Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

Claire Komives ¹

Affiliations
1 Chemical and Materials Engineering, San Jose State University San Jose, CA95192, US

Abstract

The educators of India's young engineers on are embarking on the recognized standard of practice for achieving consistently top notch engineers - namely, outcomes-based education (OBE). Visits to eight institutions around the country provided an interesting opportunity to learn first-hand how motivated faculty are to foster student success and implement the OBE. This paper touches on some philosophical differences between Indian and U.S. based accreditation agency parameters and an analysis of some practices in India that could result in shortcomings froman accreditation visit.

Keywords

Programme Outcomes, Engineering Education, Ethics, Communication Skills.

Full Text

     

Claire Komives ¹

Affiliations
1 Biomedical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, San Jose State University OneWashington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0082, US

Abstract

The Chemical Engineering Program at San José State University (San José, CA USA) experienced a dramatic increase in students starting in Fall of 2014. From 1999 to 2013, approximately 20- 25 students graduated from the program each year, but since 2014 there have been over 100 beginning the junior year. In addition, the faculty have observed that students' attention spans, on average, have decreased, in agreement with literature assessments. After giving the Effective Teaching Workshop at Thiagarajar College of Engineering in 2016, the classroom protocol of the Industrial Chemical Calculations Course was modified to include watching the lectures on video prior to the class.Not giving lectures during the class period allowed more time in class to have students practice solving problems. The result has been an increase in student participation in class even with the large number of students, as well as an increase in the achievement of student learning outcomes. This paper will discuss the logistics of the flipped classroom and a presentation of evidence of improved student learning.

Keywords

Flipped Classroom, Learning Outcomes Achievement, Large Class Size.

Full Text

     

Ravi Krishnan Jagannathan ¹, Claire Komives ²

Affiliations
1 Data Science, Plethy Inc., US
2 Chemical and Materials Engineering, San Jose State U, US

Abstract

It is well known that there continues to be a shortage of women in technology jobs. The teaching methods and gender bias in K-12 education continue to favour boys progressing to engineering and technology positions. The project initiated by Ravi Krishnan Jagannathan in Silicon Valley, California, sought to prepare middle school and high school girls for success in high tech. The strategy used was to teach math and science inductively. The use of computers for teaching the girls both fundamental science and math in the middle school laid the foundation for teaching high school girls to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop solutions to current medical and ergonomic problems. This paper will discuss the inductive teaching strategy with the aim of motivating both parents and teachers to adopt a similar project that can help address the shortfall of women in tech.

Keywords

Inductive Teaching, Women in Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Full Text

     

Claire Komives ¹

Affiliations
1 Chemical & Materials Engineering ENGR lab 109, San Jose State University 1 Washington Sq., San Jose, CA 95192-0082, US

Abstract

Many opinions have been shared of late regarding the education of engineers in India. The usual list of criticisms includes outdated curricula (2017) , poor preparation of college faculty, need for professional and critical thinking skills (Gupta 2019, Sanghi 2019), the need to reduce in theoretical content in favor of practical knowledge, and a lack of connection with industrial practitioners (Mahadevan 2019) . The updating of the syllabus and incorporating active learning can help support students to develop both communication and critical thinking skills, as proven by engineering education research (Felder and Brent 2016) , but this is only a bandage on a system that is not fixable without updating the policies at the national level. Additionally, there is no motivation from The Apex Body to utilize modern pedagogy as there is no measure for these practices in the accreditation process.

Full Text