Papers by Alejandra Magana
Machine Learning and Knowledge Extraction
Fields in the social sciences, such as education research, have started to expand the use of comp... more Fields in the social sciences, such as education research, have started to expand the use of computer-based research methods to supplement traditional research approaches. Natural language processing techniques, such as topic modeling, may support qualitative data analysis by providing early categories that researchers may interpret and refine. This study contributes to this body of research and answers the following research questions: (RQ1) What is the relative coverage of the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic model and human coding in terms of the breadth of the topics/themes extracted from the text collection? (RQ2) What is the relative depth or level of detail among identified topics using LDA topic models and human coding approaches? A dataset of student reflections was qualitatively analyzed using LDA topic modeling and human coding approaches, and the results were compared. The findings suggest that topic models can provide reliable coverage and depth of themes present...
IEEE Access, 2021
This study investigates the relationship between two related computational thinking practices: da... more This study investigates the relationship between two related computational thinking practices: data practices and computational problem-solving practices in acquiring related computational thinking practices during a first-year undergraduate engineering course. While computational thinking theory is still developing, empirical studies can help further understand how students demonstrate this knowledge and their progression in attaining the practices. Therefore, with this empirical study, the following questions are addressed. RQ1: What are the differences in students' computational thinking practices at the beginning of an undergraduate introductory programming course? RQ 2: How do these differences correspond to the acquisition of more advanced computational thinking practices? The use of a descriptive non-experimental design that aims to understand the correlation between practices related to data and computational problem-solving is presented. A machine learning technique is employed, utilizing historical data from introductory programming for a problem-solving course with more than 1000 first-year engineering students. After identifying groups of students defining different profiles, data from posterior performance in more advanced programming topics were descriptively analyzed. This study supports the characterization of four different student profiles demonstrating differences in their performance at the beginning of the semester. From these four profiles, two of them show a subsequent differential progression besides their similarity at the beginning of the semester. In this particular case, troubleshooting and debugging appear as a relevant competency when distinguishing these two learners' groups. These findings suggest that previous knowledge or exposure to different practices can result in different progressions of more complex computational practices, emphasizing the relevance of troubleshooting and debugging as a practice required for a successful and timely progression on the acquisition of other computational thinking practices. INDEX TERMS Engineering education, engineering students, pattern analysis, statistical learning.
Modelling, Aug 2, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Investigating teachers' enactment of engineering design practices in a CAD simulation‐enhanced learning environment
Computer Applications in Engineering Education, Feb 24, 2021
Engineering design problems are ill‐structured, and as a result, learners find it challenging to ... more Engineering design problems are ill‐structured, and as a result, learners find it challenging to engage productively in relevant practices of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation for solving problems in the domain. Teachers find it particularly difficult to effectively support such engagement. Thus, there is a need to understand how teachers orchestrate their classrooms for maximizing opportunities for students to engage in these practices. In this paper, we use the case study methodology to investigate how teachers materialize and enact engineering design practices in a CAD simulation‐enhanced learning environment. Three teachers (cases) provide evidence for the following orchestration techniques—scaffolding development of students' expertise via teacher‐guided decomposition of problem space, apriori teacher‐led parameter determination, and student‐generated contrasting cases. These techniques scaffolded students' engagement in engineering design practices in all three cases. Common themes across the three cases—problem decomposition, modeling of expert practices, and facilitating students' active involvement—revealed a combination of pedagogical strategies that were interconnected and made evident through the cognitive apprenticeship model. The strategies suggest the integration of types of knowledge and engineering practices required for effective apprenticeships in similar contexts.
Computer Applications in Engineering Education, Jun 28, 2018
Much can be learned from the vast work on the use of computer simulations for inquiry learning fo... more Much can be learned from the vast work on the use of computer simulations for inquiry learning for the integration of modeling and simulation practices in engineering education. This special issue presents six manuscripts that take steps toward evidence-based teaching and learning practices. These six studies present learning designs that align learning objectives, with evidence of the learning, and pedagogy. Here we highlight the main contributions from each paper individually, but also themes identified across all of them. These themes include (a) approaches for modeling-and-simulation-centric course design; (b) teaching practices and pedagogies for modeling and simulation implementation; and (c) evidence of learning with and about modeling and simulation practices. We conclude our introduction by highlighting desirable characteristics of studies that report on the effectiveness of modeling and simulation in engineering education, and with that we provide some recommendations for improving the scholarship of teaching and learning in this field.
Experimentation is one of the important strategies used in engineering design to understand the r... more Experimentation is one of the important strategies used in engineering design to understand the relationship between relevant variables so that they can be manipulated to generate optimized solution for a particular problem or design. The understanding of students' experimentation strategies allows educators to help students improve their design experiments by providing scaffolds or guidance. The purpose of this study is to investigate students' experimentation strategies while they work on a design challenge. We performed a concurrent think-aloud to capture students' verbal description of their actions while they designed using a CAD tool. Using mainly the think-aloud transcripts, we identified and characterized patterns of students' experimentation strategies. In this study, we were able to identify four main activities whose combinations resulted in five different experimentation strategies performed by students, along with their explanation of their actions. Implications of this study relate to scientific argumentation, learning support, design of practical learning activities, and teacher encouragement.
Alejandra's research interest are focused on identifying how computational tools and methods can ... more Alejandra's research interest are focused on identifying how computational tools and methods can support the understanding of complex phenomena for scientific discovery and for inquiry learning.
The new science standards mandate an appropriate integration of engineering design and science le... more The new science standards mandate an appropriate integration of engineering design and science learning in precollege engineering activities. However, science and engineering education research suggests that achieving this integration is a challenging task. Primarily, three challenges hinder this integration-(a) science concepts are often invisible and alien to students thus making it difficult for students to use them during a complex design activity, (b) application of a science concept towards optimizing a design depends heavily on a good understanding of its interplay with all other related concepts that may affect the system function, a difficult practice for the students to grasp, and (c) need for continuous formative feedback to illuminate how science principles influence students' own designs in order to develop a normative understanding of science and engineering design concepts and make effective trade-offs.
Electronics
In this study, we: (a) compared the differences in the learning of friction concepts between a ph... more In this study, we: (a) compared the differences in the learning of friction concepts between a physical manipulative tool (PMT) and a visuohaptic simulation (VHS) in four different configurations (visually enhanced feedback on/off, force feedback on/off), and (b) analyzed the influence of the visual and haptic feedback for learning the concept of friction. Specifically, this study explored the role of an object’s size in friction. In a three-stage experiment (i.e., pre-test, experimentation, and post-test), 206 undergraduate students compared the friction force, speed, acceleration, and traveled distance between two cubes with the same weight but different sizes pushed on a smooth surface. Our results suggest that (a) VHS was an effective tool for promoting the learning of friction concepts actively, (b) learners in the VHS condition outperformed the learners in the PMT condition (PMT < VHS), (c) the easy identification of the forces by enhanced visual cues promoted the acquisiti...
Trends in Higher Education
Companies and their executives are concluding that to accomplish their complex tasks and all-enco... more Companies and their executives are concluding that to accomplish their complex tasks and all-encompassing missions and goals, they must step outside the traditional realms of teamwork and partnership and engage in cross-cultural and multinational alliances. One of the principal areas affecting teamwork today, especially in diverse workplaces, is the variety of cultural value orientations that the members relate to. To better prepare students for joining global enterprises, it is necessary to understand their cultural orientations and how those may influence their teamwork interactions. This study used a mixed methods design to characterize computer and information technology undergraduate students’ cultural orientations and their cultural awareness in the context of teamwork experiences. The data for the study was collected in the form of a reflection assignment that was implemented during the first week of classes as a way to promote students’ cultural awareness and how that may pl...
Combining hands‐on and virtual experiments for enhancing fluid mechanics teaching: A design‐based research study
Computer Applications in Engineering Education
Fluid Mechanics courses comprise both theoretical and laboratory modules. In developing nations, ... more Fluid Mechanics courses comprise both theoretical and laboratory modules. In developing nations, computer‐assisted techniques are not commonly applied in Fluid Mechanics instruction. Forced by the COVID‐19 pandemic, South American universities are, however, using them for online teaching. This contribution presents an 8‐semester (2016–2019) educational intervention over an undergraduate Fluid Mechanics course. It mainly blends physical (hands‐on) and virtual experiments (computer fluid dynamics‐based simulations) for the laboratory module, which are complemented by flipped classroom‐based prompts for the theoretical module. The intervention follows design‐based research as a research method and is guided via conjecture mapping and fidelity of implementation standards. Our results suggest that the intervention improves fluid mechanics laboratory instruction, although improvements depend upon the participation of other educational actors such as teaching assistants and laboratory tech...
International Conference on Advances in System Simulation, Oct 3, 2021
Recycling is one of the most significant issues in the waste management system. As the use and de... more Recycling is one of the most significant issues in the waste management system. As the use and demand for plastics increase every year, finding efficient and environment-friendly solutions to handle the plastics in the plastic waste management system gets more challenging. There are economic, environmental, and educational factors affecting plastic waste management. This paper investigates the effects of educational campaigns and system-wide improvement. For this, we used an Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation approach in the NetLogo environment. We provided various scenarios in the current plastics waste life cycle using a real dataset to validate our model, which was from the American Chemistry Council and the National Association for PET Container Resources from 2018. We found that education, technology, and infrastructure changes should be considered holistically to overcome this problem at a system level.
2017 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2017
We explored the affordances of using visuo-haptic simulations to improve conceptual understanding... more We explored the affordances of using visuo-haptic simulations to improve conceptual understanding and representational competence of the concept of friction. Visuohaptic simulations are computer-based simulations that encode mathematical and physical models of certain phenomena and provide visual and tactile feedback; users can see the simulation and feel the friction with their hand by using a special device connected to a computer. We hypothesized that visual and haptic feedback together can help students to improve learning of friction. We recruited 24 engineering students with a previous experience in at least one physics course and we examined their reasoning and understanding about statics concepts before and after engaging with visuo-haptic simulations. Our instructional approach included four steps: 1) lecture about friction, 2) pretest, 3) laboratory session, and 4) posttest. The laboratory session consisted of a pre-training session, guided learning materials based on a constructivist framework, and use of the friction visuo-haptic simulation. We report students' prior conceptions of statics concepts, ways in which they interacted and reasoned with each of the different pedagogical tools, and compared reasoning processes, explanations and learning gains. Our results suggest that the visuo-haptic simulation helped students refine their explanations and increased the coherency between their verbal explanation and mathematical representation.
The Educational Review, USA, 2021
Career choice is one of the most crucial and challenging decisions that young adults need to make... more Career choice is one of the most crucial and challenging decisions that young adults need to make. Institutions have implemented strategies (such as first-year exploratory studies) which can provide students guidance to explore multiple majors. One strategy that has not been explored as a guidance to help students prepare is the use of historical data on specific majors. This study investigates the feasibility of using historical data from previous graduating classes. We presented students with personalized career-related data for their top two choices for university majors and observed the impact of exploring this data on career related perceptions, intentions, and decisions. Students were compared on career learning competences, career exploratory plans and intentions, career exploration strategies, and career learning before and after the intervention. Our results suggest that engaging students in exploring career-related historical data, regardless of the format, has a significantly positive effect on their career learning and exploration.
ArXiv, 2020
In this article we describe Hack.VR, an object-oriented programming game in virtual reality. Hack... more In this article we describe Hack.VR, an object-oriented programming game in virtual reality. Hack.VR uses a VR programming language in which nodes represent functions and node connections represent data flow. Using this programming framework, players reprogram VR objects such as elevators, robots, and switches. Hack.VR has been designed to be highly interactable both physically and semantically.
Advances in engineering education, 2019
In this article, we explore how information, communications, and computational technology, or com... more In this article, we explore how information, communications, and computational technology, or computer technology for short, influences the way that engineering is taught and learned. The goal of our analysis it to contribute towards a research, adoption, and policy agenda for propagating the effective use of computer technology in engineering education and for avoiding pitfalls associated with the connectivity that this technology enables. We seek to inform action and generate conversation amongst instructors, students, researchers, administrators, policy makers, and other key stakeholders in engineering education. We organize our discussion through six main issues as the focus for systemic change for the effective integration of technology in engineering education. These issues were identified through a Delphi study with a group of engineering education experts. Our analysis of the issues then draws on major policy reports of the use of technology in education and the extant resea...
Assessing the impact of an engineering design workshop on colombian engineering undergraduate students
International Journal of Engineering Education, 2016
Engineers iteratively apply their disciplinary knowledge to develop solutions to ill-defined prob... more Engineers iteratively apply their disciplinary knowledge to develop solutions to ill-defined problems considering varyingand often competing criteria and constraints. Design is a process engineers use to solve ill-defined problems necessary tofulfill human needs. While worldwide institutions are increasingly introducing engineering design in undergraduateengineering education, the extent of integration of design into the curriculum ocurr at varying degrees. In this study wefocus on a higher education institution in Colombia through a single case design. We specifically evaluated the effect of aworkshop designed to introduce engineering design to engineering students in a context where there have been limitedinitiatives and resources to introduce engineering design. Two groups of students from different engineering programs in apublic university in the Colombian Caribbean region participated in an eight-hour workshop. The workshop involved adesign challenge of creating a net-zero ene...
2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2018
Structural analysis is a foundational statics concept for students majoring in mechanical enginee... more Structural analysis is a foundational statics concept for students majoring in mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and engineering technology, among others. However, the mathematical emphasis of a typical statics courses lies in algebraic calculations, matrices, vectors, and sometimes deemphasizes student understanding of the behavior of the overall structure as a system, focusing instead on its individual elements. This study investigates students' conceptual understanding of forces acting and reacting in a truss structure as well as their corresponding representations in the form of Free Body Diagrams (FBDs). Our findings suggest that students primarily demonstrated partially coherent answers suggesting that they may hold some misconceptions about truss behavior. The most prevalent error was that students failed to account for the mutual (equal and opposite) forces between connected bodies that were separated for analysis. Based on our findings we propose the design of a learning experience that combines principles of embodied learning with the affordances of visuohaptic simulations to address students' misconceptions.
Education Sciences, 2021
Information technology professionals are required to possess both technical and professional skil... more Information technology professionals are required to possess both technical and professional skills while functioning in teams. Higher education institutions are promoting teamwork by engaging students in cooperative and project-based learning environments. We characterized teams based on their collective orientations and evaluated their team performance in a cooperative project-based learning environment situated in a sophomore-level systems analysis and design course. We explored the orientation patterns in terms of goals, roles, processes, and interpersonal relations (GRPI). Specifically, we analyzed team retrospectives of 23 teams using a mixed-method approach. Findings characterized teams into balanced and unbalanced orientations. Teams with balanced orientations demonstrated a higher level of team performance in terms of academic achievement than the unbalanced category.
Mathematics, 2020
Scrum methodology is widely used in the information technology (IT) industry for the purposes of ... more Scrum methodology is widely used in the information technology (IT) industry for the purposes of team-based iterative software development. However, limited studies have been conducted to explore the nature of interactions between a Scrum Master and other team members and the effect of these interactions on team effectiveness. The aim of this study is to understand the interactions between the Scrum Master and other team members in an educational setting and propose and demonstrate an application of cooperative game theory for the same. Cooperative game theory can model scenarios where other team members can benefit from cooperating. Through the lens of the cooperative game-theoretic model, we investigated the strategies employed by the Scrum Master and other team members when involved in a semi-capstone IT project. Specifically, the study explored the team interaction between a Scrum Master and other team members at three different levels of team effectiveness: least effective, par...
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Papers by Alejandra Magana