Capstone course A course of any form whose purpose is to provide a culminating experience for students that introduces, parallels, and foreshadows the type of project work they are likely to be confronted with on the job. In capstone design courses students must work under real-world constraints on ill-defined problems, typically in teams, and often receive industry feedback on their design solutions. Adapted from Trevisan, M.S., Davis, D.C., Beyerlein, S., Harrison, K., Thompson, P. (unpublished). Classroom assessment in capstone engineering design courses: A review of the literature.
Carnegie code Colleges and universities in the United States were classified using the 2000 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education codes as baccalaurate, masters, doctoral/research institutions. These designations represent the primary highest degree offered by those institutions. A few U.S. institutions did not have a Carnegie code.
Case studies (intervention) An account of an engineering activity, event or problem containing some of the background and complexities actually encountered by an engineer. A case is used in engineering courses to enhance learning about engineering principles and practices. http://www.civeng.carleton.ca/ECL/cwrtng.html [Accessed 09/06/05]
Case study (nature of research) A case study is a particular method of qualitative research. Rather than using large samples and following a rigid protocol to examine a limited number of variables, case study methods involve an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event: a case. They provide a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results. As a result the researcher may gain a sharpened understanding of why the instance happened as it did, and what might become important to look at more extensively in future research. Case studies lend themselves especially to generating (rather than testing) hypotheses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_study [Accessed 10/03/05]
Change in attitude Outcomes were coded as change in attitude if the results were presented in terms of some change or lack of change in student attitudes.
Classroom/course The intervention took place in a course or classroom.
Cluster A collection of students who have the same schedule for a group of three or more courses.
Clustered courses A group of academic courses in a related area that a group of students take together.
Cognitive/constructivist/social constructivist This group of theories focus on the mental processes involved in learning, understanding, and knowing. Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge. In constructivism, the instructor acts as a facilitator who encourages students to discover principles for themselves and to construct knowledge by working to solve realistic problems, usually in collaboration with others. This collaboration is also known as knowledge construction as a social process. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_%28education%29 [Access 10/03/05]. {need definition for social constructivist}
Collaborative/cooperative learning Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Groups of students work together in searching for understanding, meaning or solutions or in creating a product. The approach is closely related to cooperative learning, but is considered to be more radical. Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, and other activities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning [Accessed 09/07/05] Cooperative learning is an instructional paradigm in which teams of students work on structured tasks (e.g., homework assignments, laboratory experiments, or design projects) under conditions that meet five criteria: positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, appropriate use of collaborative skills, and regular self-assessment of team functioning. Many studies have shown that when correctly implemented, cooperative learning improves information acquisition and retention, higher-level thinking skills, interpersonal and communication skills, and self-confidence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_learning [Accessed 09/07/05]
College/university retention Outcomes were coded as college/university retention if the results were presented in terms of attrition, persistence, or retention at the college or university. (See also course retention, major retention, retention.)
Common course scheduling This model advocates clustering students, i.e. enrolling groups of students in common sections, so the students have the same homework, exams, and course preparation. Students in common sections can conveniently share information, and thus benefit through collaborative learning.
Communal housing Housing layouts where students live near each other in a community. Communal housing contributes to the feeling of being part of a group.
Communication and information technology This subcategory codes interventions that use communication or information technologies to deliver instruction or to connect learners to each other or to educational resources (typically across separations of distance or time).
Communication skills. Outcomes were coded as communication skills if the results were related to the ability to communicate effectively, but did not specify whether the communication skills were oral or written.
Community The intervention took place in the community.
Comparison groups Comparison group studies are studies that did involved comparing the outcome of the group receiving the intervention with the outcome of a group that did not receive the intervention or received a different intervention. Unlike experimental studies, they often did not involved a pre-planned or simultaneous control group. For example, these types of studies often involved comparing end-of-course grades of the intervention group with grades received by students in the classes taught by the same instructor before the intervention was introduced.
Computation tools A tool or aide used in the procedure of calculating, determining something by mathematical or logical methods, or solving a problem that involves numbers or quantities.
Computing major The majors listed in this category were derived from the majors for which ABET provides program criteria and supplemented with majors discussed in the literature. Articles were coded by major when the major or department in which the intervention took place was mentioned in the article. If the major, department, or fundamental area was not mentioned, a major was coded based on the departmental affiliation of the lead author(s).
Concept Inventories A multiple choice instrument designed to evaluate whether a person has an accurate and working knowledge of a specific set of concepts. Concept inventories are built in a multiple choice format to insure that they can be scored in an objective manner. Unlike a typical multiple choice test, however, both the question and the response choice are the subject of extensive research designed to determine both what a range of people thinks a particular question is asking and what the most common answers are. In its final form, the concept question is presented both a correct answer as well as distracters, that is, incorrect answers based on commonly held misconceptions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_inventory [Accessed 09/07/05] The Foundation Coalition is working to create concept inventories for specific engineering disciplines. See http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/keycomponents/concept/index.html
Concept maps A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships between concepts. Concepts are connected with labeled arrows, for example ("is-a", "related-to" or "part of"). The addition of labeled and flexible links (attached during or after construction) has been found to significantly improve the level of meaningful learning and communication of the concept mapper. Concept maps are used to stimulate and organize idea generation, and are believed to aid creativity. Although they are often personalized and idiosyncratic, concept maps can be used to communicate complex ideas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_map [Accessed 09/07/05]
Confidence (outcome) The belief in oneself and one's ability, and the knowledge that one can succeed at something - coursework, major, career, etc.
Consortium of universities The intervention took place in every college/university in a consortium of universities.
Contests A competition, especially one in which entrants are assigned to design a scheme or prototype given predetermined project objectives and specifications. Contests are usually independently judged.
Co-op Cooperative education is a structured method of combining academic education with practical work experience with an engineering company. Cooperative education provides academic credit for career work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_education [Accessed 09/07/05]
Course retention Outcomes were coded as course retention if the results were presented in terms of attrition, persistence, or retention in a specific course. (See also college/university retention, major retention, retention.)
Creative thinking Outcomes were coded as creative thinking if the results were presented in terms of students' creative thinking skills, creative ability, creativity, or creative performance.
Cross-functional team A cross-functional team consists of a group of people with different functional expertise who work toward a common goal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-functional_team [Accessed 09/07/05]