Title: Developing Stackable Environmental Science and Hydrology Coursework and Credentials for Technicians, Scientists, and Professional Land Surveyors
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a three-year, $609,739 grant (#1700568) to the University of North Georgia’s Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis (IESA) for a project entitled, "Applying Geospatial and Engineering Technology (AGET). A goal of the project was to meet the demand for highly skilled and educated technicians in the burgeoning field of geospatial and environmental technologies to prepare them for careers in fields such as hydrology, land-use planning, flood-plain mapping, environmental protection, land surveying, precision farming and water resource management. Courses developed led to a new associate of science degree in Environmental, Earth & World Studies, Spatial Science & Engineering plus an undergraduate Land Surveying Certificate. Associated courses build progressive steps in understanding engineering, hydrology, CAD, surveying, GST and applied environmental skills via directed emphasis areas for specific science and engineering careers. These stackable courses and credentials may also articulate with baccalaureate programs to meet workforce needs at multiple levels. Courses developed included Physical Environmental Science, Environmental Management & Sustainability, Surveying I and II, Legal Aspects of Surveying, and Professional Practice of Surveying. In addition to introductory hydrologic concepts in these courses, a newly planned undergraduate certificate in hydrology is planned to meet workforce requirements or licensing benchmarks for environmental scientists and professional land surveyors. more »« less
Turk, J.; Panda, S.; Ignatius, A.; Sun, Y.; Miller, Z.
(, 2019 ATE Principal Investigators' Conference)
null
(Ed.)
The session will share the University of North Georgia’s Applying Geospatial and Engineering Technology (AGET) project experiences and developments associated with modular and stackable credentials in land surveying and geospatial engineering technology. The project developed and implemented a new Land Surveying Certificate and Associate of Science pathway in Geospatial Engineering Technology containing several tracks with modular and stackable credentialing options for students.
Turk, J.; Sun, Y.; Panda, S.; Ignatius, A.; Urbach, B.
(, 2020 ATE Principal Investigators' Conference, A Virtual Event)
null
(Ed.)
The AGET project's goal is to improve the education of undergraduate technicians at UNG. Curriculum development, workforce development, and dissemination objectives were accomplished. An associate degree and certificate program in geospatial engineering technology (GET) were developed. An executive advisory board was formed with the support of local industry and government to support graduating students' transition to the workforce. Practicum development and presentation to local schools advanced GET knowledge and recruitment. An external evaluation supported and guided the project's success.
The importance of authenticity has been examined in various aspects of education; this is especially true in the area of engineering education where most graduates will matriculate to industry. However, the importance of applied and authentic examples could be even more critical in workforce development programs. In these cases, students are often enrolled with a goal of using their acquired knowledge to advance their career or move into a new role. Purely theoretical or stylized examples would not be aligned with the educational goals of these students. As part of a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant, a certificate program in high value manufacturing (HVM) has been developed. The certificate program is a collaboration between a research intensive four-year institution and an urban community college. In this certificate program students will be taking courses in manufacturing processes, design, and other business-related subjects that are pertinent to the manufacture of low volume components that have high materials costs, stringent quality requirements, and critical project timelines. This unique content area requires example that comprise these pertinent aspects of HVM. This is particularly true of the five newly developed courses covering materials, project management, quality, logistics, and computer-aided design. While the analogous courses at a four-year degree granting institution would likely use stylized examples in these courses, this would not be preferable in an applied certificate program. This work discusses the acquisition and refinement of authentic and applied examples that are applicable to the HVM environment. Specifically, the use of industry contacts and the translation of examples into useable and appropriate examples are examined. These examples are detailed and compared to traditional stylized academic content. A methodology for examining student perceptions of these examples is also proposed. A discussion of the importance of authenticity in applied certificate programs is also presented.
Brunhaver, Samantha; Bekki, J.; Lee, E.; Kittur, J.
(, International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge)
This poster will report on the research design and methodology planned for a recently funded National Science Foundation-sponsored project focused on advancing knowledge about the factors that influence the decisions of undergraduate engineering student to complete (rather than drop out of) online courses. Through the application of both social science and learner analytics-based research methods, the research will explore how students’ perceptions about the characteristics of their online undergraduate engineering courses and engagement with their course learning management system (LMS) influence their persistence. To support these studies, we draw on the undergraduate engineering student population at a large, public university in the southwestern United States that has been an early adopter of comprehensive online undergraduate engineering education. The findings from this work will be both important and timely, as the field of engineering education shows signs of embracing the online presence critical to increasing access and participation in engineering.
Brunhaver, S.; Bekki, J.; Lee, E.; Kittur, J.
(, Companion Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge)
This poster will report on the research design and methodology planned for a recently funded National Science Foundation-sponsored project focused on advancing knowledge about the factors that influence the decisions of undergraduate engineering student to complete (rather than drop out of) online courses. Through the application of both social science and learner analytics-based research methods, the research will explore how students’ perceptions about the characteristics of their online undergraduate engineering courses and engagement with their course learning management system (LMS) influence their persistence. To support these studies, we draw on the undergraduate engineering student population at a large, public university in the southwestern United States that has been an early adopter of comprehensive online undergraduate engineering education. The findings from this work will be both important and timely, as the field of engineering education shows signs of embracing the online presence critical to increasing access and participation in engineering.
Turk, H.J., Ignatius, A.R., Sun, Y., and Panda, S. Developing Stackable Environmental Science and Hydrology Coursework and Credentials for Technicians, Scientists, and Professional Land Surveyors. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10377228. Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting, American Geophysical Union. San Juan, PR .
Turk, H.J., Ignatius, A.R., Sun, Y., & Panda, S. Developing Stackable Environmental Science and Hydrology Coursework and Credentials for Technicians, Scientists, and Professional Land Surveyors. Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting, American Geophysical Union. San Juan, PR, (). Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10377228.
Turk, H.J., Ignatius, A.R., Sun, Y., and Panda, S.
"Developing Stackable Environmental Science and Hydrology Coursework and Credentials for Technicians, Scientists, and Professional Land Surveyors". Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting, American Geophysical Union. San Juan, PR (). Country unknown/Code not available. https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10377228.
@article{osti_10377228,
place = {Country unknown/Code not available},
title = {Developing Stackable Environmental Science and Hydrology Coursework and Credentials for Technicians, Scientists, and Professional Land Surveyors},
url = {https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10377228},
abstractNote = {The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a three-year, $609,739 grant (#1700568) to the University of North Georgia’s Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis (IESA) for a project entitled, "Applying Geospatial and Engineering Technology (AGET). A goal of the project was to meet the demand for highly skilled and educated technicians in the burgeoning field of geospatial and environmental technologies to prepare them for careers in fields such as hydrology, land-use planning, flood-plain mapping, environmental protection, land surveying, precision farming and water resource management. Courses developed led to a new associate of science degree in Environmental, Earth & World Studies, Spatial Science & Engineering plus an undergraduate Land Surveying Certificate. Associated courses build progressive steps in understanding engineering, hydrology, CAD, surveying, GST and applied environmental skills via directed emphasis areas for specific science and engineering careers. These stackable courses and credentials may also articulate with baccalaureate programs to meet workforce needs at multiple levels. Courses developed included Physical Environmental Science, Environmental Management & Sustainability, Surveying I and II, Legal Aspects of Surveying, and Professional Practice of Surveying. In addition to introductory hydrologic concepts in these courses, a newly planned undergraduate certificate in hydrology is planned to meet workforce requirements or licensing benchmarks for environmental scientists and professional land surveyors.},
journal = {Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting, American Geophysical Union. San Juan, PR},
author = {Turk, H.J. and Ignatius, A.R. and Sun, Y. and Panda, S.},
}
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