Conference Session

Materials, Manufacturing, and Machine Component Design

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Scott Pierce P.E., Western Carolina University; Wesley L. Stone, Western Carolina University; Sudhir Kaul, Western Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

and systems-level thinking are best learned through practice.Surveys of student perceptions of learning indicate that students find both the lecture and the labcourse to be engaging. They report that the courses stimulated their interest in machine designand they feel that the ski lift project helped them to develop important skills. In the future, wewill take a more formal approach to measure student achievement. In particular, we would liketo measure attainment of soft skills such as systems-level thinking in students who have beenthrough the ski lift project versus those who may not have gone through a laboratory course toapply the theoretical content learned in the lecture.The pair of courses discussed in this paper were offered for the

Conference Session

Software and Related Tools for Teaching and Course Efficiencies

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Reed Martin, Pennsylvania State University; Joseph Ranalli, Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton Campus; Jacob Preston Moore, Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

engage in self-directed learning as the needarises. Instructors in this system serve as facilitators, both asking questions to get students tothink about critical factors and answering student questions when they arise. This strategy situateslearning within a context that will mirror what engineers face in practice, and encourages a patternof lifelong learning. In engineering education in particular, researchers have found that ProblemBased Learning approaches had an advantage over more traditional strategies in terms of the devel-opment of soft skills (problem solving, teamwork, self-directed learning) without sacrificing gainsin factual knowledge [9].Though problem based learning has its advantages, it also has limitations. In thermodynamics

Conference Session

Undergraduate Research and a Force and Moment Lab

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert J. Prins, James Madison University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

"soft skills" (a.k.a."essential skills") as advocated by ABET 2000. A more recent example is provided by Boylan-Ashraf who includes hands-on lab activities as part of an arsenal of active strategies applied in anintroductory solid mechanics course (based on presented topical coverage the course would serveas a course in statics). Indicated advantages of active strategies include their increasedlikelihood (compared to lecture-based activities) to provide experiences that are significantenough to build connections as well as a strong association with improved self-efficacy. It isfurther suggested that hands-on learning may promote student retention.Developing contextual knowledge for the "machines" topic In spite of the potential advantages

Conference Session

Teams, Capstone Courses, and Project Based-Learning

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Molly A. McVey, University of Kansas; Carl W. Luchies, University of Kansas; Adrian Joseph Villicana, University of Kansas

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

of pharmaceutical education, 74(2), 35.Dana, S. W. (2007). Implementing team-based learning in an introduction to law course. Journal of Legal Studies Education, 24(1), 59.Haidet, P., Kubitz, K., & McCormack, W. T. (2014). Analysis of the team-based learning literature: TBL comes of age. Journal on excellence in college teaching, 25(3-4), 303.Kumar, S., & Hsiao, J. K. (2007). Engineers learn “soft skills the hard way”: Planting a seed of leadership in engineering classes. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 7(1), 18- 23.Layton, R. A., Loughry, M. L., Ohland, M. W., & Ricco, G. D. (2010). Design and validation of a web-based system for assigning members to teams using instructor