Generative AI tools are becoming more widely available and have increasing functionality. Students are beginning to integrate AI into their current practice and will need to be able to ethically use AI in their future careers. Instead of banning AI in an undergraduate biomedical instrumentation instructional laboratory course at a large public university, it was intentionally added with awareness of privacy, equity, and accountability. An assignment was adapted to walk students through comparing data analysis by hand, with mathematical software, and with generative AI. The goal of the updated assignment was for students to be able to think critically about the difference between doing analysis by hand, with purpose-built and validated software, and with a generic tool based on a large language model. The submitted post-lab assignments were analyzed by the research team to understand the students' approach to this assignment and what they learned about each method. All the students were able to complete the assignment, however there was mixed feedback on the usefulness of the assignment. Details about the assignment development and analysis of student work on the assignment are included in this paper.

Teaming of students in design-based engineering courses improves outcomes for projects and replicates the working environment of engineers. Yet the group-level and individual benefits of working in groups depend on healthy group function. In lab and design-based courses, where assignments are typically more open-ended and have high levels of interdependency, unhealthy group dynamics lead to issues such as inequitable division of labor and an undervaluing of certain students' thoughts and ideas. Context-based strategies like pre-assigned groups, task design, or peer grading mitigate these issues, but do not necessarily improve students' abilities to work together. We propose a learner-centered approach to group work in classes, in which instructors use context strategies while training students to establish, maintain, and repair group dynamics across the duration of a semester of instruction. Facilitated by a community of practice of laboratory and design instructors, common assignments to establish and support healthy group dynamics were administered in four design-focused courses at a large public university. Interventions included a beginning of semester team contract activity, a mid-semester reflection activity, and an end of semester self- and peer evaluation. This Work-in-Progress presents this Innovative Practice in its development and early assessment stages. Guiding principles and implementation across multiple course contexts are described, with suggestions as to how instructors may respond to information from these interventions. The aim of this work is for instructors to get a sense of how such a longitudinal, student-centered approach to team dynamics may be applied in their own teaching practice.

The purpose of this workshop-designed for instructional and disciplinary STEM faculty interested in learning about qualitative research-is to (1) introduce participants to high-quality qualitative research design and (2) practice this design process alongside disciplinary STEM faculty to expand their STEM education research abilities and network. We will do so using the ProQual approach, a methodologically unencumbered and widely accessible way of thinking about qualitative research design that was deployed and refined over the last three years as part of the NSF-funded ProQual Institute for Research Methods [1]. This workshop will be conducted by ProQual Institute alumni, who are culturally sensitive to the challenges faced by disciplinary STEM faculty. Leveraging a propagation model of effecting academic change [2], the workshop leaders will serve as a community of practice to help participants move their educational research ideas forward during and after the workshop. In doing so, we strive to further FIE's mission to create a collaborative, supportive, and inclusive community of educational researchers.

Alternative grading schemes are growing in popularity in higher education STEM courses. These schemes focus more on learning and feedback than the traditional points-based grading scheme common in the U.S., which often relies mathematical formulas to determine grades without attention to students’ actual mastery of material. In the 2021-22 academic year an alternative grading scheme was implemented in an upper level required laboratory course in bioengineering at a large public university. The process of identifying and implementing the alternative grading scheme was documented and feedback was collected from students and laboratory staff during the first two semesters of implementation.

Many laboratories were converted to an online format to support students unable to attend instructional laboratories in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. During conversion of a biomedical instrumentation laboratory at a large public research university, our goal was to maintain the lab learning objectives and as much interaction with physical circuits and equipment as possible for students participating either at home or in the traditional on-campus laboratory space. This innovative practice work-in-progress paper describes the process used to convert each laboratory experiment and observations of instructional staff throughout the spring 2021 semester.

Oral communication has been identified as a key skill for undergraduate students to master. Presenting results from course projects is a common means to provide students with an opportunity to practice planning a presentation, making slides, and communicating results to their peers. However, with large classes, there may not be enough time to give all students an equal opportunity to present their results. In this study, students produced videos sharing results of their term design project in a senior-level required control systems course at a private STEM-focused institution in the Midwest. In addition to the videos, the traditional question and answer period that accompanies inclass presentations was replaced with an asynchronous online discussion board. This paper focuses on how an assignment can be designed to reduce additional stress caused by a new format for both faculty and students.

This innovative practice work in progress paper examines the student and faculty reactions after a pilot implementation of Cody Coursework for submission of MATLAB scripts in a senior level dynamic systems and control systems course. The goal in implementation was to increase students' use of scripts in MATLAB and reduce the amount of time instructors spend grading open-ended design problems. The pilot was evaluated with reflections from the faculty team shared in a post-course discussion. Students in the course were also asked to complete a survey after the course. Additionally, scores on two assignments from before the pilot study were compared to scores during the pilot. Based on the pilot implementation, it was determined that Cody Coursework reduced the grading load of the instructors and the students were generally satisfied with the tool.

In the literature, there are many examples of control systems laboratory experiments and equipment. However, the information provided about these laboratories is not consistent. This paper applies a common framework for control systems laboratories to compare six existing low-cost laboratory kits for control systems and mechatronics. The framework contains learning objectives, components of a laboratory apparatus, and concepts for undergraduate control systems courses. It was developed based on a series of surveys of the control systems community. Additionally, a procedure is provided for how to apply the common framework for new laboratory developments and to improve consistency and ease of comparison of laboratories in the future. Due to diversity and differences between the disciplines that teach control systems, this procedure is provided as a guide rather than a prescriptive set of instructions. While using the procedures, instructors may select from the items on each list of the common framework to develop an effective laboratory experience for their students but are encouraged to explain the rationale for which items were selected when sharing their laboratory experience with other instructors. While previous literature has lacked the consistency of details, the goal of this paper is to show how this common framework can be applied in the future to increase understanding and transferability of control systems laboratories across institutions and disciplines.

At large universities, it is common for a teaching assistant (TA) to have a prominent role in an undergraduate laboratory course. Therefore, they have a direct impact on the experience of the students in the laboratory. The training, background, and motivation of these TAs vary. The motivation of the students in the course also varies. This study sought to answer this question: how do TAs influence the students' learning experience in a required laboratory course? In the fall semester of 2014, at a large public university in the Midwest, TAs were observed in the laboratory sections of a required, junior-level course in general engineering. Additional data were obtained from student reflections in each laboratory report and an end of semester survey. Reflections were also collected from students enrolled in the same course in the spring semester of 2015. Finally, at the end of the spring semester, students from both semesters participated in a focus group about the course. The data were analyzed using values coding, which identified values, beliefs, and attitudes expressed by students about the course or the TA. Due to the TAs' prominent role in the laboratory setting, they had a direct impact on the students' experience in the laboratory. However, the impact was different among students who had the same TA. Some of the negative impacts reported were unclear expectations for success, inconsistent grading, and being unavailable or unhelpful. Some positive impacts were also reported, including being helpful and patient. Since data were only collected from the students, the motivations of the TAs were not clear. In this study, there was evidence that the TAs had a negative impact on the learning experience for some students, but not all. To reduce the negative impact in future courses, systems of training, assessment, and accountability for TAs could be improved.

The Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has five major research areas: data analytics; decision and control systems; design and manufacturing; financial engineering; and operations research. During the summer of 2015, faculty and graduate students from each of the last four areas designed mini-projects and assignments to cover the research areas of the department in a required first-year course. The goal of the designed course was to provide a comprehensive overview of the department and an engaging experience for first-year students. Project-based learning and Kolb's cycle for experiential learning were used to inform the structure of the course. Pre-surveys and post-surveys were administered to gather feedback from students in the course. On the surveys, students reported an increase in understanding of each of the research areas and a positive experience in the course.

Lab kits allow students to take home laboratory equipment to complete experiments on their own time. Kits like these can expand access to hands-on experiences for online courses and to budget-strapped campuses. Although students like these kits, no previous studies compared student learning outcomes on assignments using these new kits with previous laboratory equipment. During the 2014-2015 academic year, we conducted a quasi-experiment to compare students' achievement of learning outcomes. Half of the laboratory sections in each semester used the existing equipment, while the other sections used the new kit. The objectives of the laboratory assignments were the same and the instructions were kept as close as possible between the two groups.