2006 ASEE DELOS BEST PAPER AWARD

(Chicago, IL, June 19, 2006) - Drs. Autar Kaw and Melinda Hess (Center of Research, Evaluation, Assessment and Measurement at USF)  received the 2006 American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Best Paper Award in the Division for Experimentation and Laboratory Oriented Studies (DELOS). 

The title of the awarded paper is "Assessing Teaching Methods in a Numerical Methods Course".  In this paper, effectiveness of four instructional delivery modalities

1. Traditional lecture,

2. Web-enhanced lecture,

3. Web-based self-study, and

4. Combined web-based self-study & classroom discussion,

was investigated for a single instructional unit (Nonlinear Equations) over separate administrations of an undergraduate course in Numerical Methods.

Two assessment instruments

1. student performance on a multiple-choice examination, and

2. a student satisfaction survey

were used to gather relevant data to compare the delivery modalities. Statistical analysis of the assessment data indicates that the second modality where web-based modules for instruction were used in conjunction with a face-to-face lecture delivery mode resulted in higher levels of student performance and satisfaction.

The award consists of a plaque and a check for $150. 

"The DELOS Best Paper Award recognizes individuals for excellence in the preparation and presentation of a paper in a DELOS session at the ASEE Annual Conference. The award was presented at the ASEE Annual Conference the year following the presentation of the paper".