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1. Home-based Cantilever Beam Experiment for Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

   Ikiriko, S. ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)

   null (Ed.)

   There is a growing concern in STEM fields during the ongoing pandemic about how students will be able to achieve one of the major learning outcomes; an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering/scientific judgement to draw conclusions. Experimental Centric Pedagogy (ECP) has been shown to promote motivation and achievement in electrical engineering among black students and students in general. This paper focuses on the development of a hands-on laboratory experiment for undergraduate students in the department of civil engineering using Mobile Hands-On Studio Technology to improve experiential learning. The home-based experiment focuses on the measurement of beam stresses resulting from weights applied to the free-end of the beam while being fixed at the other end. The beam is made up of an acrylic material and has dimensions of 1500 mm in length, 40 mm in width, and 3.175 mm in thickness. Data acquisition from strain gauges installed on the beams was made possible using ALICE Voltmeter which displays voltage readings upon beam displacement. The stress readings are then calibrated and transformed to strains based on hooke’s law relationship. Findings indicate good understanding of concepts, motivation and students learning experiences through teamwork and collaborative activities. and achievement of stated learning outcome. 

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2. Development and Implementation of Experiment Centric Active Learning Experiments/Activities in Transportation During the Pandemic and Beyond

   Owolabi, O. ; Chavis, C. ; Nwachukwu, N. ; James-Okeke, P. ; Ahangari, S. ; Shourabi, N. ; Freeman, M. ; Bello, M. ; Bista, K. ; Gaulee, U. ; et al ( January 2022 , Transportation Research Board 2022 Annual Meeting)

   The COVID-19 pandemic forced many colleges and universities to remain on a completely online or remote educational learning for more than a year; however, due to distraction, lack of motivation or engagement, and other internal/external pandemic contributing factors, learners could not pay attention 100% to the learning process. Additionally, given that transportation classes are very hands-on, students could not do the experiment from home due to limited resources available, thereby hampering all three phases of learner interactions. The limitation of the implementation of physical, hands-on laboratory exercises during the pandemic further exacerbated students’ actualization of the critical Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) outcomes in transportation: An ability to develop and conduct experiments or test hypotheses, analyze and interpret data and use scientific judgment to draw conclusions. Subsequently, this paper highlights the development and implementation of experiment centric pedagogy (ECP) home-based active learning experiments in three transportation courses: Introduction to Transportation Systems, Traffic Engineering, and Highway Engineering during the pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative student success key constructs data was collected in conjunction with the execution of classroom observation protocols that measure active learning in these transportation courses. The results reveal a significant difference between the pre, and post- tests of key constructs associated with student success, such as motivation, critical thinking, curiosity, collaboration, and metacognition. The results of the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) show more active student engagement when ECP is implemented. 

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3. Early lessons learned from pivoting an REU program to a virtual format

   Guessous, L. ( June 2022 , 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   Since the summer of 2006, the NSF-funded AERIM Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in the department of Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University has been offering rich research, professional development, networking and cohort-building experiences to undergraduate students in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. With a focus on hands-on automotive and energy research projects and a proximity to many automotive companies, the program has been successful at attracting a diverse group of students. In fact, a total of 104 students from 70 different universities have participated in the program over the past 15 years, with about 70% of the participants coming from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in engineering (women in particular). Most research projects have been team-based and have typically involved experimental and analytical work with perhaps a handful of numerical simulation-based projects over the years. Prior assessment has shown that students greatly valued and benefited from interacting with faculty mentors, industry professionals, industry tours, and each other. As a result of limitations placed on in-person meeting and on-campus activities impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the program had to pivot to a virtual format in the summer of 2021. This virtual format brought about several challenges and opportunities, which will be discussed in this paper. Despite the virtual format, the program was successful at attracting a diverse group of students in 2021. Twelve undergraduate students from eight different institutions took part remotely in the program and encompassed several time zones ranging from Eastern Standard Time to Alaska Standard Time. The 2021 cohort included seven women, three underrepresented minorities, and two students with a reported disability. Also noteworthy is the fact that half of the students were first generation in college students. While the PIs were happy with the student make up, running the program in a virtual format was very challenging. For one, what was traditionally a hands-on, experimental research program had to pivot to completely simulation/analytical based projects. This brought about issues related to remote access to software, time lags and difficulties with engaging students while computer simulations were running remotely. While the program was able to offer several seminars and meetings with industry professionals in a virtual fashion, it was not possible to provide industry tours or the casual conversations that would spontaneously occur when meeting face to face with industry professionals. Finally, with students logging in from their homes across the country and across different time zones rather than living together in the Oakland University dorms, the usual bonding and group interactions that would normally occur over the summer were difficult to replicate. In this paper we discuss what was learned from these challenges and how the virtual format also offered opportunities that will be utilized in future years. 

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4. Virtual Intensive Training for Experimental Centric Pedagogy Team Members: Effectiveness During COVID-19 Pandemic

   Owolabi, O. A. ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)

   null (Ed.)

   The COVID-19 pandemic grounded the implementation of many research projects. However, with the intervention of the NSF research grant awarded to a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), with a specific goal to increase students’ achievement in multiple STEM disciplines, the pandemic challenges provided opportunities to effectively achieve the project objectives. The Adapting an Experiment-centric Teaching Approach to Increase Student Achievement in Multiple STEM Disciplines (ETA-STEM) project aims to implement an evidence-based, experiment-focused teaching approach called Experimental Centric Pedagogy (ECP) in multiple STEM disciplines. The ECP has been shown to motivate students and increase the academic success of minority students in electrical engineering in various institutions. During the Summer of 2020, the ETA-STEM Trainees engaged in research activities to develop three instruments in their respective disciplines. This paper highlights the strategic planning of the project management team, the implementation of the ECP, a comprehensive breakdown of activities and an evaluation of effectiveness of the virtual training. The 13-week intensive virtual training using Canvas learning management system and zoom virtual platform provided the opportunity to effectively interact and collaborate with project team members. Some of the summer training activities and topics included: instrumentation and measurements in STEM fields, sensors and signal conditioning, assessing the performance of instruments and sensors, effective library and literature search, introduction to education research, writing excellent scientific papers, as well as the implementation and development of ECP curriculum with focus on home-based experiment. Prior to the training, ECP kits were shipped to the team and facilitators fully utilized the virtual platform to collaborate with team members. Overall, there was a great satisfaction and confidence with the participants designing three home-based experiments using the M1K and M2K analog devices. 

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5. Global Impact of Experiment-centric Pedagogy and Home-based, Hands-on Learning Workshop at a Historically Black University

   Owolabi, O. A. ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)

   null (Ed.)

   With support from the National Science Foundation, an evidence-based experimental centric pedagogy (ECP) is being implemented across STEM disciplines at an historically black university. This is the first of its kind, where the ECP is being extended to several STEM disciplines after its successful implementation in electrical engineering to promote motivation and enhance academic achievement of minority students. One of the project objectives is to organize workshops whereby STEM faculty in biology, chemistry, physics, civil engineering, computer science, industrial engineering and transportation systems will learn how to develop and implement ECP as an active learning pedagogy. This paper highlights the strategies used for planning, publicity, implementation, and assessment of the workshop conducted in Summer 2020. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the workshop was held virtually with 360 participants registering globally. The workshop’s focus was developing and implementing inexpensive home-based hands-on learning activities. Workshop assessment revealed that participants expressed positive outcomes, 84% reported that they believe the workshop was a good use of their time and 83% said they plan to implement what they had learned at the workshop in their own practice, affording the participants more opportunities to include home-based hands-on learning in their curriculum. This project seeks not only to increase public scientific literacy, but to also contribute to the development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce. 

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