Discusses results from a study that explored the relationships between designerly thinking and behaviors situated in elementary classrooms in Ontario, Canada and Great Britain. Focuses on the 'school situated design' evidence from the study. (Contains 27 references.) (DDR)

Describes the findings of a study of Project SUPER, an intervention program at Douglass College designed to improve retention rates of undergraduate women in math, science, and engineering. Indicates that Project SUPER had a positive impact on the academic lives of the women who participated. (Contains 32 references.) (Author/ASK)

Reports the development, delivery, and assessment of a project-based spiral curriculum for the first sequence chemical engineering courses. Technical proficiency of students under the spiral curriculum was equal to or better than that of students under a traditional curriculum. Attitudes toward chemical engineering and teamwork were better, and…

Discusses the relationship between funding, management, and quality assurance in engineering education in developing countries. Presents a few case studies on problems of accreditation and quality assessment in larger developing countries such as India and the Philippines, and also in very small developing countries such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji,…

In a survey of 131 engineering students, 57% rated their communication skills average, 66% of 22 employers felt they were below average. Their perceptions of the engineering curriculum also differed. Ways to revitalize curriculum and better align industry and academia were proposed. (SK)

The author's primary purpose of this article is to share her working process--that is, the organization of a three-credit undergraduate course entitled Women in Science and Engineering, as well as the design and development of its curriculum, pedagogy, and methodology--and to reflect upon the results. To give life to this structure, a variety of…

Collaborative learning has been gaining momentum as a promising pedagogy in higher education. Research on student collaboration is increasing. However, one arena is often overlooked--faculty collaboration. In this article, a cross-institutional faculty collaboration is presented. The context is faculty collaboration on the design of an…

A method for teaching problem-solving skills to mathematics students is presented. By subtly incorporating engineering applications, the students are simultaneously exposed to an effective outreach programme. The process includes offering a complex problem that challenges students' abilities. Before allowing the students to become frustrated, the…

Two seemingly complementary trends stand out currently in school science education in the United States: one is the increased emphasis on inquiry activities in classrooms, and the other is the high level of attention given to student understanding of the nature of science. This essay looks at the range of activities that fall within the first…

In this article, the author features "the sidewalk project" in Littleton High School. The sidewalk project is a collaboration of more than 40 high school physics students, 10 local mentors, and a few regional and national organizations who worked together to invent a way to heat a sidewalk with an alternative energy source. The project, which…

Materials science can be taught by applying organic light-emitting electrochemical thin-film devices and in this method students were allowed to make a light-emitting device by spin coating a thin film containing ruthenium (II) complex ions onto a glass slide. Through this laboratory method students are provided with the opportunity to learn about…

Research advances, a new feature in Journal of Chemical Engineering that brings information about innovations in current areas of research to high school and college science faculty with an intent to provide educators with timely descriptions of latest progress in research that can be integrated into existing courses to update course content and…

In undergraduate engineering labs, lab reports are routinely copied. By ignoring this form of plagiarism, teaching assistants and lab technicians neglect their role responsibility. By designing courses that facilitate it, however inadvertently, professors neglect their causal responsibility. Using the case of one university, we show via interviews…

This study describes the process by which a circuit board manufacturing company became certified in an international quality control program known as ISO 9002. Particular attention is paid to how quality documents were made and used in actual practice and to the relationship between these standardized procedures (official literacies) and…

Back in 1983, the National Commission on Excellence on Education issued a dire warning: The United States' "once unchallenged, pre-eminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world." Policy observers say such calls have been a leitmotif in the national discourse on…