Conference Session

New Teaching Methods in Mechanics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ruben Pierre-Antoine, Stanford University; Sheri D. Sheppard, Stanford University; Mark Schar, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

the course4. A concept map is essentially a mental web of connected terms or topics,where the centermost term is the primary learning focus and lines are used to connect relatedconcepts. This results in a web of interconnected concepts that reflect the way studentsassimilate the new information. The three main questions guiding the study reported here are: 1) How can we decode the variety of ideas and structures that students include in their concept maps? 2) How can we use discoveries from this decoding to make lectures and labs more effective? 3) What improvements can be made to the way students are assigned drawing concept maps to further increase the usefulness of concept maps in capturing their learning? The

Conference Session

New Teaching Methods in Mechanics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Takashi Kawano, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Benson H. Tongue, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

. Page 24.1357.3The student survey was conducted at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and at the Universityof California, Berkeley during the winter quarter and spring semester, respectively, of the 2012-2013 academic year. Students in our dynamics courses were asked to first watch two screen-captured example problems, each broken into several clips. Sample screenshots from one of thescreen-captured example problems are shown in Figure 1. (a) (b) Figure 1. Snapshots of two clips from the screencast for Example 4.6 used in the study. The first clip (a) contains the introduction screen and the Problem Statement, Goal, Given, Draw, and

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William E. Howard, East Carolina University; Odis Hayden Griffin Jr. P.E., East Carolina University; Ihab Ragai, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

programs, selecting every10th program from an alphabetical list of the accredited programs. By looking at each program’scurriculum and course descriptions as published on the institution’s website, we noted whetherthat program had required classes in machine components, machine kinematics, vibrations/dynamic systems, or finite element analysis. We also looked for any other required class in solidmechanics. The findings of this study are summarized in Table 1. Table 1 Required Classes in ME Program Sample Number of Programs with Course % of Sample Required Class Machine

Conference Session

New Teaching Pedagogies: Methods and Assessments

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benjamin W. Caldwell, LeTourneau University; Colleen M. Halupa, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics

Engineering Education, 2014 A Qualitative Pilot Study of an Online Accelerated Statics Course with Intensive Video DeliveryAlthough online learning is extremely popular with 67 million of students taking online classes,it has not been widely used for extremely technical courses such as those in the field ofengineering.1 In order for optimal learning and transformation to occur, both the student and theprofessor must learn to evaluate the learning process differently. For the professor, this meansexamining what has traditionally been done in the past and what can be done in the future toenhance learning for all students. The traditional behaviorist model, which focuses on grades asa reward and punishment system, is no

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Morrow Nissenson, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Jaehoon Seong, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Chuan-Chiang Chen, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Peter A. Dashner, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Angela C. Shih, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

. Angela C. Shih, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Page 24.406.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014 Developing Web-Assisted Learning Modules in Vector DynamicsAbstractOnline learning tools were developed by the authors at California State Polytechnic University,Pomona in an effort to improve student outcomes in a Vector Dynamics course. These toolsinclude (1) a series of narrated video tutorials that show students step-by-step how to solvetypical dynamics problems and (2) simulations of typical dynamics scenarios. The video tutorialswere created using Camtasia Studio

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James M. Widmann, California Polytechnic State University; Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University; Michael J. Prince, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

studentreflections. Next, using videotape and peer prompting, the authors developed and collected averbal protocol from individual Dynamics students as they worked through the activity using a“talk aloud” approach. Based on analysis of the videotaped transcripts a better understanding ofthe sources of misconceptions was identified and further refinements to the IBLA are beingmade. The paper contains the IBLA along with suggestions for implementation andimprovements.Introduction and BackgroundIt is well documented that students enter the classroom with deeply rooted misconceptions.1-3This is especially true in STEM disciplines, where the literature contains thousands of studies ofstudents’ lack of conceptual understanding.4 The importance of conceptual

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul S. Steif, Carnegie Mellon University; Levent Burak Kara, Carnegie Mellon University; Luoting Fu

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

and on observations of student workA tutor for problem solving in statics should enable users to carry out the general set of tasksexpected of students in this subject. In particular, the tasks in applying statics to a real physicalsystem include: 1. Survey the physical system to recognize the various parts, how they are connected or supported 2. Select a subsystem, that is, a some portion of the system, for analysis 3. Draw a free body diagram of the subsystem 4. Write down equations of equilibrium for the subsystem 5. Solve equations for unknowns, interpret them, and potentially use those results in the analysis of subsequent subsystemsDifferent types of statics problems exercise these facets of the problem solving

Conference Session

New Teaching Methods in Mechanics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul S. Steif, Carnegie Mellon University; Anna Dollar, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

(percentage correct on all exam problems) and participation(average usage) is shown in Figure 1 for School S and Figure 2 for School P, both for Fall 2012,since only these data were available in the timeframe of this paper. First, there is indeed a verywide distribution of participation: the participation for School S had a mean of 65% and standarddeviation of 21%, while the participation for School P had a mean of 68% and standard deviationof 21%. For School S, one can view students as falling into three groups corresponding the fourquadrants in the plot. Students in the upper right completed more activities in the resource andtended to have higher exam scores. Students in the upper left completed fewer activities in theresource but still tended to

Conference Session

New Teaching Methods in Mechanics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarah L. Billington, Stanford University; Sheri D. Sheppard, Stanford University; Robert C Calfee, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University; Peggy C. Boylan-Ashraf, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

embedding of assessment into a course is benefitting both the students andthe instructors.1. IntroductionAn introductory course on Solid Mechanics was recently redeveloped with a focus on activelearning. The course is taught to 80-90 students per quarter and is a required fundamental coursefor several engineering majors. The authors have recently initiated an engineering educationresearch project with this course as the platform. The focus of the research is on the use ofonline activities and how they may enhance student learning to improve self-efficacy andachievement, thereby boosting self-confidence of Engineering majors, and further serving toreduce drop out rates 4,10,24. Different types of online activities to be investigated

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Devin R. Berg, University of Wisconsin - Stout

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

material presented in lecture. The specific directionsprovided are given in Textbox 1. Students were divided into two groups corresponding toregistration in equivalent sections of the same course. One group served as a control group andthe second group served as the treatment group. Both groups were subject to identical curriculumand assessment with the addition of the assignments described here given to the treatmentgroup.Submit one original post per week (photo/video + text) giving an example of something thatdemonstrates the concepts discussed in that week’s classes. Textbox 1: Assignment instructions as provided to the students.Collection of student submissions took two forms. During the first part of the semester (first

Conference Session

New Teaching Pedagogies: Methods and Assessments

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Cavalli, University of North Dakota; Jeremiah J. Neubert, University of North Dakota; Dustin McNally, University of North Dakota; Debbie Jacklitch-Kuiken

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics

video lecture material—learning aids—and will the distance studentsbenefit from the in-class activities. Moreover, are the benefits a function of the course level?MethodDuring the Fall 2013 semester, four courses were selected to evaluate the flipped delivery modefor both on-campus and at-a-distance learners in comparison with a more traditional coursestructure. A list of the courses selected for the study and their corresponding enrollment can befound in Table 1. These courses included an introductory mechanical engineering design course(ME 101), an introductory engineering mechanics course (ENGR 201), a computerprogramming/numerical methods course (ENGR 200), and a junior-level materials sciencecourse (ME 301). All courses included both on

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carisa H Ramming P.E., Oklahoma State University; John J. Phillips P.E., Oklahoma State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

increasein available tutoring sessions, and the introduction of hands-on experiments for use in furtheringthe understanding of individual topics within the course. It was concluded that the use of thistype of active learning setting within the course might be a method to achieve improved retentionof theory by our students.2 Page 24.718.4 Figure 1 and 2: Students working through the Equilibrium hands-on exercise during discussion lab in StaticsA survey was conducted via www.surveymonkey.com in the Spring of 2013 of the students thatwere currently re-taking the course. When asked what played the biggest factor in the outcomeof their grade, 50

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Orval Powell, USAF Academy; Michael Richards, U.S. Air Force Academy; Daniel D. Jensen, U.S. Air Force Academy; Nicholas Matthew Brown, United States Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

magnitude of the applied load werechanged, or a combination of the preceding changes were made. The instructors thenimmediately showed and discussed the results.To assess the impact of the use of ForceEffect, students in both the experimental and controlgroups took the standard course exams as well as 5 study-unique, in-class quizzes. Theinstructors wrote these quizzes with the intention of assessing how well the use of ForceEffecthelped the students visualize and solve problems. As an example, a question from Quiz #3 isincluded in Figure 1. In addition to the graded assessments and at two points during the 40-lesson semester (lessons 20 and 37), the instructors sought feedback from the students regarding

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez ; Aidsa I. Santiago-Román, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez ; Genock Portela-Gauthier, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

) courses; these problems further serve tovertically integrate the two courses. The subject of this paper is to describe the projects that havebeen developed for the MoM course. These projects engage students in the use of the structuralanalysis software SAP2000 and also design codes from ASCE, AISC, and AASHTO. Initialassessment results demonstrate that students enjoy the realistic feel of the projects and that theyare able to complete the required tasks, but with a variety of execution and interpretive errors.1. Introduction The understanding that the essence of engineering is “to design” is well established1, yetengineering education has often emphasized analysis at the expense of fostering creativity indesign.2 Nevertheless, many

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brianno Coller, Northern Illinois University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

vehicle’s dynamics alone. Completingthe challenges requires piloting the spuCraft with mathematical precision. To succeed in thegame, students/players must leverage physical principles to derive the mathematical rules toprescribe exactly how much force to apply at exactly the right moment. Figure 1. Screenshots of the Lift, Spiro, and Espoo challenges in the videogame Spumone.As we have been testing and developing the game these past few years with students taking theirsophomore level engineering dynamics course, we have been monitoring their conceptualunderstanding of the subject with the Dynamics Concept Inventory1. In each semester we haveused the game, students scored roughly 0.8 standard deviations higher2, 3 compared to a controlgroup

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter W Malak, Marquette University; Mark L. Nagurka, Marquette University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

: (1) Identifying spring types (tension, compression, torsion) and appropriate applications (automotive door latches, key fobs, pens). (2) Disassembling and re-assembling padlocks (with design and manufacturing questions related to the springs used in the locks, and measurement of the stiffness of the shackle compression spring). (3) Achieving desired stiffnesses through appropriate series and parallel combinations of springs (requiring stiffness measurements of the given springs, and comparing to manufacturer's supplied data). (4) Experimentally determining shear moduli and stiffnesses of wire and 3D printed springs. Investigating overextension limits of

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shraddha Sangelkar, Pennsylvania State University, Erie; Omar M. Ashour, Pennsylvania State University; Russell L. Warley, Pennsylvania State University, Erie; Oladipo Onipede Jr., Pennsylvania State University, Erie

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

., Pennsylvania State University, Erie Page 24.887.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2014 Mastery Learning in Engineering: A Case Study in StaticsIntroductionMastery learning has been used for decades in education. Two approaches were developed:Bloom’s Learning for Mastery and Keller’s Personalized System of Instruction 1-3. The main ideain both approaches is that the course material is divided into basic modules and the students arerequired to demonstrate their mastery of each module before moving to the next module. Themastery level is assessed by using a set of tests where each

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carla Egelhoff, Montana Tech of the University of Montana; Edwin M. Odom, University of Idaho, Moscow

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

at that particular time. The method presented here is offered in that vein.Figure 1. Machine Designer Walter Schroeder of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. was interested in the deflection of the stepped shaft loaded as shown.[1] To avoid binding at the bearing ends, their locations were of critical importance. Page 24.946.2BackgroundThe literature search is purposefully limited to methods that have been previously used forfinding deflections of stepped shafts. An article by Professor C.W. Bert in 1960 entitled“Deflection of Stepped Shafts” [2] used Castigliano’s theorem to find the deflection of a simplysupported grinding

Conference Session

New Teaching Methods in Mechanics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University; Edward J. Berger, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

were to help faculty (quote3): 1) engage in reflection and continuous improvement of learning, both their own and their students 2) facilitate conversations about teaching and learning in the process of building a learning community 3) create a collaborative learning environment with faculty and peers 4) build confidence in curriculum development including designing, guiding, and assessing learning 5) learn with and about technology in the process of improving curriculum, and 6) connect teaching and research and bridge the gap between theory and practice.Recognizing the potential for widespread engagement of engineering educators, an initiative onAdvancing Engineering Education through Virtual Communities of Practice

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew West, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Geoffrey L. Herman, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

model was used to drive the reform of the course Introductory Dynamics. This course was redesigned to achieve three goals: (1) improve students’ low engagement and enthusiasm, (2) improve instructors’ experience and reduce their high workload, and (3) maintain and elevate the current standards for content. Introductory Dynamics is one of the core second-year mechanics courses in our engineering curriculum, serving approximately 800 students per year. Course revisions have led to the adoption of a spectrum of evidence-based practices such as context-rich, collaborative problem-solving sessions, and classroom response systems. These efforts have improved student satisfaction with the course and have

Conference Session

New Teaching Pedagogies: Methods and Assessments

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Eric Nauman, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Beth M. Holloway, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Charles Morton Krousgrill, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics

1 depicts two pages of the ME 27400 Lecturebook which are representative ofLecturebook sections designed for factual content delivery and to introduce an example problem,respectively. As evident, the style of factual information delivery largely mirrors a traditionaltext, while the example problems are cast in terms of a Given-Find format. The latter is designedto bring clarity to the thought processes of novice students who are still establishing theirbaseline problem-solving skills. To exercise higher levels of cognition, the aforementionedcontent is augmented on both an intra- and inter-topic basis with Challenge Questions andConceptual Problems. The Challenge Questions are specifically designed to have studentsexpand their depth of

Conference Session

Teaching Dynamics

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew D. Lovell P.E., Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Sean P. Brophy, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

to solvefundamental problems in kinetics and kinematics. The instructor noticed, however, that studentstended to struggle transferring their skills to solve dynamics problems significantly different ormore complex than the problems typically assigned on homework. In 2012, the course wasenhanced by introducing a model of challenge-based instruction.[1] Challenge-based instructionis a problem based approach in which units of a course are framed around a challenge or set ofchallenges. For the course enhancement, the challenges were introduced and implementedfollowing a proven learning cycle in which students are led through a meticulous problemsolving approach. All other course activities for each unit were framed with the initially

Conference Session

New Teaching Pedagogies: Methods and Assessments

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan B. Swithenbank, US Coast Guard Academy; Thomas William DeNucci, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics

shown toimprove student learning [1]. We decided to integrate this approach into our undergraduateNewtonian dynamics class to leverage technology, optimize active learning with instructorspresent, and reduce faculty tutoring loads. In this method of teaching, the in-class time isdedicated to active learning, while the lectures leverage technology to supplement in class timewith on-line videos.The lower levels of learning in Bloom’s taxonomy [2], such as remembering and understanding,are delivered to the students through on-line lectures. The higher levels of learning, such asapplying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating, take place in the classroom with the instructor as aguide. To achieve this, in class time is devoted to guided instruction