It is well accepted that many mechanical engineering (ME) design processes are complex. We believe that many ME design approaches include unnecessary complexity, intended to assist the teaching of engineering knowledge. This technical complexity has contributed to many critical issues in ME education, including decreased enrolments in many…

Use of three-force member concept for rigid bodies whenever possible, to circumvent the more taxing use of equilibrium equations has been long-established. However, most students fail to reap its benefits due to a number of reasons, including the fact that its importance is hardly emphasized to them; skills and details needed for the concept are…

In this position paper, we draw from previous research and theoretical developments in the field to propose a set of affordances of engineering with English learners (ELs). Students learning both the language of instruction (e.g., English) and academic subject matter (e.g., engineering, mathematics, science) face the challenge of making sense of…

The rise of online courses has created an ongoing demand for instructional designers in higher education. Collaboration between faculty and instructional designers in developing online engineering courses has therefore increased. Potential challenges during the collaboration can be addressed when faculty and instructional designers have a mutual…

The concept of intrinsic complexity explains why different problems of the same type, tackled by the same problem solver, can require different times to solve and yield solutions of different quality. This paper proposes a general four-step approach that can be used to establish a model for the intrinsic complexity of a problem class in terms of…

As college students enter engineering, they face challenges when they navigate across various transitions. These challenges impact whether a student can successfully adapt to the rigorous curricular requirements of an engineering degree and to the norms and expectations that are particular to engineering. This article focuses on the transitions…

This contribution focuses on a scheme developed to characterize the level of difficulty of an examination in the course "Linear Algebra for Engineers" and on the transfer of the underlying idea to a similar scheme for examinations in the course "Analysis I for Engineers". Using these schemes, it is possible to define standards…

This article presents an overview of how to relate reading to a content area, specifically technology education. The author notes that, with the new focus on Common Core English Language Arts State Standards and state-developed standards, technology and engineering teachers should include disciplinary literacy in their curriculum. Academic…

Engineering students need a head start on designing a component, a process, or a system early in their educational endeavors, and engineering design topics need to be introduced appropriately without negatively affecting students' motivation for engineering. In ENGR1010 at Robert Morris University, freshmen engineering students are introduced to…

Active learning enhances engineering education. This paper presents rationale, curriculum supplements, and an approach to active learning that may be seamlessly incorporated into a traditional lecture-based engineering class. A framework of educational theory that structures the active learning experiences and includes consideration of learning…

This work presents a unique education resource for both process engineering students and the industry workforce. The learning environment is based around spherical imagery of real operating plants coupled with interactive embedded activities and content. This Virtual Reality (VR) learning tool has been developed by applying aspects of relevant…

The University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka) developed two courses in English for engineering students, one for technician-level diploma students and one for bachelor's degree-level students. The first step was a needs analysis, conducted through questionnaires and informal meetings with students and faculty, observation of subject lectures and…