Engineering Computer-Aided Drafting: A Hybrid Teaching Model

Murad Musa Mahmoud; Kurt Henry Becker

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Conference: 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Publication Date: June 26, 2016
Start Date: June 26, 2016
End Date: June 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-692-68565-5
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Pedagogy and Learning Within Engineering Design Graphics II
Tagged Division: Engineering Design Graphics
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/p.26631
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/26631
Download Count: 494

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Paper Authors

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Murad Musa Mahmoud Utah State University orcid.org/0000-0002-7810-6046

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I am a PhD student in the Engineering Education department at Utah State University. My major advisor is Prof. Kurt Becker. I have a bachelor's and master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Jordan. I have about five years of experience in teaching, most of which is with computer-aided drafting (CAD). My research interests include; STEM recruitment, professional development and CAD.

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biography

Kurt Henry Becker Utah State University

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Kurt Becker is the current director for the Center for Engineering Education Research (CEER) which examines innovative and effective engineering education practices as well as classroom technologies that advance learning and teaching in engineering. He is also working on National Science Foundation (NSF) funded projects exploring engineering design thinking. His areas of research include engineering design thinking, adult learning cognition, engineering education professional development and technical training. He has extensive international experience working on technical training and engineering educaton projects funded by the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and U.S. Department of Labor, USAID. Countries where he has worked include Armenia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, and Thailand. In addition, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses for the Department of Engineering Education at Utah State University.

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Abstract

This “Work in Progress” describes a hybrid/blended teaching model using discipline-based engineering assignments to enhance student learning in a computer engineering drafting course.

Engineering communication skills are recognized as vital for all engineers to be successful in today’s global economy. Many engineering disciplines rely on students having a sound understanding of computer-aided drafting (CAD) as one of the communication skills they learn while in their engineering program.

Engineering students in many engineering programs are required to take a CAD course. To enable students in these programs to effectively learn CAD and see how their engineering discipline uses it, Utah State University modified the CAD course that all students in civil, environmental and biological engineering take. A hybrid/blended teaching model using multiple instructional components to enhance student learning was used. Components of the model include: (1) a discussion/lecture session, (2) a laboratory session, (3) online self-paced modules, (4) video tutorials, and (5) discipline-based engineering assignments.

Assignments that were previously used in the course were mostly mechanical engineering-based assignments and thus not very relevant to the students taking the course. To assist with the assignment reconfiguration Utah State University recruited the help of students in biological, civil and environmental engineering to create new assignments. In addition, a Ph.D. student with teaching experience in the CAD course oversaw the entire process. The project was funded by the Huntsman Environmental Research Center (HERC).

To measure the effectiveness of this hybrid teaching model, an online survey was created and is currently being disseminated to students in the course on a weekly basis. The online student survey determines the time spent by students on each of the course activities which include weekly assignments, completing the online modules and watching the video tutorials. In addition, the survey includes a section to determine the usefulness and enjoyment factor for each of the course activities. The survey includes questions to determine how the students’ rate the previous assignments compared to the new discipline-based assignment in terms of relevance to their major and which assignment they would prefer to complete if they had the choice.

To encourage student participation in taking the survey, course bonus points are awarded to those who participate in the surveys. Ten to twelve weekly surveys are completed by students throughout the semester. Preliminary results of the surveys indicate that students prefer the new discipline-based assignments as they are relevant to their majors, enjoy the mixture of learning styles used in the course, think the lab and lecture/discussion sessions are useful as a learning method, and think the online modules are time consuming. At the time of the ASEE conference, survey results for the current academic year 2015/2016 (approximately 150 students) will be completed and analyzed.

Citation
Format

Mahmoud, M. M., & Becker, K. H. (2016, June), Engineering Computer-Aided Drafting: A Hybrid Teaching Model Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26631

TY - CPAPER
AB - This “Work in Progress” describes a hybrid/blended teaching model using discipline-based engineering assignments to enhance student learning in a computer engineering drafting course.

Engineering communication skills are recognized as vital for all engineers to be successful in today’s global economy. Many engineering disciplines rely on students having a sound understanding of computer-aided drafting (CAD) as one of the communication skills they learn while in their engineering program.

Engineering students in many engineering programs are required to take a CAD course. To enable students in these programs to effectively learn CAD and see how their engineering discipline uses it, Utah State University modified the CAD course that all students in civil, environmental and biological engineering take. A hybrid/blended teaching model using multiple instructional components to enhance student learning was used. Components of the model include: (1) a discussion/lecture session, (2) a laboratory session, (3) online self-paced modules, (4) video tutorials, and (5) discipline-based engineering assignments.

Assignments that were previously used in the course were mostly mechanical engineering-based assignments and thus not very relevant to the students taking the course. To assist with the assignment reconfiguration Utah State University recruited the help of students in biological, civil and environmental engineering to create new assignments. In addition, a Ph.D. student with teaching experience in the CAD course oversaw the entire process. The project was funded by the Huntsman Environmental Research Center (HERC).

To measure the effectiveness of this hybrid teaching model, an online survey was created and is currently being disseminated to students in the course on a weekly basis. The online student survey determines the time spent by students on each of the course activities which include weekly assignments, completing the online modules and watching the video tutorials. In addition, the survey includes a section to determine the usefulness and enjoyment factor for each of the course activities. The survey includes questions to determine how the students’ rate the previous assignments compared to the new discipline-based assignment in terms of relevance to their major and which assignment they would prefer to complete if they had the choice.

To encourage student participation in taking the survey, course bonus points are awarded to those who participate in the surveys. Ten to twelve weekly surveys are completed by students throughout the semester. Preliminary results of the surveys indicate that students prefer the new discipline-based assignments as they are relevant to their majors, enjoy the mixture of learning styles used in the course, think the lab and lecture/discussion sessions are useful as a learning method, and think the online modules are time consuming. At the time of the ASEE conference, survey results for the current academic year 2015/2016 (approximately 150 students) will be completed and analyzed.

AU - Murad Musa Mahmoud
AU - Kurt Henry Becker
CY - New Orleans, Louisiana
DA - 2016/06/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Engineering Computer-Aided Drafting: A Hybrid Teaching Model
UR - https://peer.asee.org/26631
DO - 10.18260/p.26631
ER -