Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:09:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4052.pdf: 1209622 bytes, checksum: cf4bd64dd8baa1f51a9bb18beec2259c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-20 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / This study aims to build a tool for evaluating energy efficiency and insert it in disciplines of Civil Engineering courses. The instrument was constructed by applying the criteria for certification of sustainable construction in Brazil: High Environmental Quality, Energy Efficiency Labeling of buildings and Seal Blue House CASH. An investigation of the status in the Civil Engineering courses was performed based on information gathered from, either syllabuses, or programmatic content of the disciplines. This investigation included the curriculum established by the Resolution CNE/CES N. 11, which points out the National Curriculum Guidelines of an undergraduate degree in engineering. The higher education institutions were selected based on courses in Civil Engineering, which were evaluated in 2008 by the National Survey of Student Performance. In addition, in the process of selecting courses, only the courses with pedagogical project or curriculum which shows at the webpage the notes or syllabus of the courses was considered. Following these criteria, 15 courses of Civil Engineering were selected. The results show that it is difficult to separate the content of the subjects according to the core content. This situation may be the reason for the average workload of the core of basic and professional contents in both biannual and annual periodicities courses be larger than the requirements of the Guidelines National Curriculum. On the other hand, for the specific content core, it was observed the opposite in both periodicities. In this case there was difficulty in separating the content according to the core content. In addition, the courses of Civil Engineering still do not use the possibility of curricular flexibility allowed by these Guidelines. The reduced number of disciplines that include energy efficiency indicated that the educational institutions are not taking advantage of the possibility of introducing new up to date and important topics in the engineer formation, such as energy efficiency. / Este estudo tem por objetivo a construção de um instrumento para avaliar e inserir a eficiência energética em disciplinas de cursos de Engenharia Civil. O instrumento foi confeccionado a partir dos critérios adotados pelas certificações da construção sustentável no Brasil: Alta Qualidade Ambiental, Etiquetagem de Eficiência Energética de edificações e Selo Casa Azul CAIXA. Foi realizada uma investigação da situação dos cursos de Engenharia Civil através de informações coletadas por meio da revisão das ementas ou conteúdos programáticos de disciplinas. Essa investigação incluiu a organização curricular estabelecida pela Resolução CNE/CES N. 11, que instituiu as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais do curso de graduação em engenharia. A seleção das instituições de ensino superior foi baseada nos cursos de Engenharia Civil que foram avaliados em 2008 pelo Exame Nacional de Desempenho de Estudantes. Além disso, a seleção considerou cursos que possuíam o projeto pedagógico ou grade curricular, com as respectivas ementas ou conteúdos programáticos das disciplinas, disponíveis em página eletrônica do curso. Seguindo esses critérios, foram selecionados 15 cursos de Engenharia Civil. Os resultados apontam que há dificuldade de separação dos conteúdos das disciplinas de acordo com os núcleos de conteúdos, podendo ser essa a razão para a carga horária média do núcleo de conteúdos básicos e profissionalizantes nas periodicidades semestral e anual serem maiores do que as exigências das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais. Já para o núcleo de conteúdos específicos, foi observado o contrário nas duas periodicidades. Nesse caso, verificou-se dificuldade de separação de conteúdos de acordo com o núcleo de conteúdos e ainda o não aproveitamento pelos cursos de Engenharia Civil da possibilidade de flexibilização curricular permitidas pelas referidas Diretrizes. O número reduzido de disciplinas que contemplam a eficiência energética remete a um indicativo de que as instituições de ensino não estão aproveitando a possibilidade de introdução de temas atuais importantes na formação do engenheiro, como é o caso da eficiência energética.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-08-20Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:06:44Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 canossa_jh_me_ilha.pdf: 1882807 bytes, checksum: 66b3108cd92af016b3609fdfa0cc517e (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho apresenta um programa interativo para a simulação do fluxo de potência e do fluxo de potência continuado. O programa foi desenvolvido no ambiente MATLAB e a simulação é realizada por meio de uma interface gráfica. A interface gráfica não só proporciona um bom desempenho computacional, mas também torna o programa mais amigável para o usuário. Através dela o usuário pode editar os arquivos de entrada e saída e visualizar e analisar os resultados obtidos diretamente na tela do computador. A partir do diagrama unifilar dos sistemas, a interface gráfica permite que o usuário: mude os parâmetros do sistema (dados de barras e de linhas de transmissão); remova uma linha de transmissão com um simples clicar sobre ela; visualize os perfis de tensão nas barras, e os fluxos de potência ativa e reativa nas linhas de transmissão. Todas estas características fazem do programa desenvolvido uma ferramenta recomendada para fins educacionais. / This work presents an interactive computing program for power flow and continuation power flow simulations. The power flow and continuation power flow programs were developed in the MATLAB environment and the simulation is accomplished through a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface provides not only a good computational performance, but also an user-friendly teaching software. With the use of this interface the user can edit the input and output data files of the selected systems and can visualize and analyze the results of the program directly in the computer screen. Directly from the system one-line diagrams, the graphical user interface allows the user: to change the parameters of the system (bus and lines system data); to remove the transmission line clicking directly on it; to visualize the bus voltage profile, and the active and reactive power flows. All these characteristics make the developed program recommended for educational purposes.

Este trabalho tem como principal objetivo observar e analisar qual a influência dos estilos de aprendizagem, ou seja, as diferentes preferências por perceber e processar as informações, na formação de equipes de alto-desempenho (todos os membros integrantes da equipe estão comprometidos com a aprendizagem do outro visando alcançar índices elevados de desempenho em uma disciplina ou atividade proposta). Com intuito de atingir o objetivo proposto foram aplicados os inventários de Felder e Silverman (1988) e o de Keirsey e Bates (1984) em uma amostra de 53 alunos de alunos do primeiro e do quinto anos de graduação do curso de engenharia de produção mecânica, da Universidade de São Paulo - USP/São Carlos. A partir da análise dos dados coletados buscou-se traçar um perfil dos estilos de aprendizagem (dominantes) desses estudantes e correlacioná-los com a utilização do trabalho em equipe em três diferentes formações (aleatória, homogênea e heterogênea) como estratégia educacional objetivando melhorias no ensino/aprendizagem de graduação, segundo os preceitos estabelecidos pela teoria. Além disso, foi realizada revisão bibliográfica que abrangeu estudos sobre os estilos de aprendizagem e as técnicas do trabalho em equipe, seus benefícios e dificuldades. Com isso, foi possível observar e analisar as influências do conhecimento dos estilos de aprendizagem na formação das equipes tendo como parâmetro o desempenho dos alunos na disciplina abordagens para a identificação e solução de problemas em engenharia de produção. A pesquisa é caracterizada como exploratória e descritiva, por realizar descrições da situação, visando descobrir as relações (influências) existentes entre os elementos componentes da mesma, e por explorar o assunto anteriormente citado. Para a pesquisa teórico-empírica, aplicou-se na coleta de dados alguns questionários, os quais buscou verificar a percepção dos integrantes em relação a formação das equipes e a delegação de papéis. Com base nesses resultados foi possível realizar a análise e correlação entre as variáveis investigadas. De modo geral, observou-se nos resultados que, o conhecimento dos estilos de aprendizagem facilitou a formação das equipes uma vez que o auto-conhecimento propiciado pelos testes permitiram maior compreensão das dificuldades de algumas equipes e uma conseqüente intervenção de discentes e docentes visando maior aproveitamento e maior desempenho na respectiva disciplina. / This assignment has as main aim to remark and analyse what is the influence of the learning styles, in other words, the different preferences by noticing and processing the information, in the high-performance teams formation (all the integrated members of the team are committed to the other´s learning, aiming to reach high levels of performance in a subject or proposed activity). With the sense of reaching the proposed aim Felder and Soloman (1988)´s inventories were put into practice and the Keirsey and Bates (1984)´s in a sample of 53 students from the first and fifth grades students of the mechanical production engineering course, from USP- Sao Carlos. From the collected data analysis on, there was an attempt to draw up a profile of the learning styles (dominant) of these students and to correlate them with the usage of the team work in three different formations (randomly, homogeneous and heterogeneous) with educational strategy aiming improvements on teaching/learning, according to the rules established by the theory. Besides, a wide bibliographical review was carried out which included studies about the learning styles and the team work techniques, their benefits and difficulties. So, it was possible to observe and analyze the influences of the knowledge of the learning styles in the teams formation using as a parameter the students´performance on the subject approaches to the problems identification in mechanical production engineering. The research is characterized as exploratory and descriptive, by doing situation descriptions, aiming to find out the existing relations (influences) among the component members of it, and by exploring the previously quoted matter. For the theoretical-empirical research, some questions were put into practice in the data collection, where there was an attempt to check the participants perception in relation to the teams formation and roles delegation. Considering these results it was possible to do the analysis and correlation among the researched variables. As a general rule, it was noticed in the results that, the knowledge of the learning styles eased the teams formation once the self- knowledge given by tests allowed bigger difficulties comprehension of some teams and a consequent pupil and docent intervention aiming a wider use and higher performance in the respective subject.

A visualização de informação procura interpretar as informações contidas em um conjunto de dados e através de técnicas visuais, perceber relacionamentos e padrões que auxiliam na descoberta de novos conhecimentos. O grande volume de informações nas bases educacionais sobre o rendimento na aprendizagem aumenta a dificuldade em analisar o desempenho na aprendizagem dos estudantes. Indicadores educacionais como nota, índice de aprovação e reprovação não podem ser considerados únicos medidores do desempenho, porém junto aos estilos de aprendizagem dos estudantes e perfil metodológico das disciplinas podem revelar informações sobre o desempenho. As técnicas de visualização combinadas com análises estatísticas pode ser considerada uma alternativa para explorar melhor os dados no processo de descoberta do conhecimento. Este trabalho apresenta um novo modelo para identificar relacionamentos de dados do desempenho na aprendizagem através de uma ferramenta visual interativa ao usuário. Nesse modelo é possível combinar os estilos de aprendizagem dos estudantes com estilos metodológicos das disciplinas e dados educacionais como notas, índice de aprovação e reprovação, para detectar variações de rendimento e propor modificações nas estratégias de ensino. Os dados utilizados para teste foram originados da base de dados do aproveitamento educacional dos estudantes da Escola de Engenharia Elétrica de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo. / Information visualization deals with the use of visual techniques to interpret data and to notice relationships and patterns that support an active user to discovery new knowledge. The vast quantity of information in educational databases increases the difficulty of analysis of the student\'s performance. Educational indicators such as grade, approval and fail index should not be considered as unique performance indicators; however, these indicators along with student\'s learning styles and methodological course profile can reveal educational progress. The visualization techniques combined with statistical analysis should be considered as an alternative to data exploration in the process of knowledge discovery. This work presents a new methodology to identify the relationships that demonstrate the learning performance through the development of a visualization tool in an user\'s adaptable environment. In this new methodology it is possible to combine students and courses styles to detect variations on the courses outline and suggest changes in some methodologies and teaching strategies.The data used to test the proposed methodology came from the learning process database of the Electrical Engineering School at the University of Sao Paulo/ São Carlos/SP.

Orientadores: Pedro Wagner Gonçalves, Carlos Alberto Lobão da Silveira Cunha / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T01:30:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Furegatti_SimoneAndrea_M.pdf: 976300 bytes, checksum: 02ab1710d4a0cc7b4d9999baeca6488e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O conteúdo geológico em cursos de Engenharia Civil é o objeto central da presente dissertação, que expõe e analisa o conteúdo ministrado nos cursos do estado de São Paulo na atualidade e levanta uma concepção de conteúdo a partir de sugestões de especialistas da área de Geologia de Engenharia. Paralelamente, em revisão bibliográfica feita sobre o ensino de Engenharia e o ensino de Geologia são destacados dois aspectos com possível ligação ao conteúdo geológico: a interação de disciplinas e a preocupação com o meio ambiente. Inicialmente a presente dissertação propõe uma reflexão sobre o conteúdo geológico como aspecto interdisciplinar e como parte do conhecimento sobre Natureza. O trabalho apresenta o levantamento dos dados de disciplinas com conteúdo geológico dos cursos do estado e síntese das entrevistas dos especialistas. Foram obtidas 26 respostas, dos 50 cursos existentes no estado em 2004, ano em que foi realizado o levantamento. Análise desta amostra permite vislumbrar um panorama do conteúdo geológico veiculado nos cursos, apresentando, além do conteúdo programático, dados das disciplinas, como carga horária, o período em que se inserem no curso, a distribuição do conteúdo nessas disciplinas, a bibliografia indicada e um perfil profissional dos docentes responsáveis por elas. As entrevistas foram realizadas com dois geólogos e dois engenheiros civis, considerados especialistas na área de Geologia de Engenharia por sua experiência de mais de 3 ou 4 décadas, três deles com experiência acadêmica no ensino de Geologia para os cursos de Geologia e de Engenharia Civil, ou de Arquitetura e Urbanismo. As entrevistas sugerem possíveis caminhos para a escolha de temas geológicos a serem abordados em cursos de Engenharia Civil. Nas entrevistas pode-se constatar a presença dos dois aspectos destacados da revisão bibliográfica, os quais aparecem como preocupação demonstrada por ambos especialistas com as intervenções na Natureza causadas pelo homem, por intermédio do engenheiro civil como executor, e também como possibilidade de se promover interações entre disciplinas geológicas e variadas disciplinas aplicadas de Engenharia, a partir do conteúdo geológico. Finalmente, são identificadas as convergências e divergências existentes entre a interpretação das entrevistas, os resultados da análise dos dados obtidos das disciplinas com conteúdo geológico dos cursos considerados e os aspectos detectados na revisão bibliográfica. As conclusões são de que a importância dada à Geologia por parte dos cursos é pequena, contradizendo a opinião dos especialistas. O retrato do que é ensinado nos cursos está muito aquém das expectativas dos especialistas que defendem ênfase nos processos ao ensinar temas de Geologia Geral e uma articulação desta com a Geologia Aplicada. Esta última é quase inexistente nos cursos do estado e largamente indicada pelos especialistas. A sugestão que fica é de se manter aceso o debate, por parte de organismos profissionais, técnico-científicos, autoridades junto às IES para manter a reflexão e incrementar o ensino de Geologia nos cursos de Engenharia Civil / Abstract: The aim of this research is to analyze the geological content in Civil Engineering courses. Nowadays the content in São Paulo state is examined and compared with the content suggested by Geology Engineering experts. The research shows us two aspects dealt with in the Curriculum Guidelines for the Engineering courses, as in the discussions generated by their definitions and implementations, the intra-discipline and the preoccupation with the environment, proposing a reflection about geological issues as an interdisciplinary aspect and also as part of the knowledge about Nature. It also presents the collection of data of the disciplines with geological content and synthesis of interviews with experts. Twenty-six answers were obtained from fifty existent courses in the state in 2004, when the survey was conducted. Such analysis allows for a panorama of the geological issues transmitted in the courses, beyond the pragmatics approach of the geological disciplines: there is number of hours, the period in which they interfere in the course, the number of students, the distribution of the content in these disciplines, the bibliography indicated and a professional profile of the teachers. The interviews were performed with two geologists and two civil engineers considered specialists in the area of Geology of Engineering, due to, among other factors, their experience of more than three or four decades. In fact, three of them had academic experience in teaching Geology in the courses of Geology and Civil Engineering or Architecture and Urbanization. The interviews suggest possible ways to choose geological themes to be approached in the courses of Civil Engineering. In the interviews the presence of the two aspects highlighted in the bibliography, as a concern demonstrated by all specialists about the interventions in the Nature caused by Civil Engineering, and also as a possibility to promote interactions between geological disciplines and several applied disciplines of Engineering, starting from the geological content. Finally, convergences and divergences are identified among the interpretation of the interviews, the results of the analysis of the disciplines with geological content and the aspects detected in the bibliographical revision. Civil Engineering courses do not emphasize the importance of geological issues. What is taught is not enough for experts that believe in teaching General Geology with Applied Geology. The latter is almost non-existent, although suggested by specialists. The suggestion is under debate by professionals, technical-science and undergraduate Institution authorities in attempt to improve the teaching of Geology in Civil Engineering Courses / Mestrado / Mestre em Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra

Abstract Entrepreneurship education in non-business studies has not been extensively studied. The requirements and special features of engineering education of applied sciences is a fairly unaddressed research topic. Yet, there is a growing need to develop the entrepreneurial behaviour of graduates, as voiced in feedback from stakeholders and other actors in society. The competence requirements of graduates are constantly evolving; they are specified globally as well. The aim and motivation for this study is to develop a new framework for fostering entrepreneurship in engineering education. The developed framework could be used for developing, firstly, entrepreneurial behaviour, and secondly, the entrepreneurial mind-set of the engineering graduates. The main focus of entrepreneurship education research has been on content issues and primarily from the perspective of business studies. Therefore, this study has focused on pondering the methodological challenges of entrepreneurship education in the chosen target field, engineering education. The context for outlining the framework is constructed by first introducing the operational environment of the target organisation. Thereafter, the central concepts of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education and technology-based entrepreneurship are processed in a literature review in order to build the theoretical basis. In addition, research methods with ontological and epistemological choices are displayed. Due to the multilevel structure of the research phenomenon, the study approaches the phenomenon through four essays. The first essay opens up the aspects and background in order to understand the role and expectations of stakeholders as regards entrepreneurship education. The second essay concentrates on the pedagogical issues and possibilities of action-based learning methods with respect to entrepreneurship education especially. The third essay combines effectuation and causation perspectives on opportunity recognition and offers a framework for effectuation-based entrepreneurship education. The fourth essay is an empirical study covering effectuation and causation from the point of view of local technology-based companies. The conclusions of the study suggest that the outlined effectual entrepreneurship education, if combined with action-based learning methods like enquiry-based learning for instance, could support the development of entrepreneurial behaviour, and ensuing entrepreneurship, among engineering students. It is also suggested that adoption of the new framework requires renewal of the learning environment, and the involvement of the entire organisation in the change process. / Tiivistelmä Yrittäjyyskasvatusta ja -koulutusta ei juurikaan ole tutkittu muutoin kuin liiketaloustieteen koulutuksen kannalta. Erityisesti aiheen tutkiminen ammattikorkeakoulujen insinöörikoulutuksen näkökulmasta on ollut vähäistä. Kuitenkin niin sidosryhmät kuin yhteiskuntakin odottavat yhä enemmän valmistuvien omaksuvan koulutuksen aikana yrittäjämäistä käyttäytymistä ja yrittäjyysajattelua. Valmistuvien osaamisvaatimukset kehittyvät jatkuvasti ja ne on määritelty myös maailmanlaajuisesti. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus ja motivaatio on kehittää uusi insinöörikoulutukseen soveltuva yrittäjyyskasvatuksen ja -koulutuksen viitekehys. Sitä voitaisiin käyttää ensinnäkin kehittämään valmistuvien insinöörien yrittäjämäistä käyttäytymistä ja toiseksi heidän yrittäjyysajatteluaan. Näyttää siltä, että yrittäjyyskasvatuksen tutkimuksen painopiste on ollut sisältöön liittyvissä kysymyksissä liiketalouden näkökulmasta tarkasteluna. Siksi tässä tutkimuksessa on keskitytty sen sijaan pohtimaan yrittäjyyskasvatuksen ja -koulutuksen pedagogisia haasteita valitun kohderyhmän, insinöörikoulutuksen yhteydessä. Viitekehyksen kontekstia on hahmoteltu esittelemällä ensinnäkin kohdeorganisaation toimintaympäristöä. Sen jälkeen on käsitelty kirjallisuuskatsauksessa teoreettisen taustan muodostamiseksi tutkimuksen kannalta sellaisia keskeisiä käsitteitä kuten yrittäjyys, yrittäjyyskasvatus ja -koulutus sekä teknologiayrittäjyys. Lisäksi on esitelty valittujen tutkimusmetodien ontologisia ja epistemologisia perusteita. Tutkittavan ilmiön monitahoisuudesta johtuen aihetta on lähestytty neljän esseen kautta. Ensimmäinen essee selvittää sidosryhmien roolia ja odotuksia yrittäjyyskasvatuksen ja -koulutuksen kentässä. Toinen essee tarkastelee pedagogisia näkökulmia ja etenkin aktivoivien opetusmenetelmien antia yrittäjyyskasvatuksen ja -koulutuksen näkökulmasta. Kolmas essee selvittää effektuaation ja kausaation näkökulmien yhteyttä liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien tunnistamiseen ja esittelee effektuaatiota hyödyntävän yrittäjyyskasvatuksen ja -koulutuksen viitekehyksen. Neljäs essee on empiirinen tutkimus, joka lähestyy effektuaatiota ja kausaatiota paikallisten teknologiayritysten näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksissä esitetään, että hahmoteltu effektuaatioon perustuva yrittäjyyskasvatus ja -koulutus yhdistettynä aktivoiviin opetusmenetelmiin, esimerkiksi tutkivaan oppimiseen, voisi kehittää valmistuvien insinöörien yrittäjämäistä käyttäytymistä ja yrittäjyysasennetta, ja lisätä myöhemmin myös yrittäjyyttä. Sen lisäksi ehdotetaan, että uuden viitekehyksen käyttöönotto edellyttää niin oppimisympäristöjen uudistamista kuin koko organisaation sitoutumista muutosprosessiin.

The very nature of computer science with its constant changes forces those who wish to follow to adapt and react quickly. Large companies invest in being up to date in order to generate revenue and stay active on the market. Universities, on the other hand, need to imply same practices of staying up to date with industry needs in order to produce industry ready engineers. By interviewing former students, now engineers in the industry, and current university staff this thesis aims to learn if there is space for enhancing the education through different lecturing approaches and/or curriculum adaptation and development. In order to address these concerns a qualitative research has been conducted, focusing on data collection obtained through semi-structured live world interviews. The method used follows the seven stages of research interviewing introduced by Kvale and focuses on collecting and preparing relevant data for analysis. The collected data is transcribed, refined, and further on analyzed in the “Findings and analysis” chapter. The focus of analyzing was answering the three research questions; learning how higher education impacts a Computer Science and Informatics Engineers’ job, how to better undergo the transition from studies to working in the industry and how to develop a curriculum that helps support the previous two. Unaltered quoted extracts are presented and individually analyzed. To paint a better picture a theme-wise analysis is presented summing valuable themes that were repeated throughout the interviewing phase. The findings obtained imply that there are several factors directly influencing the quality of education. From the student side, it mostly concerns expectation and dedication involving studies, and from the university side it is commitment to the curriculum development process. Due to the time and resource limitations this research provides findings conducted on a narrowed scope, although it can serve as a great foundation for further development; possibly as a PhD research.

Students who attend community colleges often transfer to 4-year universities seeking to earn a degree typically not offered at the community college level. Tennessee has 2 programs: the Tennessee Promise and the Tennessee Reconnect programs that offer students tuition-free access to the state’s community college system. Previous studies have been conducted to compare transfer students’ performances to that of native students and typically compared the students in all disciplines. This study seeks to compare transfer students (students who enter the participating university with 40 or more credit hours) to native students (students who initially enrolled or transferred into the 4-year participating university with fewer than 40 credit hours) the engineering technology major (ENTC) to determine if transfer students are doing as well as or better than native students. The present study used archival data from student records from fall 2008 through fall 2017. The data were provided by Institutional Research at the participating university. The dataset included 416 transfer students and 900 native students. Students were classified as transfer or native based on study criteria. They were then divided into subgroups by gender, Pell grant recipient status, first-generation status, 3000 and 4000 level GPA, high-school GPA, ACT composite scores, age, and whether the student graduated or not. The data were analyzed quantitatively seeking to find differences between the native and transfer students’ graduation rates and differences in the subgroups. The 3000 and 4000 level coursework GPA were examined for transfer shock. There were significant differences between transfer and native students in graduation rates, percent who were first-generation, Pell grant recipient status, and age. Overall, graduation rates for transfer students were 38.8% and 21.8% for native students. The findings indicated that 48.8% of female transfer students persisted to graduation compared to 17.3% of native female students. Male transfer students and male native students graduated at a rate of 43.1% and 22.0%, respectively. There were no significant differences in 3000 and 4000 course level GPA, high-school GPA, or ACT composite scores between the two groups.

<p>Research in pre-college engineering education has been on a sharp rise in the last two decades. However, less research has been conducted to explore and characterize the engineering thinking and engagement of young children, with limited attention to children with special needs. Conversations on broadening participation and diversity in engineering usually center around gender, socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, and to a lesser extent on neurodiversity. Autism is the fastest growing neurodiverse population who have the potential to succeed in engineering. In order to promote the inclusion of children with autism in engineering education, we need to gain a deep understanding of their engineering experiences. </p> <p> </p> <p>The overarching research question that I intend to answer is <i>how do children with mild autism engage in engineering design tasks</i>? Grounding this study in theories of Constructivism and Defectology, I focused on children’s engagement in engineering design practices and the ways their parents supported their engagements. To engage children with mild autism in engineering, I have developed an engineering design activity by considering suggestions from these theories and previous literature on elementary-aged children’s engagement in engineering design, and by focusing on individuals with mild autism strengths in STEM. This activity provides opportunities for children to interact with their parents while solving engineering design problems. The families are asked to use a construction kit and design their solutions to the problem introduced in the engineering design activity. The engineering design activity consists of a series of five challenges, ranging from well- to ill-structed.</p> <p> </p> <p>This is an exploratory qualitative case study, using a multiple case approach. These cases include 9-year-old children with autism and their families. Video recordings of the families are the main source of data for this study. Triangulation of data happens through interviewing parents and children, pictures of children’s artifacts (i.e. their prototypes), and use of the Empathizing-Systemizing survey to capture background information and autism characteristics. Depending on the data source, I utilized different methods including video analysis, thematic analysis and artifact analysis. </p> <p>This study expands our understanding of what engineering design can look like when enacted by children with mild autism, particularly as engineering design is considered to be a very iterative process with multiple phases and actions associated with it. The findings of this study show that these children can engage in all engineering design phases in a very iterative process. Similarities and differences between these children’s design behaviors and the existing literature were discussed. Additionally, some of the behaviors these children engaged in resemble the practices of experienced designers and engineers. The findings of this study suggest that while children were not socially interacting with their family members when addressing the challenges, their parents played an important role in their design engagement. Parents used different strategies during the activity that supported and facilitated children’s engineering design problem-solving. These strategies include soliciting information, providing guidance, assisting both verbally and hands-on, disengagement and being a student of the child. </p> <p> </p> This study provides aspirations for future research with the aim to promote the inclusion of children with neurodiversity. It calls for conducting similar research in different settings to capture the engineering design engagement of children with mild autism when interacting with teachers, peers, siblings in different environments. Additionally, the findings of this study have implications for educators and curators of engineering learning resources.

Civil engineers have many responsibilities to the public, among them designing safe, efficient, and reliable structures and infrastructure. But what is the responsibility of civil engineers towards ensuring that intended users can use these structures and infrastructure without encountering barriers? This research looks at the intersection of universal design (UD) and civil engineering to find if civil engineering students should learn about accessibility and UD during their undergraduate education and if civil engineering professionals should be held accountable when barriers are designed and constructed into the built environment. To answer these questions a survey was distributed to 222 building design professionals to gather their opinion and experience on the subject. Results show that civil engineers have limited knowledge of UD and accessibility requirements in the built environment and that they overwhelmingly believe that students should learn about these subjects during their civil engineering education. Furthermore, most participants agree that civil engineers do have a responsibility to ensure that the built environment is accessible to everyone. Based on the survey results, it is recommended to integrate a course about accessibility and UD in civil engineering curriculums. The curriculums of undergraduate civil engineering programs at Canadian universities were analyzed and it was found that no course discussing these subjects currently exists, but that there is space to implement them in a broader “social impacts of civil engineering” course. It is recommended that the CEAB recognizes accessibility and UD as useful and necessary subjects of education for civil engineering students. Finally, case studies of recent accessibility assessments of buildings are presented. It was found that while progress is being made in designing and constructing accessible structures, many are still not meeting all possible UD recommendations. The participation of professional civil engineers who have learned about accessibility and UD during their civil engineering education could improve the outcome of these projects. The findings of this thesis indicate that it is time to acknowledge civil engineers’ responsibility towards society and the need for a consistent approach to education about its social impacts, in particular about accessibility and universal design.