The puzzlement that followed Justice O'Connor's convoluted opinion in "Grutter" is evolving into a remarkable consensus by players on both sides of the question on the use of race/ethnicity in academic settings. George R. La Noue examines new guidelines from The College Board: Science, Technology, and Mathematics professors; and major…

Scholars and professionals committed to fostering sustainable development have urged a re-examination of the curriculum and restructuring of research in engineering-focused institutions of higher learning. This article will address the following themes and questions: How can multi- and trans-disciplinary teaching and research coexist in a…

The following paper deals with the importance of genre in academic and professional engineering discourse. The main objective is to explore the use of analogy and metaphor in one specific genre, namely civil engineering research journal articles both in English and in Spanish. Thus, we will start by briefly outlining the use of metaphor in…

This paper describes a student essay competition with the title "What makes a good engineering lecturer?" run by the Engineering Subject Centre of the UK Higher Education Academy. The competition was intended primarily to provide engineering lecturers with general feedback. The aim of the paper is to make the outcomes of the competition…

Design methodology (DM) is defined by the procedural path, expressed in design models, and techniques or methods used to untangle the various activities within a design model. Design education in universities is mainly based on descriptive design models. Much knowledge and organization have been built into DM to facilitate design teaching.…

The attribute focus in engineering education now adopted by the engineering education accrediting bodies of the US, UK and Australia is based on meeting the assumed needs of professional practice. It is associated with an increasing expectation by employers of work-ready graduates rather than relying on subsequent work-based learning and…

We have developed a university entrepreneurship program, culminating in a prototype and business plan, with five objectives: (1) value for all academic participants' (2) introduction to engineering issues for students; (3) refinement of engineering students' "soft" skills; (4) training for students in creating value out of embryonic ideas; and (5)…

Primary objective: To examine perceptions of academic quality and approaches to studying in students taking six technology courses by distance education. Research design: Students taking four courses received an end-of-course questionnaire. The following year, students taking all six courses received a mid-course questionnaire. Method: The Course…

A questionnaire is developed to gauge the disposition of students towards either an incremental (malleable) or entity (fixed) view of intelligence. The relationships between this self-belief and views on group work/learning and creativity are also evaluated using the questionnaire. Attention is also given to any relationship which may exist…

This article describes an active learning method for the teaching of physical sciences and mathematics to engineers. After defining the challenges involved in the training of engineers, we shall describe the answers provided by our method, "learning by doing" (named "Apprentissage Par l"Action" in French), by introducing…

The environmental impact of construction activity has gained increasing importance in the last few years and become a key subject for civil engineering education. A survey of Portuguese higher education institutions shows that concern with this topic is mostly directed at the impact of large construction projects and especially focused on their…

The aim of this research was to evaluate and analyse second-year industrial engineering and chemical engineering students prior knowledge of conceptual aspects of "circuit theory". Specifically, we focused on the basic concepts of electric potential and current intensity and on the fundamental relationship between them as expressed by Ohm's law.…

This paper examines a particular methodology of teaching engineering design to undergraduate engineering students, which relies on Lego[R] Mindstorms[TM]. A number of important issues are addressed, including the timing of the design module within the programme, prior knowledge required and assessment components. The module, which has been running…

The increasing number of homeless people is one of the most burning problems of nowadays world. Society has to find the way to fight against it and provide help to those people that have no place to stay. For short-term interventions, the application of the mobile dwelling units seems to be the only possible solution. However, existing mobile…

Most people in higher education believe in continuity, in respecting traditions. That makes it easy to miss the startling changes and compelling opportunities that confront the academic enterprise. In this article, the author presents a few trends that are dramatically altering higher education in New England: (1) more women than men are attending…