COURSE / PROGRAM

• Engineering Management 354 (now 5515) - Integrated Product and Process Design
• Mechanical Engineering 357 (now 5757) - Integrated Product and Process Design

ABSTRACT

This eFellows project is designed to develop a blended/online course. for Engineering Management/Mechanical Engineering 357: Integrated Product and Process Design, the central focus of which is a group design project for an external customer. For example, the Fall 2010 course is designing an off-road walker/stander for children with disabilities in collaboration with the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. The course enrollment per semester is approximately 30 students that come from both graduate and undergraduate levels of the Engineering Management and Mechanical Engineering departments.

The pilot version of the blended course will launch in the Fall of 2011 and will feature one traditional face-to-face meeting with the remaining content to be provided online. The blended course will implement a traditional textbook that features supplementary online templates and case studies. The content delivery, in addition to the weekly meeting, will include video modules, analysis of related YouTube videos, design group collaborations, and regular virtual meetings with the external customer.

Given that one-half the current student population is distance education students and that the customer is not geographically located with the students, the students will greatly benefit from increased access to course content, convenience, and scheduling flexibility. The blended delivery of the course will closely mirror design projects in the industry given that many companies have multiple branches with off-site customers. Therefore this experience will assist in their preparation to enter the workforce with minimal training from their employers.

COURSE / PROGRAM

• Geology 220 (now 3310) - Structural Geology

ABSTRACT

This proposal requests support to create a Blended-Learning Community for Structural Geology lecture and lab - an upper-level course that is a fundamental requirement for majors in Geology and Geophysics, Geological Engineering, Mining Engineering, and Petroleum Engineering, with participation from several other majors (e.g., Civil & Environmental Engineering). On many campuses participating in Structural Geology provides unique challenges for both students and faculty even at the typical enrollment of 10-30 students. Many of these challenges gained national attention in the Geological Science community and were recently addressed by a National Science Foundation workshop. On the Missouri S&T campus, Structural Geology had a steady enrollment of approximately seventy students for many years which created additional complications to teaching this course. The recent explosion in enrollment over the last two years to over one hundred and fifty students, without any increase in faculty and or Graduate Teaching Assistant support, forced adaptations that compromise student learning and which will continue to negatively impact student learning in future courses and performance in the workforce (e.g., internships). In order to correct this untenable situation, I am proposing to create a Blended-Learning Community in which several fundamental concepts and skills can be delivered to Missouri S&T students as well as other interested parties in a series of interactive learning modules that are delivered using current teaching and web-technologies. A primary objective will be to embrace technology in a manner that will enhance student learning in Structural Geology by overcoming several challenges that this material presents (e.g., understanding the 4-dimensional changes that take place as solid earth materials undergo deformation). In addition, current technology will be used to empower students to progress through fundamental skills sets and concepts at either an established schedule or accelerated pace utilizing self-assessment remotely monitored by instructors. Students will then be able to select from a variety of advanced problem sets that apply acquired skills and concepts to problems in their specific areas of interest (e.g., Geology and Petroleum Engineering, or Geological and Mining Engineering). After demonstrating proficiency in fundamental skills, comprehensive "capstone" assignments will be designed that require students to engage in a collaborative manner to apply these skills (e.g., collection of orientation data in the field) to solve a problem and prepare a web-based presentation to share with other students enrolled in the course. The positive impacts of creating a Blended-Learning Community for Structural Geology are 1) increased proficiency and retention of fundamental skills and concepts, 2) creating more opportunity for students to engage in higher-level learning while applying fundamental skills, 3) more personalized learning by allowing students a diverse selection of advanced learning modules. In addition, a Blended Learning Community should mitigate the negative impacts of the large enrollments in Structural Geology on the students and on the resources the Geology and Geophysics program allots to instruction in this course (faculty and GTA time). Finally, the successful development of effective methods of delivering a substantial amount of the laboratory material online can provide a model to be adopted by other courses with labs opening up the opportunity to allow many other people to participate in taking such courses as part of a certificate or advanced degree program.

COURSE / PROGRAM

• Civil Engineering 261 (now 2601) - Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering and Science 

ABSTRACT

Since 2000, the number of ABET-accredited degree programs in Environmental Engineering has doubled (i.e., 30 new baccalaureate programs and 3 new MS programs). This explosive growth has overlapped with students’ awareness of and demand for sustainability education (i.e., education that integrates the three areas of environment, economy, and equity). As the only ABET program in the State of Missouri, the BSEnvEng at S&T has been responsive to this national growth first receiving accreditation in 2005. A cornerstone of this program is the introductory course, CE 261, which currently serves the dual purposes of: (1) introducing all Civil degree programs and Architectural Engineering degree program students to the environment, and (2) introducing all BSEnvEng to their career. Typically, faculty deliver the lecture component of the course emphasizing material from the textbook, and teaching assistants provide weekly determinate laboratory instruction.

The specific objective of this proposal is to use blending learning to substantially modify the pedagogical approach, format, and content for CE 261 emphasizing: (1) online expert lectures; (2) face-to-face faculty-led open-ended wet-laboratories; and (3) peer-to-peer design clinics. This specific objective supports the ongoing Vision 2020 strategic planning initiative and capital campaign underway in CArE as well as the Campus Strategic Plan (specifically Enriching the Student Experience, Managing Enrollment, and the Academic Portfolio, and Developing Cyber Infrastructure). The specific actions to be undertaken as part of this project include: (1) the PI will use a train-the-trainer model to translate his success in the CyberEd course to the additional instructors; (2) the PI will coordinate ten curriculum meetings of the environmental engineering faculty to collectively redevelop the course through consensus-building and buy-in; (3) the PI and additional instructors will offer the course four times (once with existing material, once in ‘test mode’, once in the blended format, and once by a different instructor); (4) the PI will coordinate delivery of external links to Freshman engineering, summer camp materials, and Continuing Education Materials; and (5) the PI will coordinate submission of an abstract to the annual meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education and an article to a peer-reviewed journal.

The project also offers a number of broader impacts. Because second-year introductory courses commonly are used to bridge first-year basics and third/fourth-year principles/design, the success of this project will provide a model on the S&T campus for similar programs to replicate and improve. By refocusing faculty teaching on (1) laboratories; (2) design; and (3) expert lectures, this project should demonstrate a competitive advantage over low-cost distance education offered by other programs (i.e., University of Phoenix).

COURSE / PROGRAM

• History 375 (now 3550) - Architecture, Technology, and Society (1750 to Present)

ABSTRACT

The project seeks to transition History 375, a required course for Architectural Engineering majors and a popular upper-level history course, from a traditional classroom format to a hybrid blended course. Doing so will enhance instruction and better facilitate learning while adding scheduling flexibility and easing enrollment pressure. The faculty member involved, Associate Professor Dr. Jeff Schramm, has been recognized for his teaching excellence, has substantial experience with Blackboard, and is technologically knowledgeable. The subject matter of the course is primarily visual in nature and would transition well to a blended format. Little additional equipment or software would be required beyond basic presentation enhancements. The hybrid blended course would be offered in the Fall of 2011 and likely every semester thereafter. Several evaluation strategies are planned for the course.

COURSE / PROGRAM

• Electrical Engineering 153 (now 2120) - Circuits 2

ABSTRACT

This project is the development of a blended learning course in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. The course, EE 153 Circuits II, is a required course for all Electrical and Computer Engineering students. Two or three sections of the course are taught in Fall and Spring semesters as well as one section each Summer. As enrollment increases, it is difficult to schedule these sections into the available classrooms. Most of the classrooms in Emerson Electric Company Hall have a maximum occupancy of around 45 students and this is uncomfortably tight with the students nearly sitting side-by-side. More efficient use of these classrooms is necessary. This project will reduce the face-to-face meetings with the students by 33% allowing for more courses to be scheduled into a given time period. Conceptual material will be covered through online learning modules. Face-to-face class time will be spent in discussing problem-solving strategies, applications of the material, special cases, and discussion.