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1. The impact of teaching noise detection and control strategies among historically black college and university student using hands-on pedagogy on student’s motivation and curiosity

   Abiodun, P. Olude (May 2023, Institute of Noise Control Engineering)

   Noise engineering is not a new field of study, but statistics showed that experts in the field are on a decline. Observing that motivation and curiosity are among the hallmarks of any workforce development pipeline, the study developed an experiment-centric pedagogy to detect and measure noise from pollution using low-cost hands-on devices with the aim of motivating learners. The study design was a pre- and post-test method. The learners were enrolled in a transportation course and the noise detection and measurement strategies course module was used for the study. Motivated Strategies Learning Questionnaire was adopted for the study. Learners’ response to the use of technological tools incorporated in learning was predominantly positive revealing that the learners’ gain extensively. More so, significant improvement was observed in the task value and expectancy component of leaners (p<0.05) and overall, there was an increase in their motivation at the posttest. Significant improvement in academic performance of learners was also observed at post-test (p<0.05). It is therefore posited that there is need for effective engagement with learners with similar low-cost hands-on to lead to better understand and motivation that can lead to development of workforce in noise engineering. 

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2. Evaluating the Impact of Experiment-Centric Pedagogy on Civil Engineering Undergraduates’ Motivation

   Abiodun, P. (June 2023, American Society for Engineering Education, 2023. https://sftp.asee.org/43440)

   Motivation is a strong factor in effective learning, and it has an impact on learning outcomes. Students' motivation can make or break their ability to grasp abstract courses which predominate courses taught in Civil Engineering. Students that are more motivated to study, stick with it longer, and put in more effort to perform better in class, hands-on experiments, and standardized tests. This study is designed to answer the following questions: (i) Is there a significant difference between the motivation of Civil Engineering undergraduates pre and post implementation of experiment-centric pedagogy? (ii) Is there a significant difference between Civil Engineering undergraduates’ motivation pre and post implementation of experiment-centric pedagogy based on gender? and (iii) Is there any significant association between socio-demographic characteristics of Civil Engineering undergraduates and their motivation? Motivation constructs considered in the present study include intrinsic goal orientation, task value, expectancy component, test anxiety, critical thinking, and metacognition. Undergraduates’ responses shall be collected using 7-point Likert-scales, and statistical analyses done using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS 25.0) at a statistical significance set at 0.05. 

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3. Students' feedback on the use of low-cost, portable and safe hands-on tools in teaching and demonstrating noise pollution at a historically black university

   https://doi.org/10.3397/10.3397/NC_2023_0187  

   Abiodun, Pelumi; Olude, Adebayo; Owolabi, Oludare; James-Okeke, Petronella (May 2023, INTER-NOISE and NOISE-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings)

   Dynamism of using pedagogy to teach concepts related to noise engineering at undergraduate level can fuel leaners desire to find a career opportunity in the field. This study aimed to investigate the impact of low-cost, portable, and safe hands-on tools used in teaching and demonstrating noise pollution at a historically black university (HBCU). The study was conducted among undergraduate students at one HBCU, and feedback was obtained regarding the device and the pedagogy using a 5-scale Likert questionnaire. The purpose of the study was to improve teaching pedagogy by assessing the impact of the tools on teaching and learning. The feedback from the students showed that the tool was well accepted and provided learners with an advantage in understanding noise pollution. Additionally, the engagement of students in class improved as a result of the use of the tool. The findings suggest that the use of low-cost, portable, and safe hands-on tools can enhance the teaching and learning of noise pollution and other related topics. This study highlights the importance of evaluating teaching and learning pedagogy to improve the quality of education. 

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4. Teaching the Next Generation of Cryptographic Hardware Design to the Next Generation of Engineers

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3299874.3317994  

   Aysu, Aydin (May 2019, Proceedings of the 2019 on Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI)

   Evolving threats against cryptographic systems and the increasing diversity of computing platforms enforce teaching cryptographic engineering to a wider audience. This paper describes the development of a new graduate course on hardware security taught at North Carolina State University. The course targets an audience with no background on cryptography or hardware vulnerabilities. The course focuses especially on post-quantum cryptosystems—the next-generation cryptosystems mitigating quantum computer attacks—and evolves into designing specialized hardware accelerators for post-quantum cryptography, executing sophisticated implementation attacks (e.g., side-channel and fault attacks), and building countermeasures on such hardware designs. We discuss the curriculum design, hands-on assignment’s development, final research project outcome, and the results obtained from the course together with the associated challenges. Our experience shows that such a course is feasible, can achieve its goals, and liked by the students, but there is room for improvement. 

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5. 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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