Background: Engineering education scholars (EES) seek to advance innovation, excellence, and access within education systems and the engineering profession. To advance such efforts, the intentional and strategic actions taken by scholars must be better understood. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study aimed to advance the field's understanding of agency…

Prior research has suggested that Project Based Learning (PBL) may affect students' performance. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of empirical studies that have examined these relationships specially, in Bachelor's Degrees and Master's degrees. This research empirically examines whether PBL improves Own apprenticeship abilities' development as…

Virtual labs offer the promise of increasing and expanding learning opportunities, yet more needs to be understood about pedagogical implementation in higher education settings particularly within engineering technology (ET), vocational education and training (VET), and related sub-baccalaureate programmes. There is little empirical research on…

Self and peer assessments have been identified as effective strategies to develop a deeper understanding of complex concepts, enhance meta-cognitive capacity, and support learner self-efficacy. This study examines data related to peer and self-assessment exercises completed within a university engineering programme (n=61). Data related to…

The importance of soft skills in the professional work of an engineer is becoming increasingly important, even more so since the emergence of COVID-19 boosted the digitization of all professional sectors. In order for future engineers to acquire this type of skills, it is necessary for engineering professors to have an optimal level of technical…

Graphic interpretation is as critical in physics education as problem-solving. However, we know that today's classes focus more on problem-solving. This study uses a survey to determine college students' graphic interpretation skills. The study consists of two phases. The first phase includes the development and statistical analysis of the survey.…

This paper describes the application of new Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in engineering education. It demonstrates how VLEs improve student learning in two engineering concepts compared with the traditional classroom setting. Literature has conflicting studies on both the advantages and disadvantages of learning in VLEs. The application of…

In higher education, teacher empathy is a term that refers to the empathetic skills of teachers and has been researched since the 1980s. Multiple studies in fields such as medicine, nursing and psychology have shown that teacher empathy has reduced teacher burnout, improved teacher satisfaction and student performance. Within engineering…

Contributing to a competency model for engineering thermodynamics, we investigate the empirical competency structure of our exams in an attempt to answer the question: Do we test the competencies we want to convey to our students? We demonstrate that thermodynamic modeling and mathematical solution emerge as significant dimensions of thermodynamic…

Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive and engaging experience that facilitates the teaching and learning of abstract concepts. This paper describes the design and implementation of the VR 360° (VR360) component of the Virtual and Augmented Reality for Structures (VARS) mobile application. This study used VARS to teach basic structural systems…

This dissertation contains findings from two research projects. The first research area focused on assessing engineering students problem solving skills. Problem solving related to two material and energy balance topics--vapor liquid equilibrium and reacting systems with recycle - were examined first followed by a more holistic analysis across two…

The purpose of this dissertation work is to investigate sustainability incorporations in undergraduate mechanical engineering curricula. Engineering decisions have deep impacts on people and the planet. Therefore, it is important for all engineers to learn engineering that integrates these important factors. This work starts with an evaluation of…

Engineering Co-op Program at Midwestern Private University offers support for students seeking relevant work experience, yet only a small percentage of racially underrepresented undergraduate engineering students engage with the program. Understanding this inconsistency is important for progressing towards more equitable approaches. Prior research…

Extant literature has emphasized the importance of education research being theory-based. To this end, many research articles have a distinct "theoretical framework" section describing the theoretical underpinnings that inform the research. Nevertheless, there is large variation in how explicit articles are regarding their use of…

Mathematics is traditionally considered necessary for engineering courses. Over the last three decades, the mathematics requirements for entry into engineering programmes has steadily weakened in Australia. Further, the mathematics component of engineering programmes has progressively decreased. This research aims to investigate the following two…