COURSE / PROGRAM

•  TCH_COM 5620: Research Methods in Technical Communication

ABSTRACT

The English and Technical Communication Department is in the process of developing an updated curriculum that more fully addresses the three disciplines taught in our department: Literature, technical communication, and linguistics. This curriculum will allow students to gain foundational skills in the field(s) of their choice before specializing in specific skillsets that are applicable to their individual interests and career goals. Within this degree program, certain courses will be required of all students; TCH_COM 5620: Research Methods in Technical Communication is one such course. As such, while previous iterations of the course have addressed only research methods in technical communication, the re-designed course will incorporate research methods from technical communication, literature, and linguistics as well as interdisciplinary research methods appropriate for the careers common to English and Technical Communication program graduates. The course is being developed by its instructor, Dr. Carleigh Davis, in consultation with the English and Technical Communication Curriculum Redesign Committee (Dr. Kris Swenson, Dr. Dan Reardon, Dr. Sarah Hercula, Dr. Jossalyn Larson, and Dr. Eric Bryan) who will offer expertise on the diverse disciplines they each represent.

This online, primarily asynchronous course will teach students the process of developing research questions in industry and academia, as their preference dictates. It will then allow them to choose their own skills to cultivate from a variety of scaffolded research method modules in order to identify methods that are appropriate for answering the kinds of questions they will face in their careers. Ultimately, the course aims to teach students to develop appropriate and feasible research practices appropriate for their chosen career path.

This course is also part of the newly developed Graduate Track Pathway in Technical Communication, which we anticipate will increase enrollment in the MS in Technical Communication. This means the course will feed into final undergraduate projects in capstone courses as well as master's theses, providing additional opportunities for advanced research in all programs.

COURSE / PROGRAM

• CE 2211: Materials Testing

ABSTRACT

This research project aims at transforming the Materials Testing Lab (CE2211) into an online course and incorporating a design-thinking model into the course curriculum. Materials testing lab (CE2211) is a mandatory course for various engineering disciplines that consist of 12 hands-on experiments, conducted by students individually or in a group. The course is typically waitlisted due to the limited lab space and the availability of test equipment. Given the additional limits due to COVID-19, and considering the fact that the lab is currently functioning at its maximum capacity, transition to an online format seems inevitable. One advantage of redesigning the materials testing lab is maximizing the physical learning facilities available for instruction at the materials testing lab.
Another motivation for transforming the lab to an online format is the ability to offer all Engineering Mechanics Courses in the online format that would make the program more appealing for students on co-op or internship and for students who prefer studying off-campus for various reasons. All other engineering mechanics courses such as Statics, Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, and Structural Analysis have been offered in the online format and the materials testing lab is the last component that has not been offered online yet.

COURSE / PROGRAM

•  EDUC 3335: Curriculum and Instruction of the Middle School

ABSTRACT

The Department of Teacher Education and Certification at Missouri S&T recently added a middle school certification program. It is a multidisciplinary studies degree with an emphasis in middle school education and an emphasis in whatever content area the student chooses to focus on for middle school. In the Spring 2021 semester, a required course, EDUC 3335 (Curriculum and Instruction of the Middle School) will be taught for the first time by Dr. Michelle Schwartze, who is also developing the course. This course is required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for this degree. The course will be a blended course with 70% of it being online and 30% face-to-face, with some added field experience in a middle school classroom. This is a
required course for students in the middle school program and will possibly be the first time these students teach a lesson in a middle school. The course needs to be an interactive, online experience so they feel confident going into their field experiences. With online courses, though, it can sometimes be difficult to create those interactive experiences because the instructor is separated from the students with a computer screen. The objectives for this online design would be to increase student motivation and engagement within online courses. A positive outcome would be students completing the course with confidence in teaching middle school and depth of knowledge in the curriculum and instruction necessary for teaching middle school.

COURSE / PROGRAM

•  EE3100: Electronics I
  

ABSTRACT

This project is the redesigning of the Electronics I (EE3100) course in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.  The EE3100 class is offered every semester as a required class in the Electrical Engineering program to

1. On-campus students at Missouri S & T in Rolla MO
2. Distance students who may be on internships or co-ops
3. Students in the Cooperative Engineering program on the Missouri State University, Springfield MO Campus  

Typically, there are two sections of Electronics 1 class taught at the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus in the Fall and Spring semesters and one section in the Summer semester.  Two other sections are typically taught in addition to these sections: A distance section and one taught at Missouri State University through the Cooperative Engineering Program between the two universities during Fall, Summer, and Spring semesters.

The plan is to create a repository of materials; recordings of short video lectures to enhance student learning, sample quizzes, homework, and exams to afford significant practice with feedback and self-checking to the students. The targeted content video lessons and tutorial problems will be developed with the goals of creating a library of material that would 

• convert the course to a blended format
• aid in the creation of a fully online course
• allow instructors more face-to-face time for “real-world” applications

The materials will be used by all when teaching the class.  There is currently no online material available for this class.

COURSE / PROGRAM

• CHEM 1319: General Chemistry Lab
  
• GEO 3310: Structural Geology
• GEO 3319: Structural Geology Lab

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this E-Fellows proposal is to evaluate the effectiveness of embedding realistic three-dimensional rendering of physical objects (VRPOs) into student learning activities (virtual object-based learning) in the redesign of Geology 3310 Structural Geology, Geology 3319 Structural Geology Laboratory, Chemistry 1319, and Chemistry 1319 in broadening achievement in student learning objectives in a variety of educational environments (in person, online, hybrid) utilized by a diverse population of students. The results of our investigation into the use of VRPOs in the redesign of these lectures and laboratories will provide direct benefit to S&T and to the university system in the following focus areas:

• Improve student engagement, retention, and/or persistence.
• Improve student achievement and attainment of student learning outcomes.
• Improve access to learning materials and opportunities leading to enhanced equity and inclusion for a diverse student population and increased enrollments.
• Promote collaborative, virtual-experiential, technology-enhanced, active “Object-Learning” strategies that can extend a hands-on like laboratory experience into online learning which can lead to increased enrollment.

We make the case that the potential benefits of VRPOs into student learning activities in each of the four areas above, as the campus adjusts to modify the educational environment during the pandemic, is compelling. However, looking beyond the pandemic, VRPOS and virtual object-based learning can extend the educational environment, especially laboratories and fieldwork, to a diverse student population facing a variety of challenges that limit their ability to engage and experience different disciplines. This includes but is not limited to examples such as the inclusion of students with disabilities in examining geologic structures in physically challenging terrain or inclusion of students participating in an educationally critical, but expensive and potentially hazardous, experiment in a secure-access, chemistry laboratory. In addition to the specific benefits to the courses selected for redesign, the broader outcomes are as follows: 1) Create a physical space to produce a three-dimensional rendering of physical objects (VRPOs). This space will be available to educators interested in utilizing Virtual Object-Based Learning activities in their courses. 2) Develop “Best Practices” guidelines for integrating Virtual Object-Based Learning as a learning activity that will enhance achievement in student learning objectives (SLOs) in a variety of educational environments utilized by a diverse population of students across the university system. 3) Develop a campus learning community to sustain and enhance the use of Virtual Object-Based Learning as a tool for enhancing achievement in student learning objectives. This community will join a larger worldwide community of educators exploring the use of this technique in education and disseminate VPROs through web-based sites. This is a collaborative proposal jointing submitted by Dr. J.P. Hogan (PI) and Dr. K. Woelk (Co-PI).

COURSE / PROGRAM

• CER_ENG 3315:

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this E-Fellows proposal is to evaluate the effectiveness of embedding realistic three-dimensional rendering of physical objects (VRPOs) into student learning activities (virtual object-based learning) in the redesign of Geology 3310 Structural Geology, Geology 3319 Structural Geology Laboratory, Chemistry 1319, and Chemistry 1319 in broadening achievement in student learning objectives in a variety of educational environments (in person, online, hybrid) utilized by a diverse population of students. The results of our investigation into the use of VRPOs in the redesign of these lectures and laboratories will provide direct benefit to S&T and to the university system in the following focus areas:

• Improve student engagement, retention, and/or persistence.
• Improve student achievement and attainment of student learning outcomes.
• Improve access to learning materials and opportunities leading to enhanced equity and inclusion for a diverse student population and increased enrollments.
• Promote collaborative, virtual-experiential, technology-enhanced, active “Object-Learning” strategies that can extend a hands-on like laboratory experience into online learning which can lead to increased enrollment.

We make the case that the potential benefits of VRPOs into student learning activities in each of the four areas above, as the campus adjusts to modify the educational environment during the pandemic, is compelling. However, looking beyond the pandemic, VRPOS and virtual object-based learning can extend the educational environment, especially laboratories and fieldwork, to a diverse student population facing a variety of challenges that limit their ability to engage and experience different disciplines. This includes but is not limited to examples such as the inclusion of students with disabilities in examining geologic structures in physically challenging terrain or inclusion of students participating in an educationally critical, but expensive and potentially hazardous, experiment in a secure-access, chemistry laboratory. In addition to the specific benefits to the courses selected for redesign, the broader outcomes are as follows: 1) Create a physical space to produce a three-dimensional rendering of physical objects (VRPOs). This space will be available to educators interested in utilizing Virtual Object-Based Learning activities in their courses. 2) Develop “Best Practices” guidelines for integrating Virtual Object-Based Learning as a learning activity that will enhance achievement in student learning objectives (SLOs) in a variety of educational environments utilized by a diverse population of students across the university system. 3) Develop a campus learning community to sustain and enhance the use of Virtual Object-Based Learning as a tool for enhancing achievement in student learning objectives. This community will join a larger worldwide community of educators exploring the use of this technique in education and disseminate VPROs through web-based sites. This is a collaborative proposal jointing submitted by Dr. J.P. Hogan (PI) and Dr. K. Woelk (Co-PI).