An interactive computer-based learning tool with multiple sessions is proposed in this paper, which teaches students to think and helps them recognize the merits and limitations of simulation tools so as to improve their practical abilities in electrical circuit simulation based on the case of a power converter with progressive problems. The…

This paper presents a computerized tool support, the Meetings-Flow Project Collaboration System (MFS), for designing, directing and sustaining the collaborative teamwork required in senior projects in software engineering (SE) education. Among many schools' SE curricula, senior projects serve as a capstone course that provides comprehensive…

This study explored the perspectives of community organization representatives and community residents about a partnership between a College of Engineering and a rural municipality in Nicaragua. The intended community outcomes described by university participants during interviews corresponded with tangible project outcomes, such as access to…

"Real life" learning has often been suggested as a good method for engaging students in the science curriculum. In this article, an evidence-based rationale for the use of engineering as a context for "real life" science study is explained. This has been achieved through development work undertaken by the National Science…

This article presents an overview of how to relate reading to a content area, specifically technology education. The author notes that, with the new focus on Common Core English Language Arts State Standards and state-developed standards, technology and engineering teachers should include disciplinary literacy in their curriculum. Academic…

With a new emphasis on the inclusion of engineering content and practices in technology education, attention has focused on what engineering content should be taught and assessed in technology education. The National Academy of Engineering (2010) proposed three general principles for K-12 engineering education in "Standards for K-12…

Peer-led small-group learning has been used quite extensively in the US to enhance performance and retention of undergraduate students in science, math, and engineering classes. This study presents the results from an evaluation of a peer-led small-group programme at a research university in the US over a 10-year period across five disciplines…

Given Facebook's growing audience among young adults worldwide and the increasing importance of technology, educators are beginning to explore the appropriateness of its use in higher education. The objectives of this paper are to describe the use of Facebook in a transportation logistics course and to compare student perceptions of using Facebook…

This paper explores the effectiveness of using "structured examples in concert with prompting reflective questions" to address misconceptions held by mechanical engineering students about thermodynamic principles by employing pre-test and post-test design, a structured questionnaire, lecture room observation, and participants'…

It is generally accepted that engineering requires a strong aptitude for mathematics and science; therefore, students' judgments regarding their competence in these areas as well as engineering likely influence their confidence in engineering. Little is known about how self-confidence in science, mathematics, and engineering courses (STEM…

The twenty-first century has seen the rapid emergence of wireless broadband and mobile communications devices which are inexorably changing the way people communicate, collaborate, create and transfer knowledge. Yet many higher education campus learning environments were designed and built in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries prior to…

Technology and engineering (TE) educators have long championed the infusion of mathematics into technology curriculum, especially to enhance TE learning goals and demonstrate "connections between technology and other fields of study." There is a need for curriculum development and professional development initiatives to purposefully…

The intent of the study presented in this paper is to show that the model of problem-based learning (PBL) can be made scalable by designing curriculum around a set of open-ended problems (OEPs). The detailed statistical analysis of the data collected to measure the effects of traditional and PBL instructions for three courses in Electronics and…

A defining characteristic of current U.S. educational policy is the use of data to inform decisions about resource allocation, teacher hiring, and curriculum and instruction. Perhaps the biggest challenge to data-driven decision making (DDDM) is that data use alone does not automatically result in improved teaching and learning. Research indicates…

The Bologna Declaration has opened a stage of big and deep changes in the internal university organization, external cooperation, teaching models and methods, among other., all over the European countries. Here we will present and discuss a pilot experience conducted at the Engineering Department of the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro,…