First-year engineering students are often introduced to the engineering design process through project-based learning situated in a concrete design context. Design contexts like mechanical engineering are commonly used, but students and teachers may need more options. In this article, we show how sustainable building design can serve as an…

This paper describes applying a new brain-based instructional approach called "Tailored Instructions and Engineered Delivery using Protocols" (TIED UP) in an engineering classroom. Brain-based strategies leverage our knowledge about the functioning of the human brain to deliver the course information effectively. Although brain-based…

Sensing and Detection Technology is a core course in engineering specialties. Traditional sensor teaching methods have obvious deficiencies in cultivating students' ability. To better foster students' comprehensive qualities, this study explored a 4D1P (Four Dimensions and One Penetration) teaching mode. We independently developed an industrial…

The global pandemic of COVID-19 forced an immediate shift to online learning at institutions of higher education around the world in 2020. This researcher, a faculty member in a technical education program at a community college, identified the opportunity to capture students' experiences with online and contextualized learning in the engineering…

Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineering technology, and related educational programs are not addressing in a sufficient way the principles associated with applying analytical investigations in solving actual engineering problems. Because of this, graduates do not have the adequate skills required to use the methods of applied dynamics in…

A physical process analogy of the learning process was studied using a hydraulic method. Detailed educational guidance describing applied pedagogical concepts for technical instructors of the civil, mechanical, chemical and materials engineering disciplines was formulated. A unified engineering-friendly formulation of learning processes using a…

Engineering design thinking is hard to teach and still harder to learn by novices primarily due to the undetermined nature of engineering problems that often results in multiple solutions. In this paper, we investigate the effect of teaching engineering design thinking to freshmen students by using a computer-aided Design (CAD) simulation…

Using low-cost electronic components and building blocks, we have developed an effective teaching module where students design and test light-scattering, air-quality sensors to introduce them to chemical and environmental engineering research. This module has been successful in engaging the public, developing citizen scientists, and bridging gaps…

To be technologically and engineering literate, people should be able to "make" or produce quality solutions to engineering design challenges while recognizing and understanding how to avoid hazards in a broad array of situations when properly using tools, machines, and materials (Haynie, 2009; Gunter, 2007; ITEA/ITEEA, 2000/2002/2007).…

This paper discusses an initiative called Product Innovation and Development (PID) that was launched at Texas A&M University. The goal of PID is to create a high impact learning environment that focuses on innovative product development. Undergraduate students are hired to develop innovative new products. The student teams generate ideas for…

Engineering design, a framework for studying and solving societal problems, is a key component of STEM education. It is also the area of greatest challenge within the Next Generation Science Standards, NGSS. Many teachers feel underprepared to teach or create activities that feature engineering design, and integrating a lesson plan of core content…

As national STEM initiatives focus on engineering design as a STEM integrator, a more important concern for K-12 educators should be teaching design fundamentals and using these experiences to help students obtain STEM content knowledge. There appears however, to be little instruction and emphasis on building students' design-sketching skills in…

For many students in engineering and engineering technology programs in the US, senior capstone design courses require students to form a team, define a problem, and find a feasible technical solution to address this problem. Students must integrate the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies at the college or university level. These…

With the release of the Next Generation Science Standards and the adoption of the standards by many states, teachers are encouraged to use the engineering design process (EDP) as an instructional approach to teaching science. However, teachers have limited time to teach science and will often neglect science in favor of mathematics and literacy…

Students who successfully pass professional certification exams while in school are often targeted first by industry for internships and entry level positions. Over the last decade, leading industry suppliers of computer-aided design (CAD) software have developed and launched certification exams for many of their product offerings. Some have also…