Geoscientists analyze and integrate spatial and temporal information at a range of scales to understand Earth processes. Despite this, the concept of scale is ill defined and taught unevenly across the K-16 continuum. This literature review focuses on two meanings of scale: one as the magnitude of the extent of a dimension and the other as a…

Decision matrices are valuable engineering tools. They allow engineers to objectively examine solution options. Decision matrices can be incorporated in K-12 classrooms to support authentic engineering instruction. In this article we provide examples of how decision matrices have been incorporated into 6th and 7th grade classrooms as part of an…

Using two case studies of children's knowledge, this paper sheds light on the value, diversity, and necessity of Indigenous and place-based knowledge to science and engineering curricula in rural areas. Rural contexts are rich environments for cultivating contextual knowledge, hence framing a critical pedagogy of teaching and learning. Indigenous…

While the changing nature of design activity is a topic supported by a range of popular and academic publications, the role that design tools have taken in that change is less well studied. The tools used in the trade, both by industrial designers and mechanical engineers, have undergone a rapid transformation in the last fifty years. The research…

This paper reports on the systematic development of a teaching methodology for two chemical engineering courses. The aim was to improve the quality of teaching to achieve expected learning outcomes more effectively. The development was carried out over a period of several years based on an action research methodology with data systematically…

This column includes activities inspired by children's literature. When learning about a topic, scientists refer to documents from past researchers. This month's trade books include nonfiction and historical fiction selections that help to demonstrate similarities and differences "then and now" while incorporating engineering design…

The purpose of this study is to explore students' understanding of loops and nested loops concepts. Sixty-three mechanical engineering students attending an introductory programming course participated in the study. APOS (Action, Process, Object, Schema) is a constructivist theory developed originally for mathematics education. This study is the…

This paper presents the introduction of problem-based learning (PBL) in a power electronics course at the University of Oviedo, Gijon, Spain, by means of two practical projects: the design and construction of a switching-mode power supply (SMPS) prototype and the static study of a dc-dc converter topology. The goal of this innovation was for…

Critical thinking is a graduate attribute that many courses, including engineering courses, claim to produce in students. As a graduate attribute it is seen by academics as a particularly desirable outcome of student learning and is said by researchers to be a defining characteristic of university education. However, how critical thinking is…

The subject "Physical Fundamentals of Engineering" for agricultural engineers in the University of Extremadura has long had high rates of students not attending classes, not presenting for examinations and, finally, failing the subject. During the 2007 and 2008 courses, the teaching/learning procedures were strongly modified. Analysis of the…

The heart and soul of engineering is innovation and our ability to improve the human condition through design. To enrich engineering education, it is critical that we advance our teaching in innovation and design processes. This research focuses on the ideation component of innovation through the investigation of a suite of concept generation…

Engineering education has been slow to adopt research-based educational innovations. Few prior works on such adoption have investigated the combined classroom experiences of instructors and students when such innovations are being implemented. Therefore, this work focuses on the lived experiences of an instructor and her students when adopting an…

Learning style matching is a neglected factor that may affect the complex process of second language (L2) incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. The purpose of the current study is to investigate whether there is any difference in L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention through reading when learners' perceptual learning…

It is believed that the students' low reading proficiency, as shown in their TOEIC scores, is due to their poor reading habit. One of the ways to overcome such a problem is by facilitating them with a lot of reading practices in an extensive reading program. Since today non-printed multimodal texts (NPMT) and Linear texts (LT) are available in the…

This paper describes the "AIChE Concept Warehouse," a recently developed web-based instructional tool that enables faculty within the discipline of chemical engineering to better provide their students concept-based instruction. It currently houses over 2,000 concept questions and 10 concept inventories pertinent to courses throughout…