The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between: 1) comprehensiveness of student developed model tests and final exam score, 2) the quality of student developed model tests and answer keys combined, and final exam score, and 3) student developed model test similarity to instructor final exam and final exam score.…

In recent years, the lack of underrepresented groups pursuing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines at the graduate level aroused the concern of some far-sighted advocates. When confronted with this noted absence, however, many colleges and universities traditionally responded with the argument that qualified students from…

This article is part of a larger scale project on some aspects of the process of academic socialization of a group of Iranian Ph.D. students studying in five UK universities, particularly focusing on the relationship between these students and their supervisors. The study included eight engineering and five social sciences/humanities students, as…

This paper is based on the results of the initial phase of a long-term study undertaken to identify some of the factors that contribute to 'good teaching' in the realm of higher education in engineering in India. Feedback from both students and teachers in an engineering institution in India points to the fact that 'good teaching' consists of much…

This study examined university engineering and physical science students' misconceptions of the nature of magnetic field. It is assumed that a significant knowledge of the sources of magnetic field is a basic prerequisite when students have to think about electromagnetic phenomena. To analyze students' conceptions, we have taken into account the…

This chapter presents an innovative framework for a mechanical engineering program of study termed desegregated learning. The goal is not desegregation but rather to promote a higher level of learning and to look for opportunities where desegregating the learning environment yields optimal results with reasonable costs and complexity. (Contains 3…

Five factors affecting student use of an eLearning management system in two Web-enhanced hybrid undergraduate courses are investigated using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This research represents a causal relationship existing between students' attitude toward WebCT and their actual use of the system. Students' perception of the WebCT…

This study examined the extent to which women and men majoring in science, math, engineering, and technology (SMET) fields engaged in a broad array of effective educational practices. Women in SMET fields were generally as, or more, engaged in educationally fruitful activities as their male counterparts. The results of this study, when combined…

Two techniques for determining a straight line fit to data are compared. This article reviews two simple techniques for fitting a straight line to a set of data, namely the method of averages and the method of least squares. These methods are compared by showing the results of a simple analysis, together with a number of tests based on randomized…

Women are under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors and careers in most industrialized countries around the world. This paper explores the broad array of explanations for the absence of women in STEM put forth in the literature of the last 30 years. It is argued that some proposed explanations are without…

When a professional engineer solves a mathematical problem using technology, he/she generally uses a single one-step "high-level" command of a readily available computer package to obtain the solution immediately. This should not happen during his/her learning cursus. In an engineering mathematics course, the educator should decompose the solution…

In 2001 a large-scale project, the "Breakthrough project", to develop teaching and learning was started at Lund Institute of Technology (LTH), Lund University, Sweden. The project has had a duration of 3 years and the aims of the project were to change the paradigm from teaching to learning and implement a sense of scholarship of…

In 2000 the UK Engineering Professors' Council (EPC) drafted an output standard to describe first-cycle engineering programmes that would prepare students for practice and further professional learning. The standard described what is authentic and worthwhile in engineering education--it identified complex outcomes of learning. This poses practical…

In a project-organized problem-based learning curriculum, students are encouraged to learn through a process where they write questions and find their own answers. Their supervisor has an important function in facilitating this process. When it comes to project assessment, this pattern is often changed to one where the supervisor asks the…

Technology education has long struggled to establish itself as an equal partner in general education and often struggled to gain recognition for the value of its instruction. Frequently technology educators tout the effectiveness of their programs based on anecdotal evidence gathered from their classroom experiences on how their instructional…