A cautionary tale has become something of a cottage industry in the past decade. To be sure, there has been plenty of material for these publications: Bhopal, Chernobyl, "Exxon Valdez," Three Mile Island, and "Challenger" have entered the lexicon as virtual synonyms for "disaster." Cautionary tale scenarios involve a different kind of causality.…

Whereas research in MicroSystems Technology (MST) has grown rapidly over the last twenty years, the education of engineers at postgraduate level is still in its infancy. The number of dedicated MST research institutions, companies and university laboratories worldwide has grown at a dramatic rate and all require trained individuals who can be…

This InfoBrief investigates the role and relevance of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in enhancing educational opportunities for African Americans by examining the role of HBCUs as baccalaureate-origin institutions of black science and engineering (S&E) doctorate recipients. It examines trends primarily during the past two…

According to professionals in education, change is an ever-present and evolving process. With transformation in education at both state and national levels, technology education must determine a position in this climate of change. This paper reflects the views on the future of technology education based on an ongoing research project. The purpose…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the nature of technology and engineering education provision in developing economies, focusing on Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on recent developments in the shake up and implementation of new measures to call for quality technology and engineering education in the country,…

This paper is based on a qualitative study of seven students enrolled in a two-semester organic chemistry course for chemistry and chemical engineering majors that focused on the reasoning the students had used to answer questions on the course exams. Narrative analysis was applied to create case records for each participant that were then…

This article focuses on the longitudinal evaluative strategies used in the development of a new teaching approach for a university course with high failure rates. The subject is compulsory for all first year engineering students at our university. The evaluation has been conducted as part of a process of developmental action research, and has…

Recent research of student writing has included a few studies of the statement of purpose submitted as part of the admission process to programs of study, which have indicated variations in expectations by disciplinary gatekeepers. These studies indicate a need for further study of statements of purpose submitted to different departments, informed…

In recent years, the need to advance the number of individuals pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields has gained much attention. The Montgomery County/Virginia Tech Robotics Collaborative (MCVTRC), a yearlong high school robotics program housed in an educational shop facility in Montgomery County, Virginia, seeks to…

This work reports on the results obtained from the application of learning environments on the basis of one integrative problem and a series of other smaller problems that limit the contents to be investigated and learned by the students. This methodology, which is a variation to traditional problem-based learning approaches, is here illustrated…

The ECTS grade transfer scale is an interface grade scale to help European universities, students and employers to understand the level of student achievement. Hence, the ECTS scale can be seen as an interface, transforming local scales to a common system where A-E denote passing grades. By definition, ECTS should distribute the passing students…

An important issue of the demographic change in the German population is the maintenance and promotion of the employability of aging workforces. However, there are hardly any suitable concepts or usable tools available to realize this goal. Possible approaches should push the individual strengths of the aging workers to the foreground and…

The purpose of this study was to determine if placing two teachers at the same school had an influence on teaching efficacy. Bandura's Model of Triadic Reciprocality and self-efficacy theory guided the inquiry. The population of interest was all student teachers at Texas A&M University. This study was conducted using data collected from a…

In conjunction with the August 8, 2007 launch of STS-118, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) developed and recently debuted curricular units for Grades K-12 on Space Exploration, known as STS-118 Design Challenges. The units focus on aspects of the themes that NASA…

In this article, the authors support problem-based learning (PBL) based on its high level of alignment in addition to providing learners in engineering with an additional opportunity in learning process competencies, as contained within the South African National Critical Cross-field and Developmental Outcomes (COs). Constructive alignment…