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ETAC-ABET and EvaluateUR-CURE: Findings from Combining Two Assessment Approaches as Indicators of Student-learning Outcomes

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Conference

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual Conference

Publication Date

July 26, 2021

Start Date

July 26, 2021

End Date

July 19, 2022

Conference Session

Focus on ETAC Accreditation

Tagged Division

Engineering Technology

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

24

DOI

10.18260/1-2--37098

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/37098

Download Count

416

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Paper Authors

biography

Ilya Y. Grinberg Buffalo State College, The State University of New York

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llya Grinberg graduated from the Lviv Polytechnic Institute (Lviv, Ukraine) with an M.S in E.E. and
earned a Ph.D. degree from the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering (Moscow, Russia). He has over 47 years of experience in design and consulting in the field of power distribution systems and design automation as well as teaching. He has over 60 published papers. Currently he is professor of engineering technology at SUNY Buffalo State. His interests are in the field of electric power distribution systems analysis, design automation, systems engineering, and engineering technology education.

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biography

Jill Singer Buffalo State College, The State University of New York

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Jill Singer is a geologist interested in the transport and deposition of sediments. She has a M.A. and Ph.D. from Rice University where she investigated glacial marine sediments in the bays and fjords of the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Dr. Singer is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and for the past 34 years has taught in the Earth Sciences Department at SUNY Buffalo State. Dr. Singer has been actively involved in restoration efforts of the Buffalo River and her experiences include projects funded by the National Science Foundation, USEPA, and the US Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division. For 20 years, Dr. Singer served as the director of the Buffalo State Office of Undergraduate Research and administered programs that supported students in all academic majors. Dr. Singer had a NSF award to scale up to the national level the evaluation program designed to assess student learning and student growth from participating in undergraduate research. This method, known as EvaluateUR, is now being modified to support course-based undergraduate research experiences (EvaluateUR-CURE).

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Abstract

There is a growing national demand for qualified graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Engineering Technology (ET) programs at community colleges and colleges/universities play a vital role in meeting this demand, specifically targeting the preparation of students who are well qualified to enter the technical workforce. In accredited ET programs, students conduct design projects that provide opportunities to apply content knowledge and gain valuable workplace skills. These course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) greatly expand the number of students who can benefit from conducting research as the design projects are embedded directly into the curriculum and are taken by all students in the program. Undergraduate research has been shown to help students take ownership of their own learning and helps them to see the real-world relevance of research as they learn problem-solving skills. Inquiry-based projects are beneficial because they require a significant investment of student time and effort over an extended period with frequent, constructive feedback from faculty and regular opportunities for reflection.

EvaluateUR-CURE, an evidence-based method developed at XXX, measures a broad range of desirable outcomes that include both content knowledge and outcomes that are critically important in the workplace, such as communication skills, creativity, autonomy, an ability to overcome obstacles, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. EvaluateUR-CURE also provides students opportunities to develop metacognitive skills as a way to identify how much academic progress they have made or still need to make.

The two-semester senior design sequence at XXX was selected as a pilot implementation site for EvaluateUR-CURE because: it addresses most of ETAC ABET student outcomes and overlaps with outcome categories and components of EvaluateUR-CURE. In addition, the junior-level electronics course has recently been revised to include students working in groups on a variety of practical design projects. The revised course identified specific performance indicators and grading rubrics to be used for assessment and assigning student grades. EvaluateUR-CURE complements these indicators by providing additional feedback to the student about their progress so adjustments in their learning can be made throughout the semester, not just at the end of the semester when grades are assigned. EvaluateUR-CURE can also help the student take greater ownership in their learning as they identify their academic strengths and what strategies they might use to improve in other areas.

The paper addresses the process of development of performance indicators and presents the results of assessment and evaluation of both, EATC ABET student outcomes and outcome categories of EvaluateUR-CURE.

Grinberg, I. Y., & Singer, J. (2021, July), ETAC-ABET and EvaluateUR-CURE: Findings from Combining Two Assessment Approaches as Indicators of Student-learning Outcomes Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--37098

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