Conference Session

Mechanics Division Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Rockaway, University of Louisville; D. Joseph Hagerty, University of Louisville

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

AC 2010-480: QUALITY ENHANCEMENT IN STATICSThomas Rockaway, University of LouisvilleD. Joseph Hagerty, University of Louisville Page 15.1007.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 Quality Enhancement in StaticsAbstractTo satisfy accreditation requirements the University of Louisville recently developed a QualityEnhancement Plan (QEP) to improve undergraduate instruction across all disciplines. Centralelements of the plan are: emphasis on critical thinking; integration of critical thinking throughoutthe curriculum; service learning for undergraduates; and a culminating experience. With theadoption of the QEP, instructors were asked to incorporate

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials & General Mechanics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American; Horacio Vasquez, University of Texas, Pan American; Martin Knecht, South Texas College; Taylor Martin, Univ of Texas at Austin; Arturo Fuentes, University of Texas, Pan American; Joan Walker, Long Island University; Araceli Ortiz, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

done in a cost effective manner since this style of instructiontypically has a high overhead in terms of both time and effort20.2.3 Curriculum Development Process In general, the LC CBI modules developed at UTPA are designed according to a five-task“backwards design” process fostered by VaNTH and based on Wiggins and McTighe’sUnderstanding by Design21. The planning phase is composed of the first three tasks of DefiningObjectives / Outcomes, Creating a Model of Knowledge, and Determining Evidence. Theimplementation phase is composed of tasks four and five, Selecting / Developing Materials, andSelecting / Providing Delivery. As stated in the VaNTH “Workshop on Designing EffectiveInstruction” (2009) manual these tasks involve the following

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials & General Mechanics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Anderson, Texas Tech University; Roman Taraban, Texas Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, and reflection as well as the morecommon define, plan, execute and check steps. The McMaster problem solving program uses astructure similar to that of Wankat and Oreovicz and implements it across entire curricula. Page 15.848.2Gray’s structured approach emphasizes pattern-matching that starts with a small number ofgeneral equations that students reduce to fit a given situation. The Mettes problem solvingschema is based upon a flow chart of problem solving steps and a constructionist approach tolearning. Litzinger’s integrated model emphasizes problem representation and the conversionfrom one representation (say problem statement) to another

Conference Session

Mechanics Division Poster Session

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

textbooks. The author has primarily focussed on theimportance of introducing Boussinesq Approximation in an undergraduate curriculum. Theauthor proposes to implement this in one single lecture of 50 minutes duration. The studentswill be provided a brief review of how partial differential equations are treated beforeBoussinesq Approximation is introduced. A short homework assignment is also plannedwherein the students are required to read, research, and report their findings in a 400-word essaythat includes a historical perspective as well. At present, the author does not have plans toinclude a question pertaining to Boussinesq Approximation in a quiz or test or an examination.The author plans to utilize a rubric that is similar to Washington State

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials & General Mechanics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ganapathy Narayanan, The University of Toledo

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

terms of reliable and safe. The engineers doing such deterministicanalysis rely on the standards for safety in terms of the allowable stresses.The sources of uncertainty may be classified into two broad types1: (1) Those thatare associated with natural randomness, also known as ‘aleatory’ type ofrandomness, and (2) those that are associated with inaccuracies in prediction and Page 15.922.2 1estimation of reality, also known as ‘epistemic’ type of randomness. The effectsof uncertainties on the design and planning of an engineering system areimportant, however quantification of such uncertainties and the evaluation of

Conference Session

Simple Classroom Demonstrations for Mechanics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tanya Kunberger; Kristine Csavina; Robert O'Neill

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

otherwiseabstract to the students, based on the average in question 2 of Table 1. In the future, theinstructors plan to replace one worksheet in each class period with one student project worksheetfrom previous semesters. The hope is that the models associated with the worksheets will helpthe students better understand what they are calculating, such as velocity of a point. Assessmentof the integrated models and worksheets will continue over the next several course offerings todetermine the best application of the K’NEX models, both as in-class activities and as a groupproject. Included in this assessment will be how the project and in-class activities addressestablished learning styles and specifically, if the project addresses learning styles currently

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Masoud Rais-Rohani, Mississippi State University; Andrew Walters, Mississippi State University; Anthony Vizzini, Western Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

review and selection of proposals for thetwo-phase implementation. Through guidance from NCAT, the plans for pilot and fullimplementations were finalized, with each accompanied by rigorous assessment plan todemonstrate the outcomes achieved in the redesign process.After examination of the five redesign models, we concluded that the emporium model is mostsuitable for Statics. The face-to-face communication elements retained in the emporium modelgives it an advantage over the fully online model when it comes to student satisfaction with thelearning environment. As with all the previous redesign efforts, we are pursuing two goals: 1)enhance learning outcomes and 2) reduce instructional costs. In this paper, we describe details of

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Ruhala, Southern Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

effects of damping.In this paper, only the free vibration experiments, four in all, will be described in detail, as wellas their impact on the student learning outcomes for the course. These experiments weredeveloped and refined over several years. Each laboratory workstation can accommodate twostudents at a time. Student surveys have indicated that the laboratory experiments were effectivein understanding the theory and provide an increased level of intellectual excitement for thecourse. A subsequent paper is planned to describe the forced vibration experiments.IntroductionThere are two basic approaches to developing a vibrations laboratory for engineering students tostudy lumped parameter systems. One is to purchase a commercially available

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials & General Mechanics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Luciana Barroso, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

based on the 3-Story Steel Moment Resisting FrameStructure developed for the SAC research project. The students are given floor plan andelevations for the structure, as well as loading information. The students are expected to work inteam to evaluate the response of the structure using different models and analysis approaches, aswell as to recommend a strategy for improving the structure’s performance.An advantage to using this structure is that it was designed by independent structural consultingfirms based on existing seismic design criteria and that it is well known in the earthquakeengineering research community. As a result, this serves to motivate those students going intopractice as this is a “real” problem tied to the course content

Conference Session

Simple Classroom Demonstrations for Mechanics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Scott Kiefer, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

engineering principles. In an attempt to boost retention by better connecting with today’s engineering students,eight universities participated in a National Science Foundation sponsored project to change theundergraduate Mechanical Engineering Curriculum to make it more attractive to a diversecommunity of students.4 One of the efforts of this project was to develop application-basedlesson plans that would use real life examples to demonstrate basic engineering concepts.Specifically, Eann Patterson developed a set of example problems that could be used in anintroductory solid mechanics course.5 This paper provides an instructor review of five of these

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benson Tongue, University of California, Berkeley; Daniel Kawano, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

struck them as “engineering”and suddenly they realized that EVERYTHING is engineering. An amusing piece of feedback wasfrom the student who wrote “Damn you Professor Tongue! I find that I am now unable to look atlife without thinking ‘Hmmm, I wonder what the natural frequency of that is and what thatimplies about the support stiffness!’” Luckily for me, he/she appended a smiley face, much to myrelief. But as I continually assure my students, my job is to infect them with the “understandingsystem dynamics is fun” virus and my hope is that it proves incurable.A more in-depth assessment is planned in which the performance of students who experienceMoveIt is directly compared to those who do not, keeping everything else in the course essentiallythe

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; Aidsa Santiago Roman, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anna Dollar; Paul Steif

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

ReportsWe plan to develop reports that quantify participation in individual interactive exercises for allthe modules of the course. While log files are kept for activities in all modules, such data are notuseful real-time analysis. Thus far, only in modules 6 and 7 are student activities in theinteractive exercises processed for immediate use in the DDL. Figure 4 shows a snapshot of thereport providing quantified information on overall class use of interactive exercises in module 6. Page 15.1313.6 Fig. 4 Screenshot of Module 6 Assignments and Students Report 6The instructor will also be