A study of 54 first-year engineering students at an Australian university investigated their critical thinking skills as related to 3 kinds of study strategy: surface strategy; deep strategy; and achieving strategy. Results indicated a negative correlation between critical thinking ability and the achieving study strategy. Implications for…

Describes major aspects of the Pupil Researcher Initiative, a curriculum development project aimed at encouraging pupils, teachers, researchers, and the wider community to work together to stimulate interest and enthusiasm for science and engineering. (JRH)

Reviews the status of black doctorate production from U.S. universities during the 1980s, updating baseline information and examining the baccalaureate origins of African American doctorates. Black students continue to be underrepresented, especially in science and engineering, and gender differences persist. The role of historically black…

Describes efforts aimed at reforming physics courses for first-year engineering and science students at Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey. Discusses the establishment and working of the Physics Learning Center (PLC) and its impact on the retention and performance of students. (JRH)

Describes a project where students build a motorized car that can perform well in two distinctly different competitions: traveling 20 meters in the shortest time and pulling a 500-gram mass the farthest distance in 20 seconds. Enables students to apply physics principles to a real problem and to discover the importance of teamwork on large…

Compares engineering education in Japanese and Australian universities. Discusses departmental structure, funding, teacher-student ratio, undergraduate and graduate curricula, teaching methods, faculty research, entrance examinations, tuition, and employment potential. (SV)

Discusses the costs of producing durable educational software in an academic environment and describes an optimized software life cycle that has been implemented at the University of Cambridge (England) Engineering Department. Topics addressed include needs assessment; specifications; program design; implementation and testing; feedback; and…

Profiles Jerry Elliott, an American Indian who has taken advantage of both Native American and white cultures to become a successful engineer at NASA. He believes that Native Americans can meet the challenges of a modern world by studying science and engineering without losing their cultural identity and values. (LP)

Introduces a series of six installments on making the transition from a training/instructional design approach to human performance technology (HPT). The first installment topics include defining human performance technology; obstacles to effective HPT; and the necessary role characteristics for trainers performing HPT. (AEF)

Describes the Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars Program, a 10-week internship program for junior and senior undergraduates and first-year graduate students who are pursuing degrees in engineering or science. The program enables participants to conduct research under the supervision of NASA scientists and engineers. Profiles American…

Study investigated psychological and demographic characteristics of men in nontraditional careers like elementary education, comparing them to women in the same fields and men in engineering. Surveys indicated nontraditional career men valued relationship-oriented career components more than did men in engineering. (SM)

Questionnaire data from faculty at six engineering schools were analyzed to determine the role of writing in graduate engineering programs and its implications for the design of writing courses. Faculty attitudes and beliefs about the importance of writing skills, and their practices regarding students' proficiency, are discussed. (36 references)…

Described are the idea of chaos and the ability to control the chaotic behavior of a real-world physical system. Included is an explanation of the methodology and applications in biology and chemistry. (KR)

Described is an integrated framework used to teach engineering, creativity, and management that emulates the working environment of a modern and dynamic engineering organization. This is done through the use of case studies. (KR)

The concept of reengineering is examined as it applies to colleges and universities, with emphasis upon information technology units. Covered are the purposes, principles, and process of reengineering; organizational change; leadership; reengineering the information technology unit; and critical success factors for reengineering higher education.…