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This article is an extension of a work in progress paper originally presented at the conference FiE 2020, Frontiers in Education by (Schirichian et al., 2020), as a result of Schirichian’s master’s in science dissertation. It studies the relations between academic performance, protection factors, life at university, and personal characteristics to understand how they influence students’ academic success in undergraduate engineering programs in Brazil. In this challenging environment, several students overcome these issues and graduate, which indicates that some protection structures allow students to face challenging situations and be successful in their studies. Current research studied the relationships between academic performance, self-efficacy, causal attributions, personal characteristics, and life at university, with a group of 30 students. Models were studied by combining the different variables and aspects evaluated in the research, and the findings show relationship between academic performance and: 1) self-efficacy, causal attributions, and personal characteristics (such as leisure activities, living with their parents, or college accommodations) and those who attended private schools during basic education; 2 protection factors self-efficacy and causal attributions with advancing in the program and the time of enrolment in the university; and 3) the dimensions initiation and persistence, success/internality and failure/internality, indicating that those who perceive themselves as playing a major role in their academic journey tend to have better outcomes. Further results show the influence of social inequalities, particularly for those students who declared themselves brown and who conducted their basic education in public schools (which are generally of lower quality than private ones in Brazil). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: This paper introduces the real-world limitations and non-technical aspects of power electronics (PEs) projects to students through innovative tutorial activities. Background: Many electrical engineering curricula offer a PE courses (PECs) for third- or fourth-year undergraduate students. Prior research on PEs education mainly focused on improving students’ experimental skills through developing practical experiments, laboratory activities, and problem/project-based learning. An instructional approach that instead employs real-world knowledge and skills is worth evaluating. Intended Outcomes: Students should be able to consider real-world technical and non-technical limitations when applying theory to design PE circuits and converters, and be able to select and carry out appropriate tests to troubleshoot circuits. Application Design: Prior research on engineering education emphasized the importance of introducing real-world limitations to the students as part of their curriculum. This paper suggests that the tutorial activities presented in a PEC can help students acquire skills in designing and troubleshooting a circuit or system according to desired technical aspects, real-world limitations, and available data. Findings: Evidence of the validity of this approach in a PEC at two Australian universities, over four academic years, is provided. Students receiving the new tutorial activities had percentage scores some 10–15 points higher than those who had traditional tutorials. Another evaluation reveals the students’ vibrant participation in the activities during the new tutorial sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: This paper contributes to the literature by confirming the existence, in gender and socio-economic diversified higher educational environments, of differential evaluation ratings given by students to their teachers. Background: Women and low socio-economic classes have historically been under-represented, both as students and teachers. Various policies and measures are being put in place internationally to raise their standing, equity, and success as they progress in their careers. To be effective, the after effects of these policies must be investigated and understood. Research Questions: This paper addressed the question of whether gender and socio-economic differences, in both teachers and students, affect students’ opinion of their teachers in higher education, across a number of disciplines. Methodology: The research analyzed the differentials in students’ ratings of their teachers in five disciplines in the field of education. Data was drawn from student responses to the surveys conducted in a large Indian university at the end of each course unit. The survey questions elicit their perceptions of teaching quality in the disciplines of civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer science engineering, mathematics, humanities and social sciences. This paper analyzes 112 919 and 16 354 complete sets of student ratings, to study the gender and socio-economic diversity based effects respectively. Statistical multivariate and univariate general linear models were used to derive the relevant results and graphs. Findings: The study reveals the existence of socio-economic status bias, gender-typical behavior, gender-atypical behavior, and same-gender and cross-gender biases; these resulted in differential ratings in the disciplines examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: This paper provides evidence for the benefits of pair programming early in the curriculum on student performance later in the curriculum. It also confirms the short term benefits of partnerships at scale. Background: Engineers often work in teams, both in industry and in academia. Previous work has shown that partnered programming yields higher student performance during the course in which students partner. Research Questions: This paper investigates the long term effects of early curriculum pair programming on student performance in a following course. Specifically, do student partnerships impact long-term student performance in a later course? Are previously observed effects of partner programming robust to a larger sample size? Methodology: This quantitative analysis examines 2468 students in an introductory computer science sequence at a large, public research institution. The data set comprises two academic years and includes partnership participation, project and exam scores, withdraw rates, time between courses, GPA, and gender. Findings: A positive relationship is observed between partnering in an introductory course, and higher project scores in a future course, where all students worked alone ( $N = 1003$ ). Students with the lowest GPAs experienced the greatest benefits. Additionally, results with a large population of students confirm the observations of previous research, showing that partnerships are associated with an overall positive grade impact during the course in which the partnership takes place ( $N = 2468$ ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering education is undergoing a restructuring driven by the needs of an increasingly multidisciplinary engineering profession. At the same time, power systems are transitioning toward future smart grids that will require power engineers with skills outside of the core power engineering domain. Since including new topics in the existing curriculum while maintaining the existing requirements is difficult, this paper proposes a project-based cooperative learning approach to promote soft skills in an engineering course. This paper then shows how to construct a realistic open-ended multidisciplinary problem whose solution requires a wide range of skills, which is not a trivial task. The design and technoeconomic viability assessment of a small-scale photovoltaic battery system is used as a case study. The effectiveness of the approach and students’ satisfaction were assessed over two years. Survey results after the first year revealed that the students did not feel sufficiently prepared for multidisciplinary work. After appropriate adjustments in the second year, the survey results improved noticeably. Statistical analysis reveals that the project teaches skills that are complementary to the core domain skills, which confirms the validity of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a study of teaching a programming language in a C programming course by having students assemble and program a low-cost mobile robot. Writing their own programs to define the robot’s behavior raised students’ motivation. Working in small groups, students programmed the robots by using the control structures of structured programming. Over the course, there was a significant improvement in students’ academic performance and motivation. The approach took into account four of the motivational factors that feature in the ARCS model: 1) attention; 2) relevance; 3) confidence; and 4) satisfaction. The main achievements of the approach were to be able to: 1) catch and hold students’ attention throughout the course; 2) increase students’ confidence in the learning process; 3) achieve a high student satisfaction level with their acquired skills; and 4) demonstrate to students the practical usefulness of the knowledge they had learned. This paper also determines the extent to which this strategy was effective in meeting the teaching goals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Contribution: This paper adds to existing literature on teaching basic concepts of electricity using computer-based instruction; findings suggest that students can develop an accurate understanding of electric circuits when they generate multiple and complementary representations that build toward computational models. Background: Several studies have explored the efficacy of computer-based, multi-representational teaching of electric circuits for novice learners. Existing research has found that instructional use of computational models that move from abstract to concrete representations can foster students’ comprehension of electric circuit concepts, but other features of effective instruction using computational models need further investigation. Research Questions: 1) Is there a correlation between students’ representational fluency and their ability to reason qualitatively on electric circuits? and 2) Is the quality of student-generated computational representations correlated to their conceptual understanding of electric circuits? Methodology: The study comprised two cases in which 51 sophomore-engineering students completed a voluntary assignment designed to assess their representational fluency and conceptual understanding of electric circuits. Qualitative insights from the first case informed the design of a scoring rubric that served as both the assessment and the data collection instrument. Findings: The results suggest that a multi-representational approach aimed at the construction of computational models can foster conceptual understanding of electric circuits. The number and quality of students’ representations showed a positive correlation with their conceptual understanding. In particular, the quality of the computational representations was found to be highly, and significantly, correlated with the correctness of students’ answers to qualitative reasoning questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: This paper shows how significantly computer science instructors can disagree when grading code writing questions in introductory computer science (CS1) exams. Certain solutions are considered “very good” by some instructors and “very bad” by others. The study identifies four factors as possible contributors to such differences between graders: 1) disagreement on the role of syntax in CS1; 2) absence of objective measures for the seriousness of logic errors; 3) variance in how rubrics are constructed; and 4) the use of subjective judgement while grading. Background: Code writing questions are widely used in CS1 exams. Understanding differences in how graders approach such questions can help the CS education community become more informed about how to design valid assessments for summative and formative purposes. Research Questions: Do graders differ significantly in how they score student programs? What are the main factors to which differences between graders could be attributed? Methodology: A number of CS1 instructors and TAs were asked to score pieces of code resembling student solutions to CS1 exam questions, and were asked to answer open ended questions on how they approach grading in CS1 exams. Responses were then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Findings: There is no consensus on how code writing questions in CS1 exams should be graded. Differences in opinion on how many points to award can be very significant, even for very simple programs and between graders in the same institution. Some graders assign grades that do not necessarily agree with how many points they believe the student solution is worth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes lab work for learning fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) in mechatronic systems. These skills are important for engineering education because FDD is a key capability of competitive processes and products. The intended outcome of the lab work is that students become aware of the importance of faulty conditions and learn to design FDD strategies for a real system. To this end, the paper proposes a lab project where students are requested to develop a discrete event dynamic system (DEDS) diagnosis to cope with two faulty conditions in an autonomous mobile robot task. A sample solution is discussed for LEGO Mindstorms NXT robots with LabVIEW. This innovative practice is relevant to higher education engineering courses related to mechatronics, robotics, or DEDS. Results are also given of the application of this strategy as part of a postgraduate course on fault-tolerant mechatronic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: This paper brings forward a paradigm shift in microelectronic and nanoelectronic engineering education. Background: An increasing number of universities are offering graduate-level electrical engineering degree programs with multi-disciplinary Master’s-level specialization in microelectronics or nanoelectronics. The paradigm shift from electrical engineering to microelectronics graduate education has been slow, but the technology has now advanced to the point where industry is relying on cyber-physical connectivity, thus providing an opportunity for engineering education to utilize this capability. Research Questions: How are methods deployed when teaching traditional electrical engineering degrees still applicable in microelectronics education, and how are globally ranked institution shifting their online teaching and learning pedagogies for this? Methodology: A survey is presented of current trends in Master’s degree programs in microelectronics and related fields, and in electrical engineering degree programs with specialization in microelectronics. The review reveals how Quacquarelli Symonds’ top-ranked world universities, and other global universities with established micro- and nanoelectronic degrees, are selecting modules for their curricula and curricula content in attempts to attract and develop engineering students to this specialized field. Findings: The current global trend toward microelectronic education is following a part-coursework, part-dissertation Master’s degree model, consisting of several core modules, several electives, a research proposal writing module and a mini-dissertation. Furthermore, following industrial trends, there is a clear shift toward the “fabless” or cyber-physical approach and outsourced manufacturing, with technology-led teaching mediating the possibility of completing both theoretical and laboratory components using online resources and interactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of any robotic system requires input from engineers from a variety of technical fields. This paper describes a project-based module, Biologically-Inspired Robotics, that is offered to Electronics and Computer Science students at the University of Southampton, U.K. The overall objective of the module is for student groups to investigate the interface between robotics and biology and develop a system (either hardware or software) to illustrate biological principles. This paper discusses the details of the implementation and delivery of the module, together with evaluation feedback. A number of the robotic systems developed by project groups are presented in order to illustrate the diversity and quality of the systems that have been developed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Keeping up with novel methods and keeping abreast of new applications are crucial issues in engineering education. In brain research, one of the most significant research areas in recent decades, many developments have application in both modern engineering technology and education. New measurement methods in the observation of brain activity open a new frontier in engineering applications. Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain activity observation processes are very promising and have been used in several engineering studies, primarily for the implementation of control tasks. This paper presents the development, implementation, and assessment of an EEG-based engineering education project, in which engineering students applied the theory they had learned and improved their knowledge and skills in the area of observation and evaluation of electrical signals generated by brain activity and measured by biosensors. The main project goal was to develop and test a brain–computer interface that is able to measure the average attention level. The effectiveness of this project-based learning was evaluated by student questionnaire responses and analysis of students' exam results; students who had participated in the project were shown to have higher levels of acquired knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of using project-based learning (PBL) combined with collaborative learning (CL) and industry best practices, integrated with information communication technologies, open-source software, and open-source hardware tools, in a specialized microcontroller and embedded systems engineering Master's course. In addition to addressing industry requirements in both contents and methodology, the course develops capabilities and competencies in problem solving, independent learning, teamwork, and technical knowledge. Since PBL methodology alone does not ensure teamwork, it was complemented with CL. Design review meetings (as described in IEC 61160), deliverables, and organizational resources were also introduced to mirror industry demands. This structure integrated course content and student academic achievement in a simulated industrial environment. The course had students build a modular management system for home appliances, implementing control software on the “Arduino” open-source platform, as well as using wireless communications. The results show that teaching, learning, and student assessment processes can be improved by using PBL with CL. In addition, the introduction of industry practices, such us peer review meetings, brings academia closer to a real-world context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topics of computer architecture are always taught using an Assembly dialect as an example. The most commonly used textbooks in this field use the MIPS64 Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) to help students in learning the fundamentals of computer architecture because of its orthogonality and its suitability for real-world applications. This paper shows how to use the EduMIPS64 visual CPU Simulator as a supporting tool for teaching the standard topics covered by an undergraduate course in computer architecture. The proposed approach is first compared to other similar works in the field, then after a short description of the simulator, the paper focuses on how it can be used for teaching specific topics in an undergraduate computer architecture course. This discussion is then followed by a quantitative assessment of the suitability of the simulator by means of a survey compiled by students themselves; the results show that EduMIPS64 is suitable for the purpose for which it was built—that is, supporting the learning process of computer architecture topics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes how the use of free and open-source software (FOSS) can facilitate the application of constructive alignment theory in power systems engineering education by enabling the deep learning approach in power system analysis courses. With this aim, this paper describes the authors' approach in using the Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) for undergraduate and graduate education. Interviews with former students reveal the positive impact that the use of FOSS in general, and PSAT in particular, had on their learning and how it has influenced their professional life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After 10 years of organizing the Cybertech robotics competition, this paper presents this unique and innovative educational experience of teaching engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain. Cybertech is not only a well-known robotic contest in Spain due to the Robotaurus bullfighting, but is also a whole academic activity spanning theory, laboratory practical lessons, seminars, tutoring, and a spectacular contest in which robots, developed by the students, compete. It is an open activity, for all students and grades, requiring knowledge of various subjects such as mechanics, microcontrollers, control, and electronics. The experience acquired has shown how this novel educational approach can boost the motivation of students, who in a real applied project effectively learn not only the particular subject matter, but also skills in teamwork, oral presentations, budget management, and so on. This is considered the flagship of innovation in education at UPM. This paper describes the evolution of Cybertech over the past 10 years, summarizes the educational experience, and provides some statistics and results as well as a perspective for future editions of the competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) provides huge opportunities for online teaching in science and engineering, as these disciplines place emphasis on practical training and unsuited to completely nonclassroom training. This paper proposes a new concept in virtual and remote laboratories: the augmented remote laboratory (ARL). ARL is being tested in the first and second years of the new degrees in industrial engineering and computer engineering, respectively, at the School of Engineering, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain. By means of augmented reality techniques, ARL allows the student to experience sensations and explore learning experiences that, in some cases, may exceed those offered by traditional laboratory classes. The effectiveness of this methodology for remote laboratory work is evaluated by comparing it to practical sessions in the laboratory at the university itself with the same group of students. Students completed a questionnaire after having experienced both types of practicals, and the results show that the use of ARL improves student outcomes. As discussed in the paper, the potential of AR to configure different experiments from the same physical configuration is virtually limitless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues the case for emulation-based virtual laboratories in control engineering education. It demonstrates that such emulation experiments can give students an industrially relevant educational experience at relatively low cost. The paper also describes a particular emulation-based system that has been developed with the aim of giving students an introduction to real-world control engineering design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an educational program. Engineering the Future (EtF) sought to promote a permanent, informed awareness within the school community of high-level engineering by embedding key aspects of engineering within the education curriculum. The Scottish education system is used for a case study in which a range of pilot high schools worked in close partnership with two university engineering departments. The study focuses on electronic/electrical engineering (EEE), a technically challenging area, which reflects many of the problems that are intrinsic to modern society. In so doing, the work also sought to support and refine the transition from the school environment to higher education engineering courses. EtF is founded on research into transformational change and describes the findings of a three-year program that sought to develop sustainable and transferable means of encouraging school students to study engineering at university. The authors describe the conditions needed to support sustainable developments. They also provide an analysis of inevitable constraints and suggest strategies to address these issues. The paper concludes that sustainable long-term promotion of engineering within schools to support the transition to university is possible if certain conditions are fulfilled. These conditions include the use of a model that facilitates partnerships among researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners in all sectors. Building such essential linkages is often challenging, but this effort is necessary if changes in engineering education are to be realized and sustained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The course "Materials in Electrical Engineering" is a core course in the Mechatronics curriculum at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia. In the past, this course was comprehensive and mainly theory-based. Teaching methods used in this course had not been changed for many years, and were mainly based on a traditional approach. They were therefore often outdated, and boring for students. In addition, the lack of modern materials characterization equipment was a significant weakness of the course in its early stages. This paper presents the main aspects of the modified course, which features a greater inclusion of modern equipment in its teaching methodology; in particular it produces the Hall effect measurement system as an indispensable characterization technique in education, research and in the semiconductor industry. This paper also describes how students can be taught to use the Hall effect measurement system to determine the structural and electrical characteristics of different materials. Finally, students' feedback and observations on the modified course and the applied teaching methodology are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) case study in engineering education carried out within the context of a network management course. The case study shows that the use of two computing tools developed by the authors and based on free- and open-source software (FOSS) provide significant educational benefits over traditional engineering pedagogical approaches in terms of both concepts and engineering competencies acquisition. The Collage authoring tool guides and supports the course teacher in the process of authoring computer-interpretable representations (using the IMS Learning Design standard notation) of effective collaborative pedagogical designs. Besides, the Gridcole system supports the enactment of that design by guiding the students throughout the prescribed sequence of learning activities. The paper introduces the goals and context of the case study, elaborates on how Collage and Gridcole were employed, describes the applied evaluation methodology, and discusses the most significant findings derived from the case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an efficient method of teaching impulse voltage testing of power transformers to undergraduate students of power system groups in electrical engineering departments, as a part of a high-voltage course for senior undergraduate students. The paper shows how to simulate the power transformer and impulse generator to teach students the basics of impulse voltage testing of power transformers and to practice analyzing the test results. In the first part of the paper, the effect of wave shaping of the voltage waveform is simulated to teach the behavior of the impulse generator, and in the second part, impulse voltage testing of a transformer is simulated. Evaluation of the simulation over several semesters with more than 80 students is very positive in terms of their developing confidence in an understanding of this test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development, implementation, and assessment of a project-based Bioinstrumentation course. All course lectures and hands-on laboratory activities are related to a central project theme: a cardiac pacemaker. The students create a benchtop cardiac pacemaker by applying instrumentation knowledge acquired in the course to each stage of device development. This approach emphasizes both conceptual and practical student learning: The students must apply theory learned in the course to create their devices. Indirect and direct assessment performed with respect to the major course objective demonstrated that course participants were able to successfully design, construct, and test a bioinstrumentation system. The students perceived a marked increase in their instrumentation knowledge, objectively corroborated by their performance on specific exercises related to the creation of their benchtop pacemakers. The outcomes of the course development presented here, along with the course structure and pedagogical methodology, may enhance engineering education by acting as a guideline for the creation of courses in which a central project theme is used as a platform for concept instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a network security laboratory project for teaching network traffic anomaly detection methods to electrical engineering students. The project design follows a research-oriented teaching principle, enabling students to make their own discoveries in real network traffic, using data captured from a large IP darkspace monitor operated at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Although darkspace traffic does not include bidirectional conversations (only attempts to initiate them), it contains traffic related to or actually perpetrating a variety of network attacks originating from millions of Internet addresses around the world. This breadth of coverage makes this darkspace data an excellent choice for a hands-on study of Internet attack detection techniques. In addition, darkspace data is less privacy-critical than other network traces, because it contains only unwanted network traffic and no legitimate communication. In the lab exercises presented, students learn about network security challenges, search for suspicious anomalies in network traffic, and gain experience in presenting and interpreting their own findings. They acquire not only security-specific technical skills but also general knowledge in statistical data analysis and data mining techniques. They are also encouraged to discover new phenomena in the data, which helps to ignite their general interest in science and engineering research. The Vienna University of Technology, Austria, first implemented this laboratory during the summer semester 2014, with a class of 41 students. With the help of the Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA) at UCSD, all exercises and IP darkspace data are publicly available. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes the experiences of using an advanced, low-cost robot in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. It presents three innovations: It is a powerful, cheap, robust, and small advanced personal robot; it forms the foundation of a problem-based learning curriculum; and it enables a novel multi-robot curriculum while fostering collaborative team work on assignments. The robot design has many features specific to educators: It is advanced enough for academic research, has a broad feature set to support a wide range of curricula, and is inexpensive enough to be an effective outreach tool. The low cost allows each student to have their own robot for the semester, so they can work on activities outside the classroom. This robot was used in three different classes in which it was the foundation for an innovative problem-based learning curriculum. In particular, the robot has specialized sensors and a communications system that supports novel multi-robot curricula, which encourage student interaction in new ways. The results are promising; the robot was a big success in graduate, undergraduate, and outreach activities. Finally, student assessments indicate a greater interest and understanding of engineering and other STEM majors, and class evaluations were consistently above average. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The interdisciplinary nature of robotics allows mobile robots to be used successfully in a broad range of courses at the postgraduate level and in Ph.D. research. Practical industrial-like mobile robotic demonstrations encourage students and increase their motivation by providing them with learning benefits not achieved with traditional educational robotic platforms. This paper presents VEGO, an industrial-like modular vehicle platform for robotic education with an appropriate infrastructure that has been demonstrated to be very useful at the postgraduate level. Besides learning engineering concepts, in performing industrial-like exercises, students develop valuable skills such as teamwork and the capacity to solve problems similar to those they may encounter in a real industrial environment. The developed infrastructure represents a valuable platform for robotic education that can be used in many different disciplines as a way to demonstrate how to cope with the difficulties and challenges related to the development of industrial infrastructure systems. The platform evaluation proved its ability to inculcate the expected engineering skills. A novel approach is adopted through the use of multidisciplinary and close-to-industrial-reality platforms developed under an incremental approach and using an open and customizable structure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Project-based learning (PBL), a learning environment in which projects drive learning, has been successfully used in various courses in the educational programs of different disciplines. However, concerns have been raised as to the breadth of the content covered and, in particular, whether PBL can be applied to specialized subjects without compromising the coverage of the required technical content. This paper discusses the advantages and drawbacks of using the PBL methodology in teaching specialized subjects in electrical power engineering, based on the authors' reflections and student feedback. The design and delivery of a PBL-based course in power system modeling and analysis is used as an example. It is asserted that proper usage of PBL makes it possible to deliver both technical content and generic professional skills in a specialized course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As embedded software systems have grown in number, complexity, and importance in the modern world, a corresponding need to teach computer science students how to effectively engineer such systems has arisen. Embedded software systems, such as those that control cell phones, aircraft, and medical equipment, are subject to requirements and constraints that are significantly different from those encountered in the standard desktop computing environment. For example, embedded systems must frequently address challenges that arise from severe resource restrictions (e.g., low memory and network bandwidth), heterogeneous hardware platforms, and safety-critical operations. Software architecture has been shown to be an effective means for coping with such issues, yet traditional courses on embedded software development rarely focus on software architectural abstractions. Instead, they have concentrated on lower-level issues such as programming languages and hardware interfaces. Since 2005 at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, a unique course has been developed that affords students the opportunity to gain experience and insights on developing software architectures for embedded systems. At the heart of the course is a middleware platform, Prism-MW, that helps students use software architectural principles to construct embedded systems and understand the important challenges of the embedded systems domain. This paper describes this course through the explanation and evaluation of four years of class projects, weaving together the course, the middleware platform, and the relationship of each to three key pedagogical goals that drove the formulation of the course curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many undergraduate-level electrical machines textbooks give detailed treatments of the performance of induction motors. Students can deepen this understanding of motor performance by performing the appropriate practical work in laboratories or in simulation using proper software packages. This paper considers various common and less-common tests for induction motors performance analysis, and their simulations using MATLAB/Simulink. These tests are the no-load test, the locked-rotor test, and the load test, as well as two new tests introduced to determine breakdown and starting torques. A saturable model allows magnetic saturation effects to be simulated, which helps students to recognize the importance of saturation impact upon induction motor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Servomotors are widely used in computerized numerically controlled (CNC) machines, hence motion control is a major topic covered in undergraduate/graduate engineering courses. Despite the fact that several syllabi include the motion dynamics topic in their courses, there are neither suitable tools available for designing and simulating multi-axis motion control nor an efficient link between theory and practice. This paper proposes an educational, open-source tool for teaching motion dynamics in multi-axis servomotor control. The tool allows students to generate multi-axis motion and export these movements for their application to a CNC machine. A simulation module is embedded for evaluating the controller performance. The proposed educational tool allows the use of the inductive pedagogic method to support student learning. Eleven lab practicals are described to show how the proposed tool can be utilized for the systematic teaching of motion dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a significant advance in a reactive blended learning methodology applied to an introductory control engineering course. This proposal was based on the inclusion of a reactive element (a fuzzy-logic-based controller) designed to regulate the workload for each student according to his/her activity and performance. The contribution of this proposal stands on the inclusion of elements related to motivational factors in the students. Student motivation has been widely identified as a key factor for the academic success of every teaching–learning activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the growing industrial demand for light-emitting diode (LED) design professionals, based on industry–university collaboration in Taiwan, this paper develops a novel instructional approach: a simulation-based learning course with peer assessment to develop students' professional skills in LED design as required by industry as well as to enhance cognition and metacognition in students in higher education. The simulation-based learning course enables students to understand the influences on LED performance of the variation of different parameters and to seek the best design through comparing the effectiveness of different combinations of parameters. The evaluation results of pre- and post-test knowledge maps and a photonics scoreboard indicate that this project-based instruction may help students understand the operating principles of LEDs and enhance their skill in LED design. The Constructivist Project-based Learning Environment Survey is adopted to demonstrate that the proposed project-based learning environment is beneficial in cultivating student inquiry learning, reflective thinking, teamwork, and skills in creative problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing search for excellence in education requires the review and renewal of teaching strategies, concentrating efforts on courses that are not attractive to students or are considered to be unsuccessful. This paper is focused on an undergraduate power electronics course in which students had poor academic results in the past. The actions taken to improve the situation over the last several academic years are described, and an exhaustive analysis is presented of the results achieved, based on student statistics and surveys. The teaching experience is presented so as to offer some useful tips for educators wanting to improve courses of similar characteristics in a cost-effective and efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the structure and the underlying rationale of a new course dedicated to capability maturity model integration (CMMI)-directed design of wireless sensor networks (WSNs)-based biomedical applications that stresses: 1) engineering-, medico-engineering-, and informatics-related issues; 2) design for general- and special-purpose systems; and 3) the creation of synergistic effects that enable formation of entrepreneurial multidisciplinary teams able to organize and implement the development of these health-related pervasive computing applications. Formal education so far still focuses on treating only strictly separated and specialized topic areas. However, as the need for cooperation and mutual learning between students oriented toward different fields grows, the need for a multidisciplinary educational approach becomes more and more important. For a technical education to be complete, it is no longer enough to train scientists and engineers solely in technical areas. In development and implementation of technology-driven applications, multidisciplinary issues should be properly addressed in the academic sense. The interdisciplinary understanding and synergy achieved are tested through examinations and workshops. The transdisciplinary knowledge improvement is also statistically evaluated, using a system of metrics developed experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes lab work and student competitions based on the LEGO NXT Mindstorms kits and standard LabVIEW. The goal of this combination is to stimulate design and experimentation with real hardware and representative software in courses where mobile robotics is adopted as a motivating platform to introduce mechatronics competencies. Basic LabVIEW examples are proposed for three case-study laboratory practices. These are implemented with the NXT Toolkit and the NXT Direct Command programming libraries for standalone and remote execution, respectively. The application of this instructional material has been tested in two different experiences with senior undergraduate engineering students. A description of the courses as well as an assessment of student results are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If we aim to enhance the interest of students in engineering and therefore produce the best engineers, it is essential to strengthen the pipeline to high school education. This paper discusses several outreach activities undertaken by the Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa (UO), Ottawa, ON, Canada, to help the transition between high school and engineering education and to make students aware of the engineering profession. At the heart of these activities is mechatronics education, which demands an interdisciplinary approach, connects to fundamental math and science concepts, and promotes collaborative project-based learning (PBL). Connected to this focus, a multifaceted program of outreach activities has been initiated. The program includes creation of design-simulate-and-build projects by engineering and high school students, as well as an interactive presentation program whereby engineering students connect with high school students through the sharing of projects that they create in their engineering courses. The survey results indicate that for the high school students, these programs promote students' awareness of engineering and how the mathematics and science they take in school connects to engineering concepts. For the engineering students, they are provided with a meaningful context within which to share their projects and explain their own understanding of engineering principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a multifaceted approach in electrical engineering outreach focused on the area of semiconductor technology. The activities developed can be used in combination for a very wide range of audiences in both age and stage of education, as has been demonstrated with great success. Moreover, the project has developed cross-disciplinary activities designed to engage nonscientific audiences and has used entirely nonscientific venues, such as art galleries. The suite of activities, given the umbrella title Chips for Everyone, includes: Chips for Everyone: drop-in activities for fairs, shows, shopping centers; Chips with Relish: interactive workshops for groups of school pupils; Chips with Flair: an arts-science collaboration in music, art, video, and engineering to present a new perspective on semiconductor technology. To achieve this diverse mix of outreach activities, the Chips for Everyone team represents a very broad spectrum of skills, its members being engineering academics, musicians, artists, education academics, public engagement specialists, and student teachers in technology. The development process is quite generic and could be applied in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. The subject focus of the project is semiconductor technology, a technology that influences the daily lives of everyone and yet is largely invisible. The activities seek to engage, engender interest, and promote informed discussion about this technology and engineering in general. From modest beginnings as a filler during the setting up of another outreach program, Chips for Everyone has developed into a major program reaching over 25 000 young people and families in school workshops, shopping centers, and art exhibitions in Scotland and across the U.K. The development method for the activities is innovative and creative, using the complimentary skills of research academics and students in both electronic engineering and technology initial teacher education (ITE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering education benefits from the knowledge and experience of topic "experts" both in the technical perspective of understanding the material and the educational perspective of understanding the challenges that students commonly encounter in learning a topic. Classically, these experts have published material as textbooks and perhaps web pages. Through distance learning, these experts can interact with students and instructors beyond the normal confines of a classroom or campus. Classroom-based, distance learning does not provide personalized, individual interaction outside the classroom setting. This situation can be critical in the context of courses with laboratory content. In this paper, the authors discuss how individualized interactions across a wide range of educators and learners can be supported. This support is facilitated by the deployment of telecollaboration stations (TCS). The evolution and use of these stations are described, as are some of the challenges and educational benefits that result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at changes in the education of engineers made necessary by unprecedented challenges within the semiconductor industry, from the perspective of a no-for-profit consortium of semiconductor manufacturers. To design and implement curricula to serve as a basis for the 40-year career of engineering graduates is a daunting challenge in this rapidly evolving environment. The authors propose ten principles that should be of use in connecting the graduates of today with the engineering careers of tomorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the authors discuss the anticipated curriculum of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) programs in the year 2013 and beyond for a prototypical metropolitan public research university. Assumptions are made regarding the evolution of the relevant technology addressed by the curriculum, the nature of metropolitan public universities in the next decade, and the nature of the learning environment, technology, and educational focus based on present trends. A 128-credit-hour curriculum is proposed that addresses these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most pressing and critical needs for engineering graduates in 2013 and beyond are to be natural innovators who are able to integrate their knowledge to solve complex engineering problems. This paper introduces an integrated platform for learning™ as a solution to meet these needs. The platform for learning provides an environment for innovation, while integrating a curriculum into a coherent whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering schools are struggling to maintain or increase the number of engineering students. Most attempted solutions focus on better marketing and publicity of the engineering field to K-12 students. How- ever, a large population of K-12 home-schooled students remains relatively untapped. This paper provides background information about the home- school population and their academic performance. The methods that universities and engineering schools can use to recruit home-schooled students are provided in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]