of projects based upon the design of remotely piloted aircraft is presented along with students' perspective on the capstone experience.

  12. Nature-inspired design strategies in sustainable product development : A case study of student projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Pauw, I.C.; Karana, E.; Kandachar, P.V.

    2012-01-01

    In design practice, Nature-Inspired Design Strategies (NIDS) can be applied when developing sustainable products. However, knowledge on how this actually helps designers is lacking. This study explores the effects of applying Cradle to Cradle and Biomimicry in student projects, as compared to using

  13. Experiences with Designing a Team Project Module for Teaching Teamwork to Students

    OpenAIRE

    Bieliková, Mária

    2005-01-01

    Team projects play an important role in the education of engineers. This paper describes a team project module (called Team project) that is part of a postgraduate course in Informatics. Its main objective is to give students a hands-on experience with different aspects of working in team on a problem. We discuss several aspects that should be considered in designing such module as a part of a curriculum: team formation, team communication, team assessment, problem statement and assignment, d...

  14. Students as Learning Designers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levinsen, Karin; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm

    2013-01-01

    This paper focuses on students in the youngest classes at primary school as learning designers of ICT-integrated productions. It is based on the project Netbook 1:1 (2009-2012) funded by the municipality of Gentofte and Microsoft Denmark. The paper presents a model for designing ICT-integrated st......This paper focuses on students in the youngest classes at primary school as learning designers of ICT-integrated productions. It is based on the project Netbook 1:1 (2009-2012) funded by the municipality of Gentofte and Microsoft Denmark. The paper presents a model for designing ICT......-integrated student productions which was developed during the project in relation to different subjects. Ownership, iteration and feedforward are the central concepts in this model. Two exemplary cases are presented illustrating the students’ and teachers’ roles as learning designers in relation to the model...

  15. The Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) - building the STEM workforce by providing exciting, multi-disciplinary, student-led suborbital flight projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dingwall, B. J.

    2015-12-01

    NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) recognizes that suborbital carriers play a vital role in training our country's future science and technology leaders. SMD created the Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) to offer students the opportunity to design, build, and fly instruments on NASA's unique suborbital research platforms. This paper explores the projects, the impact, and the lessons learned of USIP. USIP required undergraduate teams to design, build, and fly a scientific instrument in 18 months or less. Students were required to form collaborative multidisciplinary teams to design, develop and build their instrument. Teams quickly learned that success required skills often overlooked in an academic environment. Teams quickly learned to share technical information in a clear and concise manner that could be understood by other disciplines. The aggressive schedule required team members to hold each other accountable for progress while maintaining team unity. Unanticipated problems and technical issues led students to a deeper understanding of the need for schedule and cost reserves. Students exited the program with a far deeper understanding of project management and team dynamics. Through the process of designing and building an instrument that will enable new research transforms students from textbook learners to developers of new knowledge. The initial USIP project funded 10 undergraduate teams that flew a broad range of scientific instruments on scientific balloons, sounding rockets, commercial rockets and aircraft. Students were required to prepare for and conduct the major reviews that are an integral part of systems development. Each project conducted a Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review and Mission Readiness review for NASA officials and flight platform providers. By preparing and presenting their designs to technical experts, the students developed a deeper understanding of the technical and programmatic project pieces that

  16. Designing informal learning spaces using student perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew David Riddle

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the design of informal learning spaces at an Australian university that support students in the generation of knowledge. Recent learning space design projects at La Trobe have been informed by a number of pre-existing projects, including a small research project on student use of technologies, a national project on learning space design, and a significant curriculum renewal process at the university. It demonstrates the ways in which evidence based on student perspectives and principles developed through applied research in teaching and learning can inform real world learning space design projects in a higher education context.

  17. Designing informal learning spaces using student perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Matthew David Riddle; Kay Souter

    2012-01-01

    This article describes the design of informal learning spaces at an Australian university that support students in the generation of knowledge. Recent learning space design projects at La Trobe have been informed by a number of pre-existing projects, including a small research project on student use of technologies, a national project on learning space design, and a significant curriculum renewal process at the university. It demonstrates the ways in which evidence based on student perspectiv...

  18. Extending Sociotechnical design to project conception

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kampf, Constance

    2009-01-01

    between knowledge and technology through knowledge communication processes, cultural and rhetorical contexts. This connection is examined from a process point of view through the development of project goals and objectives to situate technology. The data comes from a Project Management course in which...... the students were asked to design and plan projects to situate a mobile phone game in the social context around a museum in Helsinki or their online course management system.   The paper traces the evolution of students' project goals and objectives with respect to knowledge communication theory, demonstrating...... the potential of knowledge communication concepts for socio-technical design processes, as well as the implications of socio-technical design processes in extending our understanding of knowledge communication. Keywords: Knowledge Communication, Knowledge Management, Socio-Technical Design, Project Management....

  19. Doing the Project and Learning the Content: Designing Project-Based Science Curricula for Meaningful Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanter, David E.

    2010-01-01

    Project-based science curricula can improve students' usable or meaningful understanding of the science content underlying a project. However, such curricula designed around "performances" wherein students design or make something do not always do this. We researched ways to design performance project-based science curricula (pPBSc) to better…

  20. Lights! Camera! Action Projects! Engaging Psychopharmacology Students in Service-based Action Projects Focusing on Student Alcohol Abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Susan

    2016-01-01

    Alcohol abuse continues to be an issue of major concern for the health and well-being of college students. Estimates are that over 80% of college students are involved in the campus "alcohol culture." Annually, close to 2000 students die in the United States due to alcohol-related accidents, with another 600,000 sustaining injury due to alcohol-related incidents (NIAAA, 2013). Students enrolled in a Psychopharmacology course engaged in action projects (community outreach) focused on alcohol abuse on our campus. Research has indicated that these types of projects can increase student engagement in course material and foster important skills, including working with peers and developing involvement in one's community. This paper describes the structure and requirements of five student outreach projects and the final projects designed by the students, summarizes the grading and assessment of the projects, and discusses the rewards and challenges of incorporating such projects into a course.

  1. Research oriented projects on design themese

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tollestrup, Christian; Eriksen, Kaare; Ovesen, Nis

    2011-01-01

    How can design students do research-oriented projects about design themes? At the 3rd semester at the Industrial Design Master Program at Aalborg University this is done by taking research oriented learning objectives on design theories and methods and combining them with experimental case studie...... and professional self-reflection amongst students are improved....

  2. Student Attitudes Towards and Impressions of Project Citizen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Winstead FRY

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Project Citizen is a civic education curriculum used across the United States and internationally, yet research about its impact on students is lacking in the literature. This article reports the results of a preliminary study designed to answer the following questions: What are students’ attitudes toward and perceptions of Project Citizen? How do their attitudes and perceptions compare to those of students who completed senior projects? Tenhigh school students and 23 first-year college students completed a questionnaire designed for this study. Our findings indicate that the high school students had positive perceptions of Project Citizen, and they self-reported anunderstanding and high levels of efficacy regarding civic responsibility. In contrast, the first-year college students had lower levels of efficacy regarding civic responsibility. Our findings suggest the importance of specific learning experiences to help students develop civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and indicate the need for further research into civic programs such as Project Citizen

  3. Various advanced design projects promoting engineering education

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-01-01

    The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) Advanced Design Program (ADP) program promotes engineering education in the field of design by presenting students with challenging design projects drawn from actual NASA interests. In doing so, the program yields two very positive results. Firstly, the students gain a valuable experience that will prepare them for design problems with which they will be faced in their professional careers. Secondly, NASA is able to use the work done by students as an additional resource in meeting its own design objectives. The 1994 projects include: Universal Test Facility; Automated Protein Crystal Growth Facility; Stiffening of the ACES Deployable Space Boom; Launch System Design for Access to Space; LH2 Fuel Tank Design for SSTO Vehicle; and Feed System Design for a Reduced Pressure Tank.

  4. Teachers’ Learning Design Practice for Students as Learning Designers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levinsen, Karin Tweddell; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm

    2018-01-01

    This paper contributes with elements of an emerging learning design methodology. The paper takes as its starting point the theory of Students as Learning Designers, which was developed by Sørensen and Levinsen and based on more than a decade of research-and-development projects in Danish primary...... schools (first to 10th grade). The research focussed on information and communication technology (ICT) within the Scandinavian tradition of Problem Oriented Project Pedagogy (POPP), Problem Based Learning (PBL) and students’ production. In recent years, the projects that provide the grounding...... for the theory have focussed specifically on learning designs that constitute students as learning designers of digital productions (both multimodal and coded productions). This includes learning designs that contribute to students’ empowerment, involvement and autonomy within the teacher-designed frameworks...

  5. Research and Development Projects with ICT and students as learning designers in Primary Schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levinsen, Karin; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm; Tosca, Susana

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we present some methodological challenges that emerged during the process of shaping the research design for the comprehensive and complex research project Children as learning designers in a digital school. The project is the realization of our proposal to a research call from...... to the need to strengthen the populations’ digital literacy and 21st century competencies. The call’s scope was research and development projects as pilot school experiments in relation to five selected areas. The selected projects should contribute with new generalizable and practice oriented knowledge...... of how: • ICT supports students learning, • ICT release time for more teaching, and • teachers digital literacy impact on the role of ICT in the educational practice. Further the call required collaboration between universities and university colleges in order to disseminate knowledge and new practices...

  6. An Exploratory Study of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies in a Design Project by Students in Grades 9-12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawanto, Oenardi; Butler, Deborah; Cartier, Sylvie; Santoso, Harry; Lawanto, Kevin; Clark, David

    2013-01-01

    This exploratory study evaluated self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies of 27 students in grades 9-12 during an engineering design project. The specific focus of the study was on student task interpretation and its relation to planning and cognitive strategies in design activities. Two research questions guided the study: (1) To what degree was…

  7. Biotechnology by Design: An Introductory Level, Project-Based, Synthetic Biology Laboratory Program for Undergraduate Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Dale L; Alvarez, Consuelo J

    2015-12-01

    Synthetic biology offers an ideal opportunity to promote undergraduate laboratory courses with research-style projects, immersing students in an inquiry-based program that enhances the experience of the scientific process. We designed a semester-long, project-based laboratory curriculum using synthetic biology principles to develop a novel sensory device. Students develop subject matter knowledge of molecular genetics and practical skills relevant to molecular biology, recombinant DNA techniques, and information literacy. During the spring semesters of 2014 and 2015, the Synthetic Biology Laboratory Project was delivered to sophomore genetics courses. Using a cloning strategy based on standardized BioBrick genetic "parts," students construct a "reporter plasmid" expressing a reporter gene (GFP) controlled by a hybrid promoter regulated by the lac-repressor protein (lacI). In combination with a "sensor plasmid," the production of the reporter phenotype is inhibited in the presence of a target environmental agent, arabinose. When arabinose is absent, constitutive GFP expression makes cells glow green. But the presence of arabinose activates a second promoter (pBAD) to produce a lac-repressor protein that will inhibit GFP production. Student learning was assessed relative to five learning objectives, using a student survey administered at the beginning (pre-survey) and end (post-survey) of the course, and an additional 15 open-ended questions from five graded Progress Report assignments collected throughout the course. Students demonstrated significant learning gains (p Biology Laboratory Project enhanced their understanding of molecular genetics. The laboratory project is highly adaptable for both introductory and advanced courses.

  8. Contextual Shaping of Student Design Practices: The Role of Constraint in First-Year Engineering Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goncher, Andrea M.

    thResearch on engineering design is a core area of concern within engineering education, and a fundamental understanding of how engineering students approach and undertake design is necessary in order to develop effective design models and pedagogies. This dissertation contributes to scholarship on engineering design by addressing a critical, but as yet underexplored, problem: how does the context in which students design shape their design practices? Using a qualitative study comprising of video data of design sessions, focus group interviews with students, and archives of their design work, this research explored how design decisions and actions are shaped by context, specifically the context of higher education. To develop a theoretical explanation for observed behavior, this study used the nested structuration. framework proposed by Perlow, Gittell, & Katz (2004). This framework explicated how teamwork is shaped by mutually reinforcing relationships at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. I appropriated this framework to look specifically at how engineering students working on a course-related design project identify constraints that guide their design and how these constraints emerge as students interact while working on the project. I first identified and characterized the parameters associated with the design project from the student perspective and then, through multi-case studies of four design teams, I looked at the role these parameters play in student design practices. This qualitative investigation of first-year engineering student design teams revealed mutual and interconnected relationships between students and the organizations and institutions that they are a part of. In addition to contributing to research on engineering design, this work provides guidelines and practices to help design educators develop more effective design projects by incorporating constraints that enable effective design and learning. Moreover, I found

  9. The Impact of Student-Directed Projects in Introductory Statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spence, Dianna J.; Bailey, Brad; Sharp, Julia L.

    2017-01-01

    A multi-year study investigated the impact of incorporating student-directed discovery projects into introductory statistics courses. Pilot instructors at institutions across the United States taught statistics implementing student-directed projects with the help of a common set of instructional materials designed to facilitate such projects.…

  10. A web-based online collaboration platform for formulating engineering design projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varikuti, Sainath

    Effective communication and collaboration among students, faculty and industrial sponsors play a vital role while formulating and solving engineering design projects. With the advent in the web technology, online platforms and systems have been proposed to facilitate interactions and collaboration among different stakeholders in the context of senior design projects. However, there are noticeable gaps in the literature with respect to understanding the effects of online collaboration platforms for formulating engineering design projects. Most of the existing literature is focused on exploring the utility of online platforms on activities after the problem is defined and teams are formed. Also, there is a lack of mechanisms and tools to guide the project formation phase in senior design projects, which makes it challenging for students and faculty to collaboratively develop and refine project ideas and to establish appropriate teams. In this thesis a web-based online collaboration platform is designed and implemented to share, discuss and obtain feedback on project ideas and to facilitate collaboration among students and faculty prior to the start of the semester. The goal of this thesis is to understand the impact of an online collaboration platform for formulating engineering design projects, and how a web-based online collaboration platform affects the amount of interactions among stakeholders during the early phases of design process. A survey measuring the amount of interactions among students and faculty is administered. Initial findings show a marked improvement in the students' ability to share project ideas and form teams with other students and faculty. Students found the online platform simple to use. The suggestions for improving the tool generally included features that were not necessarily design specific, indicating that the underlying concept of this collaborative platform provides a strong basis and can be extended for future online platforms

  11. Designing and Implementing a Unique Website Design Project in an Undergraduate Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontos, George

    2016-01-01

    The following paper describes a distinctive collaborative service-learning project done in an undergraduate class on web design. In this project, students in a web design class contacted local community non-profit organizations to create websites (collections of web pages) to benefit these organizations. The two phases of creating a website,…

  12. Geoscience Education Research Project: Student Benefits and Effective Design of a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kortz, Karen M.; van der Hoeven Kraft, Katrien J.

    2016-01-01

    Undergraduate research has been shown to be an effective practice for learning science. While this is a popular discussion topic, there are few full examples in the literature for introductory-level students. This paper describes the Geoscience Education Research Project, an innovative course-based research experience designed for…

  13. Designing and Developing an Effective Safety Program for a Student Project Team

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Catton

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In the workplace, safety must be the first priority of all employers and employees alike. In order to maintain the safety and well-being of their employees, employers must demonstrate due diligence and provide the appropriate safety training to familiarize employees with the hazards within the workplace. Although, a studentproject team” is not a business, the work done by students for their respective teams is synonymous with the work done in a place of business and thus requires that similar safety precautions and training be administered to students by their team leads and faculty advisors. They take on the role of supervisors within the team dynamic. Student teams often utilize the guidelines and policies that their universities or colleges have developed in order to build a set of standard operating procedures and safety training modules. These guidelines aid in providing a base for training for the team, however, they are no substitute for training specific to the safety risks associated with the work the team is doing. In order to comply with these requirements, a full analysis of the workplace is required to be completed. A variety of safety analysis techniques need to be applied to define the hazards within the workplace and institute appropriate measures to mitigate them. In this work, a process is developed for establishing a safety training program for a student project team, utilizing systems safety management techniques and the aspect of gamification to produce incentives for students to continue developing their skills. Although, systems safety management is typically applied to the design of active safety components or systems, the techniques for identifying and mitigating hazards can be applied in the same fashion to the workplace. They allow one to analyze their workplace and determine the hazards their employees might encounter, assign appropriate hazard ratings and segregate each respective hazard by their risks. In so

  14. Rollin' in Style!: Students Design Bike Mounted Skateboard Racks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massey, Rick

    2008-01-01

    Recognizing the increasing popularity of skateboarding, the author has found a project that teaches design and manufacturing concepts--and, of equal importance, really gets his students motivated. He challenges them to design and build a skateboard rack that mounts easily on a bicycle. The project benefits students by teaching creativity, the…

  15. Cross-disciplinary, authentic student research projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heck, A.; Uylings, P.; Kędzierska, E.; Ellermeijer, T.

    2010-01-01

    In the Dutch secondary education system, students must carry out at the end of their school career a rather large research or design project to demonstrate their ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills while pursuing a research question or design goal in some depth. They are encouraged to

  16. Interdisciplinary project-based learning: technology for improving student cognition

    OpenAIRE

    Natalia Stozhko; Boris Bortnik; Ludmila Mironova; Albina Tchernysheva; Ekaterina Podshivalova

    2015-01-01

    The article studies a way of enhancing student cognition by using interdisciplinary project-based learning (IPBL) in a higher education institution. IPBL is a creative pedagogic approach allowing students of one area of specialisation to develop projects for students with different academic profiles. The application of this approach in the Ural State University of Economics resulted in a computer-assisted learning system (CALS) designed by IT students. The CALS was used in an analytical chemi...

  17. Speeding up development activities in student projects with time boxing and scrum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ovesen, Nis; Eriksen, Kaare; Tollestrup, Christian

    2011-01-01

    This research project investigates how procedures from agile software development can be of benefit to development activities in projects of design engineering students. The agile methods Scrum and Time boxing are evaluated through a student workshop focusing on near-future concepts for design...... competitions. Scrum meetings within the student design teams are conducted and video documented each hour throughout the workshop activities as a structured process evaluation tool. Based on a subsequent student survey it is argued that scrum and time boxing are strengthening the focus, communication...

  18. Project Magnify: Increasing Reading Skills in Students with Low Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmer, Jeanie; Morse, Stephen E.

    2007-01-01

    Modeled after Project PAVE (Corn et al., 2003) in Tennessee, Project Magnify is designed to test the idea that students with low vision who use individually prescribed magnification devices for reading will perform as well as or better than students with low vision who use large-print reading materials. Sixteen students with low vision were…

  19. A biotic game design project for integrated life science and engineering education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cira, Nate J; Chung, Alice M; Denisin, Aleksandra K; Rensi, Stefano; Sanchez, Gabriel N; Quake, Stephen R; Riedel-Kruse, Ingmar H

    2015-03-01

    Engaging, hands-on design experiences are key for formal and informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Robotic and video game design challenges have been particularly effective in stimulating student interest, but equivalent experiences for the life sciences are not as developed. Here we present the concept of a "biotic game design project" to motivate student learning at the interface of life sciences and device engineering (as part of a cornerstone bioengineering devices course). We provide all course material and also present efforts in adapting the project's complexity to serve other time frames, age groups, learning focuses, and budgets. Students self-reported that they found the biotic game project fun and motivating, resulting in increased effort. Hence this type of design project could generate excitement and educational impact similar to robotics and video games.

  20. Creativity Processes of Students in the Design Studio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Amy Mattingly; Leigh, Katharine E.; Tremblay, Kenneth R., Jr.

    2012-01-01

    The creative process is a multifaceted and dynamic path of thinking required to execute a project in design-based disciplines. The goal of this research was to test a model outlining the creative design process by investigating student experiences in a design project assignment. The study used an exploratory design to collect data from student…

  1. Design and implementation of a project-based active/cooperative engineering design course for freshmen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdulaal, R. M.; Al-Bahi, A. M.; Soliman, A. Y.; Iskanderani, F. I.

    2011-08-01

    A project-based active/cooperative design course is planned, implemented, assessed and evaluated to achieve several desired engineering outcomes. The course allows freshman-level students to gain professional hands-on engineering design experience through an opportunity to practise teamwork, quality principles, communication skills, life-long learning, realistic constraints and awareness of current domestic and global challenges. Throughout successive design reports and in-class assignments, the students are required by the end of the semester to communicate, clearly and concisely, the details of their design both orally and in writing through a functional artefact/prototype, a design notebook, an A0 project poster and a final oral presentation. In addition to these direct assessment tools, several indirect measures are used to ensure triangulation. Assignments are based on customer expectations using a detailed checklist. This paper shows the direct and indirect assessment tools that indicated a high level of achievement of course learning outcomes and a high level of student satisfaction.

  2. Helping Students Design HyperCard Stacks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, Ken

    1995-01-01

    Discusses how to teach students to design HyperCard stacks. Highlights include introducing HyperCard, developing storyboards, introducing design concepts and scripts, presenting stacks, evaluating storyboards, and continuing projects. A sidebar presents a HyperCard stack evaluation form. (AEF)

  3. A biotic game design project for integrated life science and engineering education.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nate J Cira

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Engaging, hands-on design experiences are key for formal and informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM education. Robotic and video game design challenges have been particularly effective in stimulating student interest, but equivalent experiences for the life sciences are not as developed. Here we present the concept of a "biotic game design project" to motivate student learning at the interface of life sciences and device engineering (as part of a cornerstone bioengineering devices course. We provide all course material and also present efforts in adapting the project's complexity to serve other time frames, age groups, learning focuses, and budgets. Students self-reported that they found the biotic game project fun and motivating, resulting in increased effort. Hence this type of design project could generate excitement and educational impact similar to robotics and video games.

  4. Implementing Project Based Learning Approach to Graphic Design Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riyanti, Menul Teguh; Erwin, Tuti Nuriah; Suriani, S. H.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a learning model based Commercial Graphic Design Drafting project-based learning approach, was chosen as a strategy in the learning product development research. University students as the target audience of this model are the students of the fifth semester Visual Communications Design Studies Program…

  5. Urban High School Student Engagement through CincySTEM iTEST Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckett, Gulbahar H.; Hemmings, Annette; Maltbie, Catherine; Wright, Kathy; Sherman, Melissa; Sersion, Brian

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on the notable heightening of underrepresented students' engagement in STEM education through project-based learning CincySTEM iTEST projects. The projects, funded by an iTEST NSF grant, were designed and facilitated by teachers at a new STEM urban public high school serving low-income African-American students. Student…

  6. Project Management Approaches for Online Learning Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eby, Gulsun; Yuzer, T. Volkan

    2013-01-01

    Developments in online learning and its design are areas that continue to grow in order to enhance students' learning environments and experiences. However, in the implementation of new technologies, the importance of properly and fairly overseeing these courses is often undervalued. "Project Management Approaches for Online Learning Design"…

  7. Research and Development Projects with ICT and students as learning designers in Primary Schools: A methodological challenge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levinsen, Karin Ellen Tweddell; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm; Tosca, Susana

    of how: • ICT supports students learning, • ICT release time for more teaching, and • teachers digital literacy impact on the role of ICT in the educational practice. Further the call required collaboration between universities and university colleges in order to disseminate knowledge and new practices......In this paper we present some methodological challenges that emerged during the process of shaping the research design for the comprehensive and complex research project Children as learning designers in a digital school. The project is the realization of our proposal to a research call from...... the Danish Ministry of Education named Development projects and pilot school experiments (Udviklingsprojekter med demonstrationsskoleforsøg vedr. it i folkeskolen – see Undervisningsministeriet 2013) in the spring 2013. The call was based on a governmental decision to allocate 500 million DKR to increase...

  8. Project time boxing and milestones as drivers for open design projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tollestrup, Christian H. T.

    2015-01-01

    is very positive and that the structure, strict enforcement and rolling project management responsibility in a group work setting really helps them drive the project forward with high motivation. The main challenge lies in the balance between loading the teams with too many challenges and just providing......The Curriculums and programs in Problem Based Learning (PBL) utilizes the project-format in a team based setting for rehearsing the competencies of applying the design-oriented skills and knowledge learned in courses and workshops. If the project period is self-organised, there is a tendency......, because of the facilitated format where ‘disturbances’ are eliminated. If successful the state of creative flow is achieved. So how can we create a sense of urgency in longer project periods, not just workshop format, that would help a team of design students to engage and drive the project from the start...

  9. Supporting research projects via student workshops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marschall, Max; Schmeck, Michel; Gengnagel, Christoph

    2016-01-01

    As part of a joint research project between the Centre for Information Technology and Architecture (CITA) and te Department for Structural Design and Technology (KET), a one week student workshop was organised at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK) in Copenhagen. This paper outlines...... the teaching methods applied to reach maximum insight from student interaction, despite the unfamiliarity the students had with the research matter: physical and numeric form-finding for lightweight hybrid structures. Hybrid structures are defined here as combining different components of low stiffness...

  10. Students Perceptions of Excellence in Landscape Architecture Studio Projects: A UNSW Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Corkery

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes an action-research project undertaken to explore teaching and learning in the design studio in the Faculty of the Built Environment (FBE, University of New South Wales, Sydney. The research project involved three undergraduate design programmes (architecture, interior architecture and landscape architecture within the FBE, however this paper will focus only on the findings related to the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLArch programme. The studio is at the core of the design-based curriculum for the landscape architecture degree. This setting nurtures and encourages students to demonstrate a range of capabilities and attributes expected in professional practice. Design projects are complex, integrated assessment tasks. While design teachers use criteria to assess knowledge and skills, students often feel the judgement of overall design project excellence is based on subjective interpretation. There is also concern about the effectiveness of design teaching across the studios. Specifically, the study identified students' perceptions of what constitutes the mark of High Distinction (HD and characteristics of the ideal design teacher. This paper does not present a discourse analysis of the theoretical framework and concepts of the research project. That material is presented in previous and subsequent publications (Corkery et al, 2003.

  11. MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS FOR SECOND YEAR CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARWAN M. SHAMEL

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available In the second semester of the second year of a Mechanical Engineering course, students are supposed to take a Module Outside the Main Discipline (MOMD. This module is chosen to be “Product Design Exercise” a module that is offered to Chemical Engineering students at the same stage. The aim was to expose students from both disciplines to an environment in which they are encouraged to interact with and engage team members with a relatively different background. The students were divided into eight groups all comprised of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering students, and they were offered different open-ended projects that were selected to exploit the knowledge developed by the students thus far and they were slightly skewed towards Chemical Engineering. The students demonstrated a high level of cooperation and motivation throughout the period of the project. Effective communication and closing of knowledge gaps were prevalent. At the end of the project period, students produced a journal paper in lieu of the project report.

  12. Industrial Sponsor Perspective on Leveraging Capstone Design Projects to Enhance Their Business

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weissbach, Robert S.; Snyder, Joseph W.; Evans, Edward R., Jr.; Carucci, James R., Jr.

    2017-01-01

    Capstone design projects have become commonplace among engineering and engineering technology programs. These projects are valuable tools when assessing students, as they require students to work in teams, communicate effectively, and demonstrate technical competency. The use of industrial sponsors enhances these projects by giving these projects…

  13. Project-Based Learning and Student Knowledge Construction during Asynchronous Online Discussion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koh, Joyce Hwee Ling; Herring, Susan C.; Hew, Khe Foon

    2010-01-01

    Project-based learning engages students in problem solving through artefact design. However, previous studies of online project-based learning have focused primarily on the dynamics of online collaboration; students' knowledge construction throughout this process has not been examined thoroughly. This case study analyzed the relationship between…

  14. Linking First-Year and Senior Engineering Design Teams: Engaging Early Academic Career Students in Engineering Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Garey A.; Weckler, Paul; Thomas, Dan

    2015-01-01

    In Biosystems Engineering at Oklahoma State University, senior design is a two semester course in which students work on real-world projects provided by clients. First-year (freshmen and trans­fer) students enroll in an introductory engineering course. Historically, these students worked on a team-based analysis project, and the engineering design…

  15. Capstone Engineering Design Projects for Community Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walz, Kenneth A.; Christian, Jon R.

    2017-01-01

    Capstone engineering design courses have been a feature at research universities and four-year schools for many years. Although such classes are less common at two-year colleges, the experience is equally beneficial for this population of students. With this in mind, Madison College introduced a project-based Engineering Design course in 2007.…

  16. The Effects of an Experiential Service-Learning Project on Residential Interior Design Students' Attitudes toward Design and Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez-Lanier, Lilia

    2016-01-01

    This mixed research methods study explores whether project-based service-learning projects promote greater learning than standard project-based projects and whether introduced earlier into the curriculum promotes a greater student understanding of the world issues affecting their community. The present study focused on comparing sophomore and…

  17. Group Projects in Interior Design Studio Classes: Peer Feedback Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurado, Juan A.

    2011-01-01

    Group projects have been shown to be effective for providing peer feedback in classrooms. While students in regular enrollment classes benefit from peer feedback, low-enrollment classes face many challenges. This study compares peer feedback effectiveness between two interior design studio classes with different design projects. In one class,…

  18. Design + energy: results of a national student design competition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-01-01

    A national competition for students in schools of architecture was conducted during the Spring of 1980. The competition was the first of a series of competitions that emphasized the integration of architectural design and energy considerations in medium-scale building projects, and specifically applying passive solar design strategies and the appropriate use of brick masonry materials. Some 300 faculty members and over 2200 students representing 80 of the 92 US architecture schools participated in the program. A summary is presented of the program and the range of submissions grouped by problem types and general climatic region.

  19. Sensing and collecting radioactive materials as a project to teach engineering design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drake, D.; Majdi, T.; Strack, J.

    2015-01-01

    The remote detection and isolation of radioactive materials is both a challenging engineering design project and a relevant issue given modern nuclear circumstances. This project is used in the undergraduate capstone class of the Engineering Physics Department at McMaster University to teach students engineering design. This paper discusses the course outline and learning outcomes of the students who took the course over the 2014-2015 academic year. (author)

  20. Sensing and collecting radioactive materials as a project to teach engineering design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drake, D.; Majdi, T.; Strack, J., E-mail: draked2@mcmaster.ca [McMaster University, Hamiltion, ON (Canada); and others

    2015-07-01

    The remote detection and isolation of radioactive materials is both a challenging engineering design project and a relevant issue given modern nuclear circumstances. This project is used in the undergraduate capstone class of the Engineering Physics Department at McMaster University to teach students engineering design. This paper discusses the course outline and learning outcomes of the students who took the course over the 2014-2015 academic year. (author)

  1. Educational Benefits From the AAU-cubesat Student Satellite Project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alminde, Lars

    2003-01-01

    In September 2001 Aalborg university started the AAU-cubesat project that reached it climax when the student built satellite was launched into space on the 30th of June 2003 on top of a former Russian ICBM. AAU-cubesat was among the first five satellites to be launched that are built within the c......-satellite designs will be given. In addition as the project has been carried through by students then the educational value will be addressed as well....

  2. Effects of basic character design and animation concepts using the flipped learning and project-based learning approach on learning achievement and creative thinking of higher education students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Autapao, Kanyarat; Minwong, Panthul

    2018-01-01

    Creative thinking was an important learning skill in the 21st Century via learning and innovation to promote students' creative thinking and working with others and to construct innovation. This is one of the important skills that determine the readiness of the participants to step into the complex society. The purposes of this research were 1) to compare the learning achievement of students after using basic character design and animation concepts using the flipped learning and project-based learning and 2) to make a comparison students' creative thinking between pretest and posttest. The populations were 29 students in Multimedia Technology program at Thepsatri Rajabhat University in the 2nd semester of the academic year 2016. The experimental instruments were lesson plans of basic character design and animation concepts using the flipped learning and project based learning. The data collecting instrument was creative thinking test. The data were analyzed by the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and The Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed-Ranks Test. The results of this research were 1) the learning achievement of students were statistically significance of .01 level and 2) the mean score of student's creativity assessment were statistically significance of .05 level. When considering all of 11 KPIs, showed that respondents' post-test mean scores higher than pre-test. And 5 KPIs were statistically significance of .05 level, consist of Originality, Fluency, Elaboration, Resistance to Premature Closure, and Intrinsic Motivation. It's were statistically significance of .042, .004, .049, .024 and .015 respectively. And 6 KPIs were non-statistically significant, include of Flexibility, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Divergent Thinking, Convergent Thinking, Risk Taking, and Extrinsic Motivation. The findings revealed that the flipped learning and project based learning provided students the freedom to simply learn on their own aptitude. When working together with project

  3. Implementation of the first student-designed PV array in Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hadlock, C.; DeLoyde, J.; Dhir, T.

    2004-01-01

    This paper is a culmination of a 2-year project involving students, faculty, staff member, and private industry. Solar Technology Education Project (STEP) became the first student-led group to successfully install a 36-panel photovoltaic (PV) array on a Canadian University campus. The fundraising, design, and assembly of the PV array was entirely student driven. The project was completed in January 2004 with the installation of a 2 kW photovoltaic grid-tied array mounted to the roof of the University of Waterloo's Federation Hall, the largest student-run pub in North America. The photovoltaic array was a demonstration project to raise awareness about solar technology and the need for energy efficiency in buildings. It took two years to complete the project, which was implemented in three phases. The first phase was aimed at raising the required capital. The second phase included design and fabrication of the array. The third phase, still ongoing today, is the community outreach phase, which involves educating the surrounding communities about the project, solar technology, and the role of individuals in combating global warming. This paper examines the steps required for the implementation of a successful educational photovoltaic project, using the students' experience as a roadmap. A section highlighting what's next for STEP is also presented as the students attempt to build on the momentum from the project. The aim is to launch a solar thermal project on another University of Waterloo building to move one step closer to the ultimate goal of a sustainable campus

  4. Learning and Motivational Processes When Students Design Curriculum-Based Digital Learning Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitze, Charlotte Lærke

    2015-01-01

    This design-based research (DBR) project has developed an overall gamified learning design (big Game) to facilitate the learning process for adult students by inviting them to be their own learning designers through designing digital learning games (small games) in cross-disciplinary subject...... matters. The DBR project has investigated and experimented with which elements, methods, and processes are important when aiming at creating a cognitive complex (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) and motivating learning process within a reusable game-based learning design. This project took place in a co......, or programming provide a rich context for learning, since the construction of artefacts, in this case learning games, enables reflection and new ways of thinking. The students learned from reflection and interaction with the tools alone as well as in collaboration with peers. After analysing the students...

  5. Students enabling students in a Student Partnership Project: A case study emerging from the OLT Transforming Practice Project on Student Partnerships

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan Kek

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This emerging initiative stemmed from an Office for Learning and Teaching Project (OLT project, Transforming Practice Programme 2016: Student Engagement: Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning. The initiative, trialed in semester two, 2016, involved the selection and training of two experienced students to be leaders of a Closed Facebook ‘students-only’ community which provided advice and triaged queries to appropriate channels. The evaluative processes comprised a participatory action research methodology. Two student leaders who facilitated the Closed Facebook and four academic staff of the project were the participants. The findings demonstrate that the Closed Facebook students-only site provided a safe space, outside the formal learning/classroom environment, where student participants were able to ask and share knowledge. The informal student-for-student learning community complemented the formal structure by facilitating the opportunity for students to become ‘experts’ as university students as they move-through their learning journey.

  6. Educational Benefits from the AAU-Cubesat Student Satellite Project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alminde, Lars

    2003-01-01

    In September 2001 Aalborg university started the AAU-cubesat project that reached it climax when the student built satellite was launched into space on the 30th of June 2003 on top of a former Russian ICBM. AAU-cubesat was among the first five satellites to be launched that are built within the c...... on pico-satellite designs will be given. In addition as the project has been carried through by students then the educational value will be addressed as well....

  7. Calculator: A Hardware Design, Math and Software Programming Project Base Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Criado

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the implementation by the students of a complex calculator in hardware. This project meets hardware design goals, and also highly motivates them to use competences learned in others subjects. The learning process, associated to System Design, is hard enough because the students have to deal with parallel execution, signal delay, synchronization … Then, to strengthen the knowledge of hardware design a methodology as project based learning (PBL is proposed. Moreover, it is also used to reinforce cross subjects like math and software programming. This methodology creates a course dynamics that is closer to a professional environment where they will work with software and mathematics to resolve the hardware design problems. The students design from zero the functionality of the calculator. They are who make the decisions about the math operations that it is able to resolve it, and also the operands format or how to introduce a complex equation into the calculator. This will increase the student intrinsic motivation. In addition, since the choices may have consequences on the reliability of the calculator, students are encouraged to program in software the decisions about how implement the selected mathematical algorithm. Although math and hardware design are two tough subjects for students, the perception that they get at the end of the course is quite positive.

  8. Teachers’ Learning Design Practice for Students as Learning Designers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levinsen, Karin Tweddell; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm

    2018-01-01

    that simultaneously scaffold students’ subject-related inquiry, agency, reflection and learning. Research studies have documented that this approach constitutes arenas that support students’ deep learning and mastery of both transdisciplinary and subject matter, along with their acquisition of digital literacy and 21......This paper contributes with elements of an emerging learning design methodology. The paper takes as its starting point the theory of Students as Learning Designers, which was developed by Sørensen and Levinsen and based on more than a decade of research-and-development projects in Danish primary...... schools (first to 10th grade). The research focussed on information and communication technology (ICT) within the Scandinavian tradition of Problem Oriented Project Pedagogy (POPP), Problem Based Learning (PBL) and students’ production. In recent years, the projects that provide the grounding...

  9. University-Level Research Projects for High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, Mark L.

    2000-01-01

    The goal of this project was to provide an opportunity for high school students to participate in university-level research projects. In this case, students from Pinkerton Academy (Derry, New Hampshire) were invited to participate in efforts to catalog data from the COMPTEL experiment on NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO). These activities were part of a senior level honors course at Pinkerton. Although the success of this particular program was rather limited, we feel that the general concept is a sound one. In principle, the concept of partnerships between local schools and university researchers is one that could be especially attractive to soft money researchers. Programs can be carefully designed to benefit both the students and the research program.

  10. Fuel Cell Car Design Project for Freshman Engineering Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duke, Steve R.; Davis, Virginia A.

    2014-01-01

    In the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University, we have integrated a semester long design project based on a toy fuel cell car into our freshman "Introduction to Chemical Engineering Class." The project provides the students a basic foundation in chemical reactions, energy, and dimensional analysis that facilitates…

  11. Designing Summer Research Experiences for Teachers and Students That Promote Classroom Science Inquiry Projects and Produce Research Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, L. A.; Parra, J.; Rao, M.; Offerman, L.

    2007-12-01

    Research experiences for science teachers are an important mechanism for increasing classroom teachers' science content knowledge and facility with "real world" research processes. We have developed and implemented a summer scientific research and education workshop model for high school teachers and students which promotes classroom science inquiry projects and produces important research results supporting our overarching scientific agenda. The summer training includes development of a scientific research framework, design and implementation of preliminary studies, extensive field research and training in and access to instruments, measurement techniques and statistical tools. The development and writing of scientific papers is used to reinforce the scientific research process. Using these skills, participants collaborate with scientists to produce research quality data and analysis. Following the summer experience, teachers report increased incorporation of research inquiry in their classrooms and student participation in science fair projects. This workshop format was developed for an NSF Biocomplexity Research program focused on the interaction of urban climates, air quality and human response and can be easily adapted for other scientific research projects.

  12. A New Project-Based Curriculum of Design Thinking with Systems Engineering Techniques

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haruyama, S.; Kim, S.K.; Beiter, K.A.; Dijkema, G.P.J.; De Weck, O.L.

    2012-01-01

    We developed a new education curriculum called "ALPS" (Active Learning Project Sequence) at Keio University that emphasizes team project-based learning and design thinking with systems engineering techniques. ALPS is a 6 month course, in which students work as a team and design and propose

  13. A Research Design for NASA-Funded Professional Development Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleicher, R. E.; Lambert, J.; Getty, S. R.

    2011-12-01

    This proposal outlines a research plan designed to measure gains in student learning resulting from their teachers participating in professional development. Project Description Misconceptions about global climate change (GCC) are prevalent in the general public (Kellstedt, Zahran, & Vedlitz, 2008; Washington & Cook, 2011). One solution is to provide high school students with a better grounding in the basic science and data that underlie GCC. The overarching goal of a NASA-funded project, Promoting Educational Leadership in Climate Change Literacy (PEL), is to increase GCC literacy in high school students. Research Design The research design is interpretative (Erickson, 2006), framed within a multi-method design, synthesizing both quantitative and qualitative data sources (Morse, 2003). Overall, the data will provide rich information about the PEL's impact on curriculum development, teacher pedagogical knowledge, and student learning. The expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation (E-V-C) (Fan, 2011; Wigfield & Eccles, 1994) provides a theoretical foundation for the research. Expectancy is the degree to which a teacher or student has reason to expect that they will be successful in school. Value indicates whether they think that performance at school will be worthwhile to them. Cost is the perceived sacrifices that must be undertaken, or factors that can inhibit, a successful performance at school. For students, data from an embedded E-V-C investigation will help articulate how E-V-C factors relate to student interest in science, continuing to study science, or embarking on STEM related careers. For teachers, the E-V-C measures will give insight into a key mediating variable on student achievement in science. The evaluation will seek to address research questions at the student and teacher levels. Table 1 presents a sample of research questions and data sources. This is a sample of a much larger set of questions that will be addressed in the project. Data

  14. Development of a student engagement approach to alcohol prevention: the Pragmatics Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buettner, Cynthia K; Andrews, David W; Glassman, Michael

    2009-01-01

    Significant involvement of students in the development and implementation of college alcohol prevention strategies is largely untested, despite recommendations by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and others. The purpose of the Pragmatics Project was to test a student engagement model for developing and implementing alcohol intervention strategies. The Pragmatics Project involved 89 undergraduate students on a large Midwestern university campus in the design and implementation of projects focused on reducing harm associated with high-risk drinking and off-campus parties. The engagement model used an innovative course piloted in the Human Development and Family Science department. The course successfully involved both students and the community in addressing local alcohol issues. The course design described would fit well into a Master of Public Health, Community Psychology, Health Psychology, or interdisciplinary curricula as well as the service learning model, and it is applicable in addressing other health risk behaviors.

  15. NASA rocket launches student project into space

    OpenAIRE

    Crumbley, Liz

    2005-01-01

    A project that began in 2002 will culminate at sunrise on Tuesday, March 15, when a team of Virginia Tech engineering students watch a payload section they designed lift off aboard a sounding rocket from a launch pad at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility and travel 59 miles into space.

  16. Enhancing Student Learning through Scaffolded Client Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    This article reports on the current status of client projects (CPs) in business communication courses, provides a scaffolded model for implementing CP, and assesses student learning in CPs. Using a longitudinal mixed method research design, survey data and qualitative materials from six semesters are presented. The instructor survey indicated need…

  17. Learning and Motivational Processes When Students Design Curriculum‐Based Digital Learning Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitze, Charlotte Lærke

    2016-01-01

    This design‐based research (DBR) project has developed an overall gamified learning design (big Game) to facilitate the learning process for adult students by inviting them to be their own learning designers through designing digital learning games (small games) in cross‐disciplinary subject...... matters. The DBR project has investigated and experimented with which elements, methods, and processes are important when aiming at creating a cognitive complex (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) and motivating learning process within a reusable game‐based learning design. This project took place in a co......, or programming provide a rich context for learning, since the construction of artefacts, in this case learning games, enables reflection and new ways of thinking. The students learned from reflection and interaction with the tools alone as well as in collaboration with peers. After analysing the students...

  18. University of Colorado CubeSat Student Projects as Successful Model for Teaching Students about Engineering Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palo, S. E.; Li, X.; Woods, T. N.; Kohnert, R.

    2014-12-01

    There is a long history of cooperation between students at the University of Colorado, Boulder and professional engineers and scientists at LASP, which has led to many successful space missions with direct student involvement. The recent student-led missions include the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE, 1998 - 2002), the Student Dust Counter (SDC) on New Horizons (2006 - present), the Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE), being a very successful NSF CubeSat that launched in September 2012, and the NASA Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) CubeSat (launch will be in early 2015). Students are involved in all aspects of the design, and they experience the full scope of the mission process from concept, to fabrication and test, and mission operations. A significant part of the student involvement in the CubeSat projects is gained by using the CubeSat development as a focal point for an existing two-semester course sequence in CU's Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES) Department: the Space Hardware Design section of Graduate Projects I & II (ASEN 5018 & ASEN 6028). The goal of these courses is to teach graduate students how to design and build systems using a requirement-based approach and fundamental systems engineering practices. The two-semester sequence takes teams of about 15 students from requirements definition and preliminary design through manufacturing, integration, and testing. In addition to the design process, students learn key professional skills such as working effectively in groups, finding solutions to open-ended problems, and actually building a system to their own set of specifications. The partnership between AES and LASP allows us to include engineering professionals in the mix, thus more effectively training science and engineering students for future roles in the civilian or commercial space industry. The mentoring process with LASP engineers helps to mitigate risk of the inexperience of the students and ensures consistent

  19. The effects of topic choice in project-based instruction on undergraduate physical science students' interest, ownership, and motivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milner-Bolotin, Marina

    2001-07-01

    Motivating nonscience majors in science and mathematics studies became one of the most interesting and important challenges in contemporary science and mathematics education. Therefore, designing and studying a learning environment, which enhances students' motivation, is an important task. This experimental study sought to explore the implications of student autonomy in topic choice in a project-based Physical Science Course for nonscience majors' on students' motivational orientation. It also suggested and tested a model explaining motivational outcomes of project-based learning environment through increased student ownership of science projects. A project, How Things Work, was designed and implemented in this study. The focus of the project was application of physical science concepts learned in the classroom to everyday life situations. Participants of the study (N = 59) were students enrolled in three selected sections of a Physical Science Course, designed to fulfill science requirements for nonscience majors. These sections were taught by the same instructor over a period of an entire 16-week semester at a large public research university. The study focused on four main variables: student autonomy in choosing a project topic, their motivational orientation, student ownership of the project, and the interest in the project topic. Achievement Goal Orientation theory became the theoretical framework for the study. Student motivational orientation, defined as mastery or performance goal orientation, was measured by an Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire. Student ownership was measured using an original instrument, Ownership Measurement Questionnaire, designed and tested by the researchers. Repeated measures yoked design, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and multivariate regression analysis were implemented in the study. Qualitative analysis was used to complement and verify quantitative results. It has been found that student autonomy in the project choice did not make a

  20. Reusing open data for learning database design through project development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose-Norberto MAZÓN

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a novel methodology based on reusing open data for applying project-based learning in a Database Design subject of a university degree. This methodology is applied to the ARA (Alto Rendimiento Académico or High Academic Performance group taught in the degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Alicante (Spain during 2012/2013, 2013/2014, and 2014/2015. Openness philosophy implies that huge amount of data is available to students in tabular format, ready for reusing. In our teaching experience, students propose an original scenario where different open data can be reused to a specific goal. Then, it is proposed to design a database in order to manage this data in the envisioned scenario. Open data in the subject helps in instilling a creative and entrepreneur attitude in students, as well as encourages autonomous and lifelong learning. Surveys made to students at the end of each year shown that reusing open data within project-based learning methodologies makes more motivated students since they are using real data.

  1. Creative capstone computer projects for post-graduate students of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    With this in mind, the English Department at the University of Stellenbosch has designed a module in its Honours course that allows post-graduate students the opportunity to develop additional skills in the design and development of multimedia projects that effectively combine the knowledge they have gained during the ...

  2. Patent Information Use in Engineering Technology Design: An Analysis of Student Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Margaret; Zwicky, Dave

    2017-01-01

    How might engineering technology students make use of patent information in the engineering design process? Librarians analyzed team project reports and personal reflections created by students in an undergraduate mechanical engineering technology design course, revealing that the students used patents to consider the patentability of their ideas,…

  3. Relationship between Students' Scores on Research Methods and Statistics, and Undergraduate Project Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ossai, Peter Agbadobi Uloku

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the relationship between students' scores on Research Methods and statistics, and undergraduate project at the final year. The purpose was to find out whether students matched knowledge of research with project-writing skill. The study adopted an expost facto correlational design. Scores on Research Methods and Statistics for…

  4. Student project of optical system analysis API-library development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanova, Tatiana; Zhukova, Tatiana; Dantcaranov, Ruslan; Romanova, Maria; Zhadin, Alexander; Ivanov, Vyacheslav; Kalinkina, Olga

    2017-08-01

    In the paper API-library software developed by students of Applied and Computer Optics Department (ITMO University) for optical system design is presented. The library performs paraxial and real ray tracing, calculates 3d order (Seidel) aberration and real ray aberration of axis and non-axis beams (wave, lateral, longitudinal, coma, distortion etc.) and finally, approximate wave aberration by Zernike polynomials. Real aperture can be calculated by considering of real rays tracing failure on each surface. So far we assume optical system is centered, with spherical or 2d order aspherical surfaces. Optical glasses can be set directly by refraction index or by dispersion coefficients. The library can be used for education or research purposes in optical system design area. It provides ready to use software functions for optical system simulation and analysis that developer can simply plug into their software development for different purposes, for example for some specific synthesis tasks or investigation of new optimization modes. In the paper we present an example of using the library for development of cemented doublet synthesis software based on Slusarev's methodology. The library is used in optical system optimization recipes course for deep studying of optimization model and its application for optical system design. Development of such software is an excellent experience for students and help to understanding optical image modeling and quality analysis. This development is organized as student group joint project. We try to organize it as a group in real research and development project, so each student has his own role in the project and then use whole library functionality in his own master or bachelor thesis. Working in such group gives students useful experience and opportunity to work as research and development engineer of scientific software in the future.

  5. Interior design students win two IDEC Student Design Competition awards

    OpenAIRE

    Watson-Bloch, Cathy

    2005-01-01

    Interior Design students in the School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech won two of the four awards presented in the 2004-2005 Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Student Design Competition. Winners were selected at the International IDEC Conference in Savannah, Ga. with Virginia Tech Interior Design students winning second place and honorable mention.

  6. Dental students' preferences and performance in crown design: conventional wax-added versus CAD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, R Duane; Hopp, Christa D; Augustin, Marcus A

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate dental students' perceptions of traditional waxing vs. computer-aided crown design and to determine the effectiveness of either technique through comparative grading of the final products. On one of twoidentical tooth preparations, second-year students at one dental school fabricated a wax pattern for a full contour crown; on the second tooth preparation, the same students designed and fabricated an all-ceramic crown using computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technology. Projects were graded for occlusion and anatomic form by three faculty members. On completion of the projects, 100 percent of the students (n=50) completed an eight-question, five-point Likert scalesurvey, designed to assess their perceptions of and learning associated with the two design techniques. The average grades for the crown design projects were 78.3 (CAD) and 79.1 (wax design). The mean numbers of occlusal contacts were 3.8 (CAD) and 2.9(wax design), which was significantly higher for CAD (p=0.02). The survey results indicated that students enjoyed designing afull contour crown using CAD as compared to using conventional wax techniques and spent less time designing the crown using CAD. From a learning perspective, students felt that they learned more about position and the size/strength of occlusal contacts using CAD. However, students recognized that CAD technology has limits in terms of representing anatomic contours and excursive occlusion compared to conventional wax techniques. The results suggest that crown design using CAD could be considered as an adjunct to conventional wax-added techniques in preclinical fixed prosthodontic curricula.

  7. Implementation of Effective Capstone Projects in Undergraduate Manufacturing Design Engineering Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viswanathan, Shekar

    2017-01-01

    Final program projects (capstone course) in manufacturing design engineering technology at National University are intensive experiences in critical thinking and analysis, designed to broaden students' perspectives and provide an opportunity for integration of coursework in the area of manufacturing design engineering. This paper focuses on three…

  8. Pedagogical design for knowledge creating inquiry in customer projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanni Muukkonen

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Two higher education courses involving students, teachers, and customers in multifaceted experiences of knowledge creation are described. The Trialogical Learning Approach (TLA provides a theoretical framework to address learning and teaching organized around authentic problems and the development of shared knowledge objects, such as reports, products, and new practices. The approach directs attention to those aspects of social interaction and artifact-mediated activities, which focus on the development of shared objects and the pursuit of novel knowledge and understanding. The roles of technology-mediation, customer involvement, and guidance in developing effective pedagogical practices for knowledge creation were addressed. It appears necessary to design sufficient open-endedness and complexity for students’ teamwork to generate unpredictable, practical, and epistemologically challenging situations. Pedagogical design for such a process has different foci in the four central phases: planning, project initiation, project execution, and presentation and evaluation. Planning and initiation are central to establishing relevance and project awareness for the collaboration of student teams with a customer. Guidance and expert modeling during project initiation and execution is needed to overcome feelings of uncertainty during a challenging and complex assignment. Mediation provided by collaboration tools facilitates reflection on collective practices, iterative development of knowledge objects, and documentation of the learning outcomes of customer projects.

  9. The ZAP Project: Designing Interactive Computer Tools for Learning Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulshof, Casper; Eysink, Tessa; de Jong, Ton

    2006-01-01

    In the ZAP project, a set of interactive computer programs called "ZAPs" was developed. The programs were designed in such a way that first-year students experience psychological phenomena in a vivid and self-explanatory way. Students can either take the role of participant in a psychological experiment, they can experience phenomena themselves,…

  10. Project Selection in the Design Studio: Absence of Learning Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basa, Inci

    2010-01-01

    Project selection is an essential matter of design teaching. Based on observations of a specific curriculum, the author claims that a wide repertoire of subjects including offices, restaurants, hotels, and other public places are used to prepare design students, but that schools and other "learning environments/ schools" are similarly…

  11. Evaluation of Embedded System Component Utilized in Delivery Integrated Design Project Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junid, Syed Abdul Mutalib Al; Hussaini, Yusnira; Nazmie Osman, Fairul; Razak, Abdul Hadi Abdul; Idros, Mohd Faizul Md; Karimi Halim, Abdul

    2018-03-01

    This paper reports the evaluation of the embedded system component utilized in delivering the integrated electronic engineering design project course. The evaluation is conducted based on the report project submitted as to fulfil the assessment criteria for the integrated electronic engineering design project course named; engineering system design. Six projects were assessed in this evaluation. The evaluation covers the type of controller, programming language and the number of embedded component utilization as well. From the evaluation, the C-programming based language is the best solution preferred by the students which provide them flexibility in the programming. Moreover, the Analog to Digital converter is intensively used in the projects which include sensors in their proposed design. As a conclusion, in delivering the integrated design project course, the knowledge over the embedded system solution is very important since the high density of the knowledge acquired in accomplishing the project assigned.

  12. Project Career: A qualitative examination of five college students with traumatic brain injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nardone, Amanda; Sampson, Elaine; Stauffer, Callista; Leopold, Anne; Jacobs, Karen; Hendricks, Deborah J; Elias, Eileen; Chen, Hui; Rumrill, Phillip

    2015-01-01

    Project Career is an interprofessional five-year development project designed to improve the employment success of undergraduate college and university students with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The case study information was collected and synthesized by the project's Technology and Employment Coordinators (TECs) at each of the project's three university sites. The project's evaluation is occurring independently through JBS International, Inc. Five case studies are presented to provide an understanding of student participants' experiences within Project Career. Each case study includes background on the student, engagement with technology, vocational supports, and interactions with his/her respective TEC. A qualitative analysis from the student's case notes is provided within each case study, along with a discussion of the overall qualitative analysis. Across all five students, the theme Positive Outcomes was mentioned most often in the case notes. Of all the different type of challenges, Cognitive Challenges were most often mentioned during meetings with the TECs, followed by Psychological Challenges, Physical Challenges, Other Challenges, and Academic Challenges, respectively. Project Career is providing academic enrichment and career enhancement that may substantially improve the unsatisfactory employment outcomes that presently await students with TBI following graduation.

  13. The AAU-cubesat Student Satellite Project: Architectual Overview and Lessons Learnt

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Østergaard, Kasper Zinck; Alminde, Lars; Bisgaard, Morten

    satellite like the AAU-cubesat. Results from the operation phase will be stated, and recommendations on further work on pico-satellite designs will be given. In addition as the project has been carried through by students, the educational value of the project will be addressed as well....

  14. SPECIAL REPORT - The KC EMPOWER Project: Designing More Accessible STEM Learning Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bob Hirshon

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The overall purpose of the Kinetic City (KC Empower project was to examine how informal science activities can be made accessible for students with disabilities. The premise of this project was that all students, including those with disabilities, are interested in and capable of engaging in science learning experiences, if these experiences are accessible to them. Drawing on resources from Kinetic City, a large collection of science experiments, games, and projects developed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, the project researched and adapted five afterschool science activities guided by universal design for learning principles.

  15. Analysis of Students' Participation Patterns and Learning Presence in a Wiki-Based Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roussinos, Dimitrios; Jimoyiannis, Athanassios

    2013-01-01

    The educational applications of wikis are becoming very popular among instructors and researchers and they have captured their attention and imagination. This paper reports on the investigation of a wiki project designed to support university students' collaborative authoring and learning. The design framework of the wiki-based project is outlined…

  16. Development and Evaluation of an Undergraduate Multidisciplinary Project Activity in Engineering and Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, David R.; Cole, Joanne

    2012-01-01

    The School of Engineering and Design Multidisciplinary Project (MDP) at Brunel University is a one week long project based activity involving first year undergraduate students from across the School subject areas of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Design. This paper describes the main aims of the…

  17. Design and development of an intelligent nursing bed - a pilot project of "joint assignment".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiehui Jiang; Tingwei Liu; Yuting Zhang; Yu Song; Mi Zhou; Xiaosong Zheng; Zhuangzhi Yan

    2017-07-01

    The "joint assignment" is a creative bachelor education project for Biomedical Engineering (BME) in Shanghai University (SHU), China. The objective of this project is to improve students' capabilities in design thinking and teamwork through practices in the process of the design and development of complex medical product. As the first step, a pilot project "design and development of intelligent nursing bed" was set up in May 2015. This paper describes details of how project organization and management, various teaching methods and scientific evaluation approaches were achieved in this pilot project. For example, a method containing one main line and four branches is taken to manage the project and "prototyping model" was used as the main research approach. As a result a multi-win situation was achieved. The results showed, firstly, 62 bachelor students including 16 BME students were well trained. They improved themselves in use of practical tools, communication skills and scientific writing; Secondly, commercial companies received a nice product design on intelligent nursing bed, and have been working on industrializing it; Thirdly, the university and associated schools obtained an excellent practical education experience to supplement traditional class education; Fourthly and most importantly, requirements from end-users will be met. The results also showed that the "joint assignment" task could become a significant component in BME bachelor education.

  18. Students' perceptions of a community-based service-learning project related to aging in place.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oakes, Claudia E; Sheehan, Nancy W

    2014-01-01

    This article describes a service-learning project that was designed to help undergraduate health professions students understand the complexities related to aging in place. The service-learning project also incorporated a research component to expose the students to the research process. Students' reflections regarding the benefits that they derived from the experience suggest that they value learning about older adults through one-on-one interactions more than they value the opportunity to participate in the research project. Implications for undergraduate health professional education are discussed.

  19. Cooperative Learning in Graduate Student Projects: Comparing Synchronous versus Asynchronous Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strang, Kenneth

    2013-01-01

    Cooperative learning was applied in a graduate project management course to compare the effectiveness of asynchronous versus synchronous online team meetings. An experiment was constructed to allocate students to project teams while ensuring there was a balance of requisite skills, namely systems analysis and design along with HTML/Javascript…

  20. Collaboration Between Art Teacher Students and Communication and Digital Media Students Promoting Subject Specific Didactics in Digital Visual Learning Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buhl, Mie; Skov, Kirsten

    . Student art teachers and teacher trainers took part in the design process performed by communication students. The project took its point of the departure in the act of Danish teacher education where student teachers must be educated in the practical use of digital visual media for art practices aiming......, drawing or video. Thus, the project suggested the development of a visual learning design for achieving augmented reality (AR) experiences in urban environments and sharing them on social media. The purpose was to explore adequate approaches to work with digital media in visual arts education based...... on practices and reflective processes. The theoretical framework for our discussion of the empirical project draws on current discussions of learning designs and digital media in visual arts education (Peppler 2010, Rasmussen 2015, Buhl & Ejsing-Duun, 2015; Buhl, 2016). Methodology The choice of empirical...

  1. Students and Teachers as Developers of Visual Learning Designs with Augmented Reality for Visual Arts Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buhl, Mie

    2017-01-01

    upon which to discuss the potential for reengineering the traditional role of the teacher/learning designer as the only supplier and the students as the receivers of digital learning designs in higher education. The discussion applies the actor-network theory and socio-material perspectives...... on education in order to enhance the meta-perspective of traditional teacher and student roles.......Abstract This paper reports on a project in which communication and digital media students collaborated with visual arts teacher students and their teacher trainer to develop visual digital designs for learning that involved Augmented Reality (AR) technology. The project exemplified a design...

  2. The Effect of Environmental Science Projects on Students' Environmental Knowledge and Science Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Balushi, Sulaiman M.; Al-Aamri, Shamsa S.

    2014-01-01

    The current study explores the effectiveness of involving students in environmental science projects for their environmental knowledge and attitudes towards science. The study design is a quasi-experimental pre-post control group design. The sample was 62 11th-grade female students studying at a public school in Oman. The sample was divided into…

  3. The Power Plant Mapping Student Project: Bringing Citizen Science to Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tayne, K.; Oda, T.; Gurney, K. R.; O'Keeffe, D.; Petron, G.; Tans, P. P.; Frost, G. J.

    2014-12-01

    An emission inventory (EI) is a conventional tool to quantify and monitor anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants into the atmosphere. Gridded EI can visually show geographical patterns of emissions and their changes over time. These patterns, when available, are often determined using location data collected by regional governments, industries, and researchers. Datasets such as Carbon Monitoring and Action (CARMA, www.carma.org) are particularly useful for mapping emissions from large point sources and have been widely used in the EI community. The EI community is aware of potentially significant errors in the geographical locations of point sources, including power plants. The big challenge, however, is to review tens of thousands of power plant locations around the world and correct them where needed. The Power Plant Mapping Student Project (PPMSP) is a platform designed for students in 4th through 12th grade to improve the geographical location of power plants indicated in existing datasets to benefit international EI research. In PPMSP, we use VENTUS, a web-based platform (http://ventus.project.asu.edu/) that invites citizens to contribute power plant location data. Using VENTUS, students view scenes in the vicinity of reported power plant coordinates on Google Maps. Students either verify the location of a power plant or search for it within a designated radius using various indicators, an e-guide, and a power plant photo gallery for assistance. If the power plant cannot be found, students mark the plant as unverified. To assure quality for research use, the project contains multiple checkpoints and levels of review. While participating in meaningful research that directly benefits the EI research community, students are engaged in relevant science curricula designed to meet each grade level's Next Generation Science Standards. Students study energy, climate change, the atmosphere, and geographical information systems. The curricula is

  4. Students as Learning Designers in Innovation Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnussen, Rikke; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm

    2014-01-01

    This paper, which concerns criteria for developing technology-enhanced innovation education, discusses how teacher and student relationships change in these learning spaces. The case study in this paper involves a school in Denmark where teachers and students, aged 6-14, were involved in developing...... and testing new forms of technology-enhanced innovation education as part of the establishment of an EduTechLab at the school. Established in new facilities at the school, the lab contained learning technologies such as Nao robots, sensor kits, and 3D visualisation and printing facilities. The goal of the Edu......TechLab project was to establish a creative learning environment for students and teachers that would support innovative practice with new forms of learning technology. Part of this goal was to involve students in innovative design processes in order for them to experiment with their own design solutions to case...

  5. Ergonomics work assessment in rural industrial settings: a student occupational therapy project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowman, Peter J

    2012-01-01

    This case study describes a student occupational therapy (OT) program, the creation of a worksite assessment project as a part of a Community Connections: Partners for Learning and Service grant funded by Health Resources and Services Administration. The primary goals were to design occupation-based community learning experiences in a variety of rural community settings, so that students might benefit from participating in the community based learning and: based on the results, embed occupation-based learning into existing occupational therapy curriculum. The components of the project and the ergonomics content of the OT education program are described; details of the work assessment are presented with analysis of data from the student evaluation of this project.

  6. Design Project on Controlled-Release Drug Delivery Devices: Implementation, Management, and Learning Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Qingxing; Liang, Youyun; Tong, Yen Wah; Wang, Chi-Hwa

    2010-01-01

    A design project that focuses on the subject of controlled-release drug delivery devices is presented for use in an undergraduate course on mass transfer. The purpose of the project is to introduce students to the various technologies used in the fabrication of drug delivery systems and provide a practical design exercise for understanding the…

  7. NORSTAR Project: Norfolk public schools student team for acoustical research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortunato, Ronald C.

    1987-01-01

    Development of the NORSTAR (Norfolk Public Student Team for Acoustical Research) Project includes the definition, design, fabrication, testing, analysis, and publishing the results of an acoustical experiment. The student-run program is based on a space flight organization similar to the Viking Project. The experiment will measure the scattering transfer of momentum from a sound field to spheres in a liquid medium. It is hoped that the experimental results will shed light on a difficult physics problem - the difference in scattering cross section (the overall effect of the sound wave scattering) for solid spheres and hollow spheres of differing wall thicknesses.

  8. Redeveloping Nicosia International Airport: an extroverting Y2 group design project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yiatros, S.

    2017-11-01

    This article follows the timeline of the 'Nicosia International Airport: The Return' Integrated Design Project which was undertaken by Year 2 students of Civil Engineering and Geomatics at the Cyprus University of Technology in Cyprus. The Nicosia International Airport was the first and main airport of the Republic of Cyprus since its independence from the British Empire in 1960. The airport remains closed since the Turkish invasion of 1974 and is located in the buffer zone administered by the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus. In this work, the innovative aspects of a project to inspire and train engineering students are highlighted, while special attention is given to the dissemination and outreach of the project through the social media. The attracted attention of national media and the project's impact on the local society had a cyclical effect, further inspiring students to work hard and act as responsible professional engineers. 'Nicosia International Airport: The Return' is a case study of how an academic engineering project can have societal impact, by inspiring students, engaging practitioners from a wide spectrum of disciplines, captivating the general public and raising the profile of Civil Engineering in the society.

  9. Implementing Project-Based Learning (PBL) in Final Collection to Improve the Quality of Fashion Design Student

    OpenAIRE

    Indarti, Indarti

    2016-01-01

    Fashion design education is one of education that prepares students to work in fashion design field. Students research future fashion trends, sketch designs, select colors, fabrics and patterns, and give instructions on how to make the products they designed. Fashion design education not only nurture and develop student's creative skills, it also teaches essential practical skills such as production techniques and material properties, to create a final product. According to this, new educatio...

  10. Student Learning Projects in Electric Vehicle Engineering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ritchie, Ewen; Leban, Krisztina Monika

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents the didactic problem based learning method in general use at Aalborg University as applied to Electric Mobility. Advantage is taken of this method to link student learning to current research projects. This offers advantages to the students and the researchers. The paper...... introduces the subject, presents the research of the Department of Energy Technology and describes the relevant syllabus. It continues to present a range of titles of previous research linked student project projects, and to fill in some of the detail, an example of such a student project. The paper...

  11. Collaborations between Multicultural Educators and Archivists: Engaging Students with Multicultural History through Archival Research Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Natalia

    2016-01-01

    When multicultural educators and archivists collaborate to design projects that engage students with multicultural history through archival research, students can learn in-depth research skills with primary source documents, creatively share their knowledge, and, on a broader level, engage with their local community history. The projects shared in…

  12. Evaluation of different Project Based Learning designs in an MSc degree

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen García Berdonés

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The design and implementation of different Project Based Learning (PBL approaches are presented in this paper. All of them were carried out in the framework of the MSc degree in Electronic Systems for Smart Environments from the University of Malaga. Four subjects were developed using different values of the three main parameters of PBL: teamwork, self-guided learning and project complexity. During two academic years, several indicators were used to evaluate these experiences: compliance with subject time schedules, scores obtained for the students, interaction of each student in his team and satisfaction of students with the experiences. Our results encourage the use of PBL in bachelor degrees but, at the same time, confirm that PBL implementation is not a trivial task when projects are complex or when a high level of autonomous learning is required from students. Teamwork difficulties have also been found. So, we discuss the need of reaching a minimum level of proficiency in some key competencies before using PBL.

  13. Assessing student understanding of sound waves and trigonometric reasoning in a technology-rich, project-enhanced environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm, Jennifer Anne

    This case study examined what student content understanding could occur in an inner city Industrial Electronics classroom located at Tree High School where project-based instruction, enhanced with technology, was implemented for the first time. Students participated in a project implementation unit involving sound waves and trigonometric reasoning. The unit was designed to foster common content learning (via benchmark lessons) by all students in the class, and to help students gain a deeper conceptual understanding of a sub-set of the larger content unit (via group project research). The objective goal of the implementation design unit was to have students gain conceptual understanding of sound waves, such as what actually waves in a wave, how waves interfere with one another, and what affects the speed of a wave. This design unit also intended for students to develop trigonometric reasoning associated with sinusoidal curves and superposition of sinusoidal waves. Project criteria within this design included implementation features, such as the need for the student to have a driving research question and focus, the need for benchmark lessons to help foster and scaffold content knowledge and understanding, and the need for project milestones to complete throughout the implementation unit to allow students the time for feedback and revision. The Industrial Electronics class at Tree High School consisted of nine students who met daily during double class periods giving 100 minutes of class time per day. The class teacher had been teaching for 18 years (mathematics, physics, and computer science). He had a background in engineering and experience teaching at the college level. Benchmark activities during implementation were used to scaffold fundamental ideas and terminology needed to investigate characteristics of sound and waves. Students participating in benchmark activities analyzed motion and musical waveforms using probeware, and explored wave phenomena using waves

  14. From innovation to implementation - SME collaboration in student projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bridgwood, Ian

    The Center for Bachelor of Engineering Studies at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Diplom) [1] provides B.Eng. programs with the Conceive Design Implement and Operate framework [2] as a central element. Courses are designed to be a source of innovation, particularly in relation to small a...... and medium sized enterprises (SME) in the region. The project based courses teach students to undertake the analysis, design and implementation of systems which are relevant to and in cooperation with SMEs....

  15. What Do College Students, Young Families, and Empty Nesters Want in a Car? A Market Segmentation and Marketing Mix Project for Introduction to Marketing Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bristow, Dennis; Gulati, Rajesh; Schneider, Kenneth C.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents the details of a student project used in introduction to marketing courses. The project is designed to involve students in the application of survey research to generate data used to make a series of marketing management decisions. Students collect data from three different segments of the car buying market and make product,…

  16. Implementation of an Industrial-Based Case Study as the Basis for a Design Project in an Introduction to Mechanical Design Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lackey, Ellen

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implementation of an industrial-based case study as the basis for a design project for the Spring 2009 Introduction to Mechanical Design Course at the University of Mississippi. Course surveys documented the lack of student exposure in classes to the types of projects typically experienced by engineers…

  17. Undergraduate Research Involving Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in Interdisciplinary Science Projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Todd Pagano

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Scientific undergraduate research in higher education often yields positive outcomes for student and faculty member participants alike, with underrepresented students often showing even more substantial gains (academic, professional, and personal as a result of the experience. Significant success can be realized when involving deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/hh undergraduate students, who are also vastly underrepresented in the sciences, in interdisciplinary research projects. Even d/hh Associate degree level students and those in the first two years of their postsecondary careers can contribute to, and benefit from, the research process when faculty mentors properly plan/design projects. We discuss strategies, including the dissemination/communication of research results, for involving these students in research groups with different communication dynamics and share both findings of our research program and examples of successful chemical and biological research projects that have involved d/hh undergraduate students. We hope to stimulate a renewed interest in encouraging diversity and involving students with disabilities into higher education research experiences globally and across multiple scientific disciplines, thus strengthening the education and career pipeline of these students.

  18. A Tire Gasification Senior Design Project That Integrates Laboratory Experiments and Computer Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Brian; Castaldi, Marco J.

    2006-01-01

    A reactor to convert waste rubber tires to useful products such as CO and H2, was investigated in a university undergraduate design project. The student worked individually with mentorship from a faculty professor who aided the student with professional critique. The student was able to research the background of the field and conceive of a novel…

  19. Comparison between project-based learning and discovery learning toward students' metacognitive strategies on global warming concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumewu, Widya Anjelia; Wulan, Ana Ratna; Sanjaya, Yayan

    2017-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to know comparing the effectiveness of learning using Project-based learning (PjBL) and Discovery Learning (DL) toward students metacognitive strategies on global warming concept. A quasi-experimental research design with a The Matching-Only Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design was used in this study. The subjects were students of two classes 7th grade of one of junior high school in Bandung City, West Java of 2015/2016 academic year. The study was conducted on two experimental class, that were project-based learning treatment on the experimental class I and discovery learning treatment was done on the experimental class II. The data was collected through questionnaire to know students metacognitive strategies. The statistical analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in students metacognitive strategies between project-based learning and discovery learning.

  20. A Pre-Mobility eTandem Project for Incoming International Students at the University of Padua

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griggio, Lisa; Rózsavölgyi, Edit

    2016-01-01

    This study focuses on a strategic partnership with students from the University of Padua and international students coming to Padua mainly in the setting of Erasmus student mobility and exchange programs. The project is designed specifically for incoming international students to facilitate their integration into the Italian higher educational…

  1. Examining Thai high school students' developing STEM projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teenoi, Kultida; Siripun, Kulpatsorn; Yuenyong, Chokchai

    2018-01-01

    Like others, Thailand education strongly focused on STEM education. This paper aimed to examine existing Thai high school students' integrated knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in their developing science project. The participants included 49 high school students were studying the subject of individual study (IS) in Khon Kaen wittayayon school, Khon Kaen, Thailand. The IS was provided to gradually enhance students to know how to do science project starting from getting start to do science projects, They enrolled to study the individual study of science project for three year in roll. Methodology was qualitative research. Views of students' integrated knowledge about STEM were interpreted through participant observation, interview, and students' science projects. The first author as participant observation has taught this group of students for 3 years. It found that 16 science projects were developed. Views of students' integrated knowledge about STEM could be categorized into three categories. These included (1) completely indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, (2) partial indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and (3) no integration. The findings revealed that majority of science projects could be categorized as completely indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The paper suggested some ideas of enhancing students to applying STEM for developing science projects.

  2. The Alcohol Dehydrogenase Kinetics Laboratory: Enhanced Data Analysis and Student-Designed Mini-Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverstein, Todd P.

    2016-01-01

    A highly instructive, wide-ranging laboratory project in which students study the effects of various parameters on the enzymatic activity of alcohol dehydrogenase has been adapted for the upper-division biochemistry and physical biochemistry laboratory. Our two main goals were to provide enhanced data analysis, featuring nonlinear regression, and…

  3. Enhancement of students’ creative thinking skills on mixture separation topic using project based student worksheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurisalfah, R.; Fadiawati, N.; Jalmo, T.

    2018-05-01

    The aim of this study is to describe the effectiveness of project based student worksheet in improving students' creative thinking skills. The research method is using quasi experiment with the matching only pre-test post-test control group design. The population in this research is all students of class VII SMP N 2 Belitang Madang Raya with class VII1 as control class and class VII4 as experiment class. The sample of this research is obtaining by purposive sampling technique. The effectiveness of project based student worksheet is based on significant post-test differences between the control class and the experiment class as well as the effect size. The results show that the using of project based student worksheet is effective in improving students' creative thinking skills on mixture separation topic.

  4. The Impact an Oratory Project generates to Primary School Students who live in Rural Areas of Cartago

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Gabriela Amador-Solano

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This article aims at showing the development and relevance of an extension project in seven rural schools located in “circuito 05” in the central area of Cartago. The main goal is to enhance oral commu­nication in elementary school students. The project was designed as a training workshop for the teach­ers in the chosen schools in order to be taught to students by implementing an oratory club. In each student´s dissertation, the researchers observed the enthusiasm that the project caused in the schools. Objectives, contents, activities, assessment and observations were designed in a didactic plan to be used upon needs of institutions.

  5. Authentic student research projects on physics and the human body

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heck, A.; Ellermeijer, T.; Kędzierska, E.

    2010-01-01

    Students in Dutch senior secondary education are obliged to perform their own research project of approximately 80 hours. They are stimulated to choose the topic themselves (preferably with relations to two subjects, like physics and mathematics) and have a lot of freedom in the design of the

  6. Spacecraft design project: Low Earth orbit communications satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moroney, Dave; Lashbrook, Dave; Mckibben, Barry; Gardener, Nigel; Rivers, Thane; Nottingham, Greg; Golden, Bill; Barfield, Bill; Bruening, Joe; Wood, Dave

    1991-01-01

    This is the final product of the spacecraft design project completed to fulfill the academic requirements of the Spacecraft Design and Integration 2 course (AE-4871) taught at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. The Spacecraft Design and Integration 2 course is intended to provide students detailed design experience in selection and design of both satellite system and subsystem components, and their location and integration into a final spacecraft configuration. The design team pursued a design to support a Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) communications system (GLOBALSTAR) currently under development by the Loral Cellular Systems Corporation. Each of the 14 team members was assigned both primary and secondary duties in program management or system design. Hardware selection, spacecraft component design, analysis, and integration were accomplished within the constraints imposed by the 11 week academic schedule and the available design facilities.

  7. Design and Co-design of Project-organized Studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jørgen Lerche; Andreasen, Lars Birch

    2014-01-01

    The chapter contributes to discussions on design processes in relation to education, presenting different notions of design research and demonstrating how professors and students are involved together in designing innovative and constructive study processes that can help foster students' engagement...

  8. Affordances of students' using the World Wide Web as a publishing medium in project-based learning environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Nathan Daniel

    This dissertation investigates the emerging affordance of the World Wide Web as a place for high school students to become authors and publishers of information. Two empirical studies lay groundwork for student publishing by examining learning issues related to audience adaptation in writing, motivation and engagement with hypermedia, design, problem-solving, and critical evaluation. Two models of student publishing on the World Wide Web were investigated over the course of two 11spth grade project-based science curriculums. In the first curricular model, students worked in pairs to design informative hypermedia projects about infectious diseases that were published on the Web. Four case studies were written, drawing on both product- and process-related data sources. Four theoretically important findings are illustrated through these cases: (1) multimedia, especially graphics, seemed to catalyze some students' design processes by affecting the sequence of their design process and by providing a connection between the science content and their personal interest areas, (2) hypermedia design can demand high levels of analysis and synthesis of science content, (3) students can learn to think about science content representation through engagement with challenging design tasks, and (4) students' consideration of an outside audience can be facilitated by teacher-given design principles. The second Web-publishing model examines how students critically evaluate scientific resources on the Web, and how students can contribute to the Web's organization and usability by publishing critical reviews. Students critically evaluated Web resources using a four-part scheme: summarization of content, content, evaluation of credibility, evaluation of organizational structure, and evaluation of appearance. Content analyses comparing students' reviews and reviewed Web documents showed that students were proficient at summarizing content of Web documents, identifying their publishing

  9. How Student Game Designers Design Learning into Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitze, Charlotte Lærke

    2017-01-01

    This investigation examined how to support students in creating learning designs for specific learning goals in analogue and digital games as a means of learning. The study also explored the learning trajectories that emerged in the digital games created by the student learning-game designers....... The DBR study was developed through three iterations over two years, involving teachers and students in co-design processes. Together with the teachers, an overall learning design supported the learning process for students by inviting them to be their own learning designers as they designed digital...... learning games for specific learning goals in cross-disciplinary subject matters. The findings were that the students succeeded in developing and implementing specific learning goals in their games. The students also developed learning trajectories through the games by designing various learning...

  10. Preparation of Engineering Students for Capstone Design Experience through a Microprocessors Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed El-Abd

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the outcomes of a developed methodology to handle the project component in a higher-level undergraduate course. The approach relies on providing the students the freedom to choose their own project area as well as the utilized technology. At the same time, the students have to follow certain regulation to allow for the creation of a semi-capstone experience. We illustrate how this approach has a positive effect, not only on the project outcomes at the course level, but also on the students’ performances in subsequent capstone courses. Data collected, over five consecutive course offerings, shows that this approach is an effective method to prepare engineering students for their senior design capstone courses.

  11. Designing Feedback in an Immersive Videogame: Supporting Student Mathematical Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gresalfi, Melissa Sommerfeld; Barnes, Jacqueline

    2016-01-01

    This paper draws from and contributes to two bodies of research: how particular elements of game design support learning; and how particular characteristics of feedback impact student engagement. This paper reports findings from two rounds of a design-based research project that focuses on better understanding how feedback is integrated into, and…

  12. Integrating chemical engineering fundamentals in the capstone process design project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    von Solms, Nicolas; Woodley, John; Johnsson, Jan Erik

    2010-01-01

    Reaction Engineering. In order to incorporate reactor design into process design in a meaningful way, the teachers of the respective courses need to collaborate (Standard 9 – Enhancement of Faculty CDIO skills). The students also see that different components of the chemical engineering curriculum relate......All B.Eng. courses offered at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) must now follow CDIO standards. The final “capstone” course in the B.Eng. education is Process Design, which for many years has been typical of chemical engineering curricula worldwide. The course at DTU typically has about 30...... of the CDIO standards – especially standard 3 – Integrated Curriculum - means that the course projects must draw on competences provided in other subjects which the students are taking in parallel with Process Design – specifically Process Control and Reaction Engineering. In each semester of the B...

  13. Student and Faculty Outcomes of Undergraduate Science Research Projects by Geographically Dispersed Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawton Shaw

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Senior undergraduate research projects are important components of most undergraduate science degrees. The delivery of such projects in a distance education format is challenging. Athabasca University (AU science project courses allow distance education students to complete research project courses by working with research supervisors in their local area, coordinated at a distance by AU faculty. This paper presents demographics and course performance for 155 students over five years. Pass rates were similar to other distance education courses. Research students were surveyed by questionnaire, and external supervisors and AU faculty were interviewed, to examine the outcomes of these project courses for each group. Students reported high levels of satisfaction with the course, local supervisors, and faculty coordinators. Students also reported that the experience increased their interest in research, and the probability that they would pursue graduate or additional certification. Local supervisors and faculty affirmed that the purposes of project courses are to introduce the student to research, provide opportunity for students to use their cumulative knowledge, develop cognitive abilities, and independent thinking. The advantages and challenges associated with this course model are discussed.

  14. Teaching Sustainable Design Using BIM and Project-Based Energy Simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhigang Shen

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The cross-disciplinary nature of energy-efficient building design has created many challenges for architecture, engineering and construction instructors. One of the technical challenges in teaching sustainable building design is enabling students to quantitatively understand how different building designs affect a building’s energy performance. Concept based instructional methods fall short in evaluating the impact of different design choices on a buildings’ energy consumption. Building Information Modeling (BIM with energy performance software provides a feasible tool to evaluate building design parameters. One notable advantage of this tool is its ability to couple 3D visualization of the structure with energy performance analysis without requiring detailed mathematical and thermodynamic calculations. Project-based Learning (PBL utilizing BIM tools coupled with energy analysis software was incorporated into a senior level undergraduate class. Student perceptions and feedback were analyzed to gauge the effectiveness of these techniques as instructional tools. The findings indicated that BIM-PBL can be used to effectively teach energy-efficient building design and construction.

  15. Introducing systems engineering to industrial design engineering students with hands-on experience

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bonnema, Gerrit Maarten; Lutters-Weustink, Ilanit F.; van Houten, Frederikus J.A.M.; Selvaraj, H.; Muthukumar, V.

    2005-01-01

    The article presents an innovative educational project to introduce systems engineering to third year students in industrial design engineering at the University of Twente. In a short period the students are confronted with new technology, namely sensors and actuators. They have to apply this

  16. Biotechnology by Design: An Introductory Level, Project-Based, Synthetic Biology Laboratory Program for Undergraduate Students†

    OpenAIRE

    Beach, Dale L.; Alvarez, Consuelo J.

    2015-01-01

    Synthetic biology offers an ideal opportunity to promote undergraduate laboratory courses with research-style projects, immersing students in an inquiry-based program that enhances the experience of the scientific process. We designed a semester-long, project-based laboratory curriculum using synthetic biology principles to develop a novel sensory device. Students develop subject matter knowledge of molecular genetics and practical skills relevant to molecular biology, recombinant DNA techniq...

  17. The design explorer project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pejtersen, Annelise Mark; Sonnenwald, Diane H.; Buur, Jacob

    1997-01-01

    the 'Design Explorer' research project whose goal is to specify requirements for an information system that will effectively help design team members from different domains and organizational cultures to locate and utilize diverse information sources and interact more effectively throughout the design process....... The project introduces a new approach to support of design; instead of design guidelines, support is given by creating a transparent information environment in which designers can navigate freely according to their individual preferences. The project is based on a framework that structures the dimensions......, or categories, of domain information which need to be available for a system or product designer/design team in order to determine the characteristics of the artefact, or object of design. These dimensions include information about the different work domains in which the product plays a role during its lifetime...

  18. Learning Based on the Project Entitled "Design and Construction of a Wooden Bridge"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barris, Cristina; Torres, Lluís; Simon, Enric

    2016-01-01

    This article presents the results of a case involving the application of project-based learning carried out with students in the Mechanical Engineering degree program at the University of Girona. The project, entitled "Design and construction of a wooden bridge", was conducted at the Polytechnic School in the third-year Structures…

  19. Student Research Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeske, Lanny A.

    1998-01-01

    Numerous FY1998 student research projects were sponsored by the Mississippi State University Center for Air Sea Technology. This technical note describes these projects which include research on: (1) Graphical User Interfaces, (2) Master Environmental Library, (3) Database Management Systems, (4) Naval Interactive Data Analysis System, (5) Relocatable Modeling Environment, (6) Tidal Models, (7) Book Inventories, (8) System Analysis, (9) World Wide Web Development, (10) Virtual Data Warehouse, (11) Enterprise Information Explorer, (12) Equipment Inventories, (13) COADS, and (14) JavaScript Technology.

  20. Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dounas-Frazer, Dimitri R.; Stanley, Jacob T.; Lewandowski, H. J.

    2017-12-01

    We investigate students' sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and affective responses. Our within- and cross-case analyses yielded three major findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration. Second, students' interest in the project and perceptions of its value can increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature on student ownership into a new educational domain—namely, upper-division physics labs—they also have concrete implications for the design of experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.

  1. A First Implementation of a Design Thinking Workshop During a Mobile App Development Project Course

    OpenAIRE

    Pham, Yen Dieu; Fucci, Davide; Maalej, Walid

    2018-01-01

    Due to their characteristics, millennials prefer learning-by-doing and social learning, such as project-based learning. However, software development projects require not only technical skills but also creativity; Design Thinking can serve such purpose. We conducted a workshop following the Design Thinking approach of the d.school, to help students generating ideas for a mobile app development project course. On top of the details for implementing the workshop, we report our observations, les...

  2. Project-based fieldwork: perspectives of graduate entry students and project sponsors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortune, Tracy; McKinstry, Carol

    2012-08-01

    This article builds on an earlier viewpoint regarding the need for project-focussed fieldwork. It presents the findings of an evaluative study into the value of project placements undertaken by final year graduate entry master's students as part of a capstone subject. The authors argue that provision of project placements enable impending graduates to develop and implement macro level strategies to develop prevention, resource and service development skills often required of contemporary occupational therapy practitioners. A qualitative approach is adopted. Student cohorts from 2005 and 2006 completed open-ended, written questionnaires, and agency project sponsors were interviewed to obtain their perspectives of the project placement experience. Despite some concern that project placements might be undertaken at the expense of 'clinical' placements these findings reveal that projects managed by students were perceived by services to add great value enabling them to advance important priorities. Students and sponsors highlighted a range of positive learning outcomes, including the ability to work collaboratively with supervisors and develop advanced communication skills and political acumen. The success of such placements depends on supportive supervision from academic staff. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The findings promote project placements as a highly authentic aspect of work integrated learning enabling learners to draw together a range of attributes that support the ability to manage complex issues that have occupational relevance at a macro level. In addition, such experiences help learners to develop agency and political acumen both increasingly important capabilities for the contemporary workplace. © 2012 The Authors Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2012 Occupational Therapy Australia.

  3. Students' construction of a simple steam distillation apparatus and development of creative thinking skills: A project-based learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diawati, Chansyanah; Liliasari, Setiabudi, Agus; Buchari

    2017-05-01

    This project-based learning combined the chemistry of separation process using steam distillation with engineering design process in an undergraduate chemistry course. Students built upon their knowledge of phase changes, immiscible mixture, and the relationship between vapor pressure and boiling point to complete a project of modifications steam distillation apparatus. The research method is a qualitative case study, which aims to describe how (1) the creative thinking skills of students emerged during six weeks of theproject, (2) students built steam distillation apparatus characteristics as the project product and (3) students response to the project-based learning model. The results showed that the students had successfully constructed a steam distillation apparatus using plastic kettle as steam generator and distillation flask. A Plastic tubewas used to drain water vapor from steam generator to distillation flask and to drain steam containing essential oil to the condenser. A biscuit tin filled with ice was used as a condenser. The time required until resulting distillate was fifteen minutes. The production of essential was conductive qualitatively by a very strong smell typical of essential oil and two phases of distillate. Throughout the project, students formulated the relevant and varied problem, formulated the goals, proposed the ideas of the apparatus and materials, draw apparatus design, constructed apparatus, tested apparatus, evaluated, and reported the project. Student response was generally positive. They were pleased, interested, more understanding the concepts and work apparatus principles, also implemented new ideas. These results indicate that project-based learning can develop students' creative thinking skills. Based on these results, it is necessary to conduct research and implemented project-based learning to other concepts.

  4. Students Development of Food and Health-Related Action Competence - Upscaling LOMA Project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruge, Dorte; Nielsen, Morten Kromann; Jensen, Kirsten

    , based on preliminary results from LOMA I project, there are indications, that students at the whole school develop healthier eating habits and experience comensality, Sense of Coherence and QOL, when they participate in LOMA educational activities. The evaluation of LOMA II will apply a mixed methods......, that encompass participation from both teachers, pedagogs and students (8-15 years) and teacher-students.The evaluation of LOMA II will apply a mixed methods design, that facilitates a 'realist' (Pawson and Tilley 1998; Carlsson and Simovska 2012) approach to data collection and analysis. Apart from more...... mainstream methods of measurement, action research strategies (Checkland 2000) will be applied at certain stages of the evaluation, e.g. during pilot-projets and in relation to students participation in the 'mid-term-seminar' of the project in 2016. Expected Outcomes It is expected, that LOMA II...

  5. Benefits of co-design in service design projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steen, M.; Manschot, M.A.J.; De Koning, N.

    2011-01-01

    In many service design projects, co-design is seen as critical to success and a range of benefits are attributed to co-design. In this paper, we present an overview of benefits of co-design in service design projects, in order to help the people involved to articulate more precisely and

  6. Benefits of Co-design in Service Design Projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steen, M.G.D.; Manschot, M.; Koning, N. de

    2011-01-01

    In many service design projects, co-design is seen as critical to success and a range of benefits are attributed to co-design. In this paper, we present an overview of benefits of co-design in service design projects, in order to help the people involved to articulate more precisely and

  7. The Complex Dynamics of Student Engagement in Novel Engineering Design Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormick, Mary

    In engineering design, making sense of "messy," design situations is at the heart of the discipline (Schon, 1983); engineers in practice bring structure to design situations by organizing, negotiating, and coordinating multiple aspects (Bucciarelli, 1994; Stevens, Johri, & O'Connor, 2014). In classroom settings, however, students are more often given well-defined, content-focused engineering tasks (Jonassen, 2014). These tasks are based on the assumption that elementary students are unable to grapple with the complexity or open-endedness of engineering design (Crismond & Adams, 2012). The data I present in this dissertation suggest the opposite. I show that students are not only able to make sense of, or frame (Goffman, 1974), complex design situations, but that their framings dynamically involve their nascent abilities for engineering design. The context of this work is Novel Engineering, a larger research project that explores using children's literature as an access point for engineering design. Novel Engineering activities are inherently messy: there are characters with needs, settings with implicit constraints, and rich design situations. In a series of three studies, I show how students' framings of Novel Engineering design activities involve their reasoning and acting as beginning engineers. In the first study, I show two students whose caring for the story characters contributes to their stability in framing the task: they identify the needs of their fictional clients and iteratively design a solution to meet their clients' needs. In the second, I show how students' shifting and negotiating framings influence their engineering assumptions and evaluation criteria. In the third, I show how students' coordinating framings involve navigating a design process to meet clients' needs, classroom expectations, and technical requirements. Collectively, these studies contribute to literature by documenting students' productive beginnings in engineering design. The

  8. Designing Project Management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heintz, John Linke; Lousberg, L.; Wamelink, J.W.F.; Saari, A.; Huovinen, P.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we introduce the concept of Designing Project Management. On the basis of our earlier work, we suggest that there is still a gap between what is known from recent project management literature and what project managers can structurally help in the effectiveness of their work. Assuming

  9. Case Study of a Project-Based Learning Course in Civil Engineering Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavin, K.

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes the use of project-based learning to teach design skills to civil engineering students at University College Dublin (UCD). The paper first considers the development of problem-based leaning (PBL) as a tool in higher education. The general issues to be considered in the design of the curriculum for a PBL module are reviewed.…

  10. Design Theory Projectability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baskerville, Richard; Pries-Heje, Jan

    2014-01-01

    design science research is materially prescriptive, it requires a different perspective in developing the breadth of applications of design theories. In this paper we propose different concepts that embody forms of general technological knowledge The concept of projectability, developed originally......Technological knowledge has been characterized as having a scope that is specific to a particular problem. However, the information systems community is exploring forms of design science research that provide a promising avenue to technological knowledge with broader scope: design theories. Because...... as a means of distinguishing realized generalizations from unrealized generalizations, helps explain how design theories, being prescriptive, possess a different form of applicability. The concept of entrenchment describes the use of a theory in many projections. Together these concepts provide a means...

  11. Alternative Evaluation Designs for Data-Centered Technology-Based Geoscience Education Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalles, D. R.

    2012-12-01

    This paper will present different strategies for how to evaluate contrasting K-12 geoscience classroom-based interventions with different goals, leveraging the first author's experiences as principal investigator of four NSF and NASA-funded geoscience education projects. Results will also be reported. Each project had its own distinctive features but all had in common the broad goal of bringing to high school classrooms uses of real place-based geospatial data to study the relationships of Earth system phenomena to climate change and sustainability. The first project's goal was to produce templates and exemplars for curriculum and assessment designs around studying contrasting geoscience topics with different data sets and forms of data representation. The project produced a near transfer performance assessment task in which students who studied climate trends in Phoenix turned their attention to climate in Chicago. The evaluation looked at the technical quality of the assessment instrument as measured by inter-rater reliability. It then analyzed the assessment results against student responses to the instructional tasks about Phoenix. The evaluation proved useful in pinpointing areas of student strength and weakness on different inquiry tasks, from simple map interpretation to analysis of contrasting claims about what the data indicate. The goal of the second project was to produce an exemplar curriculum unit that bridges Western science and traditional American Indian ecological knowledge for student learning and skill building about local environmental sustainability issues. The evaluation looked at the extent to which Western and traditional perspectives were incorporated into the design of the curriculum. The curriculum was not constructed with a separate assessment, yet evidence centered design was utilized to extrapolate from the exemplar unit templates for future instructional and assessment tasks around other places, other sustainability problems, and

  12. Teaching Power Electronics with a Design-Oriented and Project-Based Learning Method at the Technical University of Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Zhe; Hansen, Claus Thorp; Andersen, Michael A. E.

    2016-01-01

    Power electronics is a fast developing technology within the electrical engineering field. This paper presents the results and experiences gained from DesignOriented Project Based Learning of switch-mode power supply design within a power electronics course at the Technical University of Denmark...... (DTU). Project-based learning (PBL) is known to be a motivating and problem-centered teaching method that not only places students at the core of the teaching and learning activities but also gives students the ability to transfer their acquired scientific knowledge into industrial practices. Students...... are asked to choose a specification from different power converter applications such as a fuel cell power conditioning converter, a light-emitting diode (LED) driver or a battery charger. Based upon their choice, the students select topology, design magnetic components, calculate input/output filters...

  13. Integrated Design for Geoscience Education with Upward Bound Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartwright, T. J.; Hogsett, M.; Ensign, T. I.; Hemler, D.

    2009-05-01

    Capturing the interest of our students is imperative to expand the conduit of future Earth scientists in the United States. According to the Rising Above the Gathering Storm report (2005), we must increase America's talent pool by improving K-12 mathematics and science education. Geoscience education is uniquely suited to accomplish this goal, as we have become acutely aware of our sensitivity to the destructive forces of nature. The educational community must take advantage of this heightened awareness to educate our students and ensure the next generation rebuilds the scientific and technological base on which our society rests. In response to these concerns, the National Science Foundation advocates initiatives in Geoscience Education such as IDGE (Integrated Design for Geoscience Education), which is an inquiry-based geoscience program for Upward Bound (UB) students at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. The UB program targets low-income under-represented students for a summer academic-enrichment program. IDGE builds on the mission of UB by encouraging underprivileged students to investigate science and scientific careers. During the two year project, high school students participated in an Environmental Inquiry course utilizing GLOBE program materials and on-line learning modules developed by geoscience specialists in land cover, soils, hydrology, phenology, and meteorology. Students continued to an advanced course which required IDGE students to collaborate with GLOBE students from Costa Rica. The culmination of this project was an educational expedition in Costa Rica to complete ecological field studies, providing first-hand knowledge of the international responsibility we have as scientists and citizens of our planet. IDGE was designed to continuously serve educators and students. By coordinating initiatives with GLOBE headquarters and the GLOBE country community, IDGE's efforts have yielded multiple ways in which to optimize positive

  14. Reengineering the Project Design Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casani, E.; Metzger, R.

    1994-01-01

    In response to NASA's goal of working faster, better and cheaper, JPL has developed extensive plans to minimize cost, maximize customer and employee satisfaction, and implement small- and moderate-size missions. These plans include improved management structures and processes, enhanced technical design processes, the incorporation of new technology, and the development of more economical space- and ground-system designs. The Laboratory's new Flight Projects Implementation Office has been chartered to oversee these innovations and the reengineering of JPL's project design process, including establishment of the Project Design Center and the Flight System Testbed. Reengineering at JPL implies a cultural change whereby the character of its design process will change from sequential to concurrent and from hierarchical to parallel. The Project Design Center will support missions offering high science return, design to cost, demonstrations of new technology, and rapid development. Its computer-supported environment will foster high-fidelity project life-cycle development and cost estimating.

  15. Students' and teachers' perceptions: initial achievements of a Project-Based Engineering School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrón-López, María-José; Velasco-Quintana, Paloma-Julia; García-García, María-José; Ocampo, Jared R.

    2017-11-01

    A unified academic model based on the project-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented, in the 2012-2013 period, in the School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether teachers and students participating in the capstone projects feel that the objectives for which this methodology was designed for are being achieved. The data were collected through interviews to participants at the end of the PBL experience. The results are encouraging, as students seem to be more motivated, and they say that they are experiencing deeper learning, and have developed key competitive skills required for their professional lives. Findings also suggest that teachers face positively the PBL as a learning approach since they perceive that students obtain a deeper learning, develop transversal skills with the projects and are more engaged with their studies. Implications and recommendations for the future of the model are also discussed.

  16. The nuclear weapons inheritance project: student-to-student dialogues and interactive peer education in disarmament activism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buhmann, Caecilie Böck

    2007-01-01

    The Nuclear Weapons Inheritance Project is a student run and student initiated project founded in 2001 with the purpose of increasing awareness of health effects of nuclear policies and empowering university students to take action in a local and international context. The project uses dialogues to discuss nuclear disarmament with university students and a method of interactive peer education to train new trainers. The project has met more than 1500 students in nuclear weapon states in dialogue and trained about 400 students from all over the world. This article describes the methods and results of the project and discuss how the experience of the project can be used in other projects seeking to increase awareness of a topic and to initiate action on social injustice.

  17. Summer Student Report - Project Kryolize

    CERN Document Server

    Drozdowski, Pawel

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to describe the work and results obtained by the author during his summer student internship at CERN. The author of this document was attached to the project Kryolize as a software developer, overtaking the job from a recently departed technical student.

  18. Creating Student Engagement: The Kickstarter Active Learning Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzon, Elliott

    2017-01-01

    Students can become disengaged from marketing material if they cannot see the direct application. Marketing material needs to be applied to a meaningful business task to engage and motivate students. This article introduces the Kickstarter Active Learning Project--an innovative semester-long project in which students create a Kickstarter…

  19. An Architecture Design Project: "Building" Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bush, Sarah B.; Albanese, Judith; Karp, Karen S.; Karp, Matthew

    2017-01-01

    Middle school students need relevant, meaningful contexts to apply emerging mathematical ideas. In this project, through the context of an architecture investigation, seventh-grade students engaged in mathematics involving area, surface area, volume, ratios and proportional thinking, number sense, and technology integration. Students, working in…

  20. Project-Based Learning in a STEM Academy: Student Engagement and Interest in STEM Careers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misher, Pamela Henry

    This case study explored the utilization of project-based learning (PBL) and how it affected student engagement and interest in STEM careers. Sixty-seven students and nine teachers participated in this case study. Three research questions addressed student engagement, perceptions, and challenges during PBL implementation. This study was designed to understand the experiences teachers and students had when they participated in a PBL environment. This research investigated how to develop a globally skilled workforce utilizing a PBL approach and the challenges teachers encountered during implementation. The survey data and informal focus-group sessions with staff and students were utilized, analyzed, and summarized in order to obtain insight on perceptions, challenges, and implementation of PBL. PBL is an instructional approach that was designed to encourage more engaged learning. This approach was built upon realistic learning activities that stimulated student interest and motivation. This research discovered that PBL did teach content and 21st century skills as students worked collaboratively toward a common goal while responding to a question or problem. This study revealed that rigorous projects were carefully planned to aid students in learning important academic content. This study displayed how PBL allowed students to reflect on their projects and ideas with the opportunity to voice their decisions and findings. This instructional approach provided opportunities for students to investigate and strengthen interest in future STEM careers. The driving force of America's future economy and maintaining the competitive edge will be through more innovation, mainly derived from advances in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers. As business and industry leaders stressed the importance of improving STEM education, there continued to be a need to better prepare students to fill STEM-related careers. This research adds to the current body of research

  1. Implementation of a project-based engineering school: increasing student motivation and relevant learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrón-López, María-José; García-García, María-José; Velasco-Quintana, Paloma-Julia; Ocampo, Jared; Vigil Montaño, María-Reyes; Gaya-López, María-Cruz

    2017-11-01

    The School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM) implemented, starting in the 2012-2013 period, a unified academic model based on project-based learning as the methodology used throughout the entire School. This model expects that every year, in each grade, all the students should participate in a capstone project integrating the contents and competencies of several courses. This paper presents the academic context under which this experience has been implemented, and a summary of the work done to design and implement the Project-Based Engineering School at the UEM. The steps followed, the structure used, some sample projects, as well as the difficulties and benefits of implementing the programme are discussed in this paper. The results are encouraging as students are more motivated and the initial set objectives were accomplished.

  2. Project-Based Social Justice Mathematics: A Case Study of Five 6th Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    McHugh, Maighread L.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how five sixth grade female students navigated the process of project-based learning as they designed and implemented their own project centered on mathematics while using a social justice lens. The theoretical frameworks of Authentic Intellectual Work and Social Justice…

  3. The structure and functions of an automated project management system for the centers of scientific and technical creativity of students

    OpenAIRE

    Dmitriev, V. M.; Gandzha, T. V.; Gandzha, V. V.; Panov, S. A.

    2013-01-01

    This article discusses the possibility of automating of the student's projecting through the use of automated project management system. There are described the purpose, structure and formalism of automated workplace of student-designer (AWSD), and shown its structural-functional diagram.

  4. Project- Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning: Are They Effective to Improve Student's Thinking Skills?

    OpenAIRE

    Anazifa, R. D; Djukri, D

    2017-01-01

    The study aims at finding (1) the effect of project-based learning and problem-based learning on student's creativity and critical thinking and (2) the difference effect of project-based learning and problem-based learning on student's creativity and critical thinking. This study is quasi experiment using non-equivalent control-group design. Research population of this study was all classes in eleventh grade of mathematics and natural science program of SMA N 1 Temanggung. The participants we...

  5. Teachers' tendencies to promote student-led science projects: Associations with their views about science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bencze, J. Lawrence; Bowen, G. Michael; Alsop, Steve

    2006-05-01

    School science students can benefit greatly from participation in student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects. For various possible reasons, however, students tend not to be engaged in such inquiries. Among factors that may limit their opportunities to engage in open-ended inquiries of their design are teachers' conceptions about science. To explore possible relationships between teachers' conceptions about science and the types of inquiry activities in which they engage students, instrumental case studies of five secondary science teachers were developed, using field notes, repertory grids, samples of lesson plans and student activities, and semistructured interviews. Based on constructivist grounded theory analysis, participating teachers' tendencies to promote student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects seemed to correspond with positions about the nature of science to which they indicated adherence. A tendency to encourage and enable students to carry out student-directed, open-ended scientific inquiry projects appeared to be associated with adherence to social constructivist views about science. Teachers who opposed social constructivist views tended to prefer tight control of student knowledge building procedures and conclusions. We suggest that these results can be explained with reference to human psychological factors, including those associated with teachers' self-esteem and their relationships with knowledge-building processes in the discipline of their teaching.

  6. Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available We investigate students’ sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and affective responses. Our within- and cross-case analyses yielded three major findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration. Second, students’ interest in the project and perceptions of its value can increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature on student ownership into a new educational domain—namely, upper-division physics labs—they also have concrete implications for the design of experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.

  7. [Implementation of the eLearning project NESTOR. A network for students in traumatology and orthopedics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Back, D A; Haberstroh, N; Hoff, E; Plener, J; Haas, N P; Perka, C; Schmidmaier, G

    2012-01-01

    Modern internet-based information technologies offer great possibilities to create and improve teaching methods for students. The eLearning tool NESTOR (Network for Students in Traumatology and Orthopedics) presented here was designed to complement the existing clinical teaching in orthopedics and traumatology at the Charité, University Medicine Berlin. Using a learning management system, videos, podcasts, X-ray diagnosis, virtual patients, tests and further tools for learning and study information were combined. After implementation the eLearning project was evaluated by students. The NESTOR project offers various possibilities for knowledge acquisition. Students using the program voluntarily showed a high acceptance whereby 82.4% were very satisfied with the contents offered and 95.3% supported the idea of a future use of NESTOR in teaching. The blended learning approach was positively evaluated by 93.5% of the students. The project received the eLearning seal of quality of the Charité University Medicine Berlin. Using complex eLearning tools, such as the NESTOR project represents a contemporary teaching approach in the teaching of traumatology and orthopedics and should be offered in a blended learning context as they are well accepted by students.

  8. The Impact of Project-Based Learning on Minority Student Achievement: Implications for School Redesign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cervantes, Bernadine; Hemmer, Lynn; Kouzekanani, Kamiar

    2015-01-01

    Project-Based Learning (PBL) serves as an instructional approach to classroom teaching and learning that is designed to engage students in the investigation of real-world problems to create meaningful and relevant educational experiences. The causal-comparative study compared 7th and 8th students who had utilized the PBL with a comparison group in…

  9. Undergraduate Electronics Projects Based on the Design of an Optical Wireless Audio Transmission System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Luis Bica; Paulino, Nuno; Oliveira, João P.; Santos-Tavares, Rui; Pereira, Nuno; Goes, João

    2017-01-01

    The two projects presented in this paper can be used either as two separate assignments in two different semesters or as a final assignment for undergraduate students of electrical engineering. They have two main objectives: first, to teach basic electronic circuit design concepts and, second, to motivate the students to learn more about analog…

  10. Insights into the use and affordances of social and collaborative applications for student projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omolola Ola Bankole

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The use of social and collaborative computing has the potential of assisting learning and improving the ability to work together as part of a team. Team work is a graduate attribute that students need to acquire before transitioning from university into the workplace. The aim of this exploratory research was to provide insights into the use of social and collaborative applications by Computer Science students, and the emergent affordances student project teams have created with the use of these applications. It answers the questions: What elearning platforms or applications do students use to collaborate for team projects? What technology affordance draws students to use these applications? This study adopts affordance theory as the theoretical framework. Two types of content analysis: conventional content analysis and summative content analysis were used to analyse the data. Data was gathered using a pre-designed questionnaire with the teams during the first semester of 2016. Findings show that the university’s elearning platform is utilised for some of their courses; however students seem to prefer free and open source platforms. Student project teams used applications such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Docs, as well as email messages, to work jointly, and were successfully able to complete their team projects. Four types of technology affordances: communicative-affordance, document share-affordance, course resource-affordance, and integrity-affordance, were identified as being relevant.

  11. 18 CFR 157.37 - Project design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Project design. 157.37... Seasons for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects § 157.37 Project design. In reviewing any... proposed project has been designed to accommodate the needs of shippers who have made conforming bids...

  12. Reengineering the project design process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane Casani, E.; Metzger, Robert M.

    1995-01-01

    In response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's goal of working faster, better, and cheaper, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has developed extensive plans to minimize cost, maximize customer and employee satisfaction, and implement small- and moderate-size missions. These plans include improved management structures and processes, enhanced technical design processes, the incorporation of new technology, and the development of more economical space- and ground-system designs. The Laboratory's new Flight Projects Implementation Development Office has been chartered to oversee these innovations and the reengineering of JPL's project design process, including establishment of the Project Design Center (PDC) and the Flight System Testbed (FST). Reengineering at JPL implies a cultural change whereby the character of the Laboratory's design process will change from sequential to concurrent and from hierarchical to parallel. The Project Design Center will support missions offering high science return, design to cost, demonstrations of new technology, and rapid development. Its computer-supported environment will foster high-fidelity project life-cycle development and more accurate cost estimating. These improvements signal JPL's commitment to meeting the challenges of space exploration in the next century.

  13. Building international experiences into an engineering curriculum - a design project-based approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maldonado, Victor; Castillo, Luciano; Carbajal, Gerardo; Hajela, Prabhat

    2014-07-01

    This paper is a descriptive account of how short-term international and multicultural experiences can be integrated into early design experiences in an aerospace engineering curriculum. Such approaches are considered as important not only in fostering a student's interest in the engineering curriculum, but also exposing them to a multicultural setting that they are likely to encounter in their professional careers. In the broader sense, this programme is described as a model that can be duplicated in other engineering disciplines as a first-year experience. In this study, undergraduate students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Universidad del Turabo (UT) in Puerto Rico collaborated on a substantial design project consisting of designing, fabricating, and flight-testing radio-controlled model aircraft as a capstone experience in a semester-long course on Fundamentals of Flight. The two-week long experience in Puerto Rico was organised into academic and cultural components designed with the following objectives: (i) to integrate students in a multicultural team-based academic and social environment, (ii) to practise team-building skills and develop students' critical thinking and analytical skills, and finally (iii) to excite students about their engineering major through practical applications of aeronautics and help them decide if it is a right fit for them.

  14. Visualizing Practices in Project-based Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Whyte, Jennifer; Tryggestad, Kjell; Comi, Alice

    2016-01-01

    Project-based design involves a variety of visual representations, which are evolved to make decisions and accomplish project objectives. Yet, such mediated and distributed ways of working are difficult to capture through ethnographies that examine situated design. A novel approach is developed t...... representations enabled participants in project-based design to develop and share understanding. The complexity of projects and their distributed and mediated nature makes this approach timely and important in addressing new research questions and practical challenges.......Project-based design involves a variety of visual representations, which are evolved to make decisions and accomplish project objectives. Yet, such mediated and distributed ways of working are difficult to capture through ethnographies that examine situated design. A novel approach is developed...... of situated design. This allows the researcher to be nimble, tracing connections across complex engineering projects; reconstructing practices through their visual representations; and observing their effects. Second, it articulates how, in these empirical cases, interaction with a cascade of visual...

  15. Graduate Students in a Service Learning Design Case: The Development of a Parenting Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tracey, Monica W.; Kacin, Sara E.

    2014-01-01

    The following design case illustrates the approach a group of advanced graduate online-design students, two design coaches, and an instructor used to design an online instructional intervention as a service-learning project for parents interested in improving their parenting skills with their pre-teens. This design case is distinctive in that it…

  16. The SOURCE Demonstration Project: Helping Disadvantaged High School Students Enroll in College

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Johannes; Berman, Jacqueline

    2009-01-01

    The primary research question for this project was whether a streamlined, relatively inexpensive, counseling-based program that assists low-income high school students with the college and financial application processes can significantly increase college enrollment rates. The intervention was designed to test the hypothesis that lack of…

  17. HyperGLOB/Freedom: Preparing Student Designers for a New Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slawson, Brian

    The HyperGLOB project introduced university-level graphic design students to interactive multimedia. This technology involves using the personal computer to display and manipulate a variety of electronic media simultaneously (combining elements of text and speech, music and sound, still images, motion video, and animated graphics) and allows…

  18. Implementing a Virtual Exchange Project for student nurses in Queensland and Nottingham.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todhunter, Fern; Hallawell, Bob; Pittaway, Debbie

    2013-09-01

    This paper discusses the design and initial progress made with a virtual learning environment to help student nurses develop an understanding of cultural awareness and globalization. Using a Web-based application the Virtual Exchange Project was designed to facilitate study-elsewhere experiences located in the student's own setting. Promotion of the United Nations' Millennium Development goals provided an opportunity for student nurses to explore changes in global health and disease patterns, nursing education and systems of nurse regulation in the United Kingdom and Australia. A pedagogical framework created for this activity acknowledges the social and academic identities that learners often use, when working together in a virtual environment. The architecture of the Virtual Exchange supports local conversations about nurse education and health and social issues across hemispheres. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Designing and Implementing Service Learning Projects in an Introductory Oceanography Course Using the ``8-Block Model''

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laine, E. P.; Field, C.

    2010-12-01

    The Campus Compact for New Hampshire (Gordon, 2003) introduced a practical model for designing service-learning exercises or components for new or existing courses. They divided the design and implementation process into eight concrete areas, the “8-Block Model”. Their goal was to demystify the design process of service learning courses by breaking it down into interconnected components. These components include: project design, community partner relations, the problem statement, building community in the classroom, building student capacity, project management, assessment of learning, and reflection and connections. The project design component of the “8-Block Model” asks that the service performed be consistent with the learning goals of the course. For science courses students carry out their work as a way of learning science and the process of science, not solely for the sake of service. Their work supports the goals of a community partner and the community partner poses research problems for the class in a letter on their letterhead. Linking student work to important problems in the community effectively engages students and encourages them to work at more sophisticated levels than usually seen in introductory science classes. Using team-building techniques, the classroom becomes a safe, secure learning environment that encourages sharing and experimentation. Targeted lectures, labs, and demonstrations build the capacity of students to do their research. Behind the scenes project management ensures student success. Learning is assessed using a variety of tools, including graded classroom presentations, poster sessions, and presentations and reports to community partners. Finally, students reflect upon their work and make connections between their research and its importance to the well being of the community. Over the past 10 years, we have used this approach to design and continually modify an introductory oceanography course for majors and non

  20. Project-Based Learning Courses: The Relationship Between Faculty-Intended Course Implementation and Students' Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonovich, Jennifer A.; Towers, Emily; Zastavker, Yevgeniya V.

    2012-02-01

    Project-based learning (PjBL) has been shown to improve students' performance and satisfaction with their coursework, particularly in science and engineering courses. Specific aspects of PjBL that contribute to this improvement are student autonomy, course scaffolding, and instructor support. This study investigates two PjBL courses required for engineering majors at a small technical school, Introductory Mechanics Laboratory and Introductory Engineering Design. The three data sources used in this work are classroom observations (one laboratory and four design sessions) and semi-structured in-depth interviews with twelve students and six faculty. Grounded theory approach is used in a two-step fashion by (1) analyzing each data set individually and (2) performing full triangulation of all three data sets. In this talk, we demonstrate the relationship between faculty intentions and student perceptions regarding the three PjBL aspects -- student autonomy, course scaffolding, and instructor support -- within the context of these two courses. We further discuss implications for the course design and professional development of faculty.

  1. The Virtual Design Team: Designing Project Organizations as Engineers Design Bridges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond E. Levitt

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on a 20-year program of research intended to advance the theory and practice of organization design for projects from its current status as an art practiced by a handful of consultants worldwide, based on their intuition and tacit knowledge, to: (1 an “organizational engineering” craft, practiced by a new generation of organizational designers; and (2 an attractive and complementary platform for new modes of “virtual synthetic organization theory research.” The paper begins with a real-life scenario that provided the motivation for developing the Virtual Design Team (VDT, an agent-based project organizational simulation tool to help managers design the work processes and organization of project teams engaged in large, semi-routine but complex and fast-paced projects. The paper sets out the underlying philosophy, representation, reasoning, and validation of VDT, and it concludes with suggestions for future research on computational modeling for organization design to extend the frontiers of organizational micro-contingency theory and expand the range of applicability and usefulness of design tools for project organizations and supply-chain networks based on this theory.

  2. DOE/Project SEED student scholars partnership. Final report, June 7, 1994--April 27, 1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-06-13

    Project SEED is an innovative career development activity administered by ACS for economically disadvantaged high school students. SEED students spend 10 weeks during the summer in an academic, industrial, or governmental research laboratory working under the supervision of a researcher. Intent is to attempt to overcome obstacles which have excluded the economically disadvantaged from professional careers. Students are required to prepare a technical summary, give presentations to their sponsoring groups, and design and display a poster session. Each student also completed a pre- and post-program survey.

  3. Manufacturing and Design Engineering Students St. Mary's Hospital, Phoenix Park.

    OpenAIRE

    Mitchell, Leah

    2012-01-01

    Poster with details of project to improve ease of movement for Kirton Stirling chairs in St. Mary's Hospital, Phoenix Park, Dublin. Third year students in the B Eng (Honours) Manufacturing and Design Engineering course at Bolton St. completed a project in conjunction with St. Mary‟s Hospital, Phoenix Park. The staff in St Mary‟s were experiencing difficulty in moving the Kirton Stirling chairs (pictured above). These chairs are used to transport elderly patients from one location to another. ...

  4. Students Dig Deep in the Mystery Soil Lab: A Playful, Inquiry-Based Soil Laboratory Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiet, Rachel K.

    2014-01-01

    The Mystery Soil Lab, a playful, inquiry-based laboratory project, is designed to develop students' skills of inquiry, soil analysis, and synthesis of foundational concepts in soil science and soil ecology. Student groups are given the charge to explore and identify a "Mystery Soil" collected from a unique landscape within a 10-mile…

  5. Student cognition and motivation during the Classroom BirdWatch citizen science project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomasek, Terry Morton

    The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the ways various stakeholders (CBW project developer/coordinator, elementary and middle school teachers, and 5th through 8th grade students) envisioned, implemented and engaged in the citizen science project, eBird/Classroom BirdWatch. A multiple case study mixed-methods research design was used to examine student engagement in the cognitive processes associated with scientific inquiry as part of citizen science participation. Student engagement was described based on a sense of autonomy, competence, relatedness and intrinsic motivation. A goal of this study was to expand the taxonomy of differences between authentic scientific inquiry and simple inquiry to include those inquiry tasks associated with participation in citizen science by describing how students engaged in this type of science. This research study built upon the existing framework of cognitive processes associated with scientific inquiry described by Chinn and Malhotra (2002). This research provides a systematic analysis of the scientific processes and related reasoning tasks associated with the citizen science project eBird and the corresponding curriculum Classroom BirdWatch . Data consisted of responses to surveys, focus group interviews, document analysis and individual interviews. I suggest that citizen science could be an additional form of classroom-based science inquiry that can promote more authentic features of scientific inquiry and engage students in meaningful ways.

  6. Integrating Project Management, Product Design with Industry Sponsored Projects provides Stimulating Senior Capstone Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillip A. Sanger

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available

    Abstract ¾ Many students are uncomfortable with real world engineering problems where needs and requirements must be concretely defined and the selection of design solutions is not black and white. This paper describes a two semester, multi-disciplinary senior capstone project for students from three Engineering and Technology Department programs (electrical engineering, electrical and computer engineering technology, and engineering technology that brings together the tools of project management and the creative product development process into industry sponsored projects.  The projects are fully integrated with the Center for Rapid Product Realization with its dual goals of economic development and enhanced learning.  The stage/gate development process is used with six formal reviews covering the development of the proposal through to the fabrication and testing of the project’s output.  Over the past four years thirty five (35 projects have been undertaken with students getting an exciting

  7. Pop-Up Retailing: The Design, Implementation, and Five-Year Evolution of an Experiential Learning Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgess, Brigitte

    2012-01-01

    Educators continually seek innovative methods by which to engage students. Kolb's experiential learning theory was a catalyst for designing and incorporating a pop-up retail consignment store into a junior level retail promotion course. After five years of use and refinement, the project has proven to be a powerful method to engage students in the…

  8. RFID Student Educational Experiences at the UNT College of Engineering: A Sequential Approach to Creating a Project-Based RFID Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaidyanathan, V. V.; Varanasi, M. R.; Kougianos, E.; Wang, Shuping; Raman, H.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes radio frequency identification (RFID) projects, designed and implemented by students in the College of Engineering at the University of North Texas, as part of their senior-design project requirement. The paper also describes an RFID-based project implemented at Rice Middle School in Plano, TX, which went on to win multiple…

  9. Student Research Projects Inhibiting Factors from the Students Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laila Nikrooz

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Background & Objective: Identifying the research barriers and assess the ability of students to use the university services and facilities is crucial to promote research activities. Present study was carried out to determine the inhibiting factors influencing the student's research projects from the view point of Yasuj University of Medical Sciences students in 2008. Materials & Methods: In this cross sectional study 96 students of Yasuj Medical University were selected by stratified random sampling. The data were collected by validate & reliable questionnaire, containing demographic information, inhibiting factors related to students (personal and organization. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: The mean scores against the personal barriers and the organizational barriers questions were 43.23±12.96 and 62.58±12.08 respectively. There was a significant difference between personal and organizational barriers (P<0.001 and personal barriers were more important. According to the results, the student's inadequate skills & knowledge of research methodology and lack of awareness of research topics were the most prevalent personal barriers. The most prevalent organizational barriers were unavailability of research consulters, inadequate research skills of consulter, insufficient facilities & equipment and lack of motivating staff & faculties. Other variables such as gender, subject of study and research experience are mentioned in the full text. Conclusion: This study showed that the personal barriers were more important than organizational barriers which interfere with the student's research projects. This can be corrected and controlled by teachers, faculty members, university officials and students, themselves.

  10. Teacher and Student Intrinsic Motivation in Project-Based Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Shui-fong; Cheng, Rebecca Wing-yi; Ma, William Y. K.

    2009-01-01

    In this study we examined the relationship between teacher and student intrinsic motivation in project-based learning. The participants were 126 Hong Kong secondary school teachers and their 631 students who completed evaluation questionnaires after a semester-long project-based learning program. Both teachers and students were asked to indicate…

  11. The Effect of Project Based Learning on Seventh Grade Students' Academic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kizkapan, Oktay; Bektas, Oktay

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a significant effect of project based learning approach on seventh grade students' academic achievement in the structure and properties of matter. In the study, according to the characteristics of quantitative research methods, pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design was…

  12. Improving Technological Competency in Nursing Students: The Passport Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julie Edwards

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Integration of informatics competency into a nursing curriculum is important to ensure success throughout the education and career of contemporary nursing students. As enrollment in nursing programs increases, the diverse population of students from many different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds presents a challenge for faculty in addressing unique learning needs. Competency in informatics will allow the beginning nursing student to navigate the on-line teaching software used by colleges. With rigorous expectations in nursing programs, students may feel overwhelmed with assignments, organization, and time management. Frustration may build when students struggle with basic informatics competency, often leaving them unable to navigate instructional websites or work with necessary on-line learning content. The purpose of this project, Passport Project for Nursing Success, was to assess the skills, knowledge, and informatics comfort level of students, while providing computer training and teaching for beginning nursing students in an undergraduate nursing program in Central Illinois. The community college encompassed students from a ten county area, with 20 percent of the student population enrolled in the Applied Science curriculum. Initial implementation occurred prior to the students' first nursing course and emphasized basic skills necessary to navigate on-line learning software, library search engines, and electronic communication. The greatest barrier to successful implementation was faculty resistance and academic support during completion of the initial implementation of the Passport Project. Post- project surveys indicated overwhelming student support for the education received and improved retention rates of first semester nursing students.

  13. Students as Math Level Designers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Erik Ottar; Hanghøj, Thorkild; Schoenau-Fog, Henrik

    The short paper presents preliminary findings from a pilot study on how students become motivated through design of learning games in math. The research is carried out in a Danish public school with two classes of 5th graders (N = 42 students). Over the course of two weeks, the students work...... with a design template for a runner game in the Unity 3D game design engine. The students are introduced to the concept of “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991) as a game design principle and are asked to design levels for a math runner game, which are both engaging as well as a meaningful way of learning math....... In this way, the students are positioned as “math level designers”, which means that they both have to redesign the difficulty of the runner game as well as the difficulty of the mathematical questions and possible answers....

  14. A Project-Based Laboratory for Learning Embedded System Design with Industry Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chyi-Shyong; Su, Juing-Huei; Lin, Kuo-En; Chang, Jia-Hao; Lin, Gu-Hong

    2010-01-01

    A project-based laboratory for learning embedded system design with support from industry is presented in this paper. The aim of this laboratory is to motivate students to learn the building blocks of embedded systems and practical control algorithms by constructing a line-following robot using the quadratic interpolation technique to predict the…

  15. Exploring Students' Perceptions of Service-Learning Experiences in an Undergraduate Web Design Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sang Joon; Wilder, Charlie; Yu, Chien

    2018-01-01

    Service-learning is an experiential learning experience where students learn and develop through active participation in community service to meet the needs of a community. This study explored student learning experiences in a service-learning group project and their perceptions of service-learning in an undergraduate web design course. The data…

  16. Developing Critical Thinking through Student Consulting Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canziani, Bonnie; Tullar, William L.

    2017-01-01

    The authors present survey results from faculty at 44 universities on the role of student consulting projects in developing business students' critical thinking. They conclude that students can improve critical thinking by engaging in guided primary and secondary research to inform their business assumptions that underpin business planning and…

  17. Student perceptions of writing projects in a university differential-equations course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latulippe, Christine; Latulippe, Joe

    2014-01-01

    This qualitative study surveyed 102 differential-equations students in order to investigate how students participating in writing projects in university-level mathematics courses perceive the benefits of writing in the mathematics classroom. Based on previous literature on writing in mathematics, students were asked specifically about the benefits of writing projects as a means to explore practical uses of mathematics, deepen content knowledge, and strengthen communication. Student responses indicated an awareness of these benefits, supporting justifications commonly cited by instructors assigning writing projects. Open-ended survey responses highlighted additional themes which students associated with writing in mathematics, including using software programs and technology, working in groups, and stimulating interest in mathematics. This study provides student feedback to support the use of writing projects in mathematics, as well as student input, which can be utilized to strengthen the impact of writing projects in mathematics.

  18. Developing Design and Management Skills for Senior Industrial Engineering Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urbanic, R. J.

    2011-01-01

    In Canadian engineering institutions, a significant design experience must occur in the final year of study. In the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems at the University of Windsor, unsolved, open ended projects sponsored by industrial partners from a variety of sectors are provided to the student teams in order for them to apply…

  19. UNH Project SMART 2017: Space Science for High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, C. W.; Broad, L.; Goelzer, S.; Levergood, R.; Lugaz, N.; Moebius, E.

    2017-12-01

    Every summer for the past 26 years the University of New Hampshire (UNH) has run a month-long, residential outreach program for high school students considering careers in mathematics, science, or engineering. Space science is one of the modules. Students work directly with UNH faculty performing original work with real spacecraft data and hardware and present the results of that effort at the end of the program. This year the student research projects used data from the Messenger, STEREO, and Triana missions. In addition, the students build and fly a high-altitude balloon payload with instruments of their own construction. Students learn circuit design and construction, microcontroller programming, and core atmospheric and space science along with fundamental concepts in space physics and engineering. Our payload design has evolved significantly since the first flight of a simple rectangular box and now involves a stable descent vehicle that does not require a parachute. Our flight hardware includes an on-board flight control computer, in-flight autonomous control and data acquisition of multiple student-built instruments, and real-time camera images sent to ground. This year we developed, built and flew a successful line cutter based on GPS location information that prevents our payload from falling into the ocean while also separating the payload from the balloon remains for a cleaner descent. We will describe that new line cutter design and implementation along with the shielded Geiger counters that we flew as part of our cosmic ray air shower experiment. This is a program that can be used as a model for other schools to follow and that high schools can initiate. More information can be found at .

  20. Tour Guide Robots: An Integrated Research and Design Platform to Prepare Engineering and Technology Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yelamarthi, Kumar

    2016-01-01

    Many interesting research and design questions occur at the intersections of traditional disciplines, yet most coursework and research programs for undergraduate engineering students are focused on one discipline. This leads to underutilization of the potential in better preparing students through multidisciplinary projects. Identifying this…

  1. Student Projects as a Funding Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henson, Kerry L.

    2010-01-01

    Prompted by restricted funding for a lab which supported student software development work on real-world projects, a contribution program was established to facilitate monetary support from the external clients. The paper explores the relationships between instructor, students and client and how a funding component can affect these ties.…

  2. Tropics in Antarctica? Crustal Evaluation Education Project. Teacher's Guide [and] Student Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoever, Edward C., Jr.

    Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP) modules were designed to: (1) provide students with the methods and results of continuing investigations into the composition, history, and processes of the earth's crust and the application of this knowledge to man's activities and (2) to be used by teachers with little or no previous background in the…

  3. Project PEACH at UCLH: Student Projects in Healthcare Computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandran, Navin; Mohamedally, Dean; Taylor, Paul

    2017-01-01

    A collaboration between clinicians at UCLH and the Dept of Computer Science at UCL is giving students of computer science the opportunity to undertake real healthcare computing projects as part of their education. This is enabling the creation of a significant research computing platform within the Trust, based on open source components and hosted in the cloud, while providing a large group of students with experience of the specific challenges of health IT.

  4. The dynamics of student learning within a high school virtual reality design class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, Teresa M.

    This mixed method study investigated knowledge and skill development of high school students in a project-based VR design class, in which 3-D projects were developed within a student-centered, student-directed environment. This investigation focused on student content learning, and problem solving. Additionally the social dynamics of the class and the role of peer mentoring were examined to determine how these factors influenced student behavior and learning. Finally, parent and teachers perceptions of the influence of the class were examined. The participants included freshmen through senior students, parents, teachers and the high school principal. Student interviews and classroom observations were used to collect data from students, while teachers and parents completed surveys. The results of this study suggested that this application of virtual reality (VR) learning environment promoted the development of; meaningful cognitive experiences, creativity, leadership, global socialization, problem solving and a deeper understanding of academic content. Further theoretical implications for 3-D virtual reality technology are exceedingly promising, and warrant additional research and development as an instructional tool for practical use.

  5. Design Thinking in Elementary Students' Collaborative Lamp Designing Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kangas, Kaiju; Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Pirita; Hakkarainen, Kai

    2013-01-01

    Design and Technology education is potentially a rich environment for successful learning, if the management of the whole design process is emphasised, and students' design thinking is promoted. The aim of the present study was to unfold the collaborative design process of one team of elementary students, in order to understand their multimodal…

  6. Graduate Student Project: Operations Management Product Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fish, Lynn

    2007-01-01

    An operations management product project is an effective instructional technique that fills a void in current operations management literature in product planning. More than 94.1% of 286 graduates favored the project as a learning tool, and results demonstrate the significant impact the project had in predicting student performance. The author…

  7. Systematic design for trait introgression projects

    OpenAIRE

    Cameron, John N.; Han, Ye; Wang, Lizhi; Beavis, William D.

    2017-01-01

    Key message Using an Operations Research approach, we demonstrate design of optimal trait introgression projects with respect to competing objectives. Abstract We demonstrate an innovative approach for designing Trait Introgression (TI) projects based on optimization principles from Operations Research. If the designs of TI projects are based on clear and measurable objectives, they can be translated into mathematical models with decision variables and constraints that can be translated into ...

  8. An Innovative, Experiential-Learning Project for Sales Management and Professional Selling Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Joseph; Schetzsle, Stacey; Wahlers, Russell

    2016-01-01

    This article presents an innovative, experiential-learning project that incorporates students from two different courses: sales management and professional selling. Sales management students actually manage sales students on an outside sales project. Students apply classroom knowledge to a real-life sales project for a local community…

  9. Recruiting first generation college students into the Geosciences: Alaska's EDGE project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakash, A.; Connor, C.

    2008-12-01

    Funded in 2005-2008, by the National Science Foundation's Geoscience Education Division, the Experiential Discoveries in Geoscience Education (EDGE) project was designed to use glacier and watershed field experiences as venues for geospatial data collected by Alaska's grade 6-12 middle and high school teachers and their students. EDGE participants were trained in GIS and learned to analyze geospatial data to answer questions about the warming Alaska environment and to determine rates of ongoing glacier recession. Important emphasis of the program was the recruitment of Alaska Native students of Inupiat, Yup'ik, Athabascan, and Tlingit populations, living in both rural and urban areas around the state. Twelve of Alaska's 55 school districts have participated in the EDGE program. To engage EDGE students in the practice of scientific inquiry, each was required to carry out a semester scale research project using georeferenced data, guided by their EDGE teacher and mentor. Across Alaska students investigated several Earth systems processes including freezing conditions of lake ice; the changes in water quality in storm drains after rainfall events; movements of moose, bears, and bison across Alaskan landscapes; changes in permafrost depth in western Alaska; and the response of migrating waterfowl to these permafrost changes. Students correlated the substrate beneath their schools with known earthquake intensities; measured cutbank and coastal erosion on northern rivers and southeastern shorelines; tracked salmon infiltration of flooded logging roads; noted the changing behavior of eagles during late winter salmon runs; located good areas for the use of tidal power for energy production; tracked the extent and range of invasive plant species with warming; and the change of forests following deglaciation. Each cohort of EDGE students and teachers finished the program by attended a 3-day EDGE symposium at which students presented their research projects first in a

  10. Watershed Watch: Using undergraduate student-driven inquiry-based research projects as a means of engaging undeclared students in the biogeosciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rock, B. N.; Hale, S.; Graham, K.; Hayden, L. B.

    2009-12-01

    Watershed Watch (NSF 0525433) engages early undergraduate students from two-year and four-year colleges in student-driven full inquiry-based instruction in the biogeosciences. Program goals for Watershed Watch are to test if inquiry-rich student-driven projects sufficiently engage undeclared students (or noncommittal STEM majors) to declare a STEM major (or remain with their STEM major). The program is a partnership between two four-year campuses - the University of New Hampshire (UNH), and Elizabeth City State University (ECSU, in North Carolina); and two two-year campuses - Great Bay Community College (GBCC, in New Hampshire) and the College of the Albemarle (COA, in North Carolina). The program focuses on two watersheds: the Merrimack Ricer Watershed in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the Pasquotank River Watershed in Virginia and North Carolina. Both the terrestrial and aquatic components of both watersheds are evaluated using the student-driven projects. A significant component of this program is an intensive two-week Summer Research Institute (SRI), in which undeclared freshmen and sophomores investigate various aspects of their local watershed. Two Summer Research Institutes have been held on the UNH campus (2006 and 2008) and two on the ECSU campus (2007 and 2009). Students develop their own research questions and study design, collect and analyze data, and produce a scientific oral or poster presentation on the last day of the SRI. The course objectives, curriculum and schedule are presented as a model for dissemination for other institutions and programs seeking to develop inquiry-rich programs or courses designed to attract students into biogeoscience disciplines. Data from self-reported student feedback indicate the most important factors explaining high-levels of student motivation and research excellence in the program are: 1) working with committed, energetic, and enthusiastic faculty mentors, and 2) faculty mentors demonstrating high degrees of

  11. Practicing Learner-Centered Teaching: Pedagogical Design and Assessment of a Second Life Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiller, Shu Z.

    2009-01-01

    Guided by the principles of learner-centered teaching methodology, a Second Life project is designed to engage students in active learning of virtual commerce through hands-on experiences and teamwork in a virtual environment. More importantly, an assessment framework is proposed to evaluate the learning objectives and learning process of the…

  12. Design, Implementation, and Lessons Learned from a Digital Storytelling Project in an Undergraduate Health Promotion Theory Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimando, Marylen; Smalley, K. Bryant; Warren, Jacob C.

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the design, implementation and lessons learned from a digital storytelling project in a health promotion theory course. From 2011-2012, 195 health promotion majors completed a digital storytelling project at a Midwestern university. The instructor observed students' understanding of theories and models. This article adds to…

  13. Material Agency In User-Centred Design Practices: High School Students Improvising (with) Smart Sensor Prototypes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sauer, S.

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates (digital) materiality through an analysis of the "sociomaterial configuration" (Orlikowski 2009) of the participatory design project SensorLab (2010). In SensorLab, users were enrolled as designers: a group of high school students developed and tested smart pollution-sensing

  14. Material Agency In User-Centred Design Practices: High School Students Improvising (with) Smart Sensor Prototypes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sauer, S.C.

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates (digital) materiality through an analysis of the “sociomaterial configuration” (Orlikowski 2009) of the participatory design project SensorLab (2010). In SensorLab, users were enrolled as designers: a group of high school students developed and tested smart pollution-sensing

  15. CERN Summer Student Project Report

    CERN Document Server

    Parton, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    My Summer Student project was divided between two areas: work on Thin Gap Chamber (TGC) Level-1 muon triggers for the ATLAS experiment, and data acquisition (DAQ) for an RPC muon detector at the Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF++)

  16. The networked student: A design-based research case study of student constructed personal learning environments in a middle school science course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drexler, Wendy

    This design-based research case study applied a networked learning approach to a seventh grade science class at a public school in the southeastern United States. Students adapted emerging Web applications to construct personal learning environments for in-depth scientific inquiry of poisonous and venomous life forms. The personal learning environments constructed used Application Programming Interface (API) widgets to access, organize, and synthesize content from a number of educational Internet resources and social network connections. This study examined the nature of personal learning environments; the processes students go through during construction, and patterns that emerged. The project was documented from both an instructional and student-design perspective. Findings revealed that students applied the processes of: practicing digital responsibility; practicing digital literacy; organizing content; collaborating and socializing; and synthesizing and creating. These processes informed a model of the networked student that will serve as a framework for future instructional designs. A networked learning approach that incorporates these processes into future designs has implications for student learning, teacher roles, professional development, administrative policies, and delivery. This work is significant in that it shifts the focus from technology innovations based on tools to student empowerment based on the processes required to support learning. It affirms the need for greater attention to digital literacy and responsibility in K12 schools as well as consideration for those skills students will need to achieve success in the 21st century. The design-based research case study provides a set of design principles for teachers to follow when facilitating student construction of personal learning environments.

  17. Student and Faculty Outcomes of Undergraduate Science Research Projects by Geographically Dispersed Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Lawton; Kennepohl, Dietmar

    2013-01-01

    Senior undergraduate research projects are important components of most undergraduate science degrees. The delivery of such projects in a distance education format is challenging. Athabasca University (AU) science project courses allow distance education students to complete research project courses by working with research supervisors in their…

  18. EDITORIAL: Student undergraduate laboratory and project work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schumacher, Dieter

    2007-05-01

    During the last decade 'labwork' courses at university level have changed significantly. The beginning of this development was indicated and partly initiated by the EU-project 'Labwork in Science Education' funded by the European Community (1999-2001). The present special issue of the European Journal of Physics focuses on a multitude of different aspects of this process. The aim of this publication is to improve the exchange of experience and to promote this important trend. In physics research labs a silent revolution has taken place. Today the personal computer is omnipresent. It controls the experiment via stepping motors, piezo-microdrives etc, it monitors all parameters and collects the experimental data with the help of smart sensors. In particular, computer-based modern scanning and imaging techniques open the possibility of creating really new types of experiments. The computer allows data storage and processing on the one hand and simulation and modelling on the other. These processes occur in parallel or may even be interwoven. The web plays an important role in modern science for inquiry, communication, cooperation and publication. Traditional labwork courses do not prepare students for the many resulting demands. Therefore it is necessary to redefine the learning targets and to reconsider the learning methods. Two contributions show exemplarily how modern experimental devices could find their way into students' labs. In the article 'Infrared thermal imaging as a tool in university physics education' by Klaus-Peter Möllmann and Michael Vollmer we can see that infrared thermal imaging is a valuable tool in physics education at university level. It can help to visualize and thereby enhance understanding of physical phenomena of mechanics, thermal physics, electromagnetism, optics and radiation physics. The contribution 'Using Peltier cells to study solid-liquid-vapor transitions and supercooling' by Giacomo Torzo, Isabella Soletta and Mario Branca proves

  19. Incorporation of Cross-Disciplinary Teaching and a Wiki Research Project to Engage Undergraduate Students' to Develop Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Communication Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crist, Courtney A.; Duncan, Susan E.; Bianchi, Laurie M.

    2017-01-01

    A Wiki research project was created in the Functional Foods for Health (FST/HNFE 2544) as an instructional tool and assignment for improving undergraduate students' proficiency in evaluating appropriate information sources for rapidly evolving science and research. The project design targeted improving students' information literacy skills…

  20. Improving Student Commitment to Healthcare-Related Design Practice by Improving the Studio Learning Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Lindsay; Hong, Miyoung; Albert, Taneshia West

    2017-10-01

    This case study explores the influence of the healthcare design studio experience on students' short-term professional goals as measured through rates of healthcare-related certification and internship/employment. The value and relevance of interior design is evident in the healthcare design sector. However, interior design students may not perceive this value if it is not communicated through their design education. Students' experience in the design studio plays a crucial role in determining career choices, and students may be more committed to career goals when there is clear connection between major coursework and professional practice. The authors compared healthcare-related certification and internship/employment levels between two student cohorts in a capstone undergraduate interior design healthcare design studio course. The first cohort was led by the existing curriculum. The second cohort was led by the revised curriculum that specifically aimed at encouraging students to commit to healthcare-related design practice. When measured at 3 months from graduation, the second cohort, led by the revised curriculum, saw a 30% increase in Evidence-based Design Accreditation and Certification exam pass rates and a 40% increase in healthcare-related internship/employment. The challenge of interior design education is to instill in emerging professionals not only professional competence but also those professional attitudes that will make them better prepared to design spaces that improve quality of life, particularly in healthcare environments. The results exceeded the project goals, and so this could be considered a promising practice for courses focused on healthcare design education.

  1. A Large Scale Problem Based Learning inter-European Student Satellite Construction Project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard; Alminde, Lars; Bisgaard, Morten

    2006-01-01

    that electronic communication technology was vital within the project. Additionally the SSETI EXPRESS project implied the following problems it didn’t fit to a standard semester - 18 months for the satellite project compared to 5/6 months for a “normal” semester project. difficulties in integrating the tasks......A LARGE SCALE PROBLEM BASED LEARNING INTER-EUROPEAN STUDENT SATELLITE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT This paper describes the pedagogical outcome of a large scale PBL experiment. ESA (European Space Agency) Education Office launched January 2004 an ambitious project: Let students from all over Europe build....... The satellite was successfully launched on October 27th 2005 (http://www.express.space.aau.dk). The project was a student driven project with student project responsibility adding at lot of international experiences and project management skills to the outcome of more traditional one semester, single group...

  2. Volcanoes: Where and Why? Crustal Evolution Education Project. Teacher's Guide [and] Student Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoever, Edward C., Jr.

    Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP) modules were designed to: (1) provide students with the methods and results of continuing investigations into the composition, history, and processes of the earth's crust and the application of this knowledge to man's activities and (2) to be used by teachers with little or no previous background in the…

  3. Applied Linguistics Project: Student-Led Computer Assisted Research in High School EAL/EAP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohát, Róbert; Rödlingová, Beata; Horáková, Nina

    2015-01-01

    The Applied Linguistics Project (ALP) started at the International School of Prague (ISP) in 2013. Every year, Grade 9 English as an Additional Language (EAL) students identify an area of learning in need of improvement and design a research method followed by data collection and analysis using basic computer software tools or online corpora.…

  4. Designing Internet Learning for Novice Users -Paper Based on a Action Research Project In India

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Purushothaman, Aparna

    2012-01-01

    The paper centre on an Action Research project undertaken in India for enabling the female students empowered through Internet use. The paper will discuss the design elements of Internet training for the first time users with limited Internet access based on Blooms Digital Taxonomy of Learning...... Domains.The paper also illustrates the identity formation of students, through learning to use Internet, using wengers social theory of learning with the empirical data....

  5. PhD on Track – designing learning for PhD students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunhild Austrheim

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Three years ago we started the project "Information Management for Knowledge Creation". The project was initiated to create online information literacy modules for PhD students. The result of our endeavours, PhD on Track, will be launched in May 2013. The initial stage of the project was mapping out the information behaviour of PhD students, as well as what services they require from the library through a literature review and a focus group study. The findings of these inquiries formed the knowledge base from which we developed our information literacy modules. Our paper will focus on the interaction between content production and user testing when creating PhD on Track. Methods: User testing has been employed throughout the production stage. We have tested navigation and organisation of the web site, content and usability. The project team have conducted expert testing. Analysis: The results from our user testing have played an important part in decisions concerning content production. Our working hypothesis was that the PhD students would want an encyclopaedic website, a place to quickly find answers. However, the user tests revealed that PhD students understood and expected the website to be learning modules. Conclusions: The PhD students in the tests agreed that a site such as this would be useful, especially to new PhD students. They also liked the design, but had some qualms with the level of information. They preferred shorter text, but with more depth. The students would likewise have preferred more practical examples, more illustrations and more discipline specific information. The current content of PhD on Track reflects the feedback from the user testing. We have retained initial ideas such as one section for reviewing and discovering research literature and one section for publishing PhD research work. In addition, we have included more practical examples to indicate efficient workflows or relevant actions in context. Illustrations

  6. Engaging students in astronomy and spectroscopy through Project SPECTRA!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, E. L.

    2011-12-01

    Computer simulations for minds-on learning with "Project Spectra!" How do we gain information about the Sun? How do we know Mars has CO2 or that Enceladus has H2O geysers? How do we use light in astronomy? These concepts are something students and educators struggle with because they are abstract. Using simulations and computer interactives (games) where students experience and manipulate the information makes concepts accessible. Visualizing lessons with multi-media solidifies understanding and retention of knowledge and is completely unlike its paper-and-pencil counterpart. Visualizations also enable teachers to forgo purchasing expensive laboratory equipment. "Project Spectra!" is a science and engineering program that uses computer-based Flash interactives to expose students to astronomical spectroscopy and actual data in a way that is not possible with traditional in-class activities. To engage students in "Project Spectra!", students are given a mission, which connects them with the research at hand. Missions range from exploring remote planetary atmospheres and surfaces, experimenting with the Sun using different filters, or analyzing the soil of a remote planet. Additionally, students have an opportunity to learn about NASA missions, view movies, and see images connected with their mission, which is something that is not practical to do during a typical paper-and-pencil activity. Since students can choose what to watch and explore, the interactives accommodate a broad range of learning styles. Students can go back and forth through the interactives if they've missed a concept or wish to view something again. In the end, students are asked critical thinking questions and conduct web-based research. These interactives complement in-class Project SPECTRA! activities exploring applications of the electromagnetic spectrum.

  7. NPP-Nuclear Island Design. From conceptual design to Project execution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lanchet, Dominique

    2014-01-01

    The second day opened with the lecture of Dominique Lanchet, Design Senior Vice President at AREVA Engineering and Project. Dominique Lanchet gave us an overview of the steps of a Nuclear Island Design creation from the conceptual design to the project execution, giving the examples of the EPR and ATMEA1 TM nuclear reactors

  8. Earth System Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutherford, Sandra; Coffman, Margaret

    2004-01-01

    For several decades, science teachers have used bottles for classroom projects designed to teach students about biology. Bottle projects do not have to just focus on biology, however. These projects can also be used to engage students in Earth science topics. This article describes the Earth System Science Project, which was adapted and developed…

  9. Design methodology and projects for space engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, S.; Kleespies, H.; Wood, K.; Crawford, R.

    1993-01-01

    NASA/USRA is an ongoing sponsor of space design projects in the senior design course of the Mechanical Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Austin. This paper describes the UT senior design sequence, consisting of a design methodology course and a capstone design course. The philosophical basis of this sequence is briefly summarized. A history of the Department's activities in the Advanced Design Program is then presented. The paper concludes with a description of the projects completed during the 1991-92 academic year and the ongoing projects for the Fall 1992 semester.

  10. Project Management in Real Time: A Service-Learning Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Erik; Drexler, John A., Jr.

    2010-01-01

    This article describes a service-learning assignment for a project management course. It is designed to facilitate hands-on student learning of both the technical and the interpersonal aspects of project management, and it involves student engagement with real customers and real stakeholders in the creation of real events with real outcomes. As…

  11. Student-to-Scientist (S2S) via the PACA Project: Connecting Astronomers, Educators and Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanamandra-Fisher, P. A.

    2015-12-01

    Student to Scientist (S2S), provides pathways for observational and research tools for K-12 and undergraduate students to improve science proficiency through conducting real scientific observations. Our approach lies in the integration of professional and amateur astronomers, educators, students, and communicators to identify multiple paths for the student to become a scientist. I report on the ensuing project, also known as the PACA Project, which is an ecosystem of various activities that take advantage of the social media and immediate connectivity amongst amateur astronomers worldwide and that can be galvanized to participate in a given observing campaign. The PACA Project has participated in organized campaigns such as NASA Comet ISON Observing Campaign in 2013; NASA Comet Integrated Observations Campaign to observe Comet Siding Spring as it flew by very close to Mars on 19 October 2014. Currently the PACA Project is involved in the Ground-based Amateur campaign to observer ESA/Rosetta mission's target, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (CG) that is en route to its perihelion on 13 August 2015 (at the time of abstract submission). The PACA Project provides access to the professional community and the student/educator and informal/public communities via various social media like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, Vimeo, Google+. With the popularity of mobile platforms and instant connections with other peers globally, the multi-faceted social universe has become a vital part of engagement of multiple communities. The PACA project currently has initiated a Comet Tails and Disconnection Events campaign to relate to the changing solar wind conditions. Other PACA projects include Saturn Solstice 2017 and outreach projects with Astroproject (India). These and other citizen-science enabled activities and their integration with S2S project will be discussed.

  12. Modelling human behaviour in a bumper car ride using molecular dynamics tools: a student project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buendía, Jorge J.; Lopez, Hector; Sanchis, Guillem; Pardo, Luis Carlos

    2017-05-01

    Amusement parks are excellent laboratories of physics, not only to check physical laws, but also to investigate if those physical laws might also be applied to human behaviour. A group of Physics Engineering students from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has investigated if human behaviour, when driving bumper cars, can be modelled using tools borrowed from the analysis of molecular dynamics simulations, such as the radial and angular distribution functions. After acquiring several clips and obtaining the coordinates of the cars, those magnitudes are computed and analysed. Additionally, an analogous hard disks system is simulated to compare its distribution functions to those obtained from the cars’ coordinates. Despite the clear difference between bumper cars and a hard disk-like particle system, the obtained distribution functions are very similar. This suggests that there is no important effect of the individuals in the collective behaviour of the system in terms of structure. The research, performed by the students, has been undertaken in the frame of a motivational project designed to approach the scientific method for university students named FISIDABO. This project offers both the logistical and technical support to undertake the experiments designed by students at the amusement park of Barcelona TIBIDABO and accompanies them all along the scientific process.

  13. The Use of Online Citizen-Science Projects to Provide Experiential Learning Opportunities for Nonmajor Science Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donna M. Kridelbaugh

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Citizen science is becoming even more accessible to the general public through technological advances in the development of mobile applications, facilitating information dissemination and data collection. With the advent of “big data,” many citizen-science projects designed to help researchers sift through piles of research data now exist entirely online, either in the form of playing a game or via other digital avenues. Recent trends in citizen science have also focused on “crowdsourcing” solutions from the general public to help solve societal issues, often requiring nothing more than brainstorming and a computer to submit ideas. Online citizen science thus provides an excellent platform to expand the accessibility of experiential learning opportunities for a broad range of nonmajor science students at institutions with limited resources (e.g., community colleges. I created an activity for a general microbiology lecture to engage students in hands-on experiences via participation in online citizen-science projects. The objectives of the assignment were for students to: 1 understand that everyone can be a scientist; 2 learn to be creative and innovative in designing solutions to health and science challenges; and 3 further practice science communication skills with a written report. This activity is designed for introductory science courses with nonmajor science students who have limited opportunities to participate in undergraduate research experiences.

  14. Electric Motorboat Drag Racing: A Hands-On Physics Project that Motivates Students from Start to Finish

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, Reno

    2008-01-01

    Electric Motorboat Drag Racing is a culminating high school physics project designed to apply and bring to life many content standards for physics. Students need to be given several weeks at home to design and build their model-sized electric motorboats for the 5-meter drag racing competition down rain gutters. In the process, they are discussing…

  15. Using Problem Based Learning and Game Design to motivate Non-technical Students to engage in Technical Learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reng, Lars; Schoenau-Fog, Henrik

    2010-01-01

    technology, a broader segment of students are consequently enrolled. One of the challenges of these new educations is to motivate the artistic minded students in learning the technical aspects of the curriculum, as they need these qualifications to work in the industry. At Aalborg University’s department...... have engaged and motivated artistic students to learn technical topics on their own....... of Medialogy, we employ problem based learning and game design to engage these students in learning the technical elements. This paper will describe our approach and exemplify the method by introducing various examples of student projects, where the interest in game design combined with problem based learning...

  16. Systematic design for trait introgression projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, John N; Han, Ye; Wang, Lizhi; Beavis, William D

    2017-10-01

    Using an Operations Research approach, we demonstrate design of optimal trait introgression projects with respect to competing objectives. We demonstrate an innovative approach for designing Trait Introgression (TI) projects based on optimization principles from Operations Research. If the designs of TI projects are based on clear and measurable objectives, they can be translated into mathematical models with decision variables and constraints that can be translated into Pareto optimality plots associated with any arbitrary selection strategy. The Pareto plots can be used to make rational decisions concerning the trade-offs between maximizing the probability of success while minimizing costs and time. The systematic rigor associated with a cost, time and probability of success (CTP) framework is well suited to designing TI projects that require dynamic decision making. The CTP framework also revealed that previously identified 'best' strategies can be improved to be at least twice as effective without increasing time or expenses.

  17. Assessing Impacts of Locally Designed Environmental Education Projects on Students' Environmental Attitudes, Awareness, and Intention to Act

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergman, Brenda Gail

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates whether consistent effects on students' environmental attitudes, awareness, and behavioral intentions could be discerned in an initiative that supports environmental education (EE) designed at the classroom level. Students of grades four, five, and seven participated in an assessment at the beginning and end of the school…

  18. Randomized trials of alcohol-use interventions with college students and their parents: lessons from the Transitions Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, A C; Wood, M D; Laforge, R; Black, J T

    2011-04-01

    Matriculation from high school to college is typified by an increase in alcohol use and related harm for many students. Therefore, this transition period is an ideal time for preventive interventions to target alcohol use and related problems. The purpose of this report is to describe the design and methods used in the Transitions Project, a randomized controlled trial of two interventions designed to prevent and reduce heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences among incoming college students. This study used a 2 × 2 factorial design to investigate the effects of a two-session brief motivational intervention delivered to students and a handbook-based parent intervention. Interventions were administered to students and parents. Follow-up assessment took place at 10- and 22-months post-baseline. The Transitions Project successfully recruited and retained participants across a major transition period (i.e., entering college), administered and compared two distinct but complementary interventions, and collected and analyzed highly skewed data. The application of a factorial design and two-part latent growth curve modeling allowed us to examine main and interactive intervention effects in terms of both initiation and growth in heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. While we conducted successful tests of our primary and secondary study hypotheses over a lengthy follow-up period, our study design did not permit full interpretation of null findings. We suggest that researchers carefully consider assessment timing, tests of assessment reactivity, and ensure objective tests of intervention efficacy when conducting clinical trials of motivational interventions. The lessons we learned while conducting this trial have the potential to assist other researchers designing and conducting future preventive interventions targeting parents and college students. The data analytic procedures presented can also help guide trials that plan to analyze

  19. Teaching geometrical principles to design students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Bartneck

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available We propose a new method of teaching the principles of geometry to design students. The students focus on a field of design in which geometry is the design: tessellation. We review different approaches to geometry and the field of tessellation before we discuss the setup of the course. Instead of employing 2D drawing tools, such as Adobe Illustrator, the students define their tessellation in mathematical formulas, using the Mathematica software. This procedure enables them to understand the mathematical principles on which graphical tools, such as Illustrator are built upon. But we do not stop at a digital representation of their tessellation design we continue to cut their tessellations in Perspex. It moves the abstract concepts of math into the real world, so that the students can experience them directly, which provides a tremendous reward to the students.

  20. Using a Studio-Based Pedagogy to Engage Students in the Design of Mobile-Based Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathews, James M.

    2010-01-01

    The article presents a brief overview of the Neighbourhood Game Design Project, a studio-based curriculum intervention aimed at engaging students in the design of place-based mobile games and interactive stories using geo-locative technologies (for example, GPS enabled cell phones). It describes the three curricular components that defined the…

  1. Creating a Project-Based Learning Environment to Improve Project Management Skills of Graduate Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arantes do Amaral, Joao Alberto; Gonçalves, Paulo; Hess, Aurélio

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the project-based learning environment created to support project management graduate courses. The paper will focus on the learning context and procedures followed for 13 years, in 47 project-based learning MBA courses, involving approximately 1,400 students and 34 community partners.

  2. Engaging ‘students as partners’ in the design and development of a peer-mentoring program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah O'Shea

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This presentation focussed on an innovative approach to developing peer mentoring programs. Drawing upon a ‘student as partners’ framework, the presentation explored how this has been used to underpin an approach to peer mentoring from the ground up. University peer mentoring programs are largely designed and developed by staff, who not only recruit and train student mentors but also select frequency and type of involvement for all parties. This pilot project proposes a different approach by collaborating with students in the design, development and enactment of a peer-mentoring program within one School of Education. From this pilot, we will develop guidelines and recommendations for the implementation of student-led peer mentoring programs (Students as Partners in Mentoring: SaPiM across the University of Wollongong (UOW.

  3. Graduate Student Project: Employer Operations Management Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fish, Lynn A.

    2008-01-01

    Part-time graduate students at an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited college complete a unique project by applying operations management concepts to their current employer. More than 92% of 368 graduates indicated that this experiential project was a positive learning experience, and results show a positive impact on…

  4. Debunking Myths: The B.C. Student Transitions Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaber, Devron; Heslop, Joanne

    2009-01-01

    British Colombia's Student Transitions Project (STP) is challenging long-held myths about the movement of students through the education system in that province and may become a catalyst for re-examining commonly held ideas about students' transition to post-secondary education across the country. The STP is a collaborative effort among B.C.'s…

  5. Pengembangan Model Pembelajaran Project Based Learning pada Mata Kuliah Computer Aided Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoto Endar Nayono

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available One of the key competencies of graduates majoring in Civil Engineering and Planning Education, Faculty of Engineering, Yogyakarta State University (YSU is able to plan buildings. CAD courses aim to train students to be able to pour the planning concepts into the picture. One of the obstacles faced in the course are concepts and pictures that created by the students often do not correspond to the standards used in the field. This study aims to develop a model of project-based learning so that the students’ pictures are more in line with the actual conditions in the field. This study was carried out through the stages as follows: (1 Pre test, (2 Planning of learning, (3 Implementation of the learning model of project-based learning, (4 monitoring and evaluation (5 Reflection and revision, (6 Implementation of learning in the next cycle, and (7 Evaluation of the learning outcomes. This study was conducted for four months in 2012 in the Department of Civil Engineering and Planning Education, Faculty of Engineering, YSU. The subjects of this study are the students who took the course of Computer Aided Design. The analysis of the data used descriptive qualitative and descriptive statistics. The results of this study were: (1 The implementation of project based learning model was proven to increase the learning process and the learning outcomes of students in the subject of CAD through the provision of buildings planning pictures tasks of school buildings based on the real conditions in the field. The task was delivered in every meeting and improved based on the feedback from their lecturers, (2 the learning model of project based learning will be easier to be implemented if it is accompanied by the model of peer tutoring and the learning model of PAIKEM.

  6. Interior Design Students Perceptions of Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stark, Johnnie; Park, Jin Gyu

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This longitudinal study assessed student perceptions of sustainable design issues in the context of an accredited interior design program. Although literature exists documenting the integration of sustainable strategies into interior design curriculum, more analysis is needed to determine the impact of program experiences on students'…

  7. Cinemeducation: A pilot student project using movies to help students learn medical professionalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lumlertgul, Nuttha; Kijpaisalratana, Naruchorn; Pityaratstian, Nuttorn; Wangsaturaka, Danai

    2009-07-01

    Using movies has been accepted worldwide as a tool to help students learn medical professionalism. In the second year, a group of medical students conducted the "Cinemeducation" project to promote professionalism in the "Medical Ethics and Critical Thinking" course. Five movies with professionalism issues were screened with 20-30 students attending each session. After the show, participants then were asked to reflect on what they had learned in terms of professionalism. Two students led group discussion emphasizing questioning and argumentation for 60 min. Additional learning issues emerging from each session were also explored in more depth and arranged into a report. In the Cinemeducation Project, medical students have learned five main ethical issues in each film, which were the doctor-patient relationship, informed consent and clinical trials in patients, management of genetic disorders, patient management, and brain death and organ transplantation. In addition to issues of professionalism, they also developed critical thinking and moral reasoning skills. Using a case-based scenario in movies has proven to be an effective and entertaining method of facilitating students with learning on professionalism.

  8. Improving student midwives’ practice learning in Uganda through action research: the MOMENTUM project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joy Kemp

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Background and context: The Royal College of Midwives is engaged in a long-term twinning partnership with the Uganda Private Midwives Association. Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world and only 27% of women and newborns have their needs met (UNFPA, 2014. A well-skilled, competent midwifery workforce is required to meet these needs yet Ugandan student midwives often receive poor-quality clinical education. The Ugandan Nurses and Midwives Council approached the Royal College of Midwives for assistance in designing a system of mentorship for Ugandan midwifery to address this gap. The project was funded by UK-Aid through the Tropical Health and Education Trust. Aims of the project: MOMENTUM was a 20-month action research project that aimed to develop and pilot a model of mentorship for student midwives in Uganda. This article focuses on one workstream relating to practice development, a twinning project that used workbased learning and appreciative inquiry, embedded in an action research approach, to facilitate practice development. Conclusions: This project added to the body of knowledge about midwifery twinning for building capacity in mentorship, research, and cross-cultural competence. MOMENTUM created a powerful community of practice that was enabling, fulfilling and transformative. Replication of this would require funding, management capacity and sufficient lead time for participatory planning and piloting. MOMENTUM’s audit tool was a bespoke design for this pilot project and so may not be transferable to other settings without further development, testing and validation. Implications for practice: •\tTwinning, action research, appreciative enquiry and workbased learning can be effective in enabling practice development •\tThe impact of midwifery twinning on leadership development requires further investigation, together with greater evidence on the reciprocal impact of twinning on the sending country

  9. Balancing Design Project Supervision and Learning Facilitation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Louise Møller

    2012-01-01

    experiences and expertise to guide the students’ decisions in relation to the design project. This paper focuses on project supervision in the context of design education – and more specifically on how this supervision is unfolded in a Problem Based Learning culture. The paper explores the supervisor......’s balance between the roles: 1) Design Project Supervisor – and 2) Learning Facilitator – with the aim to understand when to apply the different roles, and what to be aware of when doing so. This paper represents the first pilot-study of a larger research effort. It is based on a Lego Serious Play workshop......In design there is a long tradition for apprenticeship, as well as tradition for learning through design projects. Today many design educations are positioned within the University context, and have to be aligned with the learning culture and structure, which they represent. This raises a specific...

  10. A school and inquiry based project with Nordic student teachers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stougaard, Birgitte

    Álka is a framework involving teacher education institutions in the Nordic counties. This study describes the design of a module aiming at the establishment of a stronger nexus between research (theory) and teaching of science (practice) and to explore an issue relevant for the student teachers...... future professional life. The theme that was used for the research based project was: Nordic Children’s ideas about living things in the sea. Oral presentation at The 10th Nordic Research Symposium on Science Education (NFSUN), Linköbing, Sweden, June 2011....

  11. Students' Perceptions of Life Skill Development in Project-Based Learning Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Kimberly; Wurdinger, Scott

    2016-01-01

    This research aimed to examine students' perceptions of their life skills while attending project-based learning (PBL) schools. The study focused on three questions including: (1) What are students' perceptions of their development of life skills in project-based learning schools?; (2) In what ways, if any, do students perceive an increase in…

  12. 23 CFR 710.313 - Design-build projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT RIGHT-OF-WAY AND REAL ESTATE Project Development § 710.313 Design-build projects. (a) In the case of a design-build project, right-of-way must be acquired and cleared in accordance with the Uniform Relocation Assistance...

  13. Google Classroom and Open Clusters: An Authentic Science Research Project for High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Chelen H.; Linahan, Marcella; Cuba, Allison Frances; Dickmann, Samantha Rose; Hogan, Eleanor B.; Karos, Demetra N.; Kozikowski, Kendall G.; Kozikowski, Lauren Paige; Nelson, Samantha Brooks; O'Hara, Kevin Thomas; Ropinski, Brandi Lucia; Scarpa, Gabriella; Garmany, Catharine D.

    2016-01-01

    STEM education is about offering unique opportunities to our students. For the past three years, students from two high schools (Breck School in Minneapolis, MN, and Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, IL) have collaborated on authentic astronomy research projects. This past year they surveyed archival data of open clusters to determine if a clear turnoff point could be unequivocally determined. Age and distance to each open cluster were calculated. Additionally, students requested time on several telescopes to obtain original data to compare to the archival data. Students from each school worked in collaborative teams, sharing and verifying results through regular online hangouts and chats. Work papers were stored in a shared drive and on a student-designed Google site to facilitate dissemination of documents between the two schools.

  14. Drifting Continents and Wandering Poles. Crustal Evolution Education Project. Teacher's Guide [and] Student Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoever, Edward C., Jr.

    Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP) modules were designed to: (1) provide students with the methods and results of continuing investigations into the composition, history, and processes of the earth's crust and the application of this knowledge to man's activities and (2) to be used by teachers with little or no previous background in the…

  15. Drifting Continents and Magnetic Fields. Crustal Evolution Education Project. Teacher's Guide [and] Student Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoever, Edward C., Jr.

    Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP) modules were designed to: (1) provide students with the methods and results of continuing investigations into the composition, history, and processes of the earth's crust and the application of this knowledge to man's activities and (2) to be used by teachers with little or no previous background in the…

  16. Health Advocacy Project: Evaluating the Benefits of Service Learning to Nursing Students and Low Income Individuals Involved in a Community-Based Mental Health Promotion Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuels-Dennis, Joan; Xia, Liudi; Secord, Sandra; Raiger, Amelia

    2016-10-08

    Poverty, along with other factors such as unemployment, work and life stressors, interpersonal violence, and lack of access to high quality health and/or social services all play a role in determining who develops a mental illness and for whom those symptoms persist or worsen. Senior nursing student preparing to enter the field and working in a service learning capacity may be able to influence early recovery and symptom abatement among those most vulnerable to mental illness. A consortium of community stakeholders and researchers collaboratively designed a 10-week mental health promotion project called the Health Advocacy Project (HAP). The project combines case management and system navigation support delivered by trained and highly supervised nursing students to individuals experiencing major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this article, we present the findings of a qualitative fidelity evaluation that examines the effectiveness of nursing students in delivering the health advocacy intervention at the level and with the intensity originally intended. The findings demonstrate how the services of senior nursing students may be optimized to benefit our healthcare system and populations most at risk for developing MDD and PTSD.

  17. Teaching geometrical principles to design students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Feijs, L.M.G.; Bartneck, C.

    2009-01-01

    We propose a new method of teaching the principles of geometry to design students. The students focus on a field of design in which geometry is the design: tessellation. We review different approaches to geometry and the field of tessellation before we discuss the setup of the course. Instead of

  18. A Design-Based Research Project on Information Literacy Focusing on Process, Reflections and Self-Feedback

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majbritt Ursula Johansen

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Many curriculums assume that the new generation of students are digital natives and information literate. However, studies show that this is not often the case. From these studies and our own experiences working with multidisciplinary students in the Health Sciences we found that students were not as information literate as required in the curriculum. Using Design Based Research as a method (following the four phases below, we developed a new information search process and a web-based tool with feedback opportunities from teachers and librarians in order to qualify the students competencies. Problem identification: Despite earlier initiatives from library and department, the students didn’t achieve higher levels of information literacy. Prototyping: Requirements and educational material were merged and tested while gathering feedback. Iterations: The prototype and feedback were evaluated and developed into a new information search process, which was tested and evaluated. Reflection and generalization: Initiative was taken to develope a web-based application visualizing the steps with the learning points: self-feedback, peer-feedback and counselor feedback. The result of the project is a new information search process model and a web-based learning environment called B!NKO 2.0. The evaluations have shown positive feedback on both the process and the web tool. The project has opened up new possibilities that go beyond the Health multidisciplinary students. A new project concerning the Humanities and Social Sciences is incipient. In this project new functionalities are also expected. B!NKO 2.0 has to a great extent shown its worth to help Health multidisciplinary students to get a deeper understanding of information literacy, and how to develop and change searches to get better results. B!NKO 2.0 has also given a positive "side effect” on the librarians work. Time spend on the "Book a Librarian” service have decreased for the librarians using

  19. The use of engineering design scenarios to assess student knowledge of global, societal, economic, and environmental contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenna, Ann F.; Hynes, Morgan M.; Johnson, Amy M.; Carberry, Adam R.

    2016-07-01

    Product archaeology as an educational approach asks engineering students to consider and explore the broader societal and global impacts of a product's manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal on people, economics, and the environment. This study examined the impact of product archaeology in a project-based engineering design course on student attitudes and perceptions about engineering and abilities to extend and refine knowledge about broader contexts. Two design scenarios were created: one related to dental hygiene and one related to vaccination delivery. Design scenarios were used to (1) assess knowledge of broader contexts, and (2) test variability of student responses across different contextual situations. Results from pre- to post-surveying revealed improved student perceptions of knowledge of broader contexts. Significant differences were observed between the two design scenarios. The findings support the assumption that different design scenarios elicit consideration of different contexts and design scenarios can be constructed to target specific contextual considerations.

  20. Information Flows in Networked Engineering Design Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parraguez, Pedro; Maier, Anja

    Complex engineering design projects need to manage simultaneously multiple information flows across design activities associated with different areas of the design process. Previous research on this area has mostly focused on either analysing the “required information flows” through activity...... networks at the project level or in studying the social networks that deliver the “actual information flow”. In this paper we propose and empirically test a model and method that integrates both social and activity networks into one compact representation, allowing to compare actual and required...... information flows between design spaces, and to assess the influence that these misalignments could have on the performance of engineering design projects....

  1. Environmental Science: 49 Science Fair Projects. Science Fair Projects Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnet, Robert L.; Keen, G. Daniel

    This book contains 49 science fair projects designed for 6th to 9th grade students. Projects are organized by the topics of soil, ecology (projects in habitat and life cycles), pests and controls (projects in weeds and insects), recycling (projects in resources and conservation), waste products (projects in decomposition), microscopic organisms,…

  2. 34 CFR 637.13 - What are design projects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MINORITY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program? § 637.13 What are design projects? (a) Design... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are design projects? 637.13 Section 637.13...

  3. The Impact of a Service-Learning Design Course on White Students' Racial Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houshmand, Sara; Spanierman, Lisa B.; Beer, Amanda M.; Poteat, V. Paul; Lawson, Laura J.

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the racial attitudes of White undergraduates (N = 15) enrolled in a service-learning design studio, in which students worked closely on landscape architecture projects with residents in a low-income African American community. Using a modified consensual qualitative research method, the authors analyzed a series of guided…

  4. Developing Physics Concepts through Hands-On Problem Solving: A Perspective on a Technological Project Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Jon-Chao; Chen, Mei-Yung; Wong, Ashley; Hsu, Tsui-Fang; Peng, Chih-Chi

    2012-01-01

    In a contest featuring hands-on projects, college students were required to design a simple crawling worm using planning, self-monitoring and self-evaluation processes to solve contradictive problems. To enhance the efficiency of problem solving, one needs to practice meta-cognition based on an application of related scientific concepts. The…

  5. Collaborative Learning in Architectural Education: Benefits of Combining Conventional Studio, Virtual Design Studio and Live Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Carolina; Hudson, Roland; Niblock, Chantelle

    2018-01-01

    Combinations of Conventional Studio and Virtual Design Studio (VDS) have created valuable learning environments that take advantage of different instruments of communication and interaction. However, past experiences have reported limitations in regards to student engagement and motivation, especially when the studio projects encourage abstraction…

  6. Assessment in the Context of Mathematics Instruction Reform: The Design of Assessment in the QUASAR Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, Edward A.; Lane, Suzanne

    Recent reports on mathematics education reform have focused the attention of educational practitioners and policymakers on new goals for mathematics education and new descriptions of mathematical proficiency. QUASAR is a national project (Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning) designed to improve the mathematics…

  7. Italy-Japan international project-based learning for developing human resources using design of welfare equipment as a subject.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanafusa, A; Komeda, T; Ito, K; Zobel, P Beomonte

    2015-08-01

    Project-based learning (PBL) is effective for developing human resources of young students. The design of welfare equipment, such as wheelchairs and gait assistive devices, is taken as the subject in this study because these devices must be fit to their environment, users, and method of use; students must consider the circumstances of each country concerned. The program commenced in 2012 at L'Aquila, Italy, and the Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan and has been continuing for three years. Students were divided into four groups and discussions were held on how to adapt the equipment to the user and environment. After discussion, they designed and simulated a model of the equipment using CAD. Finally, they presented their designs to each other. Through the program, students had fruitful discussions, exchanged ideas from different cultures, and learned from each other. Furthermore, friendships among the students were nurtured. It is believed that the objective of the program was satisfactorily accomplished.

  8. Student experiences with an international public health exchange project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Critchley, Kim A; Richardson, Eileen; Aarts, Clara; Campbell, Barbara; Hemmingway, Ann; Koskinen, Liisa; Mitchell, Maureen P; Nordstrom, Pam

    2009-01-01

    With growing interconnectivity of healthcare systems worldwide and increased immigration, inappropriate cultural and role assumptions are often seen when cultures clash within a country or when there is practice across country boundaries in times of disaster and during international travel. To increase students' multicultural awareness and work experiences abroad, the authors describe a 7-school, 5-country international student exchange project. The authors also share the students' evaluations of their experiences as they are challenged to erase boundaries and embrace nursing across countries. Participating faculty describe the process, challenges, and keys to success found in creating and living this international project. Students involved in the exchange process evaluate the learning opportunities and challenges and the joy of coming together as newfound colleagues and friends.

  9. Students and Teacher Responses to a Unit of Student-Designed Games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Ashley; Hastie, Peter A.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Despite the support in primary education that student-designed games enhance student contextualisation of skills and tactics, there has been little support in secondary education, nor any empirical research exploring these claims. This paper attempts to rekindle these beliefs and explores the use of student-designed games in an English…

  10. Using UAVs to Conduct Student-led Research Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olds, S. E.; Lewis, P. M., Jr.

    2016-12-01

    Recreational drones can inspire students to initiate research projects. These "toys" have a low cost (Arduino board, SABEL collects temperature, humidity, and GPS position. This presentation will provide examples of student-led investigations, instructions for building the SABEL sensor package, and the status of the new e-book compilation of student-focused activities using recreational drones to pursue science, math, engineering, and technology research investigations.

  11. Summary of student scenarios: 2020 Vision project, fiscal year 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gordon, K.W.; Munoz, A.; Scott, K.P.; Rinne, R.

    1997-11-01

    The Strategic Issues Thinking: 2020 Vision project introduces students and teaches to national security issues through the techniques of scenario building, and engages them in an interactive process of creating scenarios relevant to the Department of Energy, Defense Programs (DOE/DP). Starting with the world as it is today, teams of students develop a series of scenarios on international developments over the next 25 years under various circumstances. This report identifies recurrent themes in the student`s scenarios, lists creative ways the students presented their scenarios, compares and contrasts the program`s FY97 results with FY96 results, identifies the benefits of the program, and offers a glimpse of Sandia`s future plans for the 2020 Vision project.

  12. Gender and legitimacy in student project groups

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Gerd

    also found that some of the positive and negative characteristics were linked to the students due to their gender. Through the argument that female students talk too much or are having difficulty in coping with criticism, male students refused to cooperate with the female students. Conversely, the male...... students, who were few in the educations I studied, were quite in demand. For me it was very surprising to find these stereotypical perceptions and reasoning among young people in contemporary (and quite progressive) Danish educations. And the question is what it means for the students’ possibilities...... of completing their education. In my presentation I will unfold and discuss the ways in which the students attributed and disclaimed legitimacy to each other qua gender and thus how gender was linked to the relationship between inclusion and exclusion in the student project groups....

  13. An Interdisciplinary Team Project: Psychology and Computer Science Students Create Online Cognitive Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flannery, Kathleen A.; Malita, Mihaela

    2014-01-01

    We present our case study of an interdisciplinary team project for students taking either a psychology or computer science (CS) course. The project required psychology and CS students to combine their knowledge and skills to create an online cognitive task. Each interdisciplinary project team included two psychology students who conducted library…

  14. Merging Design and Implementation in a First Semester HCI-Course for Engineering Students

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jacob; Majgaard, Gunver

    2013-01-01

    requirements, doing conceptual design, physical and interactive prototyping and user evaluation. And they actually implemented quite large programs with multiple screen switching, multiple interfaces, media such as pictures, animations and sound, database connection, web-server connection, integrated sensors...... – such as camera, accelerometer etc. The students did a lot more project iterations and spend more time on the creative designs in real life situations than we expected. This also allowed for the students’ professional reflections on their prototype, usability, interaction and the design process All in all...

  15. Extending Sociotechnical Design to Project Conception

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

    2011-01-01

    Project management processes offer specific sites for understanding the interplay of the social and the technical. This article focuses on the connection between knowledge and technology through knowledge communication processes, cultural & rhetorical contexts in projects, and the iterative process...... and the Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Denmark. The analysis demonstrates the potential of knowledge communication concepts for social technical design and highlights the cultural context of the designers as a key factor to consider in socio-technical design....

  16. "Know Your Well" A Groundwater Quality Project to Inform Students and Well-Owners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, C.; Snow, D.; Samal, A.; Ray, C.; Kreifels, M.

    2017-12-01

    Over 15 million U.S. households rely on private, household wells for drinking water, and these sources are not protected under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Data on private well water quality is slowly being collected and evaluated from a number of different agencies, sources and projects. A new project is designed both for training high school students and to help assess the quality of water from rural domestic wells in Nebraska. This "crowd sourced" program engaging high school agricultural education programs, FFA chapters, and science classes with students sampling and testing water sampling from rural domestic wells from 12 districts across the state. Students and teachers from selected school were trained through multiple school visits, both in the classroom and in the field. Classroom visits were used to introduce topics such as water quality and groundwater, and testing methods for specific analytes. During the field visit, students were exposed to field techniques, the importance of accuracy in data collection, and what factors might influence the water in sampled wells. High school students learn to sample and test water independently. Leadership and initiative is developed through the program, and many experience the enlightenment that comes with citizen science. A customized mobile app was developed for ease of data entry and visualization, and data uploaded to a secure website where information was stored and compared to laboratory tests of the same measurements. General water quality parameters, including pH, electrical conductivity, major anions are tested in the field and laboratory, as well as environmental contaminants such as arsenic, uranium, pesticides, bacteria. Test kits provided to each class were used by the students to measure selected parameters, and then duplicate water samples were analyzed at a university laboratory. Five high schools are involved in the project during its first year. Nitrate, bacteria and pesticides represent major

  17. Student Perceptions on Live-Case Projects: Undergraduate Marketing Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundala, Raghava Rao; Singh, Mandeep; Baldwin, Andrew

    2014-01-01

    This paper is an investigation into undergraduate students' perceptions on use of live projects as a teaching pedagogy in marketing research courses. Students in undergraduate marketing research courses from fall 2009 to spring 2013 completed an online questionnaire consisting of 17 items. The results suggested that student understanding of…

  18. Integration of Structural Knowledge in Design Studio Project: Assessment Study of Curriculum In Architecture Course in University Of Malaya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aniza Abdul Aziz

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Architectural education should advance in parallel with the industrial growth of building technology. Universities as producers of future architects have yet to develop curriculums for building technology to suit the growth of the building industry. This gap between education and industrial growth has been a topic of debate for many researchers who are concerned about architectural pedagogy. Architectural instruction further aggravated the problem whereby in most architectural schools worldwide, teaching is divided between the design studio, where the design projects are taught and lecture classes where the technical parts are taught. The latter should be integrated with design studio to enhance design levels. Students face difficulty integrating and applying the structural knowledge gained from structure classes into their design. One explanation for this deficiency is because the current architectural structure subject's content is borrowed from an engineering syllabus. This study will examine the course content, instruction styles and method of teaching structure subjects and will investigate the learning outcomes of design studio through students' performance and perception in integrating structural knowledge in their design projects. Respondents were students from Year 1 to Year 5 doing their Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Bachelor of Architecture degrees in University of Malaya. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the design studio coordinators and structure lecturers. This study aims to find the ideal course content/method of teaching to facilitate more integration between structure and design studio.

  19. Introducing an Innovative Project Management Framework for First Year StudentsProject Work in a PBL Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kofoed, Lise B.; Møller, Michael Labovic

    2010-01-01

    Students at Aalborg University (AAU) in Denmark are educated according to the Aalborg Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach which entails working in groups and completing a project each semester. In accordance with this approach students are offered a course – Co-operation, Learning and Project...... in general acknowledge the benefits of thorough project plans and schedules, they often experience difficulties developing them and abiding by them. These experienced difficulties are caused by lack of motivation and competence within this particular area of project management. This paper describes how a new...

  20. The Use of Computer Tools in the Design Process of Students’ Architectural Projects. Case Studies in Algeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saighi, Ouafa; Salah Zerouala, Mohamed

    2017-12-01

    This The paper particularly deals with the way in which computer tools are used by students in their design studio’s projects. Four institutions of architecture education in Algeria are considered as a case study to evaluate the impact of such tools on student design process. This aims to inspect in depth such use, to sort out its advantages and shortcomings in order to suggest some solutions. A field survey was undertaken on a sample of students and their teachers at the same institutions. The analysed results mainly show that computer tools are highly focusing on improving the quality of drawings representation and images seeking observers’ satisfaction hence influencing their decision. Some teachers are not very keen to overuse the computer during the design phase; they prefer the “traditional” approach. This is the present situation that Algerian university is facing which leads to conflict and disagreement between students and teachers. Meanwhile, there was no doubt that computer tools have effectively contributed to improve the competitive level among students.

  1. Influence of student-designed experiments with fast plants on their understanding of plants and of scientific inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akey, Ann Kosek

    2000-10-01

    This dissertation investigates the influence of student designed experiments with Fast Plants in an undergraduate agroecology course on the students' conceptual understanding of plant life cycles and on their procedural understanding of scientific experimentation. It also considers students' perspectives on the value of these experiences. Data sources included semi-structured interviews with students and the instructor, a written task, course evaluations, and observations of class meetings. Students came into the course having strong practical experience with plants from their agricultural backgrounds. Students did not always connect aspects of plant biology that they studied in class, particularly respiration and photosynthesis, to plant growth requirements. The instructor was able to bridge the gap between some practical knowledge and textbook knowledge with experiences other than the Fast Plant project. Most students held an incomplete picture of plant reproduction that was complicated by differences between agricultural and scientific vocabulary. There is need for teaching approaches that help students tie together their knowledge of plants into a cohesive framework. Experiences that help students draw on their background knowledge related to plants, and which give students the opportunity to examine and discuss their ideas, may help students make more meaningful connections. The Fast Plant project, a positive experience for most students, was seen by these undergraduate students as being more helpful in learning about scientific experimentation than about plants. The process of designing and carrying out their own experiments gave students insight into experimentation, provoked their curiosity, and resulted in a sense of ownership and accomplishment.

  2. NASA's Student Launch Projects: A Government Education Program for Science and Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, Christena C.

    2009-01-01

    Among the many NASA education activities, the Student Launch projects are examples of how one agency has been working with students to inspire math, science and engineering interest. There are two Student Launch projects: Student Launch Initiative (SLI) for middle and high school students and the University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) for college students. The programs are described and website links are provided for further information. This document presents an example of how an agency can work with its unique resources in partnership with schools and communities to bring excitement to the classroom.

  3. Online Lab Books for Supervision of Project Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badge, J. L.; Badge, R. M.

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the authors report a case study where Blackboard's wiki function was used to create electronic lab books for the supervision of undergraduate students completing laboratory based research projects. This successful experiment in supervision using electronic notebooks provided a searchable record of student work and a permanent…

  4. Creating a BYOD Tour Around Poznan, Poland – A Location-based Project for Teenage Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena Agnieszka Brzezinska

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on a project that encompasses place-based learning, location-based learning and problem-based learning in teaching of English as a foreign language. It shows how a project of this type can increase student motivation and help teenagers embrace local culture. It originated when the author of this paper was introduced to the Wandering platform and the Experiencity platform by one of the co-creators of the former, Ms. Talila Yehiel, a museum expert and a designer of tailor-made sites for museum visits. After examining the various options of the Experiencity platform on her own, and upon developing two walks: The Past and the Present: Jewish Heritage Walk in Bielsko-Biala and Karl Korn Walk, the author undertook to test it with her teenage students, designing a completely new location-based activity: Be Active and Explore Poznan. As recommended by Piaget, the author challenged her students and was a guide and facilitator rather than a lecturer. She made the students work together and find answers and solutions to the problems posed. She also trusted Vygotsky and Dewey in assuming that learners are social individuals and place-based education helps “students connect with their particular corners of the world” (Woodhouse and Knapp, [9]. The walk demonstrates interaction of teenagers with and in space: it inspects the particular characteristics of a place, it is cross-curricular and intrinsically empirical, and it forms a relation between place, self and community (Woodhouse and Knapp, [9]. It also uses local environment to make students active citizens, contributing to the society (compare [7], p.7.

  5. Mathematics authentic assessment on statistics learning: the case for student mini projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauziah, D.; Mardiyana; Saputro, D. R. S.

    2018-03-01

    Mathematics authentic assessment is a form of meaningful measurement of student learning outcomes for the sphere of attitude, skill and knowledge in mathematics. The construction of attitude, skill and knowledge achieved through the fulfilment of tasks which involve active and creative role of the students. One type of authentic assessment is student mini projects, started from planning, data collecting, organizing, processing, analysing and presenting the data. The purpose of this research is to learn the process of using authentic assessments on statistics learning which is conducted by teachers and to discuss specifically the use of mini projects to improving students’ learning in the school of Surakarta. This research is an action research, where the data collected through the results of the assessments rubric of student mini projects. The result of data analysis shows that the average score of rubric of student mini projects result is 82 with 96% classical completeness. This study shows that the application of authentic assessment can improve students’ mathematics learning outcomes. Findings showed that teachers and students participate actively during teaching and learning process, both inside and outside of the school. Student mini projects also provide opportunities to interact with other people in the real context while collecting information and giving presentation to the community. Additionally, students are able to exceed more on the process of statistics learning using authentic assessment.

  6. The Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory: A Student Team Approach to the Fourth-Year Research Thesis Project Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piunno, Paul A. E.; Boyd, Cleo; Barzda, Virginijus; Gradinaru, Claudiu C.; Krull, Ulrich J.; Stefanovic, Sasa; Stewart, Bryan

    2014-01-01

    The advanced interdisciplinary research laboratory (AIRLab) represents a novel, effective, and motivational course designed from the interdisciplinary research interests of chemistry, physics, biology, and education development faculty members as an alternative to the independent thesis project experience. Student teams are assembled to work…

  7. Hot Spots in the Earth's Crust. Crustal Evolution Education Project. Teacher's Guide [and] Student Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoever, Edward C., Jr.

    Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP) modules were designed to: (1) provide students with the methods and results of continuing investigations into the composition, history, and processes of the earth's crust and the application of this knowledge to man's activities and (2) to be used by teachers with little or no previous background in the…

  8. Learning from participatory design projects across industries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Broberg, Ole; Souza da Conceição, Carolina

    2017-01-01

    Summative Statement: A preliminary framework for participatory design projects (PDP) was developed based on a retrospective analysis of five PDPs across different industries. The framework may serve as a guidance for planning and conducting PDPs. Problem statement: A growing number of experiences...... with participatory design or participatory ergonomics projects have been gained within the field of macro-ergonomics. It is suggested that the Participatory Ergonomics Framework (PEF) validated by Haines et al. (2002) needs to be updated based on these experiences and hence more focussed on design activities....... Research Objective / Question: The objective of this study was to update and design-orient the PEF based on experiences with PDPs within the last ten years. Methodology: Five participatory design projects across different industries were systematically analyzed and compared in order to develop a framework...

  9. The Lifestyle Project: Challenging Students to Redefine their Approach to Resource Use (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirk, K.

    2009-12-01

    The Lifestyle Project is a way for students to learn about environmental impacts by changing their own lifestyles. It is a three-week exercise during which students reduce their energy use, waste output and water use by changing the way they live from day to day. The project has fairly rigid parameters, allowing students to achieve a gradual but definitive change in their everyday habits. Students begin by taking baseline measurements of their resource use, and then they select three different areas in which they are interested in reducing their environmental impact. Within each area there are clearly defined rules that provide a structured means for achieving significant changes. Each week the project becomes more rigorous, because students will have to meet the requirements more frequently. They write about their experiences in journals, which are incredibly insightful and illustrate just how profoundly the project affects them. The Lifestyle Project has been used across several campuses and in many educational settings such as traditional courses, online courses and in informal settings. Its strength lies in allowing students to quantify and modify their own use of resources, then compare their personal reductions to what could be applied in a larger population. This helps them apply and personalize many of the concepts addressed in courses about environmental geology, climate change, or energy resources. The incremental nature of the project allows students several opportunities to practice new behaviors, so that they become adept at using far fewer resources than they thought would be possible. Results from the Lifestyle Project indicate that students save significant amounts of energy, on the order of 1 to 2 million BTUs per day. Journal reflections illustrate a corresponding shift in students’ personal awareness of their use of resources and the repercussions of their daily decisions. Although many students find the project frustrating at first, after

  10. Master's Thesis Projects: Student Perceptions of Supervisor Feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Kleijn, Renske A. M.; Mainhard, M. Tim; Meijer, Paulien C.; Brekelmans, Mieke; Pilot, Albert

    2013-01-01

    A growing body of research has investigated student perceptions of written feedback in higher education coursework, but few studies have considered feedback perceptions in one-on-one and face-to-face contexts such as master's thesis projects. In this article, student perceptions of feedback are explored in the context of the supervision of…

  11. An Undergraduate Two-Course Sequence in Biomedical Engineering Design: A Simulation of an Industrial Environment with Group and Individual Project Participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jendrucko, Richard J.

    The first half of a Biomedical Engineering course at Texas A&M University is devoted to group projects that require design planning and a search of the literature. The second half requires each student to individually prepare a research proposal and conduct a research project. (MLH)

  12. Project management in interior design services

    OpenAIRE

    Şahinoglu, Alp

    1997-01-01

    Ankara : Bilkent University, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design and Institute of Fine Arts, 1997. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1997. Includes bibliographical references. In this study, the concept of project management is analyzed within the framework of interior design services. Project management has been defined as the managing and coordination of all human and physical resources, in order to accomplish the predetermined goals (aim of the proj...

  13. Reference Design Project Book: NUSEL-Homestake

    OpenAIRE

    Haxton, W. C.

    2003-01-01

    This submission includes the overview, science timeline, reference design, WBS, and mine status sections of the Homestake collaboration's Reference Design Project Book. The Project Book describes the specific plan for converting the Homestake Gold Mine into a facility for physics, earth science, and engineering. The proposed developments on the 7400- and 4850-ft levels are presented, along with the plans for adapting Homestake's existing infrastructure for science. The plan differs substantia...

  14. Students as Designers of Semantic Web Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tracy, Fran; Jordan, Katy

    2012-01-01

    This paper draws upon the experience of an interdisciplinary research group in engaging undergraduate university students in the design and development of semantic web technologies. A flexible approach to participatory design challenged conventional distinctions between "designer" and "user" and allowed students to play a role…

  15. Enhancing College Students' Life Skills through Project Based Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wurdinger, Scott; Qureshi, Mariam

    2015-01-01

    This study examined whether life skills could be developed in a Project Based Learning (PBL) course. The participants were students enrolled in a graduate level PBL course. The same 35-question survey was given to students at the beginning and end of the course, and students were asked to rank their life skills using a Likert scale. Additionally,…

  16. Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Project: Student Responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigue, Christine M.; Wechsler, Suzanne P.; Whitney, David J.; Ambos, Elizabeth L.; Ramirez-Herrera, Maria Teresa; Behl, Richard; Francis, Robert D.; Larson, Daniel O.; Hazen, Crisanne

    This paper describes an interdisciplinary project at California State University (Long Beach) designed to increase the attractiveness of the geosciences to underrepresented groups. The project is called the Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Project (GDEP). It is a 3-year program which began in the fall of 2001 with funding from the National Science…

  17. Software pi/4 DQPSK Modem: A Student Project Using the TMS320-C6201 EVM Board

    OpenAIRE

    Weiss, S; Braithwaite, SJ; Stewart, RD

    2000-01-01

    This paper reports on a student project performed at the University of Southampton jointly by 4th year MEng students within the course "Advanced Radio Communications". The aim was to design a software modem capable of transmitting 16kb/s of data, whereby random number generation, advanced modulation, pulse shaping, synchronisation, and error counting techniques had to be applied. The ultimate aim was the implementation on a Texas Instruments TMS320-C6201 EVM board, which dictated some of the ...

  18. Using Contests to Provide Business Students Project-Based Learning in Humanitarian Logistics: PSAid Example

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özpolat, Koray; Chen, Yuwen; Hales, Doug; Yu, Degan; Yalcin, Mehmet G.

    2014-01-01

    Business students appreciate working on classroom projects that are both enjoyable and useful in preparing them for future careers. Promoting competition among project teams is also used as a method to motivate students. The Humanitarian Logistics Project (HLP) teaches undergraduate students the logistical implications of unsolicited material…

  19. Using Students' Design Tasks to Develop Scientific Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Xueli

    2007-11-01

    To help students develop the scientific abilities desired in the 21st century workplace, four different types of student design tasks—observation, verification, application, and investigation experiments—have been developed and implemented in our calculus-based introductory courses. Students working in small groups are engaged in designing and conducting their own experiments to observe some physical phenomena, test a physical principle, build a real-life device, solve a complex problem, or conduct an open-inquiry investigation. A preliminary study has shown that, probed by a performance-based task, the identified scientific abilities are more explicitly demonstrated by design-lab students than non-design lab students. In this paper, detailed examples of the design tasks and assessment results will be reported.

  20. Designing Solutions by a Student Centred Approach: Integration of Chemical Process Simulation with Statistical Tools to Improve Distillation Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel M. Joao

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Projects thematically focused on simulation and statistical techniques for designing and optimizing chemical processes can be helpful in chemical engineering education in order to meet the needs of engineers. We argue for the relevance of the projects to improve a student centred approach and boost higher order thinking skills. This paper addresses the use of Aspen HYSYS by Portuguese chemical engineering master students to model distillation systems together with statistical experimental design techniques in order to optimize the systems highlighting the value of applying problem specific knowledge, simulation tools and sound statistical techniques. The paper summarizes the work developed by the students in order to model steady-state processes, dynamic processes and optimize the distillation systems emphasizing the benefits of the simulation tools and statistical techniques in helping the students learn how to learn. Students strengthened their domain specific knowledge and became motivated to rethink and improve chemical processes in their future chemical engineering profession. We discuss the main advantages of the methodology from the students’ and teachers perspective

  1. International Group Heterogeneity and Students' Business Project Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Ning; Bosker, Roel J.; Xu, Xiaoyan; Rugers, Lucie; van Heugten, Petra PAM

    2015-01-01

    In business higher education, group project work plays an essential role. The purpose of the present study is to explore the relationship between the group heterogeneity of students' business project groups and their academic achievements at both group and individual levels. The sample consists of 536 freshmen from an International Business School…

  2. The Influence of Toy Design Activities on Middle School Students' Understanding of the Engineering Design Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ninger; Pereira, Nielsen L.; George, Tarun Thomas; Alperovich, Jeffrey; Booth, Joran; Chandrasegaran, Senthil; Tew, Jeffrey David; Kulkarni, Devadatta M.; Ramani, Karthik

    2017-10-01

    The societal demand for inspiring and engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and preparing our workforce for the emerging creative economy has necessitated developing students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes from as early as elementary school levels. Hands-on engineering design activities have shown the potential to promote middle school students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes. However, traditional classrooms often lack hands-on engineering design experiences, leaving students unprepared to solve real-world design problems. In this study, we introduce the framework of a toy design workshop and investigate the influence of the workshop activities on students' understanding of and self-efficacy beliefs in engineering design. Using a mixed method approach, we conducted quantitative analyses to show changes in students' engineering design self-efficacy and qualitative analyses to identify students' understanding of the engineering design processes. Findings show that among the 24 participants, there is a significant increase in students' self-efficacy beliefs after attending the workshop. We also identified major themes such as design goals and prototyping in students' understanding of engineering design processes. This research provides insights into the key elements of middle school students' engineering design learning and the benefits of engaging middle school students in hands-on toy design workshops.

  3. Projectables

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Troels A.; Merritt, Timothy R.

    2017-01-01

    CNC cutting machines have become essential tools for designers and architects enabling rapid prototyping, model-building and production of high quality components. Designers often cut from new materials, discarding the irregularly shaped remains. We introduce ProjecTables, a visual augmented...... reality system for interactive packing of model parts onto sheet materials. ProjecTables enables designers to (re)use scrap materials for CNC cutting that would have been previously thrown away, at the same time supporting aesthetic choices related to wood grain, avoiding surface blemishes, and other...... relevant material properties. We conducted evaluations of ProjecTables with design students from Aarhus School of Architecture, demonstrating that participants could quickly and easily place and orient model parts reducing material waste. Contextual interviews and ideation sessions led to a deeper...

  4. Promoting Information Literacy of Pre-Medical Students through Project-Based Learning: A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reya Saliba

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study describes the implementation of information literacy (IL skills through the use of the project-based learning (PjBL method in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP course. Participants were Arabic speaking students enrolled in the Foundation Program that prepares them for the premedical curriculum in a U.S. medical   college in the State of Qatar. A mixed methods approach consisting of a survey, three focus groups, and instructors' observations was used to gather the needed data. The results showed a significant increase in students' advanced research skills. This study emphasizes the benefit of using the PjBL method to develop students' IL skills. It also reinforces the vital role of faculty-librarian partnership in designing learning activities that engage students, foster their critical thinking, and develop their metacognitive skills.

  5. Helping Education Students Understand Learning through Designing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronen-Fuhrmann, Tamar; Kali, Yael; Hoadley, Christopher

    2008-01-01

    This article describes a course in which graduate students in education learn practical and theoretical aspects of educational design by creating technologies for learning. The course was built around three themes: "Analyzing technologies," in which students study state-of- the-art technologies and interview their designers; "design studio," in…

  6. University of Houston Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bering, E. A., III; Talbot, R. W.; Hampton, D. L.; Molders, N.; Millan, R. M.; Halford, A. J.; Dunbar, B.; Morris, G. A.; Prince, J.; Gamblin, R.; Ehteshami, A.; Lehnen, J. N.; Greer, M.; Porat, I.; Alozie, M.; Behrend, C. C.; Bias, C.; Fenton, A.; Gunawan, B.; Harrison, W.; Martinez, A.; Mathur, S.; Medillin, M.; Nguyen, T.; Nguyen, T. V.; Nowling, M.; Perez, D.; Pham, M.; Pina, M.; Thomas, G.; Velasquez, B.; Victor, L.

    2017-12-01

    The Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP) is a NASA program to engage undergraduate students in rigorous scientific research, for the purposes of innovation and developing the next generation of professionals for an array of fields. The program is student led and executed from initial ideation to research to the design and deployment of scientific payloads. The University of Houston has been selected twice to participate in the USIP programs. The first program (USIP_UH I) ran from 2013 to 2016. USIP_UH II started in January of 2016, with funding starting at the end of May. USIP_UH I (USIP_UH II) at the University of Houston was (is) composed of eight (seven) research teams developing six (seven), distinct, balloon-based scientific instruments. These instruments will contribute to a broad range of geophysical sciences from Very Low Frequency recording and Total Electron Content to exobiology and ozone profiling. USIP_UH I had 12 successful launches with 9 recoveries from Fairbanks, AK in March 2015, and 4 piggyback flights with BARREL 3 from Esrange, Kiruna, Sweden in August, 2015. USIP_UH II had 8 successful launches with 5 recoveries from Fairbanks, AK in March 2017, 3 piggyback flights with BARREL 4 from Esrange, Kiruna, Sweden in August, 2016, and 1 flight each from CSBF and UH. The great opportunity of this program is capitalizing on the proliferation of electronics miniaturization to create new generations of scientific instruments that are smaller and lighter than ever before. This situation allows experiments to be done more cheaply which ultimately allows many more experiments to be done.

  7. Teaching accuracy and reliability for student projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Nick

    2002-09-01

    Physics students at Rugby School follow the Salters Horners A-level course, which involves working on a two-week practical project of their own choosing. Pupils often misunderstand the concepts of accuracy and reliability, believing, for example, that repeating readings makes them more accurate and more reliable, whereas all it does is help to check repeatability. The course emphasizes the ideas of checking anomalous points, improving accuracy and making readings more sensitive. This article describes how we teach pupils in preparation for their projects. Based on many years of running such projects, much of this material is from a short booklet that we give out to pupils, when we train them in practical project skills.

  8. The Willed Body Donor Interview Project: Medical Student and Donor Expectations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohl, Michael; Holman, Alexis; Mueller, Dean A.; Gruppen, Larry D.; Hildebrandt, Sabine

    2013-01-01

    The Anatomical Donations Program at the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) has begun a multiphase project wherein interviews of donors will be recorded and later shown to medical students who participate in the anatomical dissection course. The first phase of this project included surveys of both current UMMS medical students and donors…

  9. Which Type of Inquiry Project Do High School Biology Students Prefer: Open or Guided?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadeh, Irit; Zion, Michal

    2012-10-01

    In teaching inquiry to high school students, educators differ on which method of teaching inquiry is more effective: Guided or open inquiry? This paper examines the influence of these two different inquiry learning approaches on the attitudes of Israeli high school biology students toward their inquiry project. The results showed significant differences between the two groups: Open inquiry students were more satisfied and felt they gained benefits from implementing the project to a greater extent than guided inquiry students. On the other hand, regarding documentation throughout the project, guided inquiry students believed that they conducted more documentation, as compared to their open inquiry peers. No significant differences were found regarding `the investment of time', but significant differences were found in the time invested and difficulties which arose concerning the different stages of the inquiry process: Open inquiry students believed they spent more time in the first stages of the project, while guided inquiry students believed they spent more time in writing the final paper. In addition, other differences were found: Open inquiry students felt more involved in their project, and felt a greater sense of cooperation with others, in comparison to guided inquiry students. These findings may help teachers who hesitate to teach open inquiry to implement this method of inquiry; or at least provide their students with the opportunity to be more involved in inquiry projects, and ultimately provide their students with more autonomy, high-order thinking, and a deeper understanding in performing science.

  10. Science and students: Yucca Mountain project's education outreach program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gil, A.V.; Larkin, E.L.; Reilly, B.; Austin, P.

    1992-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is very concerned about the lack of understanding of basic science. Increasingly, critical decisions regarding the use of energy, technology, and the environment are being made. A well-educated and science-literate public is vital to the success of these decisions. Science education and school instruction are integral parts of the DOE's public outreach program on the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP). Project staff and scientists speak to elementary, junior high, high school, and university students, accepting all speaking invitations. The objectives of this outreach program include the following: (1) educating Nevada students about the concept of a high-level nuclear waste repository; (2) increasing awareness of energy and environmental issues; (3) helping students understand basic concepts of earth science and geology in relation to siting a potential repository; and (4) giving students information about careers in science and engineering

  11. Writing throughout the biochemistry curriculum: Synergistic inquiry-based writing projects for biochemistry students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertz, Pamela; Streu, Craig

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a synergistic two-semester writing sequence for biochemistry courses. In the first semester, students select a putative protein and are tasked with researching their protein largely through bioinformatics resources. In the second semester, students develop original ideas and present them in the form of a research grant proposal. Both projects involve multiple drafts and peer review. The complementarity of the projects increases student exposure to bioinformatics and literature resources, fosters higher-order thinking skills, and develops teamwork and communication skills. Student feedback and responses on perception surveys demonstrated that the students viewed both projects as favorable learning experiences. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

  12. Preparing Hispanic Students for the Real World: Benefits of Problem-Based Service Learning Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Jean Jaymes; Simmons, Donna

    2012-01-01

    Student learning is enriched by problem-based service learning (PBSL) projects. For Hispanic students, the learning that takes place in PBSL projects may be even more significant, although the research published in academic journals about client-based projects for Hispanic students is limited. This article begins to advance an understanding of how…

  13. Rapid application design of an electronic clinical skills portfolio for undergraduate medical students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dornan, Tim; Lee, Catherine; Stopford, Adam; Hosie, Liam; Maredia, Neil; Rector, Alan

    2005-04-01

    The aim was to find how to use information and communication technology to present the clinical skills content of an undergraduate medical curriculum. Rapid application design was used to develop the product, and technical action research was used to evaluate the development process. A clinician-educator, two medical students, two computing science masters students, two other project workers, and a hospital education informatics lead, formed a design team. A sample of stakeholders took part in requirements planning workshops and continued to advise the team throughout the project. A university hospital had many features that favoured fast, inexpensive, and successful system development: a clearly defined and readily accessible user group; location of the development process close to end-users; fast, informal communication; leadership by highly motivated and senior end-users; devolved authority and lack of any rigidly imposed management structure; cooperation of clinicians because the project drew on their clinical expertise to achieve scholastic goals; a culture of learning and involvement of highly motivated students. A detailed specification was developed through storyboarding, use case diagramming, and evolutionary prototyping. A very usable working product was developed within weeks. "SkillsBase" is a database web application using Microsoft Active Server Pages, served from a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system running Internet Information Server 5.0. Graphing functionality is provided by the KavaChart applet. It presents the skills curriculum, provides a password-protected portfolio function, and offers training materials. The curriculum can be presented in several different ways to help students reflect on their objectives and progress towards achieving them. The reflective portfolio function is entirely private to each student user and allows them to document their progress in attaining skills, as judged by self, peer and tutor assessment, and

  14. Mentoring Undergraduate Students through the Space Shuttle Hitchhiker GoldHELOX Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moody, J. Ward; Barnes, Jonathan; Roming, Peter; Durfee, Dallin; Campbell, Branton; Turley, Steve; Eastman, Paul

    2015-01-01

    In the late 1980s a team of four BYU undergraduate students designed a space-based telescope to image the sun in soft x-rays from 171-181 Angstroms to gain information on microflares and their relation to the corona-chromosphere transition region. The telescope used a near-normal incidence multi-layered mirror imaging onto film through a micro-channel plate. The system was capable of 1.0 sec time resolution and 2.5 arcsec spatial resolution. Aided by a NASA grant in 1991, a system was built and successfully tested in 1998 at Marshall Space Flight Center. Originally designed to be deployed from a Get-Away-Special (GAS) canister in the bay of a space shuttle, the good results of this test elevated GoldHelox to greater-priority Hitchhiker status. Even so technical and procedural difficulties delayed a launch until after 2003. Unfortunately after the Columbia re-entry break-up in February 2003, the Hitchhiker program was cancelled and the GoldHelox project ended.Well over 200 undergraduate students worked on GoldHelox. Many of these have since earned advanced degrees in a variety of technical fields. Several have gone on to work in the space industry, becoming NASA scientists and engineers with one becoming a PI on the Swift satellite. The broad range of talent on the team has included students majoring in physics, astronomy, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, design engineering, business and even English majors who have written technical and public relations documents. We report on lessons learned and the pitfalls and successes of this unique mentoring experience.

  15. A New Approach to Learning How to Teach: medical students as instructional designers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul F. Wimmers

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available As students at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the student authors were given the opportunity to develop their own creative projects which would be used to teach future medical students. They chose their own topics, planned and researched their projects, and then implemented the projects in interactive digital Adobe Flash files. In the first project they created interactive case-based radiology teaching files. In the second project they integrated photographic images into the existing illustrative anatomy files. Students in subsequent years have learned from these files on computers both at home and in the school's anatomy lab. The experience of creating the files served as an opportunity for hands-on learning for the student authors, both of the material and of the practice of teaching. In this paper they describe why they undertook these projects, what exactly they did, and the impact their creation had on them. The projects demonstrate that student-driven educational materials are both possible and beneficial. Furthermore, their experience has allowed them to conclude that faculty at other medical schools should consider providing students with opportunities to develop their own creative projects that contribute to the curriculum.

  16. Duplex Design Project: Science Pilot Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, Los Angeles, CA.

    Work is reported towards the completion of a prototype duplex-design assessment instrument for grade-12 science. The student course-background questionnaire and the pretest section of the two-stage instrument that was developed were administered to all 134 12th-grade students at St. Clairsville High School (Ohio). Based on the information obtained…

  17. Improving Students' Argumentation Skills through a Product Life-Cycle Analysis Project in Chemistry Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juntunen, M. K.; Aksela, M. K.

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the study discussed in this paper was to link existing research about the argumentation skills of students to the teaching of life-cycle analysis (LCA) in order to promote an evidence-based approach to the teaching of and learning about materials used in consumer products. This case-study is part of a larger design research project that…

  18. Self-esteem, Motivation, and Emotional Intelligence: Three Factors that influence the Successful Design of a Life Project of Middle-school Young Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Magdalena Lomelí-Parga

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research study is to depict the factors that allow young people to effectively carry out their life projects by planning short, mid, and long term goals. The population sample participating in this study was comprised of middle and high school students. This research was executed using mixed methods in order to identify the determining factors for young people who plan to have success in facing the daily life challenges, as well as today’s society demands, through a solid construction of their private vision of the future. The results of this project determine that the features which allow the conclusion of students’ life projects are closely related with a high self-esteem and motivation, as well as some emotional intelligence that allow students to visualize a successful personal and professional future.

  19. The Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beichner, Robert J.

    2011-04-01

    How do you keep a classroom of 100 undergraduates actively learning? Can students practice communication and teamwork skills in a large class? How do you boost the performance of underrepresented groups? The Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project has addressed these concerns. Because of their inclusion in a leading introductory physics textbook, project materials are used by more than 1/3 of all science, math, and engineering majors nationwide. The room design and pedagogy have been adopted at more than 100 leading institutions across the country. Physics, chemistry, math, astronomy, biology, engineering, earth sciences, and even literature classes are currently being taught this way. Educational research indicates that students should collaborate on interesting tasks and be deeply involved with the material they are studying. We promote active learning in a redesigned classroom for 100 students or more. (Of course, smaller classes can also benefit.) Class time is spent primarily on "tangibles" and "ponderables"--hands-on activities, simulations, and interesting questions. Nine students sit in three teams at round tables. Instructors circulate and engage in Socratic dialogues. The setting looks like a banquet hall, with lively interactions nearly all the time. Hundreds of hours of classroom video and audio recordings, transcripts of numerous interviews and focus groups, data from conceptual learning assessments (using widely-recognized instruments in a pretest/posttest protocol), and collected portfolios of student work are part of our rigorous assessment effort. Our findings (based on data from over 16,000 students collected over five years as well as replications at adopting sites) can be summarized as the following: 1) Female failure rate is 1/5 of previous levels, even though more is demanded of students. 2) Minority failure rate is 1/4 that seen in traditionally taught courses. 3) At-risk students are more

  20. A Service-Learning Project Using Crowdfunding Strategy: Students' Experience and Reflection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mat-jizat, Jessnor Elmy; Khalid, Khalizul

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore students' experience and reflection in doing a Service Learning project as part of their course work. The Service Learning project allows the students to practice their knowledge of raising capital through crowdfunding, and at the same time situates them in an environment where they could learn from the…

  1. Building Bridges: Using the Office Consultation Project to Connect Students to Theory and Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wawrzynski, Korine Steinke; Jessup-Anger, Jody E.

    2014-01-01

    The Office Consultation Project is an innovative capstone project that partners graduate students in student affairs preparation programs with academic and student affairs practitioners. It provides an opportunity for students to apply research and scholarship to practical settings, while giving practitioners new insight into their units,…

  2. The Healy Clean Coal Project: Design verification tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guidetti, R.H.; Sheppard, D.B.; Ubhayakar, S.K.; Weede, J.J.; McCrohan, D.V.; Rosendahl, S.M.

    1993-01-01

    As part of the Healy Clean Coal Project, TRW Inc., the supplier of the advanced slagging coal combustors, has successfully completed design verification tests on the major components of the combustion system at its Southern California test facility. These tests, which included the firing of a full-scale precombustor with a new non-storage direct coal feed system, supported the design of the Healy combustion system and its auxiliaries performed under Phase 1 of the project. Two 350 million BTU/hr combustion systems have been designed and are now ready for fabrication and erection, as part of Phase 2 of the project. These systems, along with a back-end Spray Dryer Absorber system, designed and supplied by Joy Technologies, will be integrated with a Foster Wheeler boiler for the 50 MWe power plant at Healy, Alaska. This paper describes the design verification tests and the current status of the project

  3. Design of a projection display screen with vanishing color shift for rear-projection HDTV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiu; Zhu, Jin-lin

    1996-09-01

    Using bi-convex cylinder lens with matrix structure, the transmissive projection display screen with high contrast and wider viewing angle has been widely used in large rear projection TV and video projectors, it obtained a inhere color shift and puzzled the designer of display screen for RGB projection tube in-line adjustment. Based on the method of light beam racing, the general software of designing projection display screen has been developed and the computer model of vanishing color shift for rear projection HDTV has bee completed. This paper discussed the practical designing method to vanish the defect of color shift and mentioned the relations between the primary optical parameters of display screen and relative geometry sizes of lens' surface. The distributions of optical gain to viewing angle and the influences on engineering design are briefly analyzed.

  4. The Impact of IQ+EQ+CQ Integration on Student Productivity in Web Design and Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jensen J.; Zhao, Sherry Y.

    2010-01-01

    As the entry-level information technology jobs could be easily outsourced offshore, the demand for U.S. employees who are innovative and productive in information technology (IT) project design, development, and management is growing among U.S. companies. This controlled experiment presents how a model of integrating students' intelligence…

  5. Project families: A new concept for student thesis activities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Goltermann, Per; Ottosen, Lisbeth M.; Schmidt, Jacob Wittrup

    2017-01-01

    The students’ activities during their final thesis work have been organised in project families, i.e. a group of individual student project organized in a shared learning environment. The aim is more efficient supervision and support, simultaneously to improved learning. DTU Byg have now tested...

  6. Enterprise Ireland: Student Creativity Day Design Competition

    OpenAIRE

    Dee, Peter

    2002-01-01

    Peter Dee - Strategic Design & Marketing Consultant, was responsible for the design and development of the brand identity for the Enterprise Ireland Student Creativity Day which was used on business cards, letterhead, appliction forms, information literature, large format posters, t-shirts and website. Competing in multi-disciplinary teams, students provided an innovative & creative solution to an exacting design brief. The design brief reflected the following themes: interface, learning, sci...

  7. STEM-related, Student-led Service Learning / Community Engagement Projects: Examples and Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swap, R. J.; Wayland, K.

    2015-12-01

    Field-based, STEM-related service learning / community engagement projects present an opportunity for undergraduate students to demonstrate proficiencies related to the process of inquiry. These proficiencies include: appreciation of the larger project context, articulation of an informed question/hypothesis, project proposal development, interdisciplinary collaboration, project management (including planning, implementation reconfiguration and synthesis) and lastly the generation and handing off of acquired knowledge. Calls for these types of proficiencies have been expressed by governmental, non-governmental as well as the private sector. Accordingly, institutions of higher learning have viewed such activities as opportunities for enriching the learning experience for undergraduate students and for making such students more marketable, especially those from STEM-related fields. This institutional interest has provided an opportunity to support and expand field-based learning. Here we present examples of student-led/faculty-mentored international service learning and community engagement projects along the arc of preparation, implementation and post-field process. Representative examples that draw upon environmental science and engineering knowledge have been selected from more than 20 international undergraduate student projects over past decade and include: slow-sand water filtration, rainwater harvesting, methane biodigesters, water reticulation schemes and development and implementation of rocket stoves for communal cooking. We discuss these efforts in terms of the development of the aforementioned proficiencies, the utility of such proficiencies to the larger enterprise of STEM and the potential for transformative student learning outcomes. We share these experiences and lessons learned with the hope that others may intelligently borrow from our approach in a manner appropriate for their particular context.

  8. Cybergogy as a framework for teaching design students in virtual worlds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chase, Scott Curland; Scopes, Lesley

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, 3D virtual worlds have been explored for design teaching, yet it is unclear whether a specific pedagogy is used or adapted for such activities. Here we describe the pedagogical model of Cybergogy of Learning Archetypes and Learning Domains, developed specifically for teaching in ...... immersive virtual worlds, and its application to introductory building classes in the virtual world Second Life for architectural design students and teachers as part of the ARCHI21 project.......In recent years, 3D virtual worlds have been explored for design teaching, yet it is unclear whether a specific pedagogy is used or adapted for such activities. Here we describe the pedagogical model of Cybergogy of Learning Archetypes and Learning Domains, developed specifically for teaching in 3D...

  9. We Scrum Every Day: Using Scrum Project Management Framework for Group Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope-Ruark, Rebecca

    2012-01-01

    Collaborative group projects have documented learning benefits, yet collaboration is challenging for students because the educational system values individual achievement. This article explores Scrum, an approach to framing, planning, and managing group projects used in Web-software development. Designed for multi-faceted projects, this approach…

  10. The cost and value of pre-registration clinical placements for Project 2000 students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, M L; Akehurst, R

    1999-07-01

    The research outlined in this article was commissioned by the Sheffield and North Trent College of Nursing and Midwifery to explore the cost implications of pre-registration clinical placements in the context of Project 2000. The authors outline the methodology and findings of an exercise designed to collect relevant cost information which was not readily available. On the basis of these findings, they suggest that: at 1995/1996 pay and prices, clinical placements cost the education provider approximately pound 890 per student per annum; in terms of real resources, the value to service providers of the service contribution made by second- and third-year nursing and midwifery students on ward-based placements outweighs the value of the time spent by qualified staff on their supervision and education. Once the funding assumptions underlying the introduction of Project 2000 have been taken into account, second- and third-year nursing and midwifery students benefit the service provider by on average pound 3.46 for every hour they spend in an unrostered ward-based placement. The service contribution made by students in community-based clinical placements cannot free staff time in the same way as on the wards and, because qualified staff in these areas are generally more highly graded, the value of the time they spend on the supervision and education of students on placement is higher than in ward-based placements. Second- and third-year students therefore appear to cost the service provider on average pound 0.48 for each hour they spend in a community-based placement. It was not possible to determine whether this cost translates into a reduction in patient contacts.

  11. Project Design Concept for Monitoring and Control System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MCGREW, D.L.

    2000-01-01

    This Project Design Concept represents operational requirements established for use in design the tank farm Monitoring and Control System. These upgrades are included within the scope of Project W-314, Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations

  12. Urban ninth-grade girls interactions with and outcomes from a design-oriented physics project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higginbotham, Thomas Eric Miksad

    Past literature has documented a shrinking but persistent gap in physics and engineering for females, both in school and in the workforce. A commonly recommended strategy to invite girls into science at the school level is to have students work on design-projects in groups, which has been shown to increase all students' learning outcomes and attitudes towards science. Students (n=28) in a ninth-grade inner-city physics class participated in such a project, in which they built remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV's) over the course of one month. Students (n=23) in a comparison classroom learned the same content using the Active Physics curriculum during the same time frame. Mixed methods were used to study the ROV classroom. Students in both classes were given pre- and post-physics content tests. Qualitative data collected during the project included field notes, video, and teacher interviews. Macro-level data analysis was done, which informed further micro-analysis. Macro-analysis revealed significantly higher learning outcomes for the ROV class than for the non-ROV class. Within the ROV class, girls, and in particular, girls in female-majority groups had increased learning outcomes and high levels of interest and engagement with the project, while girls in mixed-sex and male-majority groups did not. Qualitative macro-analysis revealed that in all of the female-majority groups, females took leadership roles within the groups, while in all of the non female-majority groups, males took leadership roles. The only groups in which girls completely disengaged from the project were mixed-sex or male majority groups. Case studies and cross case analysis suggested that girls foregrounded group process over product, and used the level of group unity as a metric of the groups' success. Groups led by girls were more cooperative and exhibited distributed leadership and participation. These findings were interpreted through lenses of expectation states theory and social

  13. Evaluation of a Coaching Experiential Learning Project on OT Student Abilities and Perceptions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin A. Phillips

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Innovative teaching methods to address emerging practice needs are critical components of effective occupational therapy education. Experiential learning strategies can enhance skill development and translation of knowledge into OT clinical practice. In addition, skills such as coaching may provide important links to health promotion practices. Thirty-two occupational therapy students took part in an experiential project to connect occupational engagement and health for a community of older adults. A pretest/posttest design was used to evaluate program outcomes in student perceived abilities, and narrative reflection papers provided postexperience qualitative information. The students improved in all 10 areas of abilities selfassessment with mean total scores from pretest (M = 42 improving significantly at posttest (M = 58. Themes from reflection papers indicated a positive response to experiential learning and a desire for more opportunities to prepare for clinical practice, including the use of interprofessional training. The students improved in their abilities to use coaching and health promotion strategies through the use of experiential learning methods. Outcomes suggest that experiential learning opportunities are an effective way to enhance student competencies in coaching, improve readiness for wellness programming, and increase student confidence in application of skills in future clinical practice.

  14. The Acadia Learning Project: Lessons Learned from Engaging High School Teachers and Students in Citizen Science Supporting National Parks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, S. J.; Zoellick, B.; Davis, Y.; Lindsey, E.

    2009-12-01

    In 2007 the authors initiated a citizen science research project, supported with funding from the Maine Department of Education, designed to extend research at Acadia National Park to a broader geographic area while also providing high school students and teachers with an opportunity to engage in authentic research in cooperation with working scientists. The scientific focus of the work has been on providing information about the mercury burden of organisms at different trophic levels across different geographic and environmental settings. The pedagogical focus has been on providing students with immersion in a substantial, field-based project, including background research, hypothesis formulation, data collection and analysis, and presentation of research findings. Starting work with 6 teachers in two schools the first year, the project expanded to involve more than 20 teachers and 350 students in a dozen schools in its second year. In coming years, with support from NOAA and cooperation from other National Parks in the region, the project will expand to include work in other states along the coast of the Gulf of Maine. In this paper the authors describe evolution in the use of the Internet over the first two years of the project, a sharpened focus on professional development for teachers, survey results regarding student views of the nature of science, the importance of focusing on rigorous, useful data collection from an educational perspective, success in establishing that samples collected by students are useful in research, the disjuncture between scientific and pedagogical outcomes, an assessment of the value of student poster presentations, and lessons learned about preparation and use of curriculum support materials. The authors also describe future directions, which include an increased focus on professional development and student work with graphs, a narrower focus in sample collection, and increased use of the Internet to provide participating teachers

  15. Teaching Cell Biology to Dental Students with a Project-Based Learning Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa-Silva, Daniela; Côrtes, Juliana A; Bachinski, Rober F; Spiegel, Carolina N; Alves, Gutemberg G

    2018-03-01

    Although the discipline of cell biology (CB) is part of the curricula of predoctoral dental schools, students often fail to recognize its practical relevance. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a practical-theoretical project-based course in closing the gaps among CB, scientific research, and dentistry for dental students. A project-based learning course was developed with nine sequential lessons to evaluate 108 undergraduate dental students enrolled in CB classes of a Brazilian school of dentistry during 2013-16. To highlight the relevance of in vitro studies in the preclinical evaluation of dental materials at the cellular level, the students were challenged to complete the process of drafting a protocol and performing a cytocompatibility assay for a bone substitute used in dentistry. Class activities included small group discussions, scientific database search and article presentations, protocol development, lab experimentation, and writing of a final scientific report. A control group of 31 students attended only one laboratory class on the same theme, and the final reports were compared between the two groups. The results showed that the project-based learning students had superior outcomes in acknowledging the relevance of in vitro methods during biocompatibility testing. Moreover, they produced scientifically sound reports with more content on methodological issues, the relationship with dentistry, and the scientific literature than the control group (p<0.05). The project-based learning students also recognized a higher relevance of scientific research and CB to dental practice. These results suggest that a project-based approach can help contextualize scientific research in dental curricula.

  16. Student and Staff Perceptions of Key Aspects of Computer Science Engineering Capstone Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olarte, Juan José; Dominguez, César; Jaime, Arturo; Garcia-Izquierdo, Francisco José

    2016-01-01

    In carrying out their capstone projects, students use knowledge and skills acquired throughout their degree program to create a product or provide a technical service. An assigned advisor guides the students and supervises the work, and a committee assesses the projects. This study compares student and staff perceptions of key aspects of…

  17. Project SAIL: A Summer Program Brings History Alive for Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingsworth, Patricia

    2001-01-01

    This project describes Project SAIL (Schools for Active Interdisciplinary Learning), a federally funded project providing in-depth staff development during a 3-week summer program for teachers, parents, and their gifted/talented economically disadvantaged students. The program theme, "Searching for Patterns in History," has been used with students…

  18. Examining student conceptions of the nature of science from two project-based classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moss, David M.

    The purpose of this research was to develop descriptive accounts of precollege students' conceptions of the nature of science from two project-based classrooms, and track those conceptions over the course of an academic year. A model of the nature of science was developed and served as the criterion by which students' beliefs were evaluated. The model distinguishes between two major categories of science, the nature of the scientific enterprise and the nature of scientific knowledge. Five students were selected from each class and interviewed individually for 30-45 minutes each, six times over the year. Data from semi-structured, formal interviewing consisted of audio-recorded interviews which were transcribed verbatim. All passages were coded using codes which corresponded to the premises of the model of the nature of science. Passages in the transcripts were interpreted to develop a summary of the students' conceptions over the year. Qualitative methodologies, especially formal interviewing in conjunction with participant observation, were effective for uncovering students' conceptions of the nature of science, adding to the knowledge base in this field. The research design of the current study was a significant factor in explaining the inconsistencies seen between findings from this study and the literature. This study finds that participants at both classroom sites held fully formed conceptions of the nature of science for approximately 40 percent of the premises across the model. For two-thirds of the elements which comprise the premises, participants held full understandings. Participants held more complete understandings of the nature of scientific knowledge than the nature of the scientific enterprise. Most participants had difficulty distinguishing between science and non-science and held poor understandings of the role of questions in science. Students' beliefs generally remained unchanged over the year. When their conceptions did evolve, project

  19. Design of training programs for a positive youth development program: Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shek, Daniel T L; Chak, Yammy L Y

    2010-01-01

    To facilitate the implementation of the Secondary 1 to Secondary 3 program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong, systematic training programs are designed for the potential program implementers. The rationales, objectives and design of the Secondary 1 to Secondary 3 training programs are outlined in this paper. The training programs cover theories of adolescent development, positive youth development, background and curricula of the Project P.A.T.H.S., factors affecting program implementation quality and evaluation of the project. Besides introducing the curriculum units, the training programs also focus on nature of learning and related theories (particularly experiential learning), teaching methods and instructional techniques, motivating students, and classroom management.

  20. Designing and Using Projects with Real World Application in a MBA Managerial Accounting Class: The Case of The Balanced Scorecard

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houke, Charlotte

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the purpose of designing and using projects with real world application in a M.B.A. managerial accounting class. Included is a discussion of how and why the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Project has been used in classes to link theory with practice by providing real world application of the BSC framework. M.B.A. students represent a…

  1. Student projects in medicine: a lesson in science and ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Sarah J L

    2009-11-01

    Regulation of biomedical research is the subject of considerable debate in the bioethics and health policy worlds. The ethics and governance of medical student projects is becoming an increasingly important topic in its own right, especially in the U.K., where there are periodic calls to change it. My main claim is that there seems to be no good reason for treating student projects differently from projects led by qualified and more experienced scientists and hence no good grounds for changing the current system of ethics review. I first suggest that the educational objectives cannot be met without laying down standards of good science, whatever they may be. Weak science is unnecessary for educational purposes, and it is, in any case, unlikely to produce good researchers in the future. Furthermore, it is curious to want to change the system of ethics review specifically for students when it is the science that is at stake, and when the science now falls largely outside the ethics remit. I further show that ethics review is nevertheless important since students carry a new potential conflict of interests that warrants independent oversight which supervisory support does not offer. This potential conflict may become more morally troublesome the greater the risks to the subjects of the research, and students may impose greater risks on their subjects (relative to professional researchers) by virtue of being inexperienced, whatever the nature of the project. Pragmatic concerns may finally be allayed by organizing the current system more efficiently at critical times of the university calendar.

  2. Mapping and industrial IT project to a 2nd semester design-build project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nyborg, Mads; Høgh, Stig

    2010-01-01

    CDIO means bringing the engineer's daily life and working practice into the educational system. In our opinion this is best done by selecting an appropriate project from industry. In this paper we describe how we have mapped an industrial IT project to a 2nd semester design-build project in the D......CDIO means bringing the engineer's daily life and working practice into the educational system. In our opinion this is best done by selecting an appropriate project from industry. In this paper we describe how we have mapped an industrial IT project to a 2nd semester design-build project...... in the Diploma IT program at the Technical University of Denmark. The system in question is a weighing system operating in a LAN environment. The system is used in the medical industry for producing tablets. We present the design of a curriculum to support the development of major components of the weighing...... system. A simple teaching model for software engineering is presented which combines technical disciplines with disciplines from section 2-4 in the CDIO syllabus. The implementation of a joint project involving several courses supports the CDIO perspective. Already the traditional IT-diploma education...

  3. "Applying anatomy to something I care about": Authentic inquiry learning and student experiences of an inquiry project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anstey, Lauren M

    2017-11-01

    Despite advances to move anatomy education away from its didactic history, there is a continued need for students to contextualize their studies to make learning more meaningful. This article investigates authentic learning in the context of an inquiry-based approach to learning human gross anatomy. Utilizing a case-study design with three groups of students (n = 18) and their facilitators (n = 3), methods of classroom observations, interviews, and artifact collection were utilized to investigate students' experiences of learning through an inquiry project. Qualitative data analysis through open and selective coding produced common meaningful themes of group and student experiences. Overall results demonstrate how the project served as a unique learning experience where learners engaged in the opportunity to make sense of anatomy in context of their interests and wider interdisciplinary considerations through collaborative, group-based investigation. Results were further considered in context of theoretical frameworks of inquiry-based and authentic learning. Results from this study demonstrate how students can engage anatomical understandings to inquire and apply disciplinary considerations to their personal lives and the world around them. Anat Sci Educ 10: 538-548. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.

  4. The Empty Shops Project: Developing Rural Students' Sociological Insight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, Evan; Burns, Edgar

    2011-01-01

    An informal research project with high local relevance was developed for a first-year sociology course at an Australian rural university campus. The project developed students' sociological insight by challenging them to investigate "truths" about their own region, rather than immediately pushing them to comprehend new and different…

  5. A Real-World Project for a Desktop Publishing Course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsden, James D.

    1994-01-01

    Describes a project in a desktop publishing course in which students work with nonprofit and campus organizations to design brochures that fulfill important needs. Discusses specific tools students use. Describes the brochure project, project criteria, clients, text and graphics for the project, how to evaluate the project, and guidelines for…

  6. Adapt! – Agile Project Management Supported by Axiomatic Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weber Jakob

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel approach for the use of Axiomatic Design Theory in combination with agile project management methods like Scrum for an effective, structured and combined product design and development process. Agile project management methods give a guideline how to manage a project, but there is only minor assistance regarding the actual product development process itself. Axiomatic Design can be used to support these methods in this point. In concrete terms, the results of the decomposition process of this theory can be used to formulate and structure the work packages for the agile project managing process. The Independence Axiom of Axiomatic Design Theory has a substantial contribution by ensuring the independence of the work packages which can be assigned to different project team members and can be processed independently by them. The combination of the different methods not only helps to ensure a good design solution but also helps to work more agile within a project team. The here proposed approach is one part of a holistic product design and development process for changeable production units – called Adapt! – and is described within a use case in the automotive sector.

  7. Exploring the experiences of female students in introductory project-based engineering courses at two- and four-year institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swan, Amy K.

    2011-12-01

    This qualitative study explored the experiential and contextual factors that shaped female students' pathways into introductory project-based engineering classes at two community colleges and one four-year institution, as well as female students' experiences within and outside of these classes. The study was framed by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) (Lent, Brown & Hackett, 1996) and Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory. Findings were based on analyses of data gathered through multiple methods: observations; individual interviews with female students; focus group interviews with project teams; and document collection. The findings of this study revealed that while positive experiences with math or science were a likely pre-cursor to engineering interest, experiential learning appeared to be a more powerful force in fostering students' engineering interest. Specifically, participants developed an interest in engineering through academic, professional, and extracurricular engineering- and design-related activities that familiarized them with the tasks and skills involved in engineering work and helped them develop a sense of selfefficacy with regard to this work. Interest and self-efficacy, in turn, played a role in students' postsecondary educational decision-making processes, as did contextual factors including families and finances. This study's findings also showed that participants' project teams were a critically important microsystem within participants' ecological environments. Within this sometimes "chilly" microsystem, female students negotiated intrateam processes, which were in some cases affected by gender norms. Intrateam processes that influenced female students' project-based learning experiences included: interpersonal dynamics; leadership; and division of labor. This study also identified several ways in which the lived experiences of participants at the community colleges were different from, or similar to, those of participants

  8. Bad Attitudes: Why Design Students Dislike Teamwork

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, Richard; Abbasi, Neda

    2016-01-01

    Positive experiences of teamwork in design contexts significantly improve students' satisfaction with teaching and their attitudes towards future teamwork. Thus, an understanding of the factors leading to negative and positive team experiences can inform strategies to support effective teamwork. This paper examines design students' perceptions and…

  9. Teaching American Politics through Student Projects: Electoral Reform Issues and Political Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alper, Donald K.; Hogan, Eugene

    1979-01-01

    Describes two projects which involve college students in political science courses on American politics in doing research and giving class reports on proposals for reforming the electoral college and the electoral process. Findings indicate that students participating in the projects become more aware of political realities and learn how to use…

  10. The Critical Purchase of Genealogy: Critiquing Student Participation Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Anna

    2015-01-01

    Until recently the dominant critique of "student participation" projects was one based on the theoretical assumptions of critical theory in the form of critical pedagogy. Over the last decade, we have witnessed the emergence of a critical education discourse that theorises and critically analyses such projects using Foucault's notion of…

  11. SPECIAL REPORT - The KC EMPOWER Project: Designing More Accessible STEM Learning Activities

    OpenAIRE

    Bob Hirshon; Laureen Summers; Babette Moeller; Wendy Martin

    2016-01-01

    The overall purpose of the Kinetic City (KC) Empower project was to examine how informal science activities can be made accessible for students with disabilities. The premise of this project was that all students, including those with disabilities, are interested in and capable of engaging in science learning experiences, if these experiences are accessible to them. Drawing on resources from Kinetic City, a large collection of science experiments, games, and projects developed by the American...

  12. An Expert System Helps Students Learn Database Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Post, Gerald V.; Whisenand, Thomas G.

    2005-01-01

    Teaching and learning database design is difficult for both instructors and students. Students need to solve many problems with feedback and corrections. A Web-based specialized expert system was created to enable students to create designs online and receive immediate feedback. An experiment testing the system shows that it significantly enhances…

  13. High-school software development project helps increasing students' awareness of geo-hydrological hazards and their risks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchesini, Ivan; Rossi, Mauro; Balducci, Vinicio; Salvati, Paola; Guzzetti, Fausto; Bianchini, Andrea; Grzeleswki, Emanuell; Canonico, Andrea; Coccia, Rita; Fiorucci, Gianni Mario; Gobbi, Francesca; Ciuchetti, Monica

    2015-04-01

    In Italy, inundation and landslides are widespread phenomena that impact the population and cause significant economic damage to private and public properties. The perception of the risk posed by these natural geo-hydrological hazards varies geographically and in time. The variation in the perception of the risks has negative consequences on risk management, and limits the adoption of effective risk reduction strategies. We maintain that targeted education can foster the understanding of geo-hydrological hazards, improving their perception and the awareness of the associated risk. Collaboration of a research center experienced in geo-hydrological hazards and risks (CNR IRPI, Perugia) and a high school (ITIS Alessandro Volta, Perugia) has resulted in the design and execution of a project aimed at improving the perception of geo-hydrological risks in high school students and teachers through software development. In the two-year project, students, high school teachers and research scientists have jointly developed software broadly related to landslide and flood hazards. User requirements and system specifications were decided to facilitate the distribution and use of the software among students and their peers. This allowed a wider distribution of the project results. We discuss two prototype software developed by the high school students, including an application of augmented reality for improved dissemination of information of landslides and floods with human consequences in Italy, and a crowd science application to allow students (and others, including their families and friends) to collect information on landslide and flood occurrence exploiting modern mobile devices. This information can prove important e.g., for the validation of landslide forecasting models.

  14. Students developing resources for students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearce, Michael; Evans, Darrell

    2012-06-01

    The development of new technologies has provided medical education with the ability to enhance the student learning experience and meet the needs of changing curricula. Students quickly adapt to using multimedia learning resources, but these need to be well designed, learner-centred and interactive for students to become significantly engaged. One way to ensure that students become committed users and that resources become distinct elements of the learning cycle is to involve students in resource design and production. Such an approach enables resources to accommodate student needs and preferences, but also provides opportunities for them to develop their own teaching and training skills. The aim of the medical student research project was to design and produce an electronic resource that was focused on a particular anatomical region. The views of other medical students were used to decide what features were suitable for inclusion and the resulting package contained basic principles and clinical relevance, and used a variety of approaches such as images of cadaveric material, living anatomy movies and quizzes. The completed package was assessed using a survey matrix and found to compare well with commercially available products. Given the ever-diversifying arena of multimedia instruction and the ability of students to be fully conversant with technology, this project demonstrates that students are ideal participants and creators of multimedia resources. It is hoped that such an approach will help to further develop the skill base of students, but will also provide an avenue of developing packages that are student user friendly, and that are focused towards particular curricula requirements. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

  15. Project Boomerang

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Allen L.

    1975-01-01

    Describes an experimental project on boomerangs designed for an undergraduate course in classical mechanics. The students designed and made their own boomerangs, devised their own procedures, and carried out suitable measurements. Presents some of their data and a simple analysis for the two-bladed boomerang. (Author/MLH)

  16. Teaching and learning English through digital game projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan deHaan

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Digital games are receiving increasing attention by researchers and practitioners in education; however, most of the theory and pedagogy focus on general education or language and literacy development of native speakers. There are very few investigations of game play or game culture and second language development. Language teachers and institutions must know more about games to use the media effectively. Two completed extracurricular projects, based on constructionist learning and media literacy theories and practices, are described in this paper: game design and game magazine creation. The action research projects aimed to guide students towards a better understanding of games’ formal features and technologies through their active creation of games and game-related media, and to improve their spoken and written English language skills. In general, students learned and practised a variety of language and technology skills with the design projects. The projects motivated the students, challenged the students, and provided many opportunities for authentic discussions in the foreign language. Various suggestions, based on the teacher and student experiences of these projects, are made for other language teachers interested in conducting creative game-based projects with their students.

  17. Designed by Engineers: An analysis of interactionaries with engineering students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henrik Artman

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to describe and analyze learning taking place in a collaborative design exercise involving engineering students. The students perform a time-constrained, open-ended, complex interaction design task, an “interactionary”. A multimodal learning perspective is used. We have performed detailed analyses of video recordings of the engineering students, including classifying aspects of interaction. Our results show that the engineering students carry out and articulate their design work using a technology-centred approach and focus more on the function of their designs than on aspects of interaction. The engineering students mainly make use of ephemeral communication strategies (gestures and speech rather than sketching in physical materials. We conclude that the interactionary may be an educational format that can help engineering students learn the messiness of design work. We further identify several constraints to the engineering students’ design learning and propose useful interventions that a teacher could make during an interactionary. We especially emphasize interventions that help engineering students-retain aspects of human-centered design throughout the design process. This study partially replicates a previous study which involved interaction design students.

  18. Campus Eco Tours: An Integrative & Interactive Field Project for Undergraduate Biology Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boes, Katie E.

    2013-01-01

    Outdoor areas within or near college campuses offer an opportunity for biology students to observe the natural world and apply concepts from class. Here, I describe an engaging and integrative project where undergraduate non-major biology students work in teams to develop and present professional "eco tours." This project takes place over multiple…

  19. Student designed experiments to learn fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, Catalina

    2013-11-01

    Lasers and high speed cameras are a wonderful tool to visualize the very complex behavior of fluids, and to help students grasp concepts like turbulence, surface tension and vorticity. In this work we present experiments done by physics students in their senior year at the School of Science of the National University of Mexico as a final project in the continuum mechanics course. Every semester, the students make an oral presentation of their work and videos and images are kept in the web page ``Pasión por los Fluidos''. I acknowledge support from the Physics Department of Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

  20. Measuring Student Career Interest within the Context of Technology-Enhanced STEM Projects: A Cross-Project Comparison Study Based on the Career Interest Questionnaire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterman, Karen; Kermish-Allen, Ruth; Knezek, Gerald; Christensen, Rhonda; Tyler-Wood, Tandra

    2016-12-01

    This article describes Energy for ME and Going Green! Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World, two Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education programs with the common goal of improving students' attitudes about scientific careers. The authors represent two project teams, each with funding from the National Science Foundation's ITEST program. Using different approaches and technology, both projects challenged students to use electricity monitoring system data to create action plans for conserving energy in their homes and communities. The impact of each project on students' career interests was assessed via a multi-method evaluation that included the Career Interest Questionnaire (CIQ), a measure that was validated within the context of ITEST projects and has since become one of the instruments used most commonly across the ITEST community. This article explores the extent to which the CIQ can be used to document the effects of technology-enhanced STEM educational experiences on students' career attitudes and intentions in different environments. The results indicate that the CIQ, and the Intent subscale in particular, served as significant predictors of students' self-reported STEM career aspirations across project context. Results from each project also demonstrated content gains by students and demonstrated the impact of project participation and gender on student outcomes. The authors conclude that the CIQ is a useful tool for providing empirical evidence to document the impact of technology-enhanced science education programs, particularly with regard to Intent to purse a STEM career. The need for additional cross-project comparison studies is also discussed.

  1. The Development of an Instrument to Measure the Project Competences of College Students in Online Project-Based Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chien-Liang

    2018-02-01

    This study sought to develop a self-report instrument to be used in the assessment of the project competences of college students engaged in online project-based learning. Three scales of the KIPSSE instrument developed for this study, namely, the knowledge integration, project skills, and self-efficacy scales, were based on related theories and the analysis results of three project advisor interviews. Those items of knowledge integration and project skill scales focused on the integration of different disciplines and technological skills separately. Two samples of data were collected from information technology-related courses taught with an online project-based learning strategy over different semesters at a college in southern Taiwan. The validity and reliability of the KIPSSE instrument were confirmed through item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling of two samples of students' online response sets separately. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for the entire instrument was 0.931; for each scale, the alpha ranged from 0.832 to 0.907. There was also a significant correlation ( r = 0.55, p < 0.01) between the KIPSSE instrument results and the students' product evaluation scores. The findings of this study confirmed the validity and reliability of the KIPSSE instrument. The confirmation process and related implications are also discussed.

  2. Knowledge management in design teams using a project website

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Otter, den A.F.H.J.; Lima, C.P

    2007-01-01

    In this paper the sharing of knowledge in architectural design teams using a Project Website is discussed. The results of multiple case studies, being part of a recently finished PhD research project to communication and performance of design teams using a Project Website, show that systems for

  3. Experiences with project-oriented research in graduate engineering education

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miley, G.H.

    1976-01-01

    Two examples of project-oriented research that involve the conceptual design of fusion systems are described. One of these projects involved close collaboration with workers in a national laboratory while the second was formally organized as a cooperative effort with two other laboratories. An important educational aspect of such research is that the students are involved in a design team composed of both students and professionals facing a realistic problem. In retrospect, it appears that both students and faculty profited from the experience. Several students have taken jobs in related areas, and additional research has resulted at the University from new insight gained during the projects

  4. Using "Petites Projects" to Further Engage Students in Geography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Richard

    2013-01-01

    The challenge of teaching AP Human Geography to high school students is to make geography relevant, engaging and "real world." Often the pace of teaching AP classes constrains the ability of teachers to do creative projects and truly engage students until after the exam is over in May. In this lesson plan, the author suggests using "Petites…

  5. Student Perceptions of Writing Projects in a University Differential-Equations Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latulippe, Christine; Latulippe, Joe

    2014-01-01

    This qualitative study surveyed 102 differential-equations students in order to investigate how students participating in writing projects in university-level mathematics courses perceive the benefits of writing in the mathematics classroom. Based on previous literature on writing in mathematics, students were asked specifically about the benefits…

  6. Overlapping research and design phases through participatory strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Casciola, Lara Clare; Vasco, Maria Crucera; Grøndal, Esben

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores the implications, with regard to service design education, of a project in the second semester of the Service Systems Design Master’s program at Aalborg University in Copenhagen. The learning objective of this project is to develop student capabilities in the design and deploy......This paper explores the implications, with regard to service design education, of a project in the second semester of the Service Systems Design Master’s program at Aalborg University in Copenhagen. The learning objective of this project is to develop student capabilities in the design...... and deployment of service concepts within a systemic environment. Topics introduced as part of the program’s curriculum in this semester that contribute to engaging students in this type of thinking include both technical (production systems, IT systems) and social (user participation and social innovation......) aspects. As the case study is discussed, note will be taken of the influence of this educational approach in the design team’s choices throughout the project process. Through this exploration, a discussion can be held on the opportunities and challenges presented to students as they attempt to combine...

  7. Profile of Students' Creative Thinking Skills on Quantitative Project-Based Protein Testing using Local Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. K. Sari

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to obtain a profile of students’ creative thinking skills on quantitative project-based protein testing using local materials. Implementation of the research is using quasi-experimental method pre-test post-test control group design with 40 students involved in Biochemistry lab. The research instrument is pre-test and post-test using creative thinking skills in the form of description and students’ questionnaire. The analysis was performed with SPSS 22.0 program to see the significance normality, U Mann-Whitney test for nonparametric statistics, N-Gain score, and the percentage of student responses to the practicum performed. The research result shows that the pretest rate in the experimental group is 8.25 while in the control group is 6.90. After attending a project-based practicum with local materials, the experimental group obtained the mean of posttest is 37.55 while in control class is 11.18. The students’ improvement on creative thinking skills can be seen from the average of N-Gain in the experimental class with 0.32 (medium category and in the control category with 0.05 (low category. The experimental and control class have different creative thinking skills significantly different fluency, flexibility, novelty, and detail. It can be concluded that quantitative project-based protein testing using local materials can improve students’ creative thinking skills. 71% of total students feel that quantitative project-based protein testing using local materials make them more creative in doing a practicum in the laboratory.

  8. Project Design Concept - Primary Ventilation System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MCGREW, D.L.

    2000-01-01

    Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operation (TFRSO), Project W-3 14 was established to provide upgrades that would improve the reliability and extend the system life of portions of the waste transfer, electrical, ventilation, instrumentation and control systems for the Hanford Site Tank Farms. An assessment of the tank farm system was conducted and the results are documented in system assessment reports. Based on the deficiencies identified in the tank farm system assessment reports, and additional requirements analysis performed in support of the River Protection Project (RPP), an approved scope for the TFRSO effort was developed and documented in the Upgrade Scope Summary Report (USSR), WHC-SD-W314-RPT-003, Rev. 4. The USSR establishes the need for the upgrades and identifies the specific equipment to be addressed by this project. This Project Design Concept (PDC) is in support of the Phase 2 upgrades and provides an overall description of the operations concept for the W-314 Primary Ventilation Systems. Actual specifications, test requirements, and procedures are not included in this PDC. The PDC is a ''living'' document, which will be updated throughout the design development process to provide a progressively more detailed description of the W-314 Primary Ventilation Systems design. The Phase 2 upgrades to the Primary Ventilation Systems shall ensure that the applicable current requirements are met for: Regulatory Compliance; Safety; Mission Requirements; Reliability; and Operational Requirements

  9. Promoting Socially Shared Metacognitive Regulation in Collaborative Project-Based Learning: A Framework for the Design of Structured Guidance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dongho; Lim, Cheolil

    2018-01-01

    Despite the emergence of collaborative project-based learning in higher education settings, how it can be supported has received little attention. We noted the positive impact of socially shared metacognitive regulation on students' collaboration processes. The purpose of this study was to present a framework for the design and implementation of…

  10. Project Management in Instructional Design: ADDIE Is Not Enough

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Rooij, Shahron Williams

    2010-01-01

    In the digital age, instructional designers must possess both a sound instructional design knowledge base and solid project management skills that will enable them to complete courseware projects on time, on budget and in conformance with client expectations. Project management skills include the ability to apply repeatable processes, along with…

  11. Enhancing Teacher and Student Engagement and Understanding of Marine Science Through Classroom Citizen Science Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodale, T. A.

    2016-02-01

    Overview This paper presentation shares findings from a granted funded project that sought to expand teacher content knowledge and pedagogy within the fields of marine science and coastal resource management through the implementation of classroom citizen science projects. A secondary goal was to increase middle and high school student interest and participation in marine science and natural resources research. Background A local science & engineering fair has seen a rapid decline in secondary student participants in the past four years. Research has demonstrated that when students are a part of a system of knowledge production (citizen science) they become much more aware, involved and conscious of scientific concepts compared to traditional school laboratory and nature of science activities. This project's primary objectives were to: (a) enhance teacher content expertise in marine science, (b) enrich teacher professional learning, (c) support citizen science classroom projects and inspire student activism and marine science engagement. Methods Project goals were addressed through classroom and meaningful outdoor educational experiences that put content knowledge into field based practices. Teachers learned to apply thier expanded content knowlege through classroom citizen science projects that focus on marine resource conservation issues such as fisheries management, water quality, turtle nesting and biodiversity of coastal ecosystems. These projects would eventually become potential topics of citizen science research topics for their students to pursue. Upon completion of their professional development, participants were urged to establish student Marine Science clubs with the goal of mentoring student submissions into the local science fair. Supplemental awards were possible for the students of project participants. Findings Based on project measures participants significantly increased their knowledge and awareness of presented material marine science and

  12. Design project management mode as the introduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xiaoping

    2014-01-01

    This article consider nuclear power plant's current design schedule management mode as the introduction, analysis of current management in-depth, summed up the advantage and disadvantage of the existing management mode. It makes use of mature closed loop cycle project management, and submits progress tracking model assumptions. It also introduces the purpose and background of the progress automation model, the theoretical assumptions of the model, the design criteria and evaluation system of indicators of progress. Based on the achievement process model, this article mainly discusses the specific processes and key points of the project closed loop cycle, and the improvement of the process of project management. (author)

  13. Using Sales Management Students to Manage Professional Selling Students in an Innovative Active Learning Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Joyce A.; Hawes, Jon M.

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes an application of active learning within two different courses: professional selling and sales management. Students assumed the roles of sales representatives and sales managers for an actual fund-raiser--a golf outing--sponsored by a student chapter of the American Marketing Association. The sales project encompassed an…

  14. Project HealthDesign: enhancing action through information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, Patricia Flatley; Casper, Gail; Downs, Stephen; Aulahk, Veenu

    2009-01-01

    Project HealthDesign is a country-wide initiative in the United States designed to stimulate innovation in personal health records (PHRs). Nine grantee teams engaged in an 18-month long design and prototyping process. Two teams addressed the needs of children and adolescents; three created novel approaches to help adults prevent or manage metabolic syndrome; three groups employed interface innovations to assist patients with chronic care management and one team devised a novel calendaring system to assist patients undergoing complex medical/surgical treatments to integrate care processes into their daily lives. These projects not only included development and testing of novel personal health records applications, but also served as the starting point to specify and implement a common technical core platform. The project advanced PHR development in two key ways: intensive user-centered design and a development architecture that separates applications of PHRs from the infrastructure that supports them. The initiative also allowed systematic investigation of significant ethical, legal and social issues, including how privacy considerations are changed when information technology innovations are used in the home and the rebalancing of the authority structure of health care decision making when patient-centered approaches guide the design of PHRs.

  15. A Symbiosis between Instructional Systems Design and Project Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Cheng-Chang

    2012-01-01

    This study is intended to explore a complementary relationship between instructional systems design (ISD) and project management in an attempt to build a plausible case for integrating project management as a distinct course in the core of the graduate instructional systems design programs. It is argued that ISD and project management should form…

  16. Project X: Accelerator Reference Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holmes, Stephen D. [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)

    2013-06-20

    Project X is a high-intensity proton facility being developed to support a world-leading program of Intensity Frontier physics over the next two decades at Fermilab. Project X is an integral part of the U.S. Intensity Frontier Roadmap as described in the P5 report of May 2008 [1] and within the Fermilab Strategic Plan of November 2011 [2]. This document represents Part I of the “Project X Book” describing the Project X accelerator facility and the broad range of physics research opportunities enabled by Project X. Parts II and III provide in-depth descriptions of the physics research program, both within and beyond particle physics [3]. The primary elements of the U.S. program to be supported by Project X include: Neutrino Experiments: Experimental studies of neutrino oscillations and neutrino interaction physics with ultra-intense neutrino beams provided by a high-power proton source with energies up to 120 GeV, utilizing near detectors at the Fermilab site and massive detectors at distant underground laboratories. Goal: At least 2 MW of proton beam power at any energy between 60 to 120 GeV; several hundred kW of proton beam power on target at 8 GeV. Kaon, Muon, Nucleon, and Neutron Precision Experiments: World-leading experiments studying ultra-rare kaon decays, searching for muon-to-electron conversion and nuclear electron dipole moments (EDMs), and exploring neutron properties at very high precision. Goal: MW-class proton beams supporting multiple experiments at 1 and 3 GeV, with flexible capability for providing distinct beam formats to concurrent users while allowing simultaneous operations with the neutrino program. Material Science and Nuclear Energy Applications: High-intensity accelerator, spallation, target and transmutation technology demonstrations will provide critical input into the design of future energy systems, including next generation fission reactors, nuclear waste transmutation systems and future thorium fuel-cycle power systems. Possible

  17. Mathematical Modeling Projects: Success for All Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Therese

    2018-01-01

    Mathematical modeling allows flexibility for a project-based experience. We share details of our regular capstone course, successful for virtually 100% of our math majors for almost two decades. Our research-like approach in this course accommodates a variety of student backgrounds and interests, and has produced some award-winning student…

  18. Investigation of the Relationship between Green Design and Project Delivery Methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bilec, Melissa M.; Ries, Robert J.

    2008-04-24

    The selection of the project delivery method (PDM) for any project is critical--it establishes communication, coordination, and contractual issues between the owner, contractor, and designer. With an increase in the number of green design projects, understanding the relationship between the PDM and green design is paramount to project and contract management. It is reasonable to assume that a positive relationship between green design and design-build (DB) exists since both theoretically are intended to foster an integrated, holistic, and collaborative project. This research examines the relationship between the design-bid-build (DBB), construction management (CM), and DB PDMs and green design with the goal of establishing best practices and identifying potential synergies between them. The research collected information by conducting primarily telephone interviews with approximately twenty-five individuals, including owners, contractors, and designers involved in completed green design projects, mainly in the public sector. The interviews developed a general understanding of the current state of knowledge and experience and not a rigorous quantitative analysis. Upon completion of the interviews, the tabulated results were summarized and green project characteristics and project-PDM interactions emerged. Existing published research was evaluated to reveal aspects of PDMs independent of green design. Best practices were ascertained by combining information from the interviews and published research. Best practices are as follows: (1) Project implementation features--The decision to use DB as PDM on green design or other projects should be based on the specific project features; e.g., well-defined scope and adequate owner staffing. DB will not produce successful results on all projects. (2) Collaboration--Project team collaboration early in the design and construction process is an important aspect of green projects, and collaboration was considered somewhat more

  19. Core designs of modern VVER projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasilchenko, I.; Kushmanov, S.; Vjalitsyn, V.; Vasilchenko, R.

    2015-01-01

    The presented operational experience of TVS - 2M (pilot-commercial operation started in 2006 at Balakovo NPP -1) enables to use it as reference for new projects because of similarity in designs and operational conditions. In the paper main parameters of fuel cycles, stability to impact of damaging factors, pilot operation of MG, new alloys, ADF and NTMC, upgrade of FA - 2M for the further power uprating, profiling of Gd-fuel rods for 18-month Fuel Cycle (FC) and perfection of absorber element design are the discussed issues. At the end author concluded that: 1) Core designs of new projects AES-2006 and VVER-TOI are based on extensive successful operational experience of the close prototype of TVS - 2M. 2) All improvements both of technical and economic parameters of fuel are subjected to representative examination by pilot operation at the power units with VVER-1000 being close prototypes of new designs

  20. Fundraising Strategies Developed by MBA students in Project-Based Learning Courses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joao Alberto Arantes do Amaral

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The ability to raise funds is a skill that most modern project managers need. While a good deal of literature exists on the strategies NGOs employ to raise funds for their operations, less attention has been paid to the strategies used by students involved in Project-Based Learning courses that often partner with NGOs. Fundraising is an important skill that not only provides students with opportunities for creativity, but also helps them develop the communication skills they will need in the work they do after they graduate.In this paper, we discuss the fundraising strategies developed by MBA students in 204 social projects completed between 2002 and 2014. The projects were done in partnership with 39 community partners in Sao Paulo, Brazil (NGOs and Public Institutions. In our study, we followed quantitative and qualitative research methods, analyzing data and documents from the projects’ databases. We identified six different fundraising strategies: organizing raffles, soliciting donations from private corporations, organizing paying events, utilizing online social networks developing crowdfunding, and soliciting individual donations.

  1. Low Achieving Eighth Graders Learn to Crack Word Problems: A Design Research Project for Aligning a Strategic Scaffolding Tool to Students' Mental Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prediger, Susanne; Krägeloh, Nadine

    2015-01-01

    Topic-specific didactical design research provides means not only to investigate how to learn but also what to learn, i.e., for specifying learning contents by analyzing students' comprehension processes in detail. This important characteristic of didactical design research is exemplarily shown for students' difficulties in finding symbolic…

  2. Designing Learning Opportunities in Interaction Design: Interactionaries as a means to study and teach student design processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Ramberg

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Learning by practice, apprenticeship and paradigmatic examples have been prime paths for learning within interaction design. These have been criticized for being time-consuming and costly, of not being implementable in academic contexts. In this article we suggest and evaluate a pedagogical model to address these problems in design teaching and learning. Results from a time-constrained collaborative design exercise, a so-called “interactionary”, are presented. Student design work is analyzed using the framework of learning design sequences and analysis of the primary transformation unit shows that interactionaries reveal patterns in student design work. Materials are used mainly to document design ideas rather than as a design material to further investigate design ideas and aspects of interaction. In the critiquing sessions, regarded as the secondary transformation unit, many issues hardly addressed during the design work were brought up. Thus, the designers continued to develop their design proposal primed by critique presented by the reviewers. Based on the results, possible teacher interventions to coach student design work are suggested.

  3. Design management of general contractor under nuclear power project EPC mode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su Shaojian

    2013-01-01

    Design management has not yet formed a theoretical system recognized, general contractor design managers under nuclear power project EPC Mode lack the clear theory basis. This paper aims to discuss Design management from the angle of general contractor under nuclear power project EPC mode, Gives the concept of design management Clearly, by Combining the characteristics of nuclear power project, Gives the specific content and meaning of the design management of nuclear power project. (authors)

  4. Student-Teacher Collaboration: A Skateboard Project that Really Rocks!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Tim

    2005-01-01

    As a teacher, the author gets his biggest charge from seeing students' eyes light up when he asks them a question related to a topic on which they are the experts and he is the novice. Skateboarding provides a prime example. Since most of his students have a personal interest and involvement in skateboarding, he introduced a skateboard project to…

  5. How do the Polytechnic Students Cope with the Difficulties in Composing Abstracts for Their Final Projects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niswatin, C.; Latief, M. A.; Suharyadi, S.

    2018-02-01

    This research aims to uncover the fact about engineering students in dealing with composing abstracts for their final projects. The research applies a descriptive qualitative quantitative design. The data were collected through questioners involving 104 engineering students, including the alumni at Politeknik Kota Malang, Indonesia. Furthermore, interviews were carried out to explain the details where necessary to support the primary data. It is found that the common problems faced by engineering students include 1) combining words into sentences, 2) identifying the most appropriate technical terms in engineering, and 3) applying grammar in context. To cope with those difficulties they demanded translation application machines, supported by peer-proofreaders. In addition, they considerably engaged personal tutoring with the lectures more than three times.

  6. Teaching machine learning to design students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vlist, van der B.J.J.; van de Westelaken, H.F.M.; Bartneck, C.; Hu, J.; Ahn, R.M.C.; Barakova, E.I.; Delbressine, F.L.M.; Feijs, L.M.G.; Pan, Z.; Zhang, X.; El Rhalibi, A.

    2008-01-01

    Machine learning is a key technology to design and create intelligent systems, products, and related services. Like many other design departments, we are faced with the challenge to teach machine learning to design students, who often do not have an inherent affinity towards technology. We

  7. Education projects: an opportunity for student fieldwork in global health academic programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fyfe, Molly V

    2012-01-01

    Universities, especially in higher-income countries, increasingly offer programs in global health. These programs provide different types of fieldwork projects, at home and abroad, including: epidemiological research, community health, and clinical electives. I illustrate how and why education projects offer distinct learning opportunities for global health program fieldwork. As University of California students, we partnered in Tanzania with students from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (MUHAS) to assist MUHAS faculty with a curricular project. We attended classes, clinical rounds, and community outreach sessions together, where we observed teaching, materials used, and the learning environment; and interviewed and gathered data from current students, alumni, and health professionals during a nationwide survey. We learned together about education of health professionals and health systems in our respective institutions. On the basis of this experience, I suggest some factors that contribute to the productivity of educational projects as global health fieldwork.

  8. Backward Instructional design for an educational open resource in Spanish Vocational Training: The case of the Web Apps Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian Jorge GARCÍA MARCOS

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The article is concerned with the instructional design process used to elaborate an educational media developing the Web Applications module curriculum of Microcomputer Systems and Networks Intermediate Level Training Cycle, which belongs to the professional family of Computing and Communications within the studies of Vocational Education and Training. A backward model is followed as instructional design to create the educational media, starting with the learning outcomes and ending with the contents, in a reverse way to the procedure used in other instructional designs. The educational media has been designed based on constructivism as pedagogical principle and it has been used to create projects for the student to be actively involved in the development of their knowledge. The result is an open educational resource composed of six didactic sequences, where the student is expected to achieve higher order thinking skills. In addition to openness in access, use, adaptation and redistribution of material, the article provides a detailed view of the process that has been followed in each phase of instructional design. In this way, the educational resource evolves from being not only open in its content, but also in its design, so that the latter becomes accessible, reusable, adapted and redistributed by others. The full open educational resource can be found at the following link: http://www.cristiangarcia.org/WebAppsProject/index.html

  9. Student use of a Learning Management System for group projects: A case study investigating interaction, collaboration, and knowledge construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lonn, Steven D.

    Web-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) allow instructors and students to share instructional materials, make class announcements, submit and return course assignments, and communicate with each other online. Previous LMS-related research has focused on how these systems deliver and manage instructional content with little concern for how students' constructivist learning can be encouraged and facilitated. This study investigated how students use LMS to interact, collaborate, and construct knowledge within the context of a group project but without mediation by the instructor. The setting for this case study was students' use in one upper-level biology course of the local LMS within the context of a course-related group project, a mock National Institutes of Health grant proposal. Twenty-one groups (82 students) voluntarily elected to use the LMS, representing two-thirds of all students in the course. Students' peer-to-peer messages within the LMS, event logs, online surveys, focus group interviews, and instructor interviews were used in order to answer the study's overarching research question. The results indicate that students successfully used the LMS to interact and, to a significant extent, collaborate, but there was very little evidence of knowledge construction using the LMS technology. It is possible that the ease and availability of face-to-face meetings as well as problems and limitations with the technology were factors that influenced whether students' online basic interaction could be further distinguished as collaboration or knowledge construction. Despite these limitations, students found several tools and functions of the LMS useful for their online peer interaction and completion of their course project. Additionally, LMS designers and implementers are urged to consider previous literature on computer-supported collaborative learning environments in order to better facilitate independent group projects within these systems. Further research is

  10. Project Career: Perceived benefits of iPad apps among college students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, K; Leopold, A; Hendricks, D J; Sampson, E; Nardone, A; Lopez, K B; Rumrill, P; Stauffer, C; Elias, E; Scherer, M; Dembe, J

    2017-09-14

    Project Career is an interprofessional five-year development project designed to improve academic and employment success of undergraduate students with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) at two- and four-year colleges and universities. Students receive technology in the form of iPad applications ("apps") to support them in and out of the classroom. To assess participants' perspectives on technology at baseline and perceived benefit of apps after 6 and 12 months of use. This article address a component of a larger study. Participants included 50 college-aged students with traumatic brain injuries. Statistical analysis included data from two Matching Person and Technology (MPT) assessment forms, including the Survey of Technology Use at baseline and the Assistive Technology Use Follow-Up Survey: Apps Currently Using, administered at 6- and 12-months re-evaluation. Analyses included frequencies and descriptives. Average scores at baseline indicated positive perspectives on technology. At 6 months, quality of life (67%) and academics (76%) improved moderately or more from the use of iPad apps. At 12 months, quality of life (65%) and academics (82%) improved moderately or more from the use of iPad apps. Students with a TBI have positive perspectives on technology use. The results on perceived benefit of apps indicated that students with a TBI (including civilians and veterans) report that the apps help them perform in daily life and academic settings.

  11. Students, teachers and technicians are installing a cosmic ray detector in the CMS visitor gallery. The detector was designed and built in the framework of the US Quarknet project under the supervision of physicists from the Notre Dame University (USA)

    CERN Document Server

    Claudia Marcelloni

    2007-01-01

    Students, teachers and technicians are installing a cosmic ray detector in the CMS visitor gallery. The detector was designed and built in the framework of the US Quarknet project under the supervision of physicists from the Notre Dame University (USA)

  12. Interdisciplinary Service-Learning: Building Student Competencies through the Cross-Cultural Parent Groups Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Belliveau

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Changing demographics and an emphasis on competency-based social work education call for innovative approaches to the delivery of curricular content. In an effort to introduce BSW students to the socio-political issues facing the local Latino immigrant community, a service-learning project was developed in collaboration with the Spanish Language Department and a local middle school. An analysis of outcomes from social work student evaluations showed that students engaged with the community and issues in new and unexpected ways. Through their engagement in a cross-cultural group project, students developed greater cultural competency, honed their group practice skills in an unfamiliar context, provided a needed service to the community, and raised their awareness about the working conditions of new immigrants as part of a developing framework for social action. Details and implications of the project as a means to build student competencies are described.

  13. Design training activity for teachers and students on environmental science topic in the frame of ENVRIPLUS project

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Addezio, G.; Beranzoli, L.; Antonella, M.

    2016-12-01

    We elaborated actions to improve the content of the ENVRIPLUS e-Training Platform for multimedia education of secondary school level teachers and students. The purpose is to favor teacher training and consequently students training on selected scientific themes faced within the ENVRIPLUS Research Infrastructures. In particular we address major thematic research areas and challenges on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Greenhouse effect and Earth Warming, Ocean acidifications and Environmental sustainability. First we identified "Best practices" that could positively impacts on students by providing motivation on promoting scientific research and increase the awareness of the Earth System complexity and Environmental challenges for its preservation and sustainability,). Best practice teaching strategies represent an inherent part of a curriculum that exemplifies the connection and relevance identified in education research. To realize the training platform we start detailed study and analysis of teaching and multimedia information materials already available. We plan the realization of a digital repository for access to teachers and students with opportunities to develop original content, with standardization of the design methods of the scientific and technical content, classification / cataloging of information in digital form and definition of a logical model for the provision of thematic content in a single digital environment. To better design the actions and to catch teacher needs, we prepare a questionnaire that will be administered to a large sample of international secondary school level teachers. The first part focused on objective information about the formal, quantitative and qualitative position of science class in schools and the content and methods of teaching in different countries. The second part investigate subjective teacher experiences and their views on what can improve training offer for environmental science lessons and courses.

  14. Undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of service-learning through a school-based community project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassi, Sherry

    2011-01-01

    Service-learning (SL) is an experiential teaching method that combines instruction with community service, with the aim of enriching students' academic learning, interpersonal skills and sense of responsibility while making meaningful contributions to the community. However, measuring outcomes of service-learning projects is difficult. This article reports on the perceptions of 18 third-year undergraduate nursing students who took part in a pilot service-learning project targeting tobacco use in a local elementary school. Faculty members evaluated the program's outcomes by engaging students in structured reflection on the program about its relevance to their future careers as practicing professionals, especially in community-based settings. The students' perceptions were elicited through three sets of reflective assignments following the project. Findings from the reflective assignments suggest that the pilot program was successful in enhancing the students' academic, social, and personal development while building a partnership between the school of nursing and key players in the community, including school-based nurses, teachers, administrators, families, and community leaders. The author suggests that service-learning projects can help nursing students accomplish key developmental tasks of the college years (such as building their competence, autonomy, and integrity), while helping impart the skills and values they will need as they graduate and seek professional nursing roles.

  15. Developing an online support tool to assist students in higher education with project proposals

    OpenAIRE

    Haji Suhaili, Wida Susanty

    2015-01-01

    The research presented in this thesis investigates ways to assist students with writing their project proposals. There is limited literature on the problems students have when writing project proposals in Higher Education. Particularly most of the literature has concentrated on the writing aspects, rhetorical aspects and structure of a scientific article. Even though various studies on assessment of undergraduate individual and group project works have been done, the project pr...

  16. Increasing Prediction the Original Final Year Project of Student Using Genetic Algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saragih, Rijois Iboy Erwin; Turnip, Mardi; Sitanggang, Delima; Aritonang, Mendarissan; Harianja, Eva

    2018-04-01

    Final year project is very important forgraduation study of a student. Unfortunately, many students are not seriouslydidtheir final projects. Many of studentsask for someone to do it for them. In this paper, an application of genetic algorithms to predict the original final year project of a studentis proposed. In the simulation, the data of the final project for the last 5 years is collected. The genetic algorithm has several operators namely population, selection, crossover, and mutation. The result suggest that genetic algorithm can do better prediction than other comparable model. Experimental results of predicting showed that 70% was more accurate than the previous researched.

  17. Business System Planning Project, Preliminary System Design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    EVOSEVICH, S.

    2000-01-01

    CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (CHG) is currently performing many core business functions including, but not limited to, work control, planning, scheduling, cost estimating, procurement, training, and human resources. Other core business functions are managed by or dependent on Project Hanford Management Contractors including, but not limited to, payroll, benefits and pension administration, inventory control, accounts payable, and records management. In addition, CHG has business relationships with its parent company CH2M HILL, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of River Protection and other River Protection Project contractors, government agencies, and vendors. The Business Systems Planning (BSP) Project, under the sponsorship of the CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. Chief Information Officer (CIO), have recommended information system solutions that will support CHG business areas. The Preliminary System Design was developed using the recommendations from the Alternatives Analysis, RPP-6499, Rev 0 and will become the design base for any follow-on implementation projects. The Preliminary System Design will present a high-level system design, providing a high-level overview of the Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) modules and identify internal and external relationships. This document will not define data structures, user interface components (screens, reports, menus, etc.), business rules or processes. These in-depth activities will be accomplished at implementation planning time

  18. Using technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning for student comprehension and academic performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tlhoaele, Malefyane; Suhre, Cor; Hofman, Adriaan

    2016-05-01

    Cooperative learning may improve students' motivation, understanding of course concepts, and academic performance. This study therefore enhanced a cooperative, group-project learning technique with technology resources to determine whether doing so improved students' deep learning and performance. A sample of 118 engineering students, randomly divided into two groups, participated in this study and provided data through questionnaires issued before and after the experiment. The results, obtained through analyses of variance and structural equation modelling, reveal that technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning improves students' comprehension and academic performance.

  19. Motivating Students to Develop Satellites in a Problem and Project-Based Learning Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jesper Abildgaard; Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard; Zhou, Chunfang

    2013-01-01

    During the last decade, a total of three student satellites have been developed by engineering students in a Problem and Project-Based Learning (PBL) environment at Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark. As solving such a complex project, we emphasize that a high level of motivation is needed for the...

  20. International design competition. Formula student Germany; Internationaler Konstruktionswettbewerb. Formula Student Germany

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liebl, Johannes; Siebenpfeiffer, Wolfgang (eds.)

    2011-11-15

    Within the International Design Competition 2011 at the Hockenheimring (Federal Republic of Germany) the following contributions were presented: (1) Formula Student Germany - Experience the Future (Tim Hannig); (2) Live at the Hockenheimring 2011; (3) Cutaway Model of the FSC Winning Car - The GFR11c by the Global Formula Racing Team of the DHBW Ravensburg; (4) Formula Student Racecar with Selective Cylinder Deactivation (Alexander Titz); (5) Construction of a crankshaft for the RS11 (Stefan Buhl); (6) The Wheel Design of the ARG 11 (Megan Rotondo); (7) Cutaway Model of the FSE Winning Car - The DUT11 by the DUT Racing Team of the Delft University of Technology; (8) Formula Student Electric - E-Scrutineering (Ann-Christin Bartoelke); (9) Development of an E-motor for Formular Student Electric (Urs Leuthold); (10) The Battery Management System of the FHWT04e (Andreas Hagemeyer); (11) Overall Results 2011 at a Glance; (12) Show your Colours; (13) Formula Student Germany visiting China (Alia Pierce).

  1. How Does Heat Flow Vary in the Ocean Floor? Crustal Evaluation Education Project. Teacher's Guide [and] Student Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoever, Edward C., Jr.

    Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP) modules were designed to: (1) provide students with the methods and results of continuing investigations into the composition, history, and processes of the earth's crust and the application of this knowledge to man's activities and (2) to be used by teachers with little or no previous background in the…

  2. Design status of the Delfi-Next nanosatellite project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwmeester, J.; Brouwer, G.F.; Gill, E.K.A.; Monna, G.L.E.; Rotteveel, J.

    2010-01-01

    Delfi-Next is the second project within the Delfi nanosatellite development program of Delft University of Technology. It will provide students hands-on experience, facilitate technology demonstration for innovative miniaturized space technology from the Dutch space sector and allow advancements in

  3. Project-Based Learning with an Online Peer Assessment System in a Photonics Instruction for Enhancing LED Design Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Shu-Hsuan; Wu, Tsung-Chih; Kuo, Yen-Kuang; You, Li-Chih

    2012-01-01

    This study proposed a novel instructional approach, a two-stage LED simulation of Project-based learning (PBL) course with online peer assessment (OPA), and explored how to apply OPA to the different structured problems in a PBL course to enhance students' professional skills in LED design as well as meta-cognitive thinking. The participants of…

  4. Innovative Organization of Project Activity of Construction Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolbova, I. D.; Aleksandrova, E. P.; Krainova, M. N.

    2017-11-01

    The construction industry competitiveness depends on its equipping with information modeling technologies. This requires training and development of human resources. The advantages of BIM-technologies are considered. The requirements for the specialists capable of promoting information modeling technologies in the construction industry are discussed. For a wide application of BIM-technologies, the problem of training personnel with a new thinking must be solved. When preparing graduates of the major “Construction”, it is necessary to introduce innovative educational technologies aimed at building the students’ ability for team work, competences in the field of modern information and communication technologies, as well as design skills basing on spatial modeling. Graphic training is the first discipline of the professional orientation for construction students. In the context of training it is important to create such learning environment that is close to a professional one. The paper provides the examples of practice-oriented assignments based on the project method in the course of students’ independent work.

  5. The Use of Engineering Design Scenarios to Assess Student Knowledge of Global, Societal, Economic, and Environmental Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenna, Ann F.; Hynes, Morgan M.; Johnson, Amy M.; Carberry, Adam R.

    2016-01-01

    Product archaeology as an educational approach asks engineering students to consider and explore the broader societal and global impacts of a product's manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal on people, economics, and the environment. This study examined the impact of product archaeology in a project-based engineering design course on…

  6. Students design composite bridges

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stark, J.W.B.; Galjaard, J.C.; Brekelmans, J.W.P.M.

    1999-01-01

    The paper gives an overview of recent research on steel-concrete composite bridge design by students of Delft University of Technology doing their master's thesis. Primary objective of this research was to find possibilities for application of steel-concrete composite bridges in the Netherlands,

  7. Enhancing the Student Learning Experience in Software Engineering Project Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marques, Maira; Ochoa, Sergio F.; Bastarrica, Maria Cecilia; Gutierrez, Francisco J.

    2018-01-01

    Carrying out real-world software projects in their academic studies helps students to understand what they will face in industry, and to experience first-hand the challenges involved when working collaboratively. Most of the instructional strategies used to help students take advantage of these activities focus on supporting agile programming,…

  8. Elementary Students' Acquisition of Academic Vocabulary Through Engineering Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kugelmass, Rachel

    This study examines how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) inquiry-based learning through a hands-on engineering design can be beneficial in helping students acquire academic vocabulary. This research took place in a second grade dual- language classroom in a public, suburban elementary school. English language learners, students who speak Spanish at home, and native English speakers were evaluated in this study. Each day, students were presented with a general academic vocabulary focus word during an engineering design challenge. Vocabulary pre-tests and post-tests as well as observation field notes were used to evaluate the student's growth in reading and defining the focus academic vocabulary words. A quiz and KSB (knowledge and skill builder) packet were used to evaluate students' knowledge of science and math content and engineering design. The results of this study indicate that engineering design is an effective means for teaching academic vocabulary to students with varying levels of English proficiency.

  9. FACTORS AFFECTING EFFICIENT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT: A PERSPECTIVE FROM INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devanshu Pandit

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Internationally projects exhibit time and cost overrun. It is observed that problems during design development contribute significantly to delays. In India, projects undertaken by government were largely planned and designed by departmental planners and engineers. However, after globalization, projects have increased in number resulting in design outsourcing, but with attendant challenges. The paper is aimed at identifying and analysing factors in the design development phase that can have impact on project success. 30 factors related to design development were identified through two separate brainstorming sessions. A questionnaire was then administered to determine importance ranking of these factors. Relative importance index (RII was used to prioritise these factors. Top ten factors in design development identified using RII include structural design parameters, soil investigations, design quality control, topographic survey, and architectural design parameters. The results can help firms improve their design development practices by prioritising activities that could have more impact on project performance.

  10. On Student Motivation in a Problem and Project-Based Satellite Development and Learning Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jesper Abildgaard; Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard; Zhou, Chunfang

    2013-01-01

    During the past decade, students at Aalborg University have had the possibility to participate in the cross disciplinary, and cross semester project of building and launching a cubesat. However, as such a project easily can last from three to five years, from the initial development to the launch...... of the satellite, it is important to consider how to keep the different student groups, who have participated in the project motivated in further developing of their respective subsystems, as well as engage actively in knowledge transfer to new student groups....

  11. Students' guide to program design

    CERN Document Server

    Robertson, Lesley Anne

    1992-01-01

    Students' Guide to Program Design is a textbook on program design. This textbook approaches program design by using structures programming techniques and pseudocode to develop a solution algorithm. Divided into 10 chapters, the book begins with a basic explanation of structured programming techniques, top-down development, and modular design. This discussion is followed by detailed concepts of the syntax of pseudocode; methods of defining the problem; the application of basic control structures in the development of the solution algorithm; desk checking techniques; hierarchy charts; and module

  12. Increasing awareness about antibiotic use and resistance: a hands-on project for high school students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca, Maria João; Santos, Catarina L; Costa, Patrício; Lencastre, Leonor; Tavares, Fernando

    2012-01-01

    Health-promoting education is essential to foster an informed society able to make decisions about socio-scientific issues based on scientifically sustained criteria. Antibiotic resistance is currently a major public health issue. Considering that irrational antibiotic use has been associated with the development and widespread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, educational interventions to promote prudent antibiotic consumption are required. This study focuses on the outcomes of an interventional program implemented at the University of Porto, Portugal, to promote awareness about antibiotic resistance at high school levels (15-17 year old). The project Microbiology recipes: antibiotics à la carte articulates a set of wet and dry lab activities designed to promote the participants' understanding of concepts and processes underlying antibiotics' production and activity, such as the notion of mechanisms of action of antibiotics. Following a mix-method approach based on a pre-/post design, the effectiveness of this project was assessed by gathering data from surveys, direct observation and analysis of artifacts of 42 high school students (aged 15 and 16 years). The results indicate that the participants developed a more comprehensive picture of antibiotic resistance. The project was shown to promote more sophisticated conceptualizations of bacteria and antibiotics, increased awareness about the perils of antibiotic resistance, and enhanced consciousness towards measures that can be undertaken to mitigate the problem. The participants regarded their experiences as enjoyable and useful, and believed that the project contributed to improve their understanding and raise their interest about the issues discussed. Furthermore, there were also improvements in their procedural skills concerning the laboratory techniques performed. This study evidences the possibility of increasing high school students' awareness about the consequences of antibiotic resistance and the

  13. SENSE IT: Teaching STEM Principles to Middle and High School Students through the Design, Construction and Deployment of Water Quality Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotaling, Liesl; Lowes, Susan; Stolkin, Rustam; Lin, Peiyi; Bonner, James; Kirkey, William; Ojo, Temitope

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes the structure and impact of an NSF-funded ITEST project designed to enrich science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education using educational modules that teach students to construct, program, and test a series of sensors used to monitor water quality. During the two years of the SENSE IT project, over 30…

  14. Designing Gain- and Loss-Framed Messages to Increase Physical Activity among University Students Living in two Different Cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pelin Ozgur Polat

    2015-10-01

    The primary aim of this project is to gather information through using different methods and investigate the determinants of message persuasiveness in university students from the British and Turkish cultures in order to design effective physical activity messages leading intention, attitude and behaviour change. The results of the finalized studies showed the importance of using both qualitative and quantitative methods in message design process.

  15. A Discussion Project on High School Adolescents' Perceptions of the Relationship between Students and Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Ronald J.

    1976-01-01

    Describes a small group discussion project involving students and teachers in two large white suburban high schools. The project's intention was to focus discussion on the social quality of the relationship between students and teachers, and to assess the impact of the discussions on student perceptions. (Author/RK)

  16. Conceptual Design Plan SM-43 Replacement Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory, SCC Project Office

    2000-11-01

    The Los Alamos National Laboratory Conceptual Design Plan for the SM-43 Replacement Project outlines plans for replacing the SM-43 Administration Building. Topics include the reasons that replacement is considered a necessity; the roles of the various project sponsors; and descriptions of the proposed site and facilities. Also covered in this proposal is preliminary information on the project schedule, cost estimates, acquisition strategy, risk assessment, NEPA strategy, safety strategy, and safeguards and security. Spreadsheets provide further detail on space requirements, project schedules, and cost estimates.

  17. The Development of an Instrument to Measure the Project Competences of College Students in Online Project-Based Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chien-Liang

    2018-01-01

    This study sought to develop a self-report instrument to be used in the assessment of the project competences of college students engaged in online project-based learning. Three scales of the KIPSSE instrument developed for this study, namely, the knowledge integration, project skills, and self-efficacy scales, were based on related theories and…

  18. Improving patient care through student leadership in team quality improvement projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschannen, Dana; Aebersold, Michelle; Kocan, Mary Jo; Lundy, Francene; Potempa, Kathleen

    2015-01-01

    In partnership with a major medical center, senior-level nursing students completed a root cause analysis and implementation plan to address a unit-specific quality issue. To evaluate the project, unit leaders were asked their perceptions of the value of the projects and impact on patient care, as well as to provide exemplars depicting how the student root cause analysis work resulted in improved patient outcome and/or unit processes. Liaisons noted benefits of having an RCA team, with positive impact on patient outcomes and care processes.

  19. Creating meaningful learning experiences: Understanding students' perspectives of engineering design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleong, Richard James Chung Mun

    There is a societal need for design education to prepare holistic engineers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to innovate and compete globally. Design skills are paramount to the espoused values of higher education, as institutions of higher learning strive to develop in students the cognitive abilities of critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. To meet these interests from industry and academia, it is important to advance the teaching and learning of engineering design. This research aims to understand how engineering students learn and think about design, as a way for engineering educators to optimize instructional practice and curriculum development. Qualitative research methodology was used to investigate the meaning that engineering students' ascribe to engineering design. The recruitment of participants and corresponding collection of data occurred in two phases using two different data collection techniques. The first phase involved the distribution of a one-time online questionnaire to all first year, third year, and fourth year undergraduate engineering students at three Canadian Universities. After the questionnaire, students were asked if they would be willing to participate in the second phase of data collection consisting of a personal interview. A total of ten students participated in interviews. Qualitative data analysis procedures were conducted on students' responses from the questionnaire and interviews. The data analysis process consisted of two phases: a descriptive phase to code and categorize the data, followed by an interpretative phase to generate further meaning and relationships. The research findings present a conceptual understanding of students' descriptions about engineering design, structured within two educational orientations: a learning studies orientation and a curriculum studies orientation. The learning studies orientation captured three themes of students' understanding of engineering design: awareness

  20. Solidarity Projects in Norwegian Schools: Students' Motivation and School Leaders' Rationale

    OpenAIRE

    Brustad, Maja Rosvold

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Each year thousands of Norwegian students spend one day of their education to collect money for different aid projects. These projects aim at giving youth in developing countries the opportunity to education and are referred to as Solidarity Projects. The projects are organized by different NGO s. The first organizations that started offering solidarity projects were Operation Day´s Work. This organization was founded in 1964, and is run for, by and with youth. Participation in solid...

  1. A Unique Civil Engineering Capstone Design Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G Padmanabhan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The North Dakota State University, USA, capstone course was developed as a unique model in response to the effort of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology, USA, to streamline and improve design instruction in the curriculum and has steadily evolved to keep pace with the ever-changing technology and the expectations of the profession and the society we serve. A capstone design course by definition should be a design experience for students in the final year before graduation integrating all major design concepts they have learned up until then in the program. Carefully chosen real world projects with design content in all sub-disciplines of civil engineering are assigned in this team-taught course. Faculty and practicing professionals make presentations on design process; project management; leadership in an engineering environment; and public policy; global perspectives in engineering; and professional career and licensure. Practicing professionals also critique the final student presentations. Students work in teams with number of faculty serving as technical consultants, and a faculty mentor for each team to provide non-technical guidance and direction. The course requires students to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum and to work with others in a team environment. Course assessment includes evaluation of the final design, presentations, written technical reports, project design schedule, a project design journal, and reaction papers.

  2. Coupled rolling motion: a student project in non-holonomic mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janova, Jitka; Musilova, Jana; Bartos, JirI

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents an original undergraduate student project in theoretical mechanics: a demonstration of theory and experiment agreement inspired by a recently theoretically treated mechanical problem of coupled rolling motion of two cylinders. The problem of a mechanical system subjected to non-holonomic constraints is theoretically and numerically solved. Subsequently, the solution is quantitatively verified by a simple and inexpensive experiment, originally proposed and constructed by the authors. The comparison of results of the theoretical study with experimental output shows that there are instruments to directly verify rather abstract mathematical theories even on the undergraduate level. Moreover, combining the theoretical description of the problem with an appropriate laboratory experiment and computational procedures gives students a more complex view of the physical problem as a whole. This paper can be used by physics teachers on the undergraduate university level as an inspiration for an interesting student project. Moreover, the theoretical part of this paper itself can be used by interested intermediate students themselves as a good exercise in theoretical mechanics.

  3. Student Learning-Game Designs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitze, Charlotte Lærke

    2016-01-01

    This article presents new knowledge about how students can implement learning and game elements into analogue and digital learning games as a means of learning and teaching curriculum‐based subject matter. The purpose of the analysis is to identify what learning‐game design elements were used...... in four learning games created by students, to investigate how these elements were em83 ployed, to determine what learning trajectories emerged in the two digital game tools and to offer reflections and suggestions regarding the learning processes students experienced when building the various learning...... trajectories for specific learning goals into the digital games. The article examines how specific features in the two digital game tools, Scratch and RGBMaker, afford creation of learning trajectories in various ways, enabling deep learning and gameplay processes for the players of the games. According...

  4. Exploratory Shaft, Phase 1, Project B-314: Title 1 design report system design description

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanlen, D.F.

    1983-01-01

    The report describes the project and the project systems, the principal design bases, and principal hazards and project interfaces. This report also contains the Title 1 Estimate Summary. 5 figs., 8 tabs

  5. The Camp Hill Project: Objectives and Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattingly, John B.

    1976-01-01

    Available from: EC 090 474. Outlined are the problems and objectives of Pennsylvania's Camp Hill Project--a program designed to complete psychological needs assessments for juveniles incarcerated at Camp Hill, to develop project policies and guidelines in preparation for meeting with juvenile court judges, and to hire staff. (SBH)

  6. A projective approach to a language of landscape design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Ward Thompson

    1997-10-01

    Full Text Available Building on the work of Kelly (1955 in personal construct psychology, and Peled (1976, I990 in ecoanalysis, this paper develops projective techniques-which use concepts of personal and phenomenological space-as a means for articulating approaches to landscape design. The projective approach involves two stages. In stage one, projective techniques are used to elicit personal constructs (which may be held at a pre-conscious or sub-conscious level, allowing the holistic experience of landscape to be explored. In stage two, using a 'projection location task' derived from the way we experience and construe the regions of our own bodies, elements of these constructs can then be articulated so as to inform the way we interact and engage with the space around us. This gives insight into the meaning of spatial layouts, which can then be translated into a design language for the structural ordering of space. The author draws on original research conducted with children as well as adults, using projective techniques to draw out their desires and needs in relation to designing their landscape environment. The paper discusses the value of such methods for landscape designers and their clients, and outlines some ongoing research to test the validity of the projection location task.

  7. Teaching as Improvisational Experience: Student Music Teachers' Reflections on Learning during an Intercultural Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerlund, Heidi; Partti, Heidi; Karlsen, Sidsel

    2015-01-01

    This qualitative instrumental case study explores Finnish student music teachers' experiences of teaching and learning as participants in an intercultural project in Cambodia. The Multicultural Music University project aimed at increasing master's level music education students' intercultural competencies by providing experiences of teaching and…

  8. Art and Aging: Digital Projects for Individuals With Dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elyssa Twedt

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In action teaching, assignments are created that simultaneously benefit students and society by directly connecting classroom material to a community intervention. We designed an entire course rooted in the principles of action teaching in which students facilitated the positive effects of art, nature, and music on the well-being of individuals diagnosed with dementia. Groups of three students worked with a local elderly couple, one member of whom had dementia, to create multimedia digital projects (e.g., online scrapbooks, interactive DVDs involving experiences with art or nature tailored to the needs of their specific community partners. Students met weekly with their assigned couple to discuss their families’ interests, goals for the project, and to obtain feedback on the impact of their project on their families’ well-being. Through these weekly meetings, students took an iterative approach to designing and improving their final projects, applying material learned through classroom lectures to their projects. In this field experience, students went beyond traditional lecture learning by developing a customized project that promoted the well-being of someone experiencing dementia. This course fostered values of citizenship, developed students’ research skills, and highlighted the reciprocal nature between knowledge learned in the classroom and knowledge acquired through real-world experiences.

  9. Teaching Introductory Oceanography through Case Studies: Project based approach for general education students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnsworth, K. L.; House, M.; Hovan, S. A.

    2013-12-01

    A recent workshop sponsored by SERC-On the Cutting Edge brought together science educators from a range of schools across the country to discuss new approaches in teaching oceanography. In discussing student interest in our classes, we were struck by the fact that students are drawn to emotional or controversial topics such as whale hunting and tsunami hazard and that these kinds of topics are a great vehicle for introducing more complex concepts such as wave propagation, ocean upwelling and marine chemistry. Thus, we have developed an approach to introductory oceanography that presents students with real-world issues in the ocean sciences and requires them to explore the science behind them in order to improve overall ocean science literacy among non-majors and majors at 2 and 4 year colleges. We have designed a project-based curriculum built around topics that include, but are not limited to: tsunami hazard, whale migration, ocean fertilization, ocean territorial claims, rapid climate change, the pacific trash patch, overfishing, and ocean acidification. Each case study or project consists of three weeks of class time and is structured around three elements: 1) a media analysis; 2) the role of ocean science in addressing the issue; 3) human impact/response. Content resources range from textbook readings, popular or current print news, documentary film and television, and data available on the world wide web from a range of sources. We employ a variety of formative assessments for each case study in order to monitor student access and understanding of content and include a significant component of in-class student discussion and brainstorming guided by faculty input to develop the case study. Each study culminates in summative assessments ranging from exams to student posters to presentations, depending on the class size and environment. We envision this approach for a range of classroom environments including large group face-to-face instruction as well as hybrid

  10. A process model for design team communication within fast-track building projects using project websites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Otter, den A.F.H.J.; Reymen, I.M.M.J.

    2008-01-01

    The factor time within building projects is on high pressure because of the increasing need for faster delivery of buildings. Within fast track, complex building projects the design process is an important key. Through case analyses offart-hack design processes it became obvious that process and

  11. A case study analysis of the application of design for manufacture principles by industrial design students

    OpenAIRE

    Marshall, R; Page, T

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes a case study evaluation of a module that engages students on product and industrial design programmes with the principles of Design for Manufacturing (DFM). The primary element of the module is to expose students to the constraints of a full design to manufacture process. The module explores the design of a small polymer promotional item, together with the means of mass producing that item. This is done through the process of injection moulding and students design an inje...

  12. Using the Power Balance Wristband to Improve Students' Research-Design Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Timothy J.; Blackhart, Ginette C.; Gialopsos, Brooke M.

    2016-01-01

    We describe an exercise involving the power balance wristband (PBW) designed to enhance students' ability to design scientific tests. An instructor demonstrated that the PBW improved a student's balance, strength, and flexibility and invited students to design and conduct a brief scientific test of the PBW. Research methods students who…

  13. Elementary students' engagement in failure-prone engineering design tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Chelsea Joy

    Although engineering education has been practiced at the undergraduate level for over a century, only fairly recently has the field broadened to include the elementary level; the pre-college division of the American Society of Engineering Education was established in 2003. As a result, while recent education standards require engineering in elementary schools, current studies are still filling in basic research on how best to design and implement elementary engineering activities. One area in need of investigation is how students engage with physical failure in design tasks. In this dissertation, I explore how upper elementary students engage in failure-prone engineering design tasks in an out-of-school environment. In a series of three empirical case studies, I look closely at how students evaluate failed tests and decide on changes to their design constructions, how their reasoning evolves as they repeatedly encounter physical failure, and how students and facilitators co-construct testing norms where repetitive failure is manageable. I also briefly investigate how students' engagement differs in a task that features near-immediate success. By closely examining student groups' discourse and their interactions with their design constructions, I found that these students: are able to engage in iteration and see failure-as-feedback with minimal externally-imposed structure; seem to be designing in a more sophisticated manner, attending to multiple causal factors, after experiencing repetitive failure; and are able to manage the stress and frustration of repetitive failure, provided the co-constructed testing norms of the workshop environment are supportive of failure management. These results have both pedagogical implications, in terms of how to create and facilitate design tasks, and methodological implications--namely, I highlight the particular insights afforded by a case study approach for analyzing engagement in design tasks.

  14. SYSTEMATIC DESIGNING IN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION: AN EXPERIENCE OF HOSPITAL DESIGN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dicle AYDIN

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Architectural design is defined as decision-making process. Design studios play an important role in experiencing this process and provide the competence of design to prospective architects. The instructors of architecture aim to compel the imagination of the students develop creative thinking, raising the awareness among students about their abilities. Furthermore, executives of the studios pay attention to delimitative elements in design in order to provide the competence of problem solving for students. Each experience in education period prepares the prospective architects for the social environment and the realities of the future. The aim of the study is to examine a practicing in architectural education. The general hospital project was carried out with 40 students and 4 project executives within the 2007-2008 academic year Spring Semester Studio-7 courses. The steps followed in the studio process were analyzed with the design problem of “hospital”. Evaluations were performed on; the solution of functional-spatial organization, solutions about the activities of the users, convenience with the standards and regulations and prosperity-aesthetic notions in internal space. Prospective architects generally became successful in the design of hospital building with complex function. This experience raised awareness about access to information via thinking, provision of a new position for information in each concept.

  15. The EEE Project: cosmic rays, multigap resistive plate chambers and high school students

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbrescia, M; Aiola, S; Antolini, R; Coccia, E; Giovanni, A Di; D'Incecco, M; Avanzini, C; Bossini, E; Ferroli, R Baldini; Bressan, E; Bencivenni, G; Dreucci, M; Fabbri, F L; Chiavassa, A; Frolov, V; Cicalo, C; Cifarelli, L; Gruttula, D De; Pasquale, S De; Doroud, K

    2012-01-01

    The Extreme Energy Events Project has been designed to join the scientific interest of a cosmic rays physics experiment with the enormous didactic potentiality deriving from letting it be carried out by high school students and teachers. After the initial phase, the experiment is starting to take data continuously, and the first interesting physics results have been obtained, demonstrating the validity of the idea of running a real physics investigation in these peculiar conditions. Here an overview of its structure and status is presented, together with some studies about detector performance and first physics results. (technical report)

  16. Teaching Engineering Students Team Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levi, Daniel

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this manual is to provide professor's in engineering classes which the background necessary to use student team projects effectively. This manual describes some of the characteristics of student teams and how to use them in class. It provides a set of class activities and films which can be used to introduce and support student teams. Finally, a set of teaching modules used in freshmen, sophomore, and senior aeronautical engineering classes are presented. This manual was developed as part of a NASA sponsored project to improve the undergraduate education of aeronautical engineers. The project has helped to purchase a set of team work films which can be checked out from Cal Poly's Learning Resources Center in the Kennedy Library. Research for this project has included literature reviews on team work and cooperative learning; interviews, observations, and surveys of Cal Poly students from Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Psychology; participation in the Aeronautical Engineering senior design lab; and interviews with engineering faculty. In addition to this faculty manual, there is a student team work manual which has been designed to help engineering students work better in teams.

  17. Linguistic analysis of project ownership for undergraduate research experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanauer, D I; Frederick, J; Fotinakes, B; Strobel, S A

    2012-01-01

    We used computational linguistic and content analyses to explore the concept of project ownership for undergraduate research. We used linguistic analysis of student interview data to develop a quantitative methodology for assessing project ownership and applied this method to measure degrees of project ownership expressed by students in relation to different types of educational research experiences. The results of the study suggest that the design of a research experience significantly influences the degree of project ownership expressed by students when they describe those experiences. The analysis identified both positive and negative aspects of project ownership and provided a working definition for how a student experiences his or her research opportunity. These elements suggest several features that could be incorporated into an undergraduate research experience to foster a student's sense of project ownership.

  18. Sustainable Design Practices and Consumer Behavior: FCS Student Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulasewicz, Connie; Vouchilas, Gus

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to gather information on the perceptions of sustainability in design held by family and consumer sciences (FCS) students majoring in interior design and apparel design/merchandising. Likert-scale responses were used to explore differences and similarities between students in the two majors. Overall, interior design…

  19. Landscape and participation: construction of a PhD research problem and an analysis method. Towards the comparative analysis of participatory processes of landscape management projects design on a local scale in the Walloon region (Belgium)

    OpenAIRE

    Droeven, Emilie

    2007-01-01

    A preliminary reflection to the definition of a PhD research problem on the concepts of participation, landscape and project, led the student to be interested in the participatory processes of landscape management projects design, and in the inhabitants landscapes representations. The method includes the comparative analysis of local processes of projects design, and the direct observation of two Walloon landscape management projects design (investigation conducted with stakeholders implied i...

  20. Sparking Passion: Engaging Student Voice through Project-Based Learning in Learning Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, Christy L.

    2016-01-01

    How do we confront entrenched educational practices in higher education that lead to student demotivation, poor retention, and low persistence? This article argues that project-based learning that situates student voice and capacity at the center of culturally-responsive curriculum has the potential to spark student passion for problem-solving…

  1. Southeast Region Headboat Survey-PPS Survey Design Project

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset is a record of trips selected during pilot procedures for the PPS design project designed to track the port agents ability to follow the PPS design and...

  2. Experimental Design, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, and Multivariate Calibration: An Advanced Project in a Chemometrics Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Rodrigo R.; das Neves, Luiz S.; de Lima, Kassio M. G.

    2012-01-01

    A chemometrics course is offered to students in their fifth semester of the chemistry undergraduate program that includes an in-depth project. Students carry out the project over five weeks (three 8-h sessions per week) and conduct it in parallel to other courses or other practical work. The students conduct a literature search, carry out…

  3. The Effect of School Design on Student Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariani, Mohsen Ghasemi; Mirdad, Fatemeh

    2016-01-01

    The present study aims at exploring the influence of school design on student performance. The participants consisted of 150 students who studied at two Iranian public school and private school in Mashhad City. School Design and Planning Laboratory (SDPL) model of Georgia University (and Tanner (2009)) was used as an appraisal indicator of school…

  4. Students' Ways of Experiencing Human-Centered Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoltowski, Carla B.

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the qualitatively different ways which students experienced human-centered design. The findings of this research are important in developing effective design learning experiences and have potential impact across design education. This study provides the basis for being able to assess learning of human-centered design which…

  5. Conceptualizing the role of multidisciplinarity and student perceptions of university-industry collaboration in project-based learning

    OpenAIRE

    Heikkinen, Juho

    2017-01-01

    Project-based learning has a long history, especially in the disciplines of computer science and engineering. This approach is used to offer students a realistic view of their discipline, and this experience can be enhanced with industrial involvement as companies bring their real world problems to projects. One recent trend in project-based learning is utilizing multidisciplinary teams, enabling students to contrast their skills and experience with students from other discipli...

  6. ORGANIZATION OF INDEPENDENT WORK STUDENTS OF MASTER OF TELECOMMUNICATION TRAINING PROJECT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Perminova

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The article explains the need to implement active learning of students in the practice of the organization їh homework. In particular, the author proved the rationality of the use of telecommunications projects and use the web in quest of independent study students graduate.

  7. Weaving Social Media into a Business Proposal Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaoli

    2012-01-01

    Given that students are enthusiastic about social media or even have expertise in some social media tools, the author decided to design a class project in her Writing for Careers (Business Communication) class that integrates social media in terms of content and project management. This article intends to describe such a class project design as…

  8. Systems approach for design control at Monitored Retrievable Storage Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, P.N.; Williams, J.R.

    1994-01-01

    This paper describes the systems approach in establishing design control for the Monitored Retrievable Storage Project design development. Key elements in design control are enumerated and systems engineering aspects are detailed. Application of lessons learned from the Yucca Mountain Project experience is addressed. An integrated approach combining quality assurance and systems engineering requirements is suggested to practice effective design control

  9. Designing Contributing Student Pedagogies to Promote Students' Intrinsic Motivation to Learn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herman, Geoffrey L.

    2012-01-01

    In order to maximize the effectiveness of our pedagogies, we must understand how our pedagogies align with prevailing theories of cognition and motivation and design our pedagogies according to this understanding. When implementing Contributing Student Pedagogies (CSPs), students are expected to make meaningful contributions to the learning of…

  10. The influence of project-based learning on the student conception about kinematics and critical thinking skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handhika, J.; Cari, C.; Sunarno, W.; Suparmi, A.; Kurniadi, E.

    2018-05-01

    This research revealed the influence of project-based learning (PjBL) to increasing the level of the conception. The research method used the pre-experimental design with one group pre-test post-test. PjBL applied to students of physics education program of IKIP PGRI Madiun (23 Students). The test used to determine the level of conception is multiple choice tests and index of certainty. Activities on PjBL described. Obtained that the PjBL model can increase the level of conception and Critical thinking skills with the average normalized gain 0.49 and 0.57 (Medium category). It can be concluded that the PjBL could improve the level of conception and critical thinking ability of the students. Implementation of each model phase following learning objectives and needs analysis is the key to improve both.

  11. Design Students and Companies - What's the Problem?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, Kaare

    2009-01-01

    How are collaborative projects between university design programs and external partners like companies or institutions integrated in the curriculum and what are the advantages and problems related to such initiatives? Many experiments are done in the area, but until now a more general overview ha...... agreements create problems in many cases. Collaborative projects are very valuable on several areas and most teachers and study managers expect to do more collaborative projects in the future.......How are collaborative projects between university design programs and external partners like companies or institutions integrated in the curriculum and what are the advantages and problems related to such initiatives? Many experiments are done in the area, but until now a more general overview has...

  12. Knowledge management in design teams using a project website

    OpenAIRE

    Otter, den, A.F.H.J.; Lima, C.P

    2007-01-01

    In this paper the sharing of knowledge in architectural design teams using a Project Website is discussed. The results of multiple case studies, being part of a recently finished PhD research project to communication and performance of design teams using a Project Website, show that systems for sharing of knowledge in such teams are hard to change and better systems are difficult to implement for various reasons. Sharing of knowledge in such teams is important for collective understanding of ...

  13. Flyover Modeling of Planetary Pits - Undergraduate Student Instrument Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhasin, N.; Whittaker, W.

    2015-12-01

    On the surface of the moon and Mars there are hundreds of skylights, which are collapsed holes that are believed to lead to underground caves. This research uses Vision, Inertial, and LIDAR sensors to build a high resolution model of a skylight as a landing vehicle flies overhead. We design and fabricate a pit modeling instrument to accomplish this task, implement software, and demonstrate sensing and modeling capability on a suborbital reusable launch vehicle flying over a simulated pit. Future missions on other planets and moons will explore pits and caves, led by the technology developed by this research. Sensor software utilizes modern graph-based optimization techniques to build 3D models using camera, LIDAR, and inertial data. The modeling performance was validated with a test flyover of a planetary skylight analog structure on the Masten Xombie sRLV. The trajectory profile closely follows that of autonomous planetary powered descent, including translational and rotational dynamics as well as shock and vibration. A hexagonal structure made of shipping containers provides a terrain feature that serves as an appropriate analog for the rim and upper walls of a cylindrical planetary skylight. The skylight analog floor, walls, and rim are modeled in elevation with a 96% coverage rate at 0.25m2 resolution. The inner skylight walls have 5.9cm2 color image resolution and the rims are 6.7cm2 with measurement precision superior to 1m. The multidisciplinary student team included students of all experience levels, with backgrounds in robotics, physics, computer science, systems, mechanical and electrical engineering. The team was commited to authentic scientific experimentation, and defined specific instrument requirements and measurable experiment objectives to verify successful completion.This work was made possible by the NASA Undergraduate Student Instrument Project Educational Flight Opportunity 2013 program. Additional support was provided by the sponsorship of an

  14. Creatvity in Project Work

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørner, Thomas; Kofoed, Lise B.; Bruun-Pedersen, Jon Ram

    2012-01-01

    that they are creative during all stages in the project work. However, it is also significant that the Medialogy students believe that they are more creative in the beginning of their projects and during the design and implementation stages, whereas the analysis is a less creative part. In general, the Medialogy...

  15. Stock Market Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Distel, Brenda D.

    This project is designed to teach students the process of buying stocks and to tracking their investments over the course of a semester. The goals of the course are to teach students about the relationships between conditions in the economy and the stock market; to predict the effect of an economic event on a specific stock or industry; to relate…

  16. The Green Eating Project: web-based intervention to promote environmentally conscious eating behaviours in US university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monroe, Jessica T; Lofgren, Ingrid E; Sartini, Becky L; Greene, Geoffrey W

    2015-09-01

    To investigate the effectiveness of an online, interactive intervention, referred to as the Green Eating (GE) Project, to motivate university students to adopt GE behaviours. The study was quasi-experimental and integrated into courses for credit/extra credit. Courses were randomly stratified into experimental or non-treatment control. The 5-week intervention consisted of four modules based on different GE topics. Participants completed the GE survey at baseline (experimental, n 241; control, n 367) and post (experimental, n 187; control, n 304). The GE survey has been previously validated and consists of Transtheoretical Model constructs including stage of change (SOC), decisional balance (DB: Pros and Cons) and self-efficacy (SE: School and Home) as well as behaviours for GE. Modules contained basic information regarding each topic and knowledge items to assess content learning. The GE Project took place at a public university in the north-eastern USA. Participants were full-time students between the ages of 18 and 24 years. The GE Project was effective in significantly increasing GE behaviours, DB Pros, SE School and knowledge in experimental compared with control, but did not reduce DB Cons or increase SE Home. Experimental participants were also more likely to be in later SOC for GE at post testing. The GE Project was effective in increasing GE behaviours in university students. Motivating consumers towards adopting GE could assist in potentially mitigating negative consequences of the food system on the environment. Future research could tailor the intervention to participant SOC to further increase the effects or design the modules for other participants.

  17. An exploration of the option space in student design projects for uncertainty and sensitivity analysis with performance simulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Struck, C.; Wilde, de P.J.C.J.; Hopfe, C.J.; Hensen, J.L.M.

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes research conducted to gather empirical evidence on extent, character and content of the option space in building design projects, from the perspective of a climate engineer using building performance simulation for concept evaluation. The goal is to support uncertainty analysis

  18. Project designing of Temelin nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krychtalek, Z.; Linek, V.

    1989-01-01

    The geological and seismic parameters are listed of the Temelin nuclear power plant. The division of the site in building zones is described. The main zones consist of the power generation unit zone with the related auxiliary buildings of hot plants and of the auxiliary buildings of the nonactive part with industrial buildings. The important buildings are interconnected with communication and technology bridges. Cooling towers and spray pools and the entrance area are part of the urbanistic design. The architectonic design of the buildings uses standard building elements and materials. The design of the buildings is based on the requirements on their function and on structural load and on the demands of maximal utilization of the type of the reinforced concrete prefab structure system. The structure is made of concrete or steel cells. The project design is based on Soviet projects. The layout is shown of the main power generation units and a section is presented of a 1,000 MW unit. (J.B.). 2 figs

  19. A systematic approach for introducing innovative product design in courses with engineering and nonengineering students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, P E

    2007-01-01

    In our new global economy, biomedical product development teams need to be even more innovative in an environment constrained by fewer resources with less time from concept to market. Teams are often comprised of individuals spread around the world. To simulate this setting, we revised an existing course to incorporate teams of on-campus and distance students, with each team including both engineers and other specialties. Through interactive lectures and projects, we presented a systematic approach to innovation that should be useful to engineers and non-engineers alike. Students found the course challenging and exciting, displaying an improved ability to work in distributed teams and in developing innovative design solutions.

  20. Adopt-a-Nonprofit: A Project in Persuasion and Collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spears, Lee A.

    1996-01-01

    Describes a project for professional writing classes that teaches effective persuasive writing, as teams of students research local nonprofit or campus service organizations, design projects to address their groups' main needs, and write solicitation letters for donations or volunteers. Discusses potential problems and how students benefit. (SR)

  1. Design for Thinking: Engagement in an Innovation Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Joy; Dresdow, Sally

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses the use of design thinking in an undergraduate decision-making course. The spaces of design are linked to the dimensions of liberal learning in a way that allows students to engage in the design of an organization that supports a new product created in a collaborative team. The article provides an overview of how the…

  2. Particulate Air Contamination in Puerto Rico: A Student Involvement Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckert, Richard R.

    1979-01-01

    Describes a research project undertaken by physics undergraduate students to monitor particulate air contamination in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and to determine the meteorological factors which contribute to it. (GA)

  3. An Opportunity to Lead Sustainably: The Benefits and Considerations of Student-Led Green Revolving Fund Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kononenko, Kevin

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, energy- and resource-reduction projects have compelled student leaders to create sustainability projects on campuses across the country. This paper examines the role that students play in green revolving funds, including identification, approval, and management. After speaking with numerous students on a variety of campuses, it is…

  4. Liberating Learning Object Design from the Learning Style of Student Instructional Designers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akpinar, Yavuz

    2007-01-01

    Learning objects are a new form of learning resource, and the design of these digital environments has many facets. To investigate senior instructional design students' use of reflection tools in designing learning objects, a series of studies was conducted using the Reflective Action Instructional Design and Learning Object Review Instrument…

  5. Students in a School Environment: A Project Focused on Family Involvement of At-Risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denney, Pat

    2011-01-01

    This project examined family involvement of at risk students in mid-west communities. The purpose of this project was to study the affect of family involvement on at-risk student achievement. The redefining of the perception of America has resulted in a crisis of academic performance in the traditionally slow-changing education systems. This topic…

  6. Using Technology-Enhanced, Cooperative, Group-Project Learning for Student Comprehension and Academic Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tlhoaele, Malefyane; Suhre, Cor; Hofman, Adriaan

    2016-01-01

    Cooperative learning may improve students' motivation, understanding of course concepts, and academic performance. This study therefore enhanced a cooperative, group-project learning technique with technology resources to determine whether doing so improved students' deep learning and performance. A sample of 118 engineering students, randomly…

  7. Empowering Students through Project-Based Learning: Perceptions of Instructors and Students in Vocational Education Institutes in Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tongsakul, Anuvat; Jitgarun, Kalayanee; Chaokumnerd, Weerachai

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify and compare instructors' and students' perceptions of factors that contribute to the effective use of Project-Based Learning (PBL) in Thailand. The sample for the study consisted of 247 electrical technology instructors from Thai vocational education institutes and 161 students who were electrical power…

  8. Watershed Watch: The Importance of Mentors in Student-driven Full Inquiry Undergraduate Research Projects as the Foundation for an Introductory Course in Biogeoscience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rock, B. N.; Hale, S. R.; Graham, K. J.; Hayden, L.; Barber, L.; Perry, C.; Schloss, J.; Sullivan, E.; Yuan, J.; Abebe, E.; Mitchell, L.; Abrams, E.; Gagnon, M.

    2008-12-01

    Watershed Watch (NSF 0525433) engages early undergraduate students from two-year and four-year colleges in student-driven full inquiry-based instruction in the biogeosciences. Program goals for Watershed Watch are to test if inquiry-rich student-driven projects sufficiently engage undeclared students (or noncommittal STEM majors) to declare a STEM major (or remain with their STEM major). A significant component of this program is an intensive two-week Summer course, in which undeclared freshmen research various aspects of a local watershed. Students develop their own research questions and study design, collect and analyze data, and produce a scientific or an oral poster presentation. The course objectives, curriculum and schedule are presented as a model for dissemination for other institutions and programs seeking to develop inquiry-rich courses designed to attract students into biogeoscience disciplines. Data from self-reported student feedback indicated the most important factors explaining high-levels of student motivation and research excellence in the course are 1) working with committed, energetic, and enthusiastic faculty mentors; and 2) faculty mentors demonstrating high degrees of teamwork and coordination.

  9. Project Choice: Lessons Learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO.

    Project Choice began with a simple goal: to increase the number of inner-city students who graduate from high school on time and become productive members of society. To that end, Ewing M. Kauffman, his Foundation, and associates designed and implemented a program that promised postsecondary education or training to some students in the Kansas…

  10. Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project (ARTMIP: project goals and experimental design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. A. Shields

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project (ARTMIP is an international collaborative effort to understand and quantify the uncertainties in atmospheric river (AR science based on detection algorithm alone. Currently, there are many AR identification and tracking algorithms in the literature with a wide range of techniques and conclusions. ARTMIP strives to provide the community with information on different methodologies and provide guidance on the most appropriate algorithm for a given science question or region of interest. All ARTMIP participants will implement their detection algorithms on a specified common dataset for a defined period of time. The project is divided into two phases: Tier 1 will utilize the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2 reanalysis from January 1980 to June 2017 and will be used as a baseline for all subsequent comparisons. Participation in Tier 1 is required. Tier 2 will be optional and include sensitivity studies designed around specific science questions, such as reanalysis uncertainty and climate change. High-resolution reanalysis and/or model output will be used wherever possible. Proposed metrics include AR frequency, duration, intensity, and precipitation attributable to ARs. Here, we present the ARTMIP experimental design, timeline, project requirements, and a brief description of the variety of methodologies in the current literature. We also present results from our 1-month proof-of-concept trial run designed to illustrate the utility and feasibility of the ARTMIP project.

  11. Research and Mapping for MCEECDYA Project: Student Academic Engagement. Report 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ure, Christine; Gray, Jan

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the Research and Mapping for MCEECDYA Project: Student Academic Engagement was to examine the characteristics of schools with a low Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) from all jurisdictions that were identified to be making a difference to student academic and to identify the key drivers and characteristics of…

  12. Problem Based Game Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reng, Lars; Schoenau-Fog, Henrik

    2011-01-01

    At Aalborg University’s department of Medialogy, we are utilizing the Problem Based Learning method to encourage students to solve game design problems by pushing the boundaries and designing innovative games. This paper is concerned with describing this method, how students employ it in various ...... projects and how they learn to analyse, design, and develop for innovation by using it. We will present various cases to exemplify the approach and focus on how the method engages students and aspires for innovation in digital entertainment and games.......At Aalborg University’s department of Medialogy, we are utilizing the Problem Based Learning method to encourage students to solve game design problems by pushing the boundaries and designing innovative games. This paper is concerned with describing this method, how students employ it in various...

  13. What is the teachers’ role when students learn through design of learning games in a scaffolded gamified learning environment?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitze, Charlotte Lærke

    The aim of this research project is to create a reusable and flexible gamified learning design where the students are learning subject matters through the design of digital learning games. The students are their own learning designers forming teams that create games. The teams also peer review...... how the use of pre-build learning games in education can be taken a step further into the building of learning games while implementing subject matters from curriculum, not only focussing on the creative game design process. The aim of the form of this learning design is to scaffold the novice....../ play test each others games as a way to qualify the learning taking place around as well as inside the games they are building. The discussion is focusing on how the chosen pedagogical approach is framed within the gamified environment as well as on how the teachers can guide and scaffold the learning...

  14. Recorded Music and Graphic Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osterer, Irv

    1998-01-01

    Reviews the history of art as an element of music-recording packaging. Describes a project in which students design a jacket for either cassette or CD using a combination of computerized and traditional rendering techniques. Reports that students have been inspired to look into careers in graphic design. (DSK)

  15. A Project-Based Course on Newton's Laws for Talented Junior High-School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langbeheim, Elon

    2015-01-01

    Research has shown that project-based learning promotes student interest in science and improves understanding of scientific content. Fostering student motivation is particularly important in accelerated science and technology programmes for talented students, which are often demanding and time-consuming. Current texts provide little guidance on…

  16. Using Medical Student Quality Improvement Projects to Promote Evidence-Based Care in the Emergency Department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manning, Michael W; Bean, Eric W; Miller, Andrew C; Templer, Suzanne J; Mackenzie, Richard S; Richardson, David M; Bresnan, Kristin A; Greenberg, Marna R

    2018-01-01

    The Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) initiative for Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency includes as an element of Entrustable Professional Activity 13 to "identify system failures and contribute to a culture of safety and improvement." We set out to determine the feasibility of using medical students' action learning projects (ALPs) to expedite implementation of evidence-based pathways for three common patient diagnoses in the emergency department (ED) setting (Atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, and pulmonary embolism). These prospective quality improvement (QI) initiatives were performed over six months in three Northeastern PA hospitals. Emergency physician mentors were recruited to facilitate a QI experience for third-year medical students for each project. Six students were assigned to each mentor and given class time and network infrastructure support (information technology, consultant experts in lean management) to work on their projects. Students had access to background network data that revealed potential for improvement in disposition (home) for patients. Under the leadership of their mentors, students accomplished standard QI processes such as performing the background literature search and assessing key stakeholders' positions that were involved in the respective patient's care. Students effectively developed flow diagrams, computer aids for clinicians and educational programs, and participated in recruiting champions for the new practice standard. They met with other departmental clinicians to determine barriers to implementation and used this feedback to help set specific parameters to make clinicians more comfortable with the changes in practice that were recommended. All three clinical practice guidelines were initiated at consummation of the students' projects. After implementation, 86% (38/44) of queried ED providers felt comfortable with medical students being a part of future ED QI

  17. The impact of user centered design on student motivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locker, Craig T.

    There is a current push for STEM education within the U.S.; however current studies show that students' interest to pursue STEM fields is decreasing as they progress through high school. This lose in interest has shown to have a strong tie to students' perceived levels of motivation towards the subject. The question that this studied set out to answer was if user centered design (UCD) would affect students perceived level of motivation. For this study a treatment of UCD was compared to a traditional high school engineering design curriculum, with the goal to identify if UCD would have a positive effect on the students perceived level of motivation. 59 9th grade high school students from an urban Midwestern city were selected to participate. Students were given a pre and posttest to determine their levels of motivation before and after the comparison or treatment. Analysis showed that students perceived level of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation significantly went up in the treatment group. The study concluded that due to the ease of implementation and low cost of deployment that UCD should be introduced into high school design challenges that focus on developing a solution for an external stakeholder.

  18. Improving Scientific Research Methodology in Undergraduate Medical Students: a case of team based training blended in a research project

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    W.Zhang; C.Cambier; Y.Zhang; J.M.Vandeweerd; P.Gustin

    2014-01-01

    An educational intervention targeting medical students and aiming to develop skills useful to the writing of a health science research protocol over a short period of time has been developed in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The methodology blending the principles of PBL and TBL is detailed and key issues of this implementation are discussed. Twenty-one students were enrolled in a research master degree and participated to three mandatory 180-minutes sessions. Beyond classical skills useful to solve a problem, this new intervention focused on the transformation of knowledge to create an authentic content, which is a feature of the project-based learning(PBL). The training process was designed according to team-based learning(TBL) procedure except that work sharing between groups and pooling resources and outcomes of each group allowed the construction of one final class original research project in the field of respiratory pharmacology. The combination of both learning methods allowed promoting individual and group accountability necessary to improve self-learning and the quality of the final joint project. The peer reviewing was an essential factor in creating the students’ motivation and improving of team discussion. The grades individually assigned for skills and quality of the project by an external teacher suggested that key objectives of the intervention were reached. In conclusion, the educational intervention described in this paper appears as an appropriate method to develop specific skills necessary to write and discuss a research project within a research team.Further works are necessary to measure the degree of satisfaction of students and improvement of performance.

  19. Delft Aerospace Design Projects 2016 : Inspring Designs in Aeronautics, Astronautics and Wind Energy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melkert, J.A.

    2016-01-01

    This book presents an overview of the results of the Fall Design Synthesis Exercise 2015 and the Spring Design Synthesis Exercise of 2016, based on summaries of each of the projects. The Design Synthesis Exercise Coordination Committee, responsible for the organisation and execution of the exercise,

  20. Delft Aerospace Design Projects 2014 : New Designs in Aeronautics, Astronautics and Wind Energy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melkert, J.A.

    2014-01-01

    This book presents an overview of the results of the Fall Design Synthesis Exercise 2013 and the Spring Design Synthesis Exercise of 2014, based on summaries of each of the projects. The Design Synthesis Exercise Coordination Committee, responsible for the organisation and execution of the exercise,

  1. An Arts-Based Instructional Model for Student Creativity in Engineering Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian Laduca

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Over the past twenty years, nearly all job growth in the United States has emerged from new companies and organizations with assumedly innovative products, services, and practices. Yet, the nurturing of student creative thinking and problem solving is infrequent in engineering education. Inherent to developing these creativity skills and attributes is the need to be exposed to difference — in people and environment. Engineering education rarely offers such opportunities. Additionally, engineering students are rarely presented opportunities to develop designs responding to real human problems. This paper puts forth a new instructional model to address these needs by utilizing arts processes and practices as catalysts for both creativity development in students and transdisciplinary collaboration on problems addressing deep human needs. This model is premised on the substantiated role of the arts in developing creativity and growing understanding of the human condition. This art-based instructional model was piloted as exploratory pedagogical research during the summers of 2015 and 2016 as a partnership between the Arts Nexus (IAN and the School of Engineering at the University of Dayton. In each year, this program supported twelve student interns from engineering, business, science, the arts, and the humanities to develop innovative technologies and services meeting client needs. Student growth in creative problem-solving and transdisciplinary collaboration, as well as the success of the completed innovation technology prototype were assessed by the project mentors and participating students via survey evaluations and narrative responses. The assessment results revealed substantial student growth in student creativity and transdisciplinary collaboration and a remarkably strong evaluation of the success of the students’ innovations. Also realized for all students was a transformation in their perception of their place in the world as

  2. Design Fixation and Cooperative Learning in Elementary Engineering Design Project: A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Luo

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a case study examining 3rd, 4th and 5th graders’ design fixation and cooperative learning in an engineering design project. A mixed methods instrument, the Cooperative Learning Observation Protocol (CLOP, was adapted to record frequency and class observation on cooperative learning engagement through detailed field notes. Students’ design journals and reflections were also analyzed for an inductive qualitative analysis. The findings indicate three major themes of design fixation: 1 fixation on common features of things; 2 fixation on popular teenage culture; 3 fixation on the first design idea. In the cooperative learning process of elementary engineering design project, although pupils had demonstrated some abilities to solve concrete problems in a logical fashion, the participants encountered a number of obstacles in the group. Dominance, social loafing, and other problems occurring in the group process might have offset certain benefits of cooperative learning. Implications of the findings are also discussed.

  3. Design fixation and cooperative learning in elementary engineering design project: A case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Luo

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a case study examining 3rd, 4th and 5th graders’ design fixation and cooperative learning in an engineering design project. A mixed methods instrument, the Cooperative Learning Observation Protocol (CLOP, was adapted to record frequency and class observation on cooperative learning engagement through detailed field notes. Students’ design journals and reflections were also analyzed for an inductive qualitative analysis. The findings indicate three major themes of design fixation: 1 fixation on common features of things; 2 fixation on popular teenage culture; 3 fixation on the first design idea. In the cooperative learning process of elementary engineering design project, although pupils had demonstrated some abilities to solve concrete problems in a logical fashion, the participants encountered a number of obstacles in the group. Dominance, social loafing, and other problems occurring in the group process might have offset certain benefits of cooperative learning. Implications of the findings are also discussed.

  4. Project SAIL: An Evaluation of a Dropout Prevention Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, John L.; And Others

    Project SAIL (Student Advocates Inspire Learning) is a Title IV-C Project located in Hopkins, Minnesota, designed to prevent students from dropping out of school by keeping them successfully involved in the mainstream environment. This study presents a review of other dropout prevention approaches, describes the intervention strategies involved in…

  5. ESTEC/Geovusie/ILEWG planetary student design workshop: a teacher training perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preusterink, Jolanda; Foing, Bernard H.; Kaskes, Pim

    of this setting was inspirational and motivating. A good method with vision to modernize school education and bring innovation to educators: they are the key promoters and facilitators for change in the culture of education. Tutors and mentors are very important to pave the way with more modern interactive learning, including: 1. Social Media 2. Online Learning 3. Creator Society 4. Data-driven learning 5. Virtual Assistance The great importance of emerging technologies and their potential impact on and use in teaching, learning, and creative inquiry in pre-college education environments offer good prospects. The International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) has given support to emphasize their vision, goal to "international cooperation towards a world strategy for the exploration and utilization of the Moon” by organizing and facilitating students, teachers, schools and universities with relevant material, ready to use in the classroom and inform the greater audience. This underlines the vision of the importance and responsibility to “draw in” education for primary, secondary and higher education on a more regular base and to implant space exploration on its widest scale and on a more sustainable way in the future. Developing and building a stronger network is crucial to gain technical personal for future Moon missions, samples return and research on other planets, moons or asteroids. This workshop helped to give more outreach about current space projects and will have a follow-up. The international and cooperative character was an innovative experience with enriching information and great promising students for more science and future space exploration. Acknowledgements: we thank the volunteer organiser students from VU GeoVUsie, the participants and the tutors. A video of highlights is available on " 2. Planetary Design student workshop organised by VU Amsterdam GeoVusie/ESTEC/ILEWG" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJxvHKcNeKo

  6. Student-Identified Strengths and Challenges of Using Blackboard for Group Projects in a Social Work Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa B. Littlefield

    2002-05-01

    Full Text Available Blackboard (TM provides social work educators integrated online communication tools that they can employ to facilitate student learning through features such as e-mail, discussion forums, file exchange, virtual classroom, and links to online resources. This study describes students’ experiences using Blackboard (TM to support a group project assignment. The majority of students found it easy to use and useful for the project, and indicated that they would like to use it in other courses. In addition, students gained technical skills as a result of the group project. Students’ group project grades and final course grades were comparable to those in other sections of the same course taught by this investigator. The findings of this study suggest that online technology can be used to facilitate group assignments for MSW students. The benefits include increased efficiency of group functioning and increased accountability of group members. The challenges include technical problems and student resistance to using the technology.

  7. Acting like a physicist: Student approach study to experimental design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karelina, Anna; Etkina, Eugenia

    2007-12-01

    National studies of science education have unanimously concluded that preparing our students for the demands of the 21st century workplace is one of the major goals. This paper describes a study of student activities in introductory college physics labs, which were designed to help students acquire abilities that are valuable in the workplace. In these labs [called Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) labs], students design their own experiments. Our previous studies have shown that students in these labs acquire scientific abilities such as the ability to design an experiment to solve a problem, the ability to collect and analyze data, the ability to evaluate assumptions and uncertainties, and the ability to communicate. These studies mostly concentrated on analyzing students’ writing, evaluated by specially designed scientific ability rubrics. Recently, we started to study whether the ISLE labs make students not only write like scientists but also engage in discussions and act like scientists while doing the labs. For example, do students plan an experiment, validate assumptions, evaluate results, and revise the experiment if necessary? A brief report of some of our findings that came from monitoring students’ activity during ISLE and nondesign labs was presented in the Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. We found differences in student behavior and discussions that indicated that ISLE labs do in fact encourage a scientistlike approach to experimental design and promote high-quality discussions. This paper presents a full description of the study.

  8. Acting like a physicist: Student approach study to experimental design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Karelina

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available National studies of science education have unanimously concluded that preparing our students for the demands of the 21st century workplace is one of the major goals. This paper describes a study of student activities in introductory college physics labs, which were designed to help students acquire abilities that are valuable in the workplace. In these labs [called Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE labs], students design their own experiments. Our previous studies have shown that students in these labs acquire scientific abilities such as the ability to design an experiment to solve a problem, the ability to collect and analyze data, the ability to evaluate assumptions and uncertainties, and the ability to communicate. These studies mostly concentrated on analyzing students’ writing, evaluated by specially designed scientific ability rubrics. Recently, we started to study whether the ISLE labs make students not only write like scientists but also engage in discussions and act like scientists while doing the labs. For example, do students plan an experiment, validate assumptions, evaluate results, and revise the experiment if necessary? A brief report of some of our findings that came from monitoring students’ activity during ISLE and nondesign labs was presented in the Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. We found differences in student behavior and discussions that indicated that ISLE labs do in fact encourage a scientistlike approach to experimental design and promote high-quality discussions. This paper presents a full description of the study.

  9. An Apparatus For Student Projects Using External-Beam PIXE And PIGE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Correll, Francis D.; Edsall, Douglas W.; DePooter, Katherine A.; Maskell, Nicholas D.; Vanhoy, Jeffrey R.

    2011-01-01

    We recently installed a simple endstation at the Naval Academy Tandem Accelerator Laboratory to support student projects using external-beam PIXE and PIGE. It consists of a short, graphite-lined beamline extension with a thin window, an interlocked box that surrounds the target, detectors for x- and gamma rays, provision for flooding the target with helium gas, easily changed x-ray absorbers, and a compact video camera for monitoring the position of the beam spot. We used this system to measure the elemental composition of colonial-era architectural materials, principally bricks and mortar, from James Madison's Montpelier, the reconstructed Virginia estate of the fourth President of the United States. We describe the design and construction of the system, relate some of our experiences using it, and present some preliminary data from our investigations.

  10. Field Dependence and Vocational Choice of Interior Design Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Diane M.; And Others

    One hundred ninety-three interior design college students were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test, a measure of field dependence, in order to evaluate two of Witkin's hypotheses regarding career choice. The career-differentiation hypothesis predicted that students electing to major in interior design would be field independent because…

  11. Recognizing Risk-of-Failure in Communication Design Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yee, Joyce; Lievesley, Matthew; Taylor, Louise

    2009-01-01

    The pace of commercial graphic design practice presents very few opportunities to conduct user research after a project's launch. This makes the design team's ability to anticipate and address risks during the design development phase even more important, recognized in the astute observation from Tim Brown, CEO of leading international design…

  12. Designing Users/Designing Innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The paper addresses issues of user conceptualisation and representation in the processes of designing and innovating artifacts and use-practices. It is informed by early as well as more recent insights from technology studies within the new sociology of technology (e.g. Akrich 1995, Bijker & Law...... and competencies. Characteristic of these projects are the interplay between the social and the technical dimensions in the process of product development, and the students are expected to apply socio-technical methodologies in their strategies. The students’ need to inform the design through iteratively...... themes ranging from user-oriented design to product redesign and workspace design, etc. It is expected that some of the insights gained from these projects may be related outside of the immediate context of the classroom, to inform the notion of competencies in engineering design and sociotechnical...

  13. Vermont EPSCoR Streams Project: Engaging High School and Undergraduate Students in Watershed Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ray, E.; McCabe, D.; Sheldon, S.; Jankowski, K.; Haselton, L.; Luck, M.; van Houten, J.

    2009-12-01

    The Vermont EPSCoR Streams Project engages a diverse group of undergraduates, high school students, and their teachers in hands-on water quality research and exposes them to the process of science. The project aims to (1) recruit students to science careers and (2) create a water quality database comprised of high-quality data collected by undergraduates and high school groups. The project is the training and outreach mechanism of the Complex Systems Modeling for Environmental Problem Solving research program, an NSF-funded program at the University of Vermont (UVM) that provides computational strategies and fresh approaches for understanding how natural and built environments interact. The Streams Project trains participants to collect and analyze data from streams throughout Vermont and at limited sites in Connecticut, New York, and Puerto Rico. Participants contribute their data to an online database and use it to complete individual research projects that focus on the effect of land use and precipitation patterns on selected measures of stream water quality. All undergraduates and some high school groups are paired with a mentor, who is either a graduate student or a faculty member at UVM or other college. Each year, undergraduate students and high school groups are trained to (1) collect water and macroinvertebrate samples from streams, (2) analyze water samples for total phosphorus, bacteria, and total suspended solids in an analytical laboratory, and/or (3) use geographic information systems (GIS) to assess landscape-level data for their watersheds. After training, high school groups collect samples from stream sites on a twice-monthly basis while undergraduates conduct semi-autonomous field and laboratory research. High school groups monitor sites in two watersheds with contrasting land uses. Undergraduate projects are shaped by the interests of students and their mentors. Contribution to a common database provides students with the option to expand the

  14. CERN Summer Student Project Report – Simulation of the Micromegas Detector

    CERN Document Server

    Soares Ferreira Nunes Teixeira, Sofia Luisa

    2015-01-01

    My project during the Summer Student Programme at CERN consisted on simulations of the Micromegas (MM) detectors in order to test and characterize them in the presence of contamination by air of the gas mixture. The MM detectors were chosen for the upcoming upgrade of the ATLAS detector. The motivation for this project and the results obtained are here presented. Moreover, the work that should be carried out after this programme as a continuation of this project is also referred. To conclude, final considerations about the project are presented.

  15. Student Project and Curriculum Based on Light at Night Data Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craine, Erin M.; DeBenedetti, Jennifer C.

    2012-05-01

    There is a growing movement in the educational field to promote science, technology, engineering and math studies, stemming from a concern about waning understanding and interest among K-12 students in these topics. STEM Laboratory, Inc. (STEM) has developed a Sky Brightness Meter (SBM) that can be used with ease yet produces complex information relating to light at night monitoring. STEM sees the SBM and its corresponding data archive as a means to involve students in projects that relate to scientific method exploration, makes science more accessible, and encourages a life long appreciation and understanding of scientific endeavors. In this paper we present an example of a project template that could be used by students studying effects of artificial light on sky brightness. STEM has developed several outreach lessons aligned with the National Common Core Curriculum, Systems Thinking concepts and local standards to be implemented in classrooms or independent youth organizations.

  16. Integrated learning of mathematics, science and technology concepts through LEGO/Logo projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Lina

    This dissertation examined integrated learning in the domains of mathematics, science and technology based on Piaget's constructivism, Papert's constructionism, and project-based approach to education. Ten fifth grade students were involved in a two-month long after school program where they designed and built their own computer-controlled LEGO/Logo projects that required the use of gears, ratios and motion concepts. The design of this study centered on three notions of integrated learning: (1) integration in terms of what educational materials/settings provide, (2) integration in terms of students' use of those materials, and (3) integration in the psychological sense. In terms of the first notion, the results generally showed that the LEGO/Logo environment supported the integrated learning of math, science and technology concepts. Regarding the second notion, the students all completed impressive projects of their own design. They successfully combined gears, motors, and LEGO parts together to create motion and writing control commands to manipulate the motion. But contrary to my initial expectations, their successful designs did not require numerical reasoning about ratios in designing effective gear systems. When they did reason about gear relationships, they worked with "qualitative" ratios, e.g., "a larger driver gear with a smaller driven gear increases the speed." In terms of the third notion of integrated learning, there was evidence in all four case study students of the psychological processes involved in linking mathematical, scientific, and/or technological concepts together to achieve new conceptual units. The students not only made connections between ideas and experiences, but also recognized decisive patterns and relationships in their project work. The students with stronger overall project performances showed more evidence of synthesis than the students with relatively weaker performances did. The findings support the conclusion that all three

  17. Computer-integrated design and information management for nuclear projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez, A.; Martin-Guirado, L.; Nebrera, F.

    1987-01-01

    Over the past seven years, Empresarios Agrupados has been developing a comprehensive, computer-integrated system to perform the majority of the engineering, design, procurement and construction management activities in nuclear, fossil-fired as well as hydro power plant projects. This system, which is already in a production environment, comprises a large number of computer programs and data bases designed using a modular approach. Each software module, dedicated to meeting the needs of a particular design group or project discipline, facilitates the performance of functional tasks characteristic of the power plant engineering process

  18. Collaborative Teaching and Learning through Multi-Institutional Integrated Group Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Suzanna K.; Carlo, Héctor J.

    2013-01-01

    This teaching brief describes an innovative multi-institutional initiative through which integrated student groups from different courses collaborate on a common course project. In this integrated group project, students are asked to design a decentralized manufacturing organization for a company that will manufacture industrial Proton-Exchange…

  19. Estimating design costs for first-of-a-kind projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerjee, Bakul; Fermilab

    2006-01-01

    Modern scientific facilities are often outcomes of projects that are first-of-a-kind, that is, minimal historical data are available for project costs and schedules. However, at Fermilab, there was an opportunity to execute two similar projects consecutively. In this paper, a comparative study of the design costs for these two projects is presented using earned value methodology. This study provides some insights into how to estimate the cost of a replicated project

  20. Student Response to an Internet-Mediated Industrial Design Studio Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wenzhi; You, Manlai

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate student attitudes towards and perceptions of using the Internet and information technology to mediate a design studio course and to propose guidelines and suggestions for developing Internet-mediated design studio courses. Two classes of third-year undergraduate industrial design students in two…