Engineering Design Graphic Journal (ASEE - American Society for Engineering Education)
Not a member yet
430 research outputs found
Sort by
A Cognitive Approach to Spatial Visualization Assessment for First-year Engineering Students
Get PDFFirst-year engineering (FYE) students are routinely screened for spatial ability, with the goals of predicting retention in the major and identifying those who need supplementary spatial instruction. Psychometric tests used for such screenings are often domain-general measures that lack diagnostic information to inform remedial instruction. A new approach to spatial screening is to use measures that assess perfor¬mance on authentic engineering tasks while accounting for the cognitive processes that underlie spatial thinking. We tested the utility of a relatively new spatial visualization test (the Santa Barbara Solids Test; SBST) to characterize individual differences in performance among FYE students with low mental rotation scores. The internal reliability and predictive validity of the SBST were previously demonstrated in sample populations with average spatial skill. One hundred and forty-one FYE students with low mental rotation scores completed the SBST and an engineering drawing task before instruction. We investigated the internal reliability of the SBST, patterns of performance and the validity of the test to predict performance on the drawing task. Through item analysis, we deleted problems that contributed to low internal reliability. Performance means were normally distributed. There were small significant positive correlations between the drawing task and SBST total score and subscales. The SBST shows promise for diagnosing difficul¬ties and strategies demonstrated by students who are challenged by spatial visualization. We suggest applications of the SBST to support remedial spatial instruction
Developing a Scale to Investigate Student’s Self-Efficacy as it Relates to Three-Dimensional Modeling
Get PDFBinkley et al. (2012) contends that the economy and workplace for the 21st Century will not lie in the routine tasks of the past, instead emphasis will be put on the ability of stu¬dents to communicate, share and use information to solve increasingly complex prob¬lems. This is especially true of individuals who chose to pursue careers in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For many engineers and technol¬ogists, at the heart of this exchange of information is the ability to model, design, and fabricate complex objects using the latest three-dimensional modeling software. Yet, for many students tackling this authoring software begins with their own perceived ability to complete said task. Eccles et al. (1983) seminal research revealed that students’ belief about their ability to complete a task is inextricably linked to their previous experience and other socialization factors. To better understand how different experiences impact students’ belief about their abilities, it is imperative to design, test and validate instruments with the ability to provide insight into students’ belief in their ability to complete a task within a given domain or self-efficacy. In an effort to address the lack of instruments designed to measure students’ self-efficacy as it relates to three-dimensional modeling, researchers conducted a study with the intent to develop, test and validate such an instrument
Message from the Editor - Imagineering
No full textLet’s engineer our imagination. This semester my students at Purdue University started using an IdeaBook in one of my classes. It is a sketchbook of ideas for projects and graphical interpretations of reading materials. They have been reading chapters in their textbooks or listening to lectures and drawing mind maps of the content. They are learning to make their thoughts visible. Galileo used graphic diagrams and sketches of perspective to revolutionize science, while all the other scientists described their thoughts verbally and in algebraic terms. Creativity intensified substantially during the Renaissance when ideas began to be documented through drawing and sketching. Get the relationship? Hmmm. Do you notice how computer graphics professors still play with toys? I see those Legos in your classrooms. I see Buzz Lightyear sitting up against my window, and I see that giant transformer on your desk. Why is this? To be childlike is to be in good company. Albert Einstein was childlike his entire life by playing games with numbers. Creative thinkers are constantly combining and recombining ideas into something innovative. I remember when I was on a team of academics assigned to work collaboratively on a virtual project that another university presented to us. I had more questions than answers. I could not get my hands around exactly what they wanted no matter how many questions were asked. I found out later they did not know what they wanted. The project was a failure. It did not get past the research phase of comparing competitive products. I realized that failing was a good thing. I learned so much about what not to do. So the first step to creative thinking is understanding that failure is an important part of success. Failure forces us to explore the unanticipated or walk the unexpected path. It forces us to grow. It gives us creative opportunity. As teacher-scholars, it invites us to continue to approach teaching with creativity and innovation, and to bring that out in our students. In this Winter Issue, we have four great articles focusing on creative and innovative approaches to studying spatial ability and learning styles. Using innovative tools, such as alternative view screen and physical model rotator, Brad L. Kinsey and Erick Towle of the University of New Hampshire, and Richard M. Onyancha of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, experimented with the e? ectiveness of spatial ability targeted training tools. Retention and achievement in engineering, mathematics, technology and science disciplines is positively related to spatial ability. More research is underway. James L. Mohler and Craig L. Miller of Purdue University discuss improving spatial ability with a creative approach to sketching. Their qualitative research uncovered evidence that a teaching technique called mentored sketching is effective for teaching visualization skills to freshman engineering students. In the article Students’ Preferred Learning Styles in Graphic Communications, Jeremy V. Ernst and Aaron C. Clark of North Carolina State University studied the changes in dominant preferred learning styles of university students. Instructional presentation of course content was found not to influence change in learning style. The article had actually been accepted for publication in the Journal before it was presented at the EDGD MidYear Conference in Virginia Beach. It subsequently was recognized with the Oppenheimer Award. In the article Spatial Visualization by Realistic 3D Views, Jianping Yue of Essex County College tested a modified version of the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Visualization by Rotation on four groups of students. The findings indicated enhanced performance on the special visualization test with realistic 3D views. So there you have it. Great research. Great writing. Great ideas. And happy imagineering! I leave you with this thought: Thomas Edison inspires me, and so does Leonardo daVinci and Albert Einstein. Pessimists are often right, but optimists are more productive. -- La Verne Abe Harri
Engineering Animation: A Corporate Case Study
Get PDFThe use of engineering and architectural CAD models in 3D animation an simulation is rapidly becoming a widespread activity in American business and industry. Paralleling this, the ease of interchanging digital and video formats allows engineers and architects the opportunity to merge proposed 3D digital designs directly with existing conditions captured on video. Commercial application of this process impacts areas ranging from preliminary design and analysis through marketing and training. The primary objective of this article is to provide a first-hand account of a corporate project in which 3D engineering models and construction data were used as a basis for producing an engineering marketing animation for the Caterpillar Corporation. The secondary objective of this paper is to describe the role of graphics students involved in this project. The article includes an overview of how CAD models furnished by Caterpillar were used in the production process