1	Recruiting and Retaining Undergraduate Engineering Students John K. Bennett Associate Dean of Engineering for Education College of Engineering and Applied Science University of Colorado at Boulder U.S.A.
2	Our Motivation Low U.S. student science and math performance Lagging enrollment at U.S. engineering colleges Low numbers of under-represented students (Women, African-American, Hispanic, American Indian) Low engineering retention rates (~50% national average)
3	Our Approach K-16 hands-on, design-based, engineering education to… Increase retention of college engineering students Increase STEM skill development in youngsters Increase number and diversity of students in the pipeline
4	Why is Engineering Critical? Engineering excellence increases a nation's capacity to perform.
5	Engineering is a Catalyst Use engineering as a vehicle to integrate science and math through inquiry-based curricula and hands-on activities that are relevant to the lives of youth
6	Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory
7	Provide Access to Tools Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory — Team study rooms, design studios, extensive data acquisition capability, CAD software, cameras, scanners, etc. Electronics Center Manufacturing Center
8	Discovery Learning Center
9	Discovery Learning Initiative
10	K-12: Why Engineering So Soon? Engineering cements math and science concepts Demonstrate societal relevance of math & science
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14	K-12 Outreach Corps About 50 student mentors per year Engineering juniors (elementary) Engineering seniors (middle school) BS/MS students (high school) Year-long commitment: Mentors receive training Students provide classroom support and hands-on engineering during after-school programs
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17	Girls Embrace Technology Six-week summer internship for high school girls University women student mentors Open-ended design project Goals: Overcome social & stereotype hurdles to envision themselves as engineering students Develop technical skills and confidence
18	Summer K-12 Teacher Workshops Summer professional development workshops In-classroom graduate Fellows
19	High School Honors Institute Intensive 4-day campus residential program Introduces engineering to students with strong academic records who are interested in math and science High school juniors and seniors have an opportunity to experience college life as an engineering student and exploring career opportunities.
20	K-12 Curricula Repository Searchable, online K-12 Engineering classroom-tested curricula repository Resource for other engineering colleges and for K-12 teachers nationwide Link lesson/activity to national standards Four levels: Primary (K-2); Intermediate (Gr. 3-5); Middle School; High School Links to other teacher resources “design/build/test” curricula Currently being developed www.TeachEngineering.com
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22	"First-Year Engineering Projects course —" First-Year Engineering Projects course — College-wide initiative Required in 3 degree programs; honored by all in college ~400 students annually Small class size (max = 30) Team based Outstanding, student-focused teachers
23	Design as a Motivator Broad appeal to diverse populations Engineering is about creating things for the benefit of society Ideal hands-on learning Engineering design provides real-world context to anchor theory and abstract concepts
24	Design as a Motivator Open-ended exploration Multidisciplinary Real-world relevance Forces effective teamwork skills Joys and challenges of engineering Fun and creative Inspiring to students of all ages
25	Course Goals Introduction to engineering Experience iterative design and build process Produce a multidisciplinary product Experimental testing and analysis Communication skills (oral and written) Project management Learn through doing
26	Course Components
27	Why is this course needed? Two years of math, chemistry, and physics Difficult to get the "feel" of engineering early-on → Possible cause of attrition
28	More of a problem now than 20-30 years ago ... Prospective engineers were "tinkers" This activity led to an intuitive understanding of electrical and mechanical systems that is increasingly rare today
29	Tinkering is harder to do these days Things have gotten really complicated... VCR's Even toasters have microprocessors "No user serviceable parts inside" "Breaking seal voids all warranties" This situation motivated two course goals ...
30	Primary Course Goals: Do some engineering Develop intuition about how things work
31	Students learn engineering by practicing engineering. Design, construct, and program a simple robot assembled from: "LEGO" building blocks surplus motors and sensors printed circuit computer board
32	Students are exposed to issues that confront every practicing engineer: working with available technology design team interaction design tradeoffs in electro-mechanical systems iterative design the value of prototyping scheduling constraints
33	Educational Approach Provide rudiments of a wide variety of technical material (“breadth first”) Show students how and where they can learn more Provide the means to solutions, rather than the solutions themselves, when students encounter technical obstacles. Students are thus motivated to learn additional material needed to solve particular technical problems. Contest / design exposition at end of semester
34	Seymour Papert Director of the Epistemology and Learning Research Project at M.I.T. Constructionism Learning and the acquisition of knowledge are active processes engaged in by the learner. Knowledge is thus "constructed" by the learner. The learning process is enhanced when the learner is building something real in the world, in addition to building knowledge inside his or her own mind.
35	Malcolm Knowles Theory of Self-Directed Learning Education is a life-long process; as people grow older, they learn more from experience than from books. Students tend to learn more from the necessity of accomplishing a particular task, rather than from an abstract desire to know more. Task-centered, instead of subject centered, approach to learning
36	The Origin of These Ideas 들은 것은 망각하게 되고, 본 것은 기억하게 되며, 직접 행한 것은 깨닫게 된다. I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand. Confucius (공자,孔子)
37	ITLL Credo
38	Course Format 3 hours lecture per week 4 hours scheduled lab per week 8 hours optional lab per week 24-7 lab access for students => Can't be creative on demand
39	Robotics Course Lecture Topics What is Engineering? RoboBoard Structure Circuits IC Programming Digital Logic Sensors Structures Mechanics & Machines Robot Control State Machine Design Lego Design Robotics Robust Control Engineering Ethics Electro-mechanics Lab Skills Basic Semiconductors Intellectual Property Game Strategies Dealing with Failure
40	Credit and Grading Guidelines Class Attendance Weekly individual Written Reports Actual construction work, programming, or other tangible results that student has achieved Ideas that student has contributed to the design of their robot (whether they have been implemented or not) Plans for the next week of work Weekly team Video Reports Focus on issues that the team has worked on together Current state of the robot Robot strategy How the team arrived at consensus (or not!) on open issues Peer evaluations by students and Lab Assistants
41	Deliverables Robot Functional Specifications “How to Build Your Robot” (Construction manual) Completed Robot Program Listing Peer Evaluations
42	Milestones (Fall Schedule) RoboBoard Assembly Complete - (Sept. 24) Mobile Robot - (Oct. 1) Meaningful Encounter With a Wall - (Oct. 8) Follow a Line - (Oct. 15) Track a Light Source – (Oct. 22) Avoid Another Robot – (Oct. 29) “Beat the Brick” - (Nov. 5) Score More Than One Point – (Nov. 12) Programming Complete – (Nov. 19)
43	Sample Game Board
44	Week 1: Soldering “In lab we soldered our circuit board together. I didn’t burn myself and I don’t think anyone else did.”
45	Week 2: Finish the RoboBoard “Today we completed the basic assembly of the RoboBoard. We also experimented with gear trains and the basic structure of our robot.”
46	Week 3: Basic Structure “We have a problem with the robot leaning too far forward on the front wheels – it’s not a big deal now, but it’s going to have to be ironed out if we ever want to turn.”
47	Week 4: Mobile Robots “It moved! Yes, we finally got our robot to move.” “Today was the best day yet in lab! The robot is able to follow a line well and can adjust to switching sides of the board..”
48	Week 5: Robot Control “We did some trial and error work with our robot. Mostly it was error, but that’s life.” “WE FOLLOWED A LINE!!! I think it was the first day in lab that we didn’t break anything.”
49	Week 6: Redesign “The belt grips the blocks too well; it presses up against the back gate and threatens to warp the entire structure – I like to think that I’m too good of a mechanical engineer.”
50	Week 7: Schedule Concern “In lab today, we modified our followline program once again, and now it works! Except… when the camera turned on, it didn’t work. AGAIN.” Oh my gosh! It’s November! Maybe we should name our robot Yikes…”
51	Week 8: Controlled Movement “We finished assembling the device that we’re going to use to gather the blocks. The problem is now finding a good gear ratio so that the two sides move together and in the same direction.” “Ivy has programmed our robot to make these incredibly accurate 90 degree turns with shaft encoders”
52	Week 9: More Redesign “Our block-sucker sometimes requires too much force, and occasionally throws off a gear from the motor.” “Naturally the robot didn’t work on the first, second, third, or tenth try, as it turns out our reflective sensors are too far back, so we crash into the wall before we notice the line in front of the wall.” “The biggest problem was that the robot could not make turns. But, if I just put my hand under the back of the robot to support it, it turned well. So, the robot is just to heavy. Next week, I will try to come up with a way to redistribute the weight.”
53	Week 10: Final Designs “Goals for this week – GET AROUND THE BOARD AND PICK UP BLOCKS!”
54	Week 11: Coping “The past 24 hours have been the most productive for our group so far.” “So Wednesday night is the big night. I’m staying here until it’s done. DONE! And then we’ll win, and then my GPA will go up, and then I’ll graduate magna cum laude! Woohoo!”
55	Week 12: Final Push “I think our biggest problem is that we made changes in our robot, but didn’t test them.” “I feel like I’m in an experiment to test the limits of human endurance. I’ve spent more time in lab this week than I have the entire semester. The days are all a blur, but we accomplish many things. We continued to program and program some more to perfect our robot.”
56	Week 13: The Contest “I returned to lab at 6 am. For the next 10 hours I worked until the moment when it all came together and our robot beat a brick in a moment of triumph!!!! I was so happy. I told my parents that not every robot got claps when it qualified but gosh darn it you could hear the roar of the crowd when mine finally crossed over to the black side of the board with a foam block in its shovel.”
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58	“Five Things You Learned” teamwork programming techniques limitations of electromechanical structures how to build reliable structures and gear trains control systems multitasking and robust programming the value of doing it right the first time how sensors work how to write a functional specification the best designs are often the simplest electronic components and circuit boards
59	Final Thoughts “I learned to start simple and stay simple. I learned all about the adrenaline rush that results from sleeping a total of 18.5 hours over the course of a week. I learned: if at first you don’t succeed, don’t sleep until you do.” “I have learned why so many of my engineering friends put themselves through hell to become engineers - it’s because of the awesome sense of achievement you feel when you build something with your own two hands and intellect and make it work really well.”
60	Effect on Retention Students took the course in 1994-1998 N = 2,581 students Course demographics 40% Takers (1,035); 60% Non-Takers (1,546) Only included students who took course as first-year students (no transfer students) Gender 80% males (2,057); 20% females (524) Ethnicity 80% Caucasians (2,063), 7% Asian (190), 6% Latino (160), 1% African-American (35)
61	Overall Retention
62	Retention by Gender
63	"All students = + 19..." All students = + 19%* retention gain Women = +27%* retention gain Men = +15% * retention gain Caucasian = +19% * retention gain Latino = +54% * retention gain * Significant retention increase at p < .05
64	Departmental Breakdown Department Total Takers Non-Takers Required? OPEN OPT. 787 408 (52%) 379 (48%) CEAE 343 44 (13%) 299 (87%) MCEN 166 85 (51%) 81 (49%) Fall 1998+ ASEN 159 94 (59%) 65 (41%) Fall 1997+ CSEN 306 51 (17%) 255 (83%) ECEN 322 137 (43%) 185 (57%) CHEN 239 42 (18%) 197 (82%)
65	7^th Semester Retention Gain MCEN = +52%* retention gain CEAE = +36% * retention gain ASEN = +31% * retention gain CSEN = +23% * retention gain ECEN = +18% * retention gain OPEN OPTION = +15% * retention gain CHEN = +3% retention gain All students = +19% * retention gain * Significant retention increase at p < .05
66	Acknowledgments ITLL Co Directors: Jackie Sullivan Larry Carlson
67	For Additional Information