Background: Developing self-directed learning (SDL) skills in engineering students is critical to support life-long learning. This research was conducted at Iron Range Engineering (IRE), an innovative, problem-based learning (PBL) engineering program, which has suffused the concept of metacognition throughout its curriculum. Purpose/Hypotheses:…

This case study explores young children's understanding and application of the concept of volume through the practices of engineering design in a STEM activity. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, engineering stands out as a challenging area to implement. In addition, most early engineering education…

We describe a study on the conceptual difficulties faced by college students in understanding hydrodynamics of ideal fluids. This study was based on responses obtained in hundreds of written exams complemented with several oral interviews, which were held with first-year engineering and science university students. Their responses allowed us to…

In this paper, I share the results of a study of teachers' ideas about student decision-making at entry into a professional development program to integrate engineering into their instruction. The framework for the Engineering Design Process (EDP) was based on a Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) model. The EDP embedded within the CBL model suggests…

Entropy is a central concept in thermodynamics, but has been found to be challenging to students due to its abstract nature and the fact that it is not part of students' everyday language. Interviews with three pairs of engineering students (N = 6) were conducted and video recorded regarding their interpretation and use of the entropy concept, one…

Engineering education research has empirically validated the effectiveness of active learning over traditional instructional methods. However, the dissemination of education research into instructional practice has been slow. Faculty workshops for current and future instructors offer a solution to promote the widespread adoption of active learning…

This mixed-methods study examines the conceptual understanding of limit among 22 undergraduate engineering students from two different sections of the same introductory differential equations course. The participants' concepts of limit (concept images and personal concept definitions) were examined using written tasks followed by one-on-one…

This study forms part of a collaboration project between universities in South Africa and Sweden in which we investigate whether the emphasis in undergraduate mathematics courses for engineering students would benefit from being more conceptually oriented than a traditional more procedurally oriented way of teaching. In this paper, we report in…

The authors investigated the differences in using problem decomposition and problem recomposition between dyads of engineering experts, engineering seniors, and engineering freshmen. Participants worked in dyads to complete an engineering design challenge within 1 hour. The entire design process was video and audio recorded. After the design…

This paper pursues to define the pillars for designing the specific (SC) and optional curricula (OC) of Unit Operations and Processes (UOP) Discipline in the Chemical Engineering Program. To achieve this objective a methodology was developed, which was characterized by the participation of every member in the educational process: professors,…

Developing expertise in physics problem solving requires the ability to use mathematics effectively in physical scenarios. Novices and experts often perceive the use of mathematics in physics differently. Students' perceptions and how they frame the use of mathematics in physics play an important role in their physics problem solving. In this…

The ability to solve problems with people of diverse backgrounds is essential for engineering graduates. A course on engineering grand challenges was designed to promote collaborative problem-solving (CPS) skills. One unique component is that students need to work both within their own team and collaborate with the other team to tackle engineering…

Within the confines of this study, the researcher investigated Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Engineering curriculum goals within Missouri high schools. The study measured Missouri PLTW teachers' perceptions of various elements of the curriculum as well as state and national PLTW End of Course student assessment data to determine if a relationship…

Soft skills are some of the skills needed to ensure that graduates fulfill the needs of the job market. Until 2010, almost 30% of unemployed graduates in Malaysia are technical graduates and one third comes are graduates from polytechnic. Most engineering graduates are proficient in technical skills but lack in soft skills. The lack of relevant…

How do engineering students approach mathematical modelling problems and how can they learn to deal with such problems? In the context of a course in mathematical modelling and problem solving, and using a qualitative case study approach, we found that the students had little prior experience of mathematical modelling. They were also inexperienced…