Luke Lee is Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of the Pacific, where he teaches courses in structural mechanics and structural design and conducts research in infrastructure renewal, structural health monitoring, and durability of composite materials. Dr. Gary M. Litton, University of the PacificGary Litton is a professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of the Pacific where he teaches courses and conducts research in environmental engineering. Dr. Litton has over 30 years of water quality experience with specialization in water quality investigations. The first six years of his career were spent with the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he worked on water rights and quality projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin. As a researcher and professional engineer he has been responsible for water quality monitoring and modeling investigations, water quality planning, pollution impact studies, and subsurface remediation efforts. Recently, Dr. Litton was a principal investigator of two studies focused on understanding the algae-induced depletion of dissolved oxygen in the San Joaquin River Delta. Current research includes evaluating wetland ponds for methylmercury removal in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2016 Where is Everybody? Participation in Online Student Evaluation of Instruction Surveys AbstractEnd-of-semester student evaluation of instruction (SEI) (or student evaluation of teaching (SET)) survey instruments are commonly used by many universities. SEI results provide direct feedback about an instructor's classroom performance, teaching methods, organization and preparation, and effectiveness of interaction with students, among other measures. Faculty can use this feedback as part of an overall strategy to improve teaching and student learning outcomes. At many universities, SEI scores and comments are included as part of hiring decisions, in annual reviews, as a basis for merit pay decisions, and in evaluation decisions for tenure, promotion, and reappointment.In Fall 2013, an online SEI process was adopted at University of the Pacific to reduce administrative workload and to preserve student anonymity. However, in the School of Engineering and Computer Science participation rates in the SEIs were seen to drop from a range of 85% to 95% with paper-based forms, to 60% or lower when the School transitioned to online SEIs. Although individual faculty members in other academic units have used ad hoc strategies to provide incentives for participation, no institutional strategies are in place to promote participation. Review of the literature suggested similar issues were experienced at other universities where online SEI instruments were introduced.SEI participation data were examined for all courses taught in the School of Engineering and Computer Science in Fall 2014, Spring, 2015, and Fall 2015 A preliminary study of the effectiveness of 'interventions' in the forms of providing in-class time to complete the eva...
The goal of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of a project-based, multidisciplinary course in a small engineering program with BS and MS students. At engineering programs without doctoral degrees, limited faculty resources and small student numbers present challenges in offering graduate courses that provide hands-on learning experiences in multidisciplinary environments-the same experiences often gained in graduate level research at larger research intensive universities. Therefore, during the Spring semester of 2011, we offered a multidisciplinary course combining civil structural health monitoring (SHM) and sensor networks. Recent research trends have tied these two topics together with an increase in the use of sensor networks for SHM and an increase in monitoring structures in sensor networks. Combining these two classes offered a unique opportunity for senior undergraduate students and graduate students to engage in multidisciplinary learning, to design and implement complicated systems spanning both fields, and to explore new research boundaries. The Sensor Networks for Infrastructure Systems course provided a combination of depth and breadth to both undergraduates and graduates. The course consisted of two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory time each week with content divided into three topic areas each incorporating a multi-week lab project. The final weeks of the course were devoted to large-scale final projects where student teams monitored actual structures on the university campus. The course was assessed in comparison to two other courses offered concurrently: a graduate course in networking for ECPE/CS students and a mixed course in water resource engineering for civil engineering students. Assessment consisted of entrance and exit surveys combining Likert-scale questions, open-ended questions, and concepts maps. Additional assessment within the course included the submission of concept maps before and after each topic area. The assessment revealed key benefits and challenges for both faculty and students. All had difficulties translating knowledge and terminology outside of their discipline. The faculty found that providing breadth to all students introduced challenges to maintaining course flow and interest while providing sufficient depth to successfully complete projects. Team management and dynamics differed greatly from traditional project classes due to specialized skill requirements (no one student could completely implement any project), challenging the faculty to determine new models and the students to learn new skills. However, students appreciated the opportunity and uniformly identified multidisciplinary projects as interesting and useful. Overall, the course identified a need for increased multidisciplinary interactions in the graduate curriculum and suggested models for how that might be achieved.
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