Engineering - Electrical (55) This project is establishing a remotely accessible laboratory at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) to improve the computer networking curriculum in both the electrical engineering and computer science departments. The laboratory is using the OPNET simulation tool and allows students to perform large scale networking experiments remotely. A senior level electrical engineering course and a senior level computer engineering course are being revised to use the new laboratory. The laboratory is also being integrated into a virtual classroom based on MediaSite streaming technology to provide remote instruction and support to students. The new laboratory and revised courses are using the Collaborative Project Based Learning model (CPBL), developed with previous NSF funding, to improve student achievement with an emphasis on students from underrepresented groups. The project includes rigorous formative and summative evaluation plans with both qualitative and quantitative components coordinated by an independent evaluator. The evaluation plan is designed to establish the quality of the materials and to ensure the project goals are met. The projects results are being disseminated through conferences and journal publications. Further, all of the project's products, including class notes, video tutorials, lab manuals, and guidelines for instructors on how to implement CPBL, are being made available for free download from the project website. The project website has different portals for students and instructors so they can access different sets of materials and is being connected to the NSF National Science Digital Library (NSDL).
Collaborative PBL beyond the Classroom Boundary To prepare the next generation engineers to meet the demands of the fast-evolving global market, it is important to imbue the current engineering students with both good knowledgebase and strong skills to solve real-world problems. Recently, the engineering education community has embraced project-based learning (PBL) as an effective teaching pedagogy. However, PBL also imposes higher requirements on both instructors and students. For under-prepared students with low self-efficacy, effective implementation of PBL can be very challenging. With the support from NSF, engineering educators at CSULA, a Title III minority institution, carried out exploratory study to extend collaborative PBL beyond the classroom. In the past three years, significant efforts have been made to refine the pedagogical model based on program assessment; and a variety of scaffolding tools were developed to facilitate the online collaborative learning. Some unique features of the revised remote CPBL are described below: 1) The creation of a collaborative and friendly learning environment that is less intimidating to minority students; 2) The design of well-structured project sequence that progressively build up students’ knowledge and skills; 3) Effective implementation strategies that allow students to go through a complete learning cycle; 4) Adequate support to visual learners and to build an online learning community. The revised remote CPBL was incorporated into undergraduate computer networking curriculum to address the learning characteristics of highly diverse student body; a complete set of educational materials have been produced that can be shared with other educators who are interested in adopting CPBL in their teaching practice. The impact of the new teaching pedagogy on student learning is very positive. Assessment data collected through the past 3 years consistently showed that biggest growths occurred in the learning outcomes directly related to the project experiences. Qualitative students’ feedbacks also highlighted the value of integrating hands-on practice with inquiry-based learning components using CPBL. Here is a short list of "what the students like" about CPBL beyond the classroom: The ability to work on OPNET projects remotely from any location and the flexibility to work with their own time and paces are extremely valuable to students on a commuter campus; Great balance between theory and practice; The fact that multiple people can access the blade server together and work on the project as a team; The term project was the most favorite one as it was very involved and provided social and constructive elements of project design that helped the students "boosted their confidence" as future engineers; Opportunity to do open-ended design and be creative.
