Category: Research

Michigan Tech faculty and students traveled to 2023 IEEE ASEE Frontiers in Education, held Oct. 18–21 in College Station, Texas, and presented a plethora of scholarly work.

• “Learn how to design high-quality qualitative educational research! – A workshop for disciplinary STEM faculty by disciplinary STEM faculty” 
  Co-facilitated by Michelle Jarvie-Eggart (EF) with John R. Morelock (University of Georgia), Heather Chenette (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology), Sara Hooshangi (Virginia Tech), Sarah Wilson (University of Kentucky), Iglika Pavlova (University of North Carolina Greensboro) and Rebecca M. Reck (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).
• “Work-In-Progress: Preliminary Work Introducing Automated Code Critiques in First-Year Engineering MATLAB Programming”
  Presented by Laura Albrant (CLS graduate student) with co-authors Pradnya Pendse (CS Ph.D. student), Mary E. Benjamin (CEGE Ph.D. student), Michelle Jarvie-Eggart and Jon Sticklen (both EF), and Laura Brown and Leo C. Ureel II (both CS).
• “Work-In-Progress: Python Code Critiquer, A Machine Learning Approach”
  Presented by Pradnya Pendse (CS Ph.D. student) with co-authors Laura Albrant (CLS graduate student), Daniel T. Masker (CS Ph.D. student), Laura Brown and Leo C. Ureel II (both CS), and  Jon Sticklen and Michelle Jarvie-Eggart (both EF).
• “Co-sharing secondary qualitative research data to understand technology adoption in engineering education courses”
  Co-presented by Michelle Jarvie-Eggart (EF) and Dominik May (University of Wuppertal, Germany), with co-authors Deborah Moyaki (University of Georgia Ph.D. student), Katrina Carlson (CLS M.S. student) and Landon Smith (University of Georgia undergraduate student).
• “Extending the Usability of WebTA with Unified ASTs and Errors”
  Presented by Joseph Roy Teahen (CS Ph.D. student) with co-authors Daniel T. Masker (CS Ph.D. student) and Leo C. Ureel II (CS).
• “Engaging Novice Programers: A Literature Review of the Effect of Code Critiquers on Programming Self-efficacy”
  Presented by Mary E. Benjamin (CEGE graduate student), with co-authors Michelle Jarvie-Eggart and Jon Sticklen (both EF) and Leo C. Ureel II and Laura Brown (both CS).
• “The role of peer dialogue as disruptor in critical ethical analysis for computing students”
  Presented by Charles Wallace (CS) with co-author Andrew Ciminski (CS graduate student).
• “A Replication Study: Validation of the 19-item Short Form for the MUSIC Inventory for Engineering Student Engagement”
  Presented by Susan L. Amato-Henderson (CLS emeritus) with Jon Sticklen (EF).
• “Beyond Summer Reading: Enabling Covert Student Learning Through a Cross-Campus Connecting Theme”
  Presented by Charles Wallace (CS) with co-authors Laura Fiss (PHS), Brett Hamlin (EF), Heather Love (University of Waterloo), Linda Ott (CS) and Steven Walton (SS).
• “An Educational Modeling Software Tool That Teaches Computational Thinking Skills Through STEM Classes”
  A poster by Dominika Bobik, Pradnya Pendse, Katie H. Ulinski, Trevor X. Petrin, Rhys W. Brockenshire and Leo C. Ureel II (CS).

A conference paper was published for the First Year Engineering Experience Conference (FYEE), by AJ Hamlin (EF), Amber Kemppainen (EF), Brett Hamlin (EF), Norma Veurink (CEE) and Jon Sticklen (EF).

The paper is a short report on the initial results of the 2017 roll-out of a refresh for the First-Year Engineering Program at Tech. FYEE is an offshoot of the large First-Year Programs Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).

This year, 2020, papers were accepted for the compilation but there was no physical conference due to the corona-virus pandemic.

Hamlin, A. J., & Kemppainen, A., & Hamlin, B., & Veurink, N. L., & Sticklen, J. (2020, July), Three Years After Rollout: A Report on Systemic Changes in a First-Year Engineering Program Paper presented at 2020 First-Year Engineering Experience, East Lansing, Michigan. https://peer.asee.org/35780

Thom Freeman (CTL) and Michelle Jarvie-Eggart (EF) presented “Teaching the Teachers: A Case Study of Training for Online Faculty at Michigan Tech” at the Michigan Canvas Users Conference at Lawrence Technological University on March 6, 2020.

This presentation showcased Michigan Tech’s newly required course to teach online, ED5101, Foundations of Online Teaching. The session shared faculty’s reaction to the course as well as its surprising impact on faculty perceptions of techniques used in online learning.

ED5101 does TWO things:

1. How to teach online: Introduces faculty to the structure and function of effective online classes, as well as online classroom management.
2. How to design good lessons: Shows faculty how to design learning activities targeted at learning objectives, with aligned assessments.

Faculty feedback indicated one of the most valuable things they gained from the class was the ability to structure good lessons.

Michelle Jarvie-Eggart is a senior lecturer in Engineering Fundamentals and an affiliated faculty member in Cognitive and Learning Sciences.

Thom Freeman is a senior instructional designer and online learning specialist with the Michigan Tech Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning and an adjunct instructor in Cognitive and Learning Sciences.

#MiCanCon2020

Mary Raber (Pavlis Honors College) and Mary Fraley (EF) presented: “Incorporating Design Thinking into the First-Year Engineering Curriculum” at the 125th Annual American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 24 – 27, 2018.

Fraley, Raber and Gretchen Hein (EF) presented: “Work-in-Progress: Entrepreneurial Mindset in First-Year Engineering Courses” at the 10th Annual First Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) Conference at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, July 24-26 (FYEE 2018).

The work for both papers was supported by the VentureWell Faculty Grants Program, which funds projects to “pioneer new ways to engage students in STEM innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Related:

Jarvie-Eggart and Fiss present at FYEE 2018

Mary Fraley Among the 2018 VentureWell OPEN Conference Presenters

Michelle Jarvie-Eggart (EF) and Laura Fiss (Pavlis Honors College) are presenting the paper “Work-in-Progress: Comparing First Year Student Math and Verbal ACT Scores and Performance in Introductory Engineering and Composition Courses,” at the American Society of Engineering Education’s First Year Engineering Experience conference at Rowan University, New Jersey, July 24-26 (FYEE 2018).

The conference is hosted by the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at Rowan University in Glassboro. FYEE is an opportunity for academic and industry representatives to discuss and share relevant topics in the first year engineering experience. Participants include college deans, department chairs, student service professionals, advisors, faculty in engineering and engineering technology, K-12 teachers, and industry leaders from throughout the country.

Norma Veurink (EF) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $105,975 research and development grant from the University of Cincinnati.

The project is titled “Enhancing Middle School Mathematics Achievement Through Spatial Skills Instruction.”

This is the first year of a potential three-year project totaling $222,847.