Many university-level electrical engineering courses continue to use textbooks as curriculum scaffolds, prescribed texts, and/or reference volumes. Textbook reliance is even more pronounced in courses that teach foundational principles of the discipline, such as introductory circuit theory. This paper reports on the conceptual coverage of introductory electric circuit theory as presented in textbooks. More specifically, a comparative study of six texts was performed using an analytic framework based on prior research on conceptual understanding and organized around multiple criteria. The ideas of conceptual framework and conceptual links are used to identify potential conceptual gaps in each textbook. This analysis reveals that the majority of the books are missing many important conceptual features. Findings from this study can be beneficial for authors as they develop new editions of books, and for instructors as they evaluate and select texts for use in their courses. This study can also inform ongoing efforts to both develop more effective instructional materials and investigate how textbooks affect conceptual understanding.
He is also an Associate Director of Purdue's Global Engineering Program, and leads the Global Engineering Education Collaboratory (GEEC) research group. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Michigan Tech and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in science and technology studies (STS) from Virginia Tech. His research involves social, cultural, historical, and epistemological studies of global engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and engineering education research.
Many engineering schools are proactively responding to the challenges of globalization, including by enhancing their international profiles and developing global educational programs and initiatives. Some schools are placing particular emphasis on preparing engineers for practice in dynamic, global workplaces. Yet what abilities and qualities define the globally competent engineer, and what types of experiences help support attainment of such attributes? This paper reports on the results of a survey of undergraduate and graduate students at Purdue University (n=231) that was designed to elicit: a) perceptions of desirable qualities and abilities for global engineers, b) self-evaluation of abilities in each of the identified areas, and c) awareness of possible pathways for enhancing one's own competence in each of the identified areas. The survey instrument is unique in that it presents students with a realistic global engineering scenario, and then prompts them to pick the specific abilities and qualities they think would be most essential for completing the described assignment. The list of 15 attributes presented to respondents is focused on the professional and global dimensions of engineering practice, and is based on relevant attributes from Purdue University's Engineer of 2020 initiative. In addition to presenting aggregate results from the survey, we use demographic data to discuss some similarities and differences across different sub-populations. We conclude with a discussion of ongoing and future work, including similar surveys planned for faculty and industry populations.
This paper presents details of a program initiated by the IEEE Central Texas Section Education Society Chapter to stimulate passion among high school students for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and to increase the participation of girls in STEM fields. The program includes participants from professional associations, industry, and academia. We describe the elements of this program (including the use of a fabrication lab or makerspace, mentoring, outreach events, curriculum design, metrics, and a replication handbook), the benefits to and contributions of each of the participants (the IEEE Central Texas Section, Tech Shop, Dripping Springs High School, and Texas State University), and the near-term and long-term objectives.
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