A laboratory experiment was developed to enable students to investigate the use of smart hydrogels for potential application in targeted drug delivery. This is challenging for students to explore practically because of the extremely high risks of handling cross-linking agents such as glutaraldehyde. Genipin is a safe and green alternative that has…

Donnelly, Idaho, is a small town surrounded by private ranches and Forest Service property. Through the center of Donnelly runs Boulder Creek, a small tributary feeding into Cascade Lake Reservoir. Boulder Creek originates from a mountain lake north of Donnelly. Since 1994 it has been listed as "impaired" by the Environmental Protection…

Over the last few years, WTAMU Mathematics, Engineering and Science faculty has used interdisciplinary projects as the basis for implementation of a linked-class approach to Problem-Based Learning (PBL). A project that has significant relevance to engineering statics, fluid mechanics, and calculus is the Hydrostatic Pressure Project. This project…

Development of skills in bioscience undergraduates is seen as desirable by academic staff, students and employers, and this is reflected across most degree programmes. However, providing the opportunity for students to practise skills may alone be insufficient for their development. With an evident discrepancy between the skills expected of…

This paper analyzes the educational impact of the OpenOrbiter Small Spacecraft Development Initiative, a CubeSat development program underway at the University of North Dakota. OpenOrbiter includes traditional STEM activities (e.g., spacecraft engineering, software development); it also incorporates students from non-STEM disciplines not generally…

This paper presents a series of activities and educational strategies related to the teaching of digital electronics in computer engineering. The main objective of these methodologies was to develop a final tutored coursework to be carried out by the students in small teams. This coursework was conceived as consisting of advanced problems or small…

Engineering is being currently taught in the full spectrum of the P-12 system, with an emphasis on design-oriented teaching (Brophy, Klein, Portsmore, & Rogers, 2008). Due to only a small amount of research on the learning of engineering design in elementary and middle school settings, the community of practice lacks the necessary knowledge of the…

The reasons to introduce formats of active learning in engineering (ALE) such as project work, problem-based learning, use of cases, etc. are mostly based on practical experience, and sometimes from applied research on teaching and learning. Such research shows that students learn more and different abilities than in traditional formats of…

It is well documented that there is a disproportionate number of males pursuing engineering and technology careers when compared to their female counterparts (Milgram, 2011). Some recent articles have proposed methods to recruit more females into technology education (Milgram, 2011; Zywno, Gilbride, Hiscodes, Waalen, and Kennedy, 1999). However,…

This article describes the Systems and Global Engineering (SAGE) Project in which students collaborate with others from around the world to model solutions to some of today's most significant global problems. Stevens Institute of Technology and the New Jersey Technology Education Association (NJTEA) have teamed up to develop innovative…

Project-based learning (PBL) and cooperative learning are, in various aspects, very superior education methodologies compared to other traditional ones. They are highly appropriate methodologies for elective courses, as they exert a strong attraction on the students, quite apart from their educational advantages. This paper describes how PBL and…

Working on an open-ended task such as designing an engineering artifact is a rich learning experience for students, although they generally receive little direct guidance and instruction from their professors. In order to be successful on such a task, students need to set reasonable goals for themselves and adopt intrinsic standards for success so…

This article discusses an exploratory study that examined whether a wiki-based project could foster student-centered learning. Student teachers were divided into five groups to tackle a group project which involved creating digital learning materials on wiki that could teach information technology (IT) to secondary school students. As assessment…

Students are relying on technology for learning more than ever, and educators need to adapt to facilitate student learning. High-fidelity patient simulators (HFPS) are usually reserved for the clinical years of medical education and are geared to improve clinical decision skills, teamwork, and patient safety. Finding ways to incorporate HFPS into…

Despite being criticised for placing little emphasis on thinking, the majority of laboratory work at school level is taught "via" expository "recipe-style" labs. This has been seen to result in students struggling to be able to apply the practical techniques they have learnt in the classroom outside the narrow environment in which they were…