Motivating Engineering Freshmen with Buzz-Words: High-Tech Applications in Introductory Engineering Courses

Shreekanth Mandayam and Satish S. Udpa Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011
Abstract - Conventional approaches to engineering education require that fundamental principles be taught in the freshman year and high-tech applications presented in the junior/senior years. This paper proposes an alternate approach wherein freshman engineering students are exposed to high-tech applications, suitably modified and with minimal theory, based on buzzwords that are propagated in the media. The authors believe that this approach will enhance student motivation and improve retention. The paper describes two freshman engineering class projects that have been used for implementing this technique. The buzz-words employed include Computer Graphics and Telemedicine. engineering course at Iowa State University. Two specific example problems, one simple (relating to Computer Graphics) and the other more challenging (relating to Telemedicine), are presented and the advantages and drawbacks of the method are discussed. This paper also demonstrates how the proposed classroom instruction methodology relates to ABETs engineering program outcomes and assessment requirements. A considerable portion of the concepts presented in this paper have been part of educational theory and practice for many years. Hunter has demonstrated that student motivation can be increased by modifying the difficulty of a problem [2]. Hunter has also shown that a greater retention of knowledge is possible by infusing any knowledge that is gained, with meaning that relates to common practice [3]. These ideas have been echoed by Evans and Brandon, who explored effective strategies for teaching freshman engineering mathematics [4]. They showed that immediately including a catalyst, which is an example of a practical application of a concept, will kindle student interest and motivate them into learning the necessary fundamentals. Also, prior research work by Johnson et. al. has demonstrated that when students work together in small groups in a cooperative learning environment, higher achievements can be realized in problem-solving skills [5]. In addition, this paper addresses issues in engineering education that has generated much attention in recent years. Recent studies, such as one sponsored by the National Science Foundation, revealed that a large portion of engineering graduates do not perform tasks that they were required to learn in college [6]. The study contends that about 33% of the graduates did not receive training in computer applications. The need for practical engineering applications, without limiting the theoretical aspects of engineering has been echoed by the ASEE [7]. One study, that interviewed the program manager for university recruiting from General Electric, reported that GE requires graduates to possess primarily, among other things, a willingness to adapt to change [7]. This paper discusses methods by which practical and contemporary applications in diverse fields can be incorporated into a freshman engineering class.

Introduction
As universities across the United States hasten to bring their programs in line with ABETs Engineering Criteria 2000 [1], it is increasingly being felt that pedagogical paradigms used for communicating with freshman students have to undergo an evolutionary change as well. The freshman introductory engineering course which is part of the curricula of many universities is the first formal exposure that students have towards engineering methodologies. Retaining students (and their interest in engineering) at this level is critical for a successful implementation of any education criteria. Educators worldwide agree that the media, especially television, and in recent times, the Internet, exerts a significant influence on student awareness and interests. Many students are drawn into engineering programs by buzz-words that are propagated by the media. Traditional approaches to engineering education require a thorough schooling in the fundamentals of the particular discipline in the freshman and sophomore years and contemporary high-tech applications are restricted to the junior and senior years. In order to capture student interest and improve student retention, the authors propose that high-tech applications, suitably modified and/or simplified, be presented as part of introductory engineering courses. This paper describes an implementation of this principle in a freshman

Course Background and Laboratory Facilities The ENGR 161 (Engineering Problems with Computational Laboratory in C) class largely consists of Electrical and Computer Engineering students. The course syllabus requires instruction in solving fundamental engineering problems, primarily using the C programming language, and presenting solutions through technical reports. Classrooms were equipped with Hewlett Packard Vectra 486/DX2, 66 MHz computers that were networked using the Novell platform. Two students were assigned to each machine. Resident software that are relevant to this paper included Microsoft Notepad and Excel and the Borland TurboC compiler. The course syllabus required both in-class and take-home projects.

object, in its simplest form can be represented as a set of x-y coordinates of the object vertices (the homogenous coordinate system representation is not used at this level) [8]. Every graphics application uses these coordinates for rendering an object on the screen. Furthermore, graphics applications provide facilities to scale and rotate objects. These operations alter the coordinates of the object by multiplying them with the appropriate scaling or rotation matrix. For instance, the coordinates [xi yi] of an object when rotated by an angle change to the coordinates [xi' yi'] given by the product of the matrices: y' 1 x 1 y 1 y' 2 = x 2 y 2 cos sin (1) sin cos    y' n x n y n After an introduction to the basic algorithm and 2-D array syntax in C, students were given a file containing the 2-D x-y coordinates of an object. The students were first required to plot and observe the object, shown in Figure 1 (a), using a simple graphing package (Microsoft Excel). Then, they were required to write a Cprogram that: 1. Read the object coordinates into a 2-D array 2. Required user input (via the keyboard) of the rotation angle; 3. Generated the appropriate rotation matrix; 4. Calculated the new object coordinates using the matrix multiplication principle; and finally 5. Wrote the new coordinates into an output file. The students could then observe the result of their matrix manipulations using the same graphing package (Figure 1(b)). The visual impact and the impression that we are doing computer graphics increases the level of student interest in this introduction to linear algebra. Example 2: Time-Frequency Relations and Telemedicine This project provided an avenue for the students to learn and experiment with rudimentary digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. The field of DSP is unique in that contemporary high-tech concepts can be explored with the minimal resources indicated earlier. Concepts such as time-frequency relations, peak-detection, sampling etc. are very easy to implement and visualize. The contemporary application used to illustrate these concepts was Telemedicine, the use of electronic signals and communications networks to transmit medical information [9]. Telemedicine is proving to be increasingly popular in states like Iowa, North and South x' 1 x' 2  x' n

Objectives
The authors propose the following objectives in an introductory engineering course: 1. Show contemporary high-tech applications using buzz-words that students have picked up from the media. 2. Encourage the use of the Internet for doing homework assignments. In fact, some assignments can be tailored to be specifically Internet-based. 3. Problem solutions must contain a strong visual component (graph or picture). 4. Every new theory taught must be followed with a programming exercise demonstrating practical applications. 5. Show multi-disciplinary applications to encourage the development of a global perspective. An additional requirement was that the examples presented must utilize minimal resources. Tools that were easily available to the student included an IBM compatible PC with a C-compiler, a text editor and a graphing software.

Application Examples
Example 1: Matrix Multiplication and Computer Graphics This example utilizes computer graphics as a platform for learning the applications of matrix multiplication. Almost all programming courses deal with the matrix multiplication algorithm in the context of 2-D array manipulation. The basic principles of computer graphics are used in graphics based Windows and workstation software, virtual reality modules, etc. A 2-D graphics

Dakota, Nebraska, etc. which consist of many remote and isolated communities without a comprehensive medical laboratory nearby [6]. Furthermore, many students have direct contact with a Telemedicine application; they have observed their grandparents having their pace-makers checked by telephone this is fast becoming a routine practice.

50 40 y coordinate 30 20 10 0 0 20 x coordinate 40

(a)

student would use the ECG data file for calculating the average beat frequency of the heart at various times. The students were required to: 1. Use the Internet for gathering information about and writing a short essay on the principles of the ECG. 2. Write a C program to detect the locations peaks of the ECG signal (this requires a programming structure using conditional statements) and the corresponding time periods and time-varying frequency (See Figure 3). 3. Sample the original ECG signal and observe plots of the sampled versions using a graphing software (Microsoft Excel) (See Figures 4(a) (c)). 4. Comment on methods for transmitting the ECG information via a communications network for practising Telemedicine (Concepts such as data compression can be introduced here). In particular investigate whether the signal frequency information alone can be sent. If time-domain signals are to be transmitted determine the minimum number of samples that must be transmitted (an intuitive introduction to the Nyquist sampling theorem that will be taught in subsequent courses [11] ).

50 40 y coordinate 30 Millivolts 20 10 0 -20 0 x coordinate 20 4 2 0 1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 -2 Reading No. 91 73.2

ECG Signal, 4 Cycles

(b) Figure 1. Graph of the (a) original object, and (b) rotated object. The students were provided with a data file containing sample readings of the ECG (Electrocardiogram) of a patient John Doe (shown in Figure 2). ECG signals are used to monitor the electrical activity of the heart as its muscles contract and expand while pumping blood through the atria and ventricles [10]. This signal is periodic; however, the frequency of the ECG signal is not a constant and varies depending on the patients activity and other factors. Therefore, the signal frequency is usually computed after calculating the average of a few consecutive periods. In this project, the

Figure 2. The Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal.

Frequency in Hz

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0.36 43.6 17

tim e in seconds

Figure 3. Frequency of the ECG signal.

2.5 Millivolts 0.5 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 180 -1.5 100 0 60 65 200 0

Reading

(a)

2.5 Millivolts 1.5 0.5 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 50 55 -0.5 -1.5 0

Reading

(b)

2.5 Millivolts 1.5 0.5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 -0.5 -1.5 Reading 0 5

(c) Figure 4. Samples of the original ECG data with sampling intervals of (a) 2 (b) 10 and (c) 30. The students were assigned to work in teams. This project especially helped students to learn about methods for gathering information about new topics (medicine, data compression and transmission), particularly with regard to isolating relevant information and discarding irrelevant data. As in Example 1, the results were visual (ECG signal graphs) and the topic was something that Iowan students could relate to. and were not evaluated for the course grade. The instructor was present throughout; all of the students obtained correct results. Students spent considerable time modifying their programs and noting the effects that these had on the pictures they had graphed. The Telemedicine example was preceded by a demonstration of ECG data collection using an ECG simulator and a storage Oscilloscope borrowed from the Veterinary Medicine laboratory at Iowa State University. An electrical engineering graduate student with a comajor in biomedical engineering conducted the demonstration. The project was a take-home project and students were assigned to work in teams of three. The students were allowed to split up the tasks for the various aspects of the project Internet research, peak-

Student Performance and Response

detection, frequency determination and sampling. The project team members were encouraged to meet frequently, on some occasions with the instructor in attendance, to help understand the new concepts. It was noticed that a few inter-cultural conflicts and misunderstandings did occur, that required some group readjustments. However, one the whole, the teams performed very cohesively. The student team scores for this project ranged from 90% to 100% with a class average of 94.7%. During a voluntary, anonymous mid-semester class assessment, a majority of the students indicated that their most favorite part of the course included working on the projects with practical examples. A few students (3 out of 22 who answered the survey), however, wished that their instructor would stick to more basic examples. One student also complained about the large amount of out-of-class reading that was required.

Also, the use of the Internet as an information gathering tool was strongly encouraged. Advantages and Drawbacks of the Approach The most significant impact of educating engineering freshmen using high-tech applications with buzz-words is gaining attention and retaining student interest and enthusiasm. The credo that engineering may be tough, but it can be fun is introduced gradually. In fact, the comment heard most often by the instructor from the students was, this is cool stuff!. While the examples used are vastly simplified versions of actual applications, this provides a venue for student expectations and anticipations further ahead in the curriculum. The authors do however have to contend with the valid belief that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Learning computer applications alone without the appropriate theoretical background may lead to disastrous results in the long run. However, if these hightech applications are presented in the context of a continuing education theme, the authors believe that results will be beneficial. With the introduction of minimal level of theory, high-tech applications provide immediate gratification. The theoretical concepts can be revisited in the ensuing years and refined with additional details. This will allow for a comprehensive instruction in both the theory and the tools for applying the concepts in a real-life situation. In conclusion, the authors propose that presenting freshman engineers with advanced concepts via buzz-words is a worthwhile endeavor. It is believed that such an approach, wherein high-tech concepts are suitably modified for immediate application, is feasible for implementation with minimal resources and will vastly enhance the undergraduate learning experience. The issue of student retention under these circumstances will be the focus of a long-term study. While there are no final answers for the best method to motivate freshman engineering students, the solutions to this problem will improve as the students awareness and knowledge grows.

Discussion
The class projects that are described in this paper relate to the following program outcomes that are outlined by ABETs Engineering Criteria 2000, which are ideal for implementation at the freshman level: 1. An ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams. The class although composed largely of electrical and computer-engineering majors, contained students from chemical engineering, metallurgical engineering, civil engineering, etc. Each project team consisted of a mixture of students from various disciplines. 2. The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global/societal context. The data sampling and compression methods in the Telemedicine project provided for productive class discussions on various issues related to the effectiveness of medical practice at a distance. In particular, the possibility of error, lack of close doctor-patient interactions, economic aspects from a health management viewpoint and societal impact were discussed. 3. A knowledge of contemporary issues. The previous point addresses this issue also. With the burgeoning of graphics-related applications, the Computer Graphics project was easily placed in a current and topical context. 4. An ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice. Both the Telemedicine and Computer Graphics projects allowed the students to learn some introductory aspects of cutting-edge technology.

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the members of the ENGR 161 Instructors Committee, in particular, Professors Vijay Vittal, Rebecca Sidler, Alvin Day and the Course Coordinator, Professor Kenneth Kruempel, for helpful discussions and suggestions. Thanks to Mr. Robi Polikar, graduate research assistant in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering for assistance in developing the Telemedicine project and arranging the ECG

demonstration. The assistance of Professor Barbara Licklider, Department of Professional Studies in Education and Ms. Kathy Hinders, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, for a literature survey in educational theory is sincerely appreciated. The assistance of the staff of the Engineering Computing Support Services, whose equipment was utilized for implementing all of the projects is gratefully acknowledged.

References
1) The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Engineering Criteria 2000, http://www.abet.ba.md.us/EAC/eac2000.html, February 1, 1997. 2) Hunter, M., Motivation Theory for Teachers, TIP Publications, El Segundo, California, 1976. 3) Hunter, M., Retention Theory for Teachers, Sage Publication Company, Thousand Oaks, California, 1995. 4) Evans, I.C. and Brandon, J.A., Mathematical education of engineering foundation students, Mathematical Education of Engineers, L.R. Mustoe and S. Hibberd, Editors, pp. 133-141, Clarendon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 1995. 5) Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A., Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4, The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development, Washington DC, 1991. 6) Engineering students not learning job skills in college, Materials Performance, Volume 34, p. 14, March 1995. 7) Dahir, M., Educating engineers for the real world, Technology Review, Volume 96, pp. 14-16, August/September 1993. 8) Anand, V.B., Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling for Engineers, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1994. 9) International Telemedicine Center, Inc., http://inttelemedicine.com, January 1997. 10) Iowa Falls Times-Citizen, Telemedicine grant benefits Iowans, Vol. 115, No. 40, Section B, October 2, 1996. 11) Guyton, A.C., Physiology of the Human Body, Saunders, Philadelphia,1979. 12) Oppenheim, A.V., Willsky, A.S., and Young, I.T., Signals and Systems, p. 519, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1983.