Conference Session

Active Learning & Laboratories in Statics, Dynamics, and Mechanics

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John W. Sanders, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Matthew West, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Geoffrey L Herman, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Paper ID #17119Scaling Up Project-based Learning for a Large Introductory Mechanics CourseUsing Mobile Phone Data Capture and Peer FeedbackMr. John W. Sanders, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign John W. Sanders is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the Univer- sity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he has served as the official instructor for an undergraduate- level, introductory dynamics course for the past two summers. He holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics and Mathematics from Saint Louis University, and an M.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of

Conference Session

Teaching Statics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rungun Nathan, Pennsylvania State University, Berks

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

ideas and concepts from previous work listed here, the authorundertook a redesign of his mechanics classes (statics and strength of materials) toinclude interactive engagement, cooperative learning and peer instruction. The idea of“teaching-notes”1 was modernized by the faculty’s use of current technology consistingof a media projector and a tablet-pc with ink technology. Digital ink-technology is theterm used for writing on a tablet-pc screen using free hand writing. The students in theclass did not use tablet-pc. Page 15.1323.2BeginningsTo begin the process, the concept of mini lectures based on informal cooperative learningexperiences of Johnson, et

Conference Session

Using Technology to Support Learning in Mechanics

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Yonghee Lee, Purdue University at West Lafayette ; Jennifer Deboer, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE); Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE); Edward J. Berger, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, whichmakes students try to write perfect notes without missing their instructors’ lecture notes duringclasses. However, these traditional conventions affected student learning as they used onlineresources clearly aligned with the dynamics course. Based on his personalized learningexperience, Oscar articulated how the online video resources affected his previous learningapproaches. I think I feel very prepared, because the way that the information is delivered to us it's very easy to organize and understand…I think it's changed the way that I use online resources. And also the way that I interact with my peers, because a lot of other assignments that we have to hand in are online assignments where you have an unlimited

Conference Session

Using Technology to Support Learning in Mechanics

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Keith D. Hjelmstad, Arizona State University; Amie Baisley, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

ourinstitutions. This shift has changed the mindset in both students and faculty, greatly expanding the rangeof problems that students can explore at the sophomore level. Computing projects offer the ability tointroduce more open-ended problems in the mechanics courses where students can think about certainconcepts more deeply. It also provides the opportunity to introduce important ideas of numerical analysisin a way that makes those techniques immediately relevant. The projects also encourage students to getmore creative, in courses often viewed as skill development, by seeking means to verify their codes andthen use those codes to explore the target problem without the encumbrance of tedious hand calculations.Requiring that each student write a full

Conference Session

Mechanics Division Technical Session 5

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Allen Evenhouse, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Nick Stites, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Amy K. Dunford, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Rohit Kandakatla, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Edward J. Berger, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jennifer Deboer, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

their students, and facilitating group work, among other activities12,25,26. The lecturebook acts as the Freeform equivalent of a textbook. It includes equations, derivations, example problems, and conceptual questions. There is also ample white space so that students may take Course Lecturebook notes or write-out solutions alongside the text itself, acting to foster student activity even during lecture13. Students may also use the lecturebook in conjunction with example solution videos posted on the course blog, facilitating Blended learning3

Conference Session

Teaching with Technology in Dynamics and Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rungun Nathan, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

theaddition of streaming videos for asynchronous instructions. Qualitative feedbackindicates a positive response from students. Rigorous assessment is planned forevaluating the efficacy of these technologies.IntroductionBoyer1 in his report talks about reinventing undergraduate education by taking severalsteps which include the use of information technology creatively for enhancingundergraduate education. Hake2 has shown that interactive engagement increases theconceptual understanding and problem solving ability of students in a mechanics course.Cooperative learning3, 4, and peer instruction5 have shown to be beneficial in classroomsand in the enhancement of student learning. According to Patricia Cross (a leadingeducator), “We have more information

Conference Session

Learning Environments for Statics, Dynamics, and Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michelle Soledad, Virginia Tech and Ateneo de Davao University; Jacob R. Grohs, Virginia Tech; Jennifer Doggett; Steven Culver, Virginia Tech; Jaime L. Williams

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

an important consideration in qualitative research efforts, as itserves as evidence of the integrity of research findings19, 20. There are various ways to establishtrustworthiness, and Creswell (2012)15 recommends using at least two in each study. We usedtriangulation (multiple investigators/coders analyzed the data) and peer examination (a peer whowas not involved in coding examined the meanings and interpretations that were applied to andemerged from the data) to establish trustworthiness19.Results and DiscussionThe primary purpose of this study was to describe the learning experience in a large Mechanicscourse from the students’ point of view, and to see how it aligns with perceptions expressed byfaculty who taught some of the courses

Conference Session

Measuring Learning in Statics & Dynamics

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roger G. Hadgraft, University of Technology Sydney; David Lowe, The University of Sydney; Justine Lawson

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

was no sense of cataloguing 2. Determining quality and relevance was time-consuming and a likely barrier to use 3. There was a preference for peer reviewed resources 4. Many respondents felt that they would refer the resources on to students or make them available as additional materials for students 5. Nobody indicated that they would replace their existing resources with any of these, opting instead to integrate or add to existing resources 6. Several academics commented that they develop their own resources and personalise the delivery of their courses. For this reason, they need online resources to be readily adaptable or easily modified.A couple of respondents identified the need to include involvement of

Conference Session

Homework, Learning, and Problem Solving in Mechanics

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward J. Berger, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Michael Wilson, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

) circumstances, andthat the problem had to be non-trivial. We also decided to make three simultaneous, real-timemeasurements of student actions: • Problem solving actions: student wrote their solution to the dynamics problem in a Livescribe notebook. We used an Echo smartpen system, which employs a small camera in the tip of the pen (along with specially printed paper) to record everything the student writes in a time-stamped way. • Thought process: we asked students to follow a think-aloud protocol and describe their thoughts and actions verbally during the experiment. These verbal expressions were audio recorded using the Echo smartpen, which automatically synchronizes the audio recording with the written

Conference Session

Building Success in the Online Classroom

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Anu Osta, Rowan University; Jennifer Kadlowec, Baldwin Wallace University; Melanie Amadoro, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

adapt to the restrictedlearning environment3,4. This include creating a remote Mechanical Engineering Summer UndergraduateResearch Program to engage students in active research and to provide a mentored experience forindependent research work. Students were matched with faculty based on their fields of interest and wererequired to participate in a workshop series on research methods, scientific writing, career planning, andprofessional development5. Another attempt at asynchronous online delivery of remote introductoryphysics lectures used the Playposit technology which is an interactive audio (MP3 listening assignment)and video (MP4 viewing assignment) components6.Some of the challenges that have been reported include financial strains placed

Conference Session

Homework, Learning, and Problem Solving in Mechanics

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kai Jun Chew, Stanford University; Helen L. Chen, Stanford University; Beth Rieken, Stanford University; Autumn Turpin, Stanford University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

of reflections. Onecategory is students affirming specific things on which they made fewer mistakes. For example,on the HW3 and HW4 wrappers students offered such comments as: “Signs were not a problemanymore. Success!” and “I was organized with solutions, I answered specifically whathomework asked, my signs were on point.” Similarly, a student on her post-Exam 2 wrapperoffered: “Yes, I made no mistakes in regards to external vs. internal loads, or pin jointsspecifically.”The second category of open-ended wrapper responses is on identifying and implementingstrategies for successfully completing homework and for preparing for Exam 2. Examples ofsuch strategies are: being deliberate and writing more in presenting a solution, reviewing

Conference Session

Statics Online

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peggy C. Boylan-Ashraf, Stanford University; Sarah L. Billington, Stanford University; Sheri Sheppard, Stanford University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Independent Study Presentations Solve equilibrium problems and Peer Review based on friction forcesLectureClass was held two times per week for 110 minutes each period. Lectures, in general,covered about 20 minutes of class and were planned with a minimalistic approach,focusing on the essential points. The remainder of class period was designed for in-classactivities, including problem-solving as well as hands-on lab experiments.In-Class ActivityIn-class activities were based on active-learning strategy, in which students worked on aproblem posed by the instructor –at times individually and other times in pairs or ingroups, before participating in a class-wide discussion. The motivation of

Conference Session

Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

the free body diagrams of the separate elements of the system,writing the system of equations, and arriving at the correct answer. But something stillnagged me – why did the systems behave differently? After some thought anddiscussion, I either realized or it was suggested to me that since the scenario with the 50Nweight had more mass than the one with the 50N force, it should accelerate more slowly.This seemed satisfying, and it is this sense of deeper understanding that I challenge mystudents to attain.But even here there is a price. Many students, including myself, believe that appealing tothe deeper understanding is the expected approach and shun long-hand procedure as acrutch. Even during my graduate studies, I clung to a notion that I

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

address topical areas as part of an NSF-funded project. One of these focused on Statics and Dynamics; 24 instructors from research-based, community colleges, and MS granting institutions participated in the Mechanics VCP.The VCP was centered on aligning the classroom around teaching objectives, classroomactivities, and assessment and utilized the How Learning Works framework for discussions.Topics included Bloom’s taxonomy and writing learning objectives, active learning strategies,collaborative learning, conceptual understanding, hands-on activities, and flipping the classroom.An initial 8 week period introduced these topics and helped the instructors formulate their plansfor the upcoming term, and a follow-on period is currently underway to

Conference Session

Alternative Methods of Teaching and Learning Mechanics

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Keith D. Hjelmstad, Arizona State University; Amie Baisley, University of Florida

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, similar to an exam. The students spend the class period solving theproblem and do peer grading at the end (to familiarize them with the grading rubric). Theproblem is the same level of difficulty as the module assessment, so it serves as practice (hencethe name ‘rehearsal’). The rehearsal exam environment is the same as recitation—theinstructional staff are all there, students work in groups, and students can use their notes andexamples.The last 10 minutes of the rehearsal exam period are spent peer grading another student’srehearsal exam. The students exchange exams with their peers and grade while the instructordiscusses the solution to the problem. The students are given guidance on how to grade the exam.The peer grading is an important

Conference Session

Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cliff Lissenden, Pennsylvania State University; Nicholas Salamon, Pennsylvania State University; Andrew Miller, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

,apply standards, create a conceptual design, select appropriate materials, identify applied loadingscenarios, perform the design analysis, check design calculations from another team, createdesign drawings, estimate the cost, and write a design report.In order to accomplish all this in a course like strength of materials, which is laden with analysis,the project must be well organized and accompanied with web-based tools. This paper discussesdesign of the design project, course content that is beyond the traditional strength of materialscourse coverage, and development of web-based tools that make this possible. The web-basedtools provide guidance on: the design process with interactive examples, analysis andsimulation, materials properties and

Conference Session

Active Learning & Laboratories in Statics, Dynamics, and Mechanics

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel J. Magda, Weber State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

design process that hasmilestones with deliverables associated with a Gantt chart and work breakdown structure. Theymust also develop an instructional lab with a series of questions that helps reinforce the theorytaught in the classroom. And finally, they are required to teach this lab to their peers. The designpremise/requirement for the capstone students is that they must incorporate at least three coreareas of the curriculum into their team project. This will provide future implementation of the labto different areas of study with the engineering technology programs. The areas of study for thislab apparatus in this paper include measurements and instrumentations with LabView, strengthof materials, heat transfer and material behavior. The

Conference Session

Teaching Statics: What and How?

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

David Allen Evenhouse, Purdue University at West Lafayette; Charles Morton Krousgrill, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Edward J. Berger, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jennifer Deboer, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

environment (called Freeform) employed in Statics was developed withinthe context of Dynamics courses offered at PWUL to combine best practices from active learning,blended learning, and collaborative learning research [11], [12]. The environment itself revolvesaround a “lecturebook” that serves as both a textbook and a notebook for the students. Thecurriculum proceeds through the sequential chapters of the lecturebook with students writing theirpersonal notes directly on the pages of the lecturebook itself. Instructors use example problemsfrom the lecturebook during class, and their students can look up videos showing the solutions tothese examples (including those not covered during in-class instruction) by going online to thecourse website

Conference Session

Building Success in the Online Classroom

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Reihaneh Jamshidi, University of Hartford; Eoin A. King, NUI Galway

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

learning path. It will alsopromote the following key elements of high-impact practices (HIPs) suggested by theAssociation of American Colleges and Universities: significant investment of time and effort bystudents over an extended period of time; interactions with faculty and peers about substantivematters; frequent timely and constructive feedback; periodic, structured opportunities to reflectand integrate learning; and opportunities to discover the relevance of learning through real-worldapplication. An example of modeling assignment currently developed for the Machine Designcourse is the simulation of shaft deflection using finite element analysis (FEA).Students’ engagement throughout the remote lectures could be enhanced by increasing

Conference Session

What's New in the Mechanics of Materials?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arturo Fuentes, University of Texas-Pan American; Stephen Crown, University of Texas-Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

shear and moment diagrams. Students were provided with the basic platform for thegame but created their own shear and moment diagrams along with the logic for the solution.The games of individual students were compiled in a multilevel game that proved beneficial tostudent learning. The feedback based on student input in the games allows the students to learnand apply new concepts simultaneously. The impact of the games and the student involvementin the game design process have been positive as evidenced by performance on exams andpositive feedback on surveys. Students are motivated to get involved in the game design processby the fact that their work is being evaluated by their peers and that it has some useful purposethat will continue to

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

Using Technology to Support Learning in Mechanics

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Anna K. T. Howard, North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

the course or finding excellent supplemental materialwhich gets added to the course. Encouragement badges were awarded for accessing the flashcards or attending office hours; repeating these behaviors earned higher levels of the badges.Three times over the semester students are required to write something: an ethics response onday 01, written instructions for using the right-hand-rule for three-dimensional moments on day15, and a project report on day 40. Some students believe that becoming an engineer means theynever have to write anything again; while assigning writing assignments can disabuse them ofthis notion, we hoped that assigning badges would highlight some of the places where engineersuse writing skills. The writing badges also have

Conference Session

Mechanics Division Technical Session 3

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ghada M. Gad, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Giuseppe Lomiento, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Yu Sun, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

complexity, ease of administration, quality of information, etc. Examples of these include theVARK catalyst which divides input modes into four areas: visual (V), aural (A), read/write (R),and kinesthetic (K). Visual learners are these that prefer pictures and diagrams; aural learners arethe ones who prefer spoken words; read/write learners prefer the words being written down; andfinally, kinesthetic learners can accommodate other modes but prefer real hands-on experiencessuch as demonstrations and real-life examples (Driscoll & Garcia, 2000). The Index of LearningStyles (ILS) is another popular instrument used to assess students’ styles based on four dimensionsof Felder-Silverman learning style model. These include sensing/intuitive, visual

Conference Session

Building Success in the Online Classroom

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Jiehong Liao, Florida Gulf Coast University; Galen I. Papkov, Florida Gulf Coast University; Ashraf Badir P.E., Florida Gulf Coast University; Robert O'Neill P.E., Florida Gulf Coast University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

variety of ways that they are or couldbe engaged in the course [6]. And finally, after a year-long experiment, it was concluded thatrequiring students to submit homework for a grade did not improve exam performance overstudents who were not required to submit homework for a grade [7].The course is a four-credit course taken by students in their second-year. It is taught in a combinedlecture/lab environment with three meetings a week for a total of five contact hours. Although thecourse has been taught by seven different instructors over the years, it is essentially a team-taughtcourse. Instructors use the same textbook and syllabus, they collaborate on writing and gradingquizzes and exams, and they use common grading rubrics. Over the years

Conference Session

Engaging the Online Classroom

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Matthew M. Barry, University of Pittsburgh; Samantha E. Wismer; Tony Lee Kerzmann, University of Pittsburgh; Lee Allen Dosse, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

feedback from the target audience: students. This textbook was co-authored by a studentwho had recently taken the class. This student was able to draw from their own experiences fromtaking the course, to better focus the book on student learning and expectations. Being cognizantof these recent experiences, the emphasis of the text was an example-based approach to learningin addition to making the text interactive and engaging. It is noted the student co-author isemployed by the University of Pittsburgh Study Lab, a free tutoring service which is offered to alluniversity students. Through the Study Lab, the co-author received certification from the CollegeReading and Learning Association in peer tutoring and new tutor training. The student co

Conference Session

Teaching & Learning Dynamics, Vibration, and Mechanics More Broadly

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Geoff Rideout, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Desire2Learn® (“D2L”) online teaching and learningplatform, via which most courses have “D2L shell” web pages for instructor postings,gradebooks, homework submission, quiz administration, and discussion boards. Students areaccustomed to logging into D2L for other courses, so use of this tool does not introduce anyoverhead from a student perspective.To generate explanatory videos and fill in gapped lecture notes for easy web posting, the authoruses a Windows-based tablet PC with open-source CamStudio® and PDF Annotator® software.PDF Annotator allows the user to write directly on PDF documents with a variety of pen coloursand thicknesses. CamStudio overlays voice narration with screen recording of any openapplication. The author prepared gapped handouts

Conference Session

Dynamics

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brianno Coller, Northern Illinois University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

the class sizewas smaller and it was more convenient to run a Think-Pair-Share6 activity, not all that differentfrom Mazur’s Peer Instruction pedagogy. When I ask students to explain their answers to thequalitative concept questions, I was astonished to discover that students rarely drew free bodydiagrams. They ignored the physical principles discussed in class and, instead, relied on theirown physical intuition. Mazur2 reported something similar when he recalled a student asking,“… how should I answer these questions? According to what you taught us, or by the way I thinkabout these things?”During the recitation sections, starting in 2007, we would discuss how the systematic problem-solving process, including free body diagrams, could be

Conference Session

Building Success in the Online Classroom

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Hayden K. Richards, US Air Force Academy; Phillip Cornwell, United States Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

completed assignment was a lab which includedthe writing of a formal report. Performance on this assignment was compared across thedifferent teams, sections, and individual students’ results, with the goal being to determine ifcertain team formation strategies have a beneficial effect on performance for both the teams andthe individuals. Analysis of the data indicates that student-selected teams performed better onthe team assignment than teams formed using other strategies, but the observed improvementwas not statistically significant. We believe this was due to the small sample size. In addition,while there was no statistical difference in the incoming average student GPA for differentcourse sections, the incoming GPA of students did have a

Conference Session

Mechanics Division Technical Session 5

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nicolas Ali Libre, Missouri University of Science & Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Department of Mathematics at Hong Kong Baptist University (2010-2011) he focused on developing meshfree numerical methods. Given his multidisciplinary background, he was appointed as the director of research in the Construction Materials Institute (2011-2013) at the University of Tehran and assistant professor at Islamic Azad University. In that capacity, he had the opportunity of leading several industry-related research projects and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students. Over the span of his career, Dr. Libre has authored and co-authored over 17 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 50 conference papers. He has advised and co-advised 7 graduate students and mentored over 20 undergraduate students. He has

Conference Session

Innovative Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Morgan, Texas A&M University; Luciana Barroso, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, students initially are overwhelmed and frequentlystate “I don’t know how to start the solution.” Active problem solving helps them piece togethersmaller problems that they do know how to solve in order to reach the solution of the complexproblem. This also leads to more efficient office hours, where students come as a group with anattempted solution to various problems. Instruction Team (PT, TA, Profs):A coordinated effort by the two instructors, teaching assistant, and peer teacher results in officehours that span the entire week. Students are repeatedly told they can see any person involved,including professor from other section. This team approach allows for students to get help moreeasily, as well as seeing different approaches to solve the