A Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Approach for Sensor Technology Education for Civil Engineering Students

在这个项目中，我们正在开发一个模块化课件，向土木工程专业的学生介绍传感器技术。该课程基于自定进度模块，学生学习，然后将他们所学的知识传授给其他学生。本课程的直接好处是拓宽了土木工程课程的广度，使其包括涉及本专业各专业的传感和监测这一新兴领域。课程的模块化自定进度格式允许学生以及时的方式获得尽可能多的知识。本课程的发展将直接与系里的其他课程以及系里教师正在进行的研究项目联系在一起。本课程材料与其他课程材料之间的联系有助于加强新技术如何与传统材料相适应。将研究项目作为建议课程模块的主题还有一个额外的好处，那就是向本科生和研究生介绍前沿的研究理念。这门课程也是培养研究生成为许多研究项目的研究助理的一种方式。智力优势：建议的课程采用不同的教学方法向学生提供材料。本课程不采用讲授-考试模式，而是采用动手实验的方式学习。此外，最近学过材料的学生可以通过将知识传授给新生来加强他们的学习。学习效率是这种方法的另一个好处，因为学生只在需要的时候学习他们需要的东西。这种即时学习方法在学习中更有效，因为学生通常在上课时还没有准备好学习。通过将自己的准备与最近完成材料的同伴的指导结合起来，学生可以在更短的时间内学习材料，同时记住更多的材料。更广泛的影响：学习模块的动手性质和自定进度的学习风格，它们旨在为不同学习风格的学生打开材料。这对于在本课程中提供的材料尤其重要，因为传统上认为内容是在电气工程领域，但学生是在土木和环境工程领域。拟议的格式将吸引具有不同背景的更广泛的听众。本课程将有助于马里兰大学土木与环境工程系的改革。同样的模块可以很容易地被其他大学的其他类似部门采用。对工程学院其他院系也有一定的借鉴作用。

In this project, a modular courseware to introduce sensors technology to civil engineering students is being developed. The course is based on self-paced modules that students learn and then pass on what they have learned to the other students. The direct benefit of the proposed course is to broaden the breadth of the civil engineering curriculum to include the emerging area of sensing and monitoring that touches every specialization within the major. The modular self-paced format of the course allows students to acquire as much as they desire in a just-in-time fashion.The development of the course will be directly linked to the other courses that are being offeredin the department as well as research projects that are being performed by the faculty of thedepartment. The linkage between the material in this course to the materials from other coursesserves to reinforce how new technology fits into the traditional material. Using research projectsas subjects for the modules of the proposed course has the additional benefit of introducingcutting-edge research ideas to undergraduate as well as graduate students. The course also servesas a way to train beginning graduate students to become research assistants for many researchprojects.Intellectual Merit: The proposed course uses a different pedagogical approach to deliver thematerial to the students. Instead of the lecture-examination mode, students in this class learn froma hands-on experimentation approach. In addition, students who have recently learnt the materialcan reinforce their learning by passing on their knowledge to the new students. Learning efficiency is another benefit of the proposed approach as students learn only what isneeded when they need it. This just-in-time learning approach is more efficient in learningbecause students typically are not ready to learn when they go to classes. By combining theirreadiness with the hand-holding from their peers who have recently finished the material, students can learn the material in a much shorter amount of time while retaining more of the material.Broader Impacts: The hands-on nature of the learning modules and the self-paced learning stylethat they are intended for opens the material to students with varied learning styles. This isespecially important for the material being delivered in this course as the content is traditionallyconsidered to be in the domain of electrical engineering, but the students are in civil andenvironmental engineering. The proposed format will appeal to a wider audiencewith different backgrounds. This course will help reform the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of Maryland. The same modules can easily be adopted by other similar departments at other universities. It can also serve as a model for other departments of the engineering college.