An alternative to the traditional classroom structure that has seen increased use in higher education is the flipped classroom. Flipping the classroom switches when assignments (e.g. homework) and knowledge transfer (e.g. lecture) occur. Flipped classrooms are getting popular in secondary and post-secondary teaching institutions as evidenced by the marked increase in the study, use, and application of the flipped pedagogy as it applies to learning and retention. The majority of the courses that have undergone this change use applied learning strategies and include a significant “learning-by-doing” component. The research in this area is skewed towards such courses and in general there are many considerations that educators ought to account for if they were to move to this form of teaching. Introductory courses in computer programming can appear to have all the elements needed to move to a flipped environment; however, initial observations from our research identify possible pitfalls with the assumption. In this work in progress the authors discuss early results and observations of implementing a flipped classroom to teach an introductory programming course (CS1) to engineering, engineering technology, and software engineering undergraduates.

Our goal in this article is to reflect on the role LEGO robotics has played in college engineering education over the last 15 years, starting with the introduction of the RCX in 1998 and ending with the introduction of the EV3 in 2013. By combining a modular computer programming language with a modular building platform, LEGO Education has allowed students (of all ages) to become active leaders in their own education as they build everything from animals for a robotic zoo to robots that play children's games. Most importantly, it allows all students to develop different solutions to the same problem to provide a learning community. We look first at how the recent developments in the learning sciences can help in promoting student learning in robotics. We then share four case studies of successful college-level implementations that build on these developments.

Background: There is clear consensus among influential education reports that an expansive range of intrapersonal (e.g., self‐regulation) and interpersonal competencies (e.g., empathy) highly influence educational and career success. Research on teaching and learning these competencies is limited in engineering education.Purpose/Hypothesis: This study explores the impacts of a mindfulness training program on first‐year engineering students and aims to understand potential impacts on the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies.Design/Method: A four‐session mindfulness‐based program was designed, developed, and facilitated to cultivate intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. Qualitative data were collected from a total of 35 students through a post‐survey (n = 32), 3‐month follow‐up survey (n = 24), and interviews (n = 18). A thematic analysis process accompanied by validity and trustworthiness checks was employed to analyze the data.Results: The results suggest that the majority of students became more mindful, which led to improved intrapersonal competencies (e.g., self‐regulation, focus, resilience, and well‐being) and interpersonal competencies (e.g., empathy, communication, teamwork, and leadership).Discussion/Conclusions: The study provides compelling evidence that mindfulness training can support the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies among engineering students, which can support their overall academic experience, personal, and professional development. Future design and development work will be needed to evaluate the integration and scalability potential of mindfulness training within engineering programs.