2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Classicle Sticks: An Activity to Improve Student Engagement

Presented at Community Building and Student Engagement

A game played in some middle-school classrooms has been adapted for engineering lecture courses with 15-45 students in the classroom and is described in detail. It has been used successfully in Electrical Engineering at Texas State University in Electronics 1 & 2, Electromagnetics, and Linear Control Systems. It has also been tested in Statics and Strength of Materials and Structural Analysis courses in Engineering Technology. The activity is designed to improve student engagement and attention while making the lecture period more fun. The nature of the exercise gives students an equal opportunity to ask questions. The activity can be used to check understanding and to probe prior or related knowledge before introducing new concepts, and to point out concepts or techniques in which the students are weak. It also gives the instructor the opportunity to learn students’ names more quickly. A Likert survey was created and administered to probe facets of the exercise such as level of engagement, level of attention paid, student stress level, and fun in the classroom. Survey results are presented and support the hypothesis that this activity improves student engagement and makes lectures more engaging.

Authors

Dr. C. Richard Compeau Jr. Texas State University [biography]

C. Richard Compeau Jr. is a Professor of Practice in the Ingram School of Engineering. He is interested in teaching and curriculum development. His work is typically project-specific for the EE Capstone.
Dr. Kimberly Grau Talley P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6235-0706 Texas State University [biography]

Dr. Kimberly G. Talley, P.E. is an associate professor in the Department of Engineering Technology, Bobcat Made Makerspace Director at Texas State University, and a licensed Professional Engineer. She received her Ph.D. and M.S.E. from the University of Texas at Austin in Structural Engineering. Her undergraduate degrees in History and in Construction Engineering and Management are from North Carolina State University. Dr. Talley teaches courses in the Construction Science and Management and Civil Engineering Technology Programs, and her research focus is in student engagement and retention in engineering and engineering technology education. Contact: talley@txstate.edu
Dr. Austin Talley Texas State University [biography]

Dr. Austin Talley is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Ingram School of Engineering at Texas State University. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas State University, Dr. Austin Talley worked as a manufacturing quality engineer for a test and measurement company, National Instruments, in Austin, TX. Dr. Austin Talley is a licensed by state of Texas as a Professional Engineer. Both of Dr. Austin Talley’s graduate degrees, a doctorate and masters in Mechanical Engineering, manufacturing and design area, are from the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, Dr. Austin Talley holds an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in Mechanical Engineering. His research is in engineering design theory and engineering education. He has published over 30 papers in engineering education journals and conference proceedings. He has worked to implement multiple National Science Foundation (NSF) grants focused on engineering education. He has been an instructor in more than ten week long summer K-12 teach Professional Development Institutes (PDI). He has received multiple teaching awards. He has developed design based curriculum for multiple K-12 teach PDIs and student summer camps.

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