Conference Session

Miscellaneous Mechanics: Covid and Free Body Diagrams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julian Ly Davis, University of Southern Indiana; Andrew Jason Hill, University of Southern Indiana

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

previous exams due to theextra stresses associated with pandemic issues and online courses. Contrary to our expectations, students showed a marginal improvement in exam performanceduring the 2020-2021academic year when compared to exam problem performance from pre-pandemicexam problems. However, it may be difficult to identify single variables that could have affectedperformance of students taking exams during the COVID-19 pandemic versus those before the 2020-2021academic year. INTRODUCTION The shift to online education during the COVID19 pandemic provided an opportunity for studentsto 1) learn at their own pace and 2) in the safety of their own/home environments (unknown as to if this

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics: Modes and Methods

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert A. Hume, P.E., United States Military Academy; Adrian Biggerstaff, United States Military Academy; Eric B. Williamson, U.S. Military Academy

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

on their impressionof the self-revised assignments to evaluate the efficacy of these assignments in three areas: 1. Student academic performance on exams compared to previous cohorts 2. Student perception of the homework and learning experience 3. Instructor perception of the assignment style’s benefits to students and ease of gradingOutcomes proved neutral to slightly positive in each area. Student grades remained similar toprevious cohorts, but struggling students demonstrated increased time spent engaging with thematerial during the revision process. Students reported neutral to positive perceptions of themethod, and instructors generally favored the approach for its reduction in time spent grading.Overall, we recommend other

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics: Modes and Methods

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phillip Cornwell, United States Air Force Academy; Matthew Snyder; Michael Anderson, P.E., United States Air Force

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

. The purpose of soliciting feedback from theseinstructors was to learn how to best design a flipped course so that future instructors caneffectively use the materials for a flipped course with little additional work on their part.IntroductionIn 2013 a flipped classroom was described as “a new pedagogical method, which employsasynchronous video lectures and practice problems as homework, and active, group-basedproblem-solving activities in the classroom” [1]. A summary of flipping classes in engineeringand the type of activities used in class is provided in Ref. 2. Ten years after these papers, we donot think it is appropriate to call the pedagogical method “new” anymore, but the number ofpapers discussing the flipping of Dynamics is limited

Conference Session

Will This Be on the Mechanics Test? Concept Inventories and Understanding Exams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anna K. T. Howard, North Carolina State University, Raleigh; Azadeh Dashti Cole, North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

in Large Sections Anna K. T. Howard, Azadeh Dashti Cole NC State UniversityAbstractThe best paper in the Mechanical Engineering Division at the 2022 ASEE Annual Meeting inMinneapolis showed that student learning increased with weekly quizzes rather than dailyhomework.1 The authors’ work built on several recent papers showing that mastery learning withmultiple attempts at each quiz increased student success.2-4 Engineering Statics at NC StateUniversity has long included daily homework assignments, so the pivot to weekly quizzes willneed to be adopted over multiple semesters and adopted for large enrollment sections.This work-in-progress paper details the methods we used to

Conference Session

Keeping It Real: Real World Examples and Systems Thinking

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Huihui Qi, University of California, San Diego; Changkai Chen; Richard Eugene Vallejo Jr., University of California, San Diego; Trevor Keoki Oshiro; Edward Zhou Yang Yu, University of California, San Diego; Isabella Fiorini

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

traditional reading assignments.Effective inquiry-based learning (IBL) in engineering mechanics courses requires a clear andrelevant driving question, structured inquiry activities, and opportunities for student reflectionand self-assessment. Thus, we will demonstrate the details of the IBLA hands-on models as anopen source for other instructors interested in using them. 1. IntroductionPre-trainingPre-training refers to the process of acquiring knowledge or skills before attending a lecture orother format of learning event. It is an important method to reduce students’ cognitive load whenlearning new concepts during the lecture [1,2]. In addition, pre-training can also help to increasestudent engagement in lectures and learning motivation.Common

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics: Modes and Methods

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phillip Cornwell, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Ioan Feier; Nicholas J. Marco; Danielle Ozment

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

classrooms have become a common teaching choice. For example, a recent articleidentified more than 1900 publications on flipped or inverted classes [1]. Various flippedapproaches and materials are used, with the goal of improving pedagogy by offloading certainlearning tasks to times outside the classroom, allowing more effective use of face-to-face time.Bishop and Verleger [2] describe the rise and origins of the flipped classroom, and they define itas “a new pedagogical method, which employs asynchronous video lectures and practiceproblems as homework, and active, group-based problem-solving activities in the classroom.”Additionally, they describe the student-centered learning theories that motivate a flippedenvironment. Flipped classes tend

Conference Session

Digital Methods in Mechanics: Teaching with Digital Tools

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael P. Hennessey, University of St. Thomas; Amir Ahmad Naqwi

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

Paper ID #37036Oscillators for System ID and Inertia Measurement in UndergraduateDynamicsDr. Michael P. Hennessey, University of St. Thomas Michael P. Hennessey (Mike) joined the full-time faculty at the University of St. Thomas as an Assistant Professor fall semester 2000 and was promoted in 2014 to Professor of Mechanical Engineering (tenured since 2006). He is an expert in kinematics, dynamics, and control of mechanical systems, along with related areas of applied mathematics, such as in automation and transportation. As of summer 2023, he has 54 publications, in journals (11), conferences (41), magazines (1), and

Conference Session

Keeping It Real: Real World Examples and Systems Thinking

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ashley J. Earle, York College of Pennsylvania; Stephen N. Kuchnicki, York College of Pennsylvania; Scott F. Kiefer, York College of Pennsylvania; Stephen Andrew Wilkerson, P.E., York College of Pennsylvania

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

for DASA Aerospace in Wedel, Germany 1993. His initial research also made a major contribution to the M1A1 barrel reshape initiative that began in 1995. Shortly afterwards he was selected for a 1 year appointment to the United States Military Academy West Point where he taught Mathematics. Following these accomplishments he worked on the SADARM fire and forget projectile that was finally used in the second gulf war. Since that time, circa 2002, his studies have focused on unmanned systems both air and ground. His team deployed a bomb finding robot named the LynchBot to Iraq late in 2004 and then again in 2006 deployed about a dozen more improved LynchBots to Iraq. His team also assisted in the deployment of 84

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics: Modes and Methods

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2023 Mechanics in Rome: First Time for a New Study Abroad ProgramStudy abroad experiences have been shown to increase cross-cultural sensitivity, improveproblem-solving and communication skills, and student’s ability to work in diverse teams [1]-[4].At Cal Poly, we had our inaugural Mechanics in Rome program in Fall 2022. Twenty studentsfrom a variety of engineering majors took statics, dynamics, and strength of materials (all three-unit courses) while living together in the Trastevere region of Rome. In this Work-in-Progresspaper, I seek to describe our quarter abroad, provide tips on how others could establish a similarprogram, and also hope to get recommendations from others on how to improve

Conference Session

Keeping It Real: Real World Examples and Systems Thinking

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Max Magee, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Jessica Swenson, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

betweennegotiating tasks, comparing assumptions, and aiding each other in understanding courseconcepts. Implications of this work include forming a better understanding of how students makedecisions, judgments and build knowledge when working together on an ill-defined modelingproblem. Similarly, the results may assist professors in iterating on assignment design to furtherengage students in knowledge creating and engineering judgment practices.IntroductionIndustry engineers are often tasked with solving ill-defined problems in a group with fellowengineers [1], [2]. Although engineering curriculums are constructed to prepare students forindustry, there is a documented disconnect between the ways that many students currently solveengineering problems in

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanics: Modes and Methods

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

, culminating in a recent fundamental change (Fall 2022) to teach statics in a “Studioformat” characterized by cooperative and experiential learning. My account will provide bothqualitative and quantitative data to indicate that the Studio format is effective and worthy ofcontinued use and refinement.1. Background Narrative.My first era of teaching, starting midway through my graduate studies in Theoretical and AppliedMechanics (T&AM) at Cornell University in 1997-2000, and continuing from 2001-08 in theDepartment of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, wascharacterized primarily by direct lecturing in front of a board. Indeed, with little formal training,my teaching modeled how I was taught (Felder & Brent

Conference Session

Miscellaneous Mechanics: Covid and Free Body Diagrams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Lord, Virginia Tech; Michael K. Thompson, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

suggests that students who took Statics mid-pandemic are not as well prepared forfollow-on courses as students were pre-pandemic. The changes in GPA and DFW rate are aconcern that is likely to extend to higher level courses. We intend to continue to track studentprogress through these courses and report on longer-term trends. Larger studies are warranted tohelp explain these trends.BackgroundIn Spring 2020, growing cases of COVID-19 forced institutions to make rapid changes to theirteaching, attendance, assessment, and academic relief policies. A report from the National Centerfor Education Statistics estimates that 84% of US undergraduate students had some or all of theirclasses moved to online-only instruction [1].Common institutional responses

Conference Session

Digital Methods in Mechanics: Teaching with Digital Tools

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rick Hill, University of Detroit, Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

don’t build their ownunderstanding of the material which limits their retention and ability to apply the information. Itis also unlikely a student can maintain their focus for much of a typical 50- to 75-minute lecture.Another drawback of lecture is that a student often doesn’t discover any gaps in understandinguntil they go to apply the material, typically while doing their homework, at which point theinstructor is no longer available to answer their questions.Active learning techniques can help address some of these deficiencies as recognized by a rangeof studies, while ultimately leading to improved student performance [1] [2] [3]. A traditionalform of active learning in engineering and science curricula has come in the form of

Conference Session

Keeping It Real: Real World Examples and Systems Thinking

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Mary Rupe, Western Washington University; Eric Davishahl, Whatcom Community College; Lee Singleton, Whatcom Community College; Rebecca S. Borowski

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

for others interested in designing and refining hands-on mechanics activitiestoward specific learning goals.IntroductionIn engineering statics courses students work with contexts and concepts from a broad range ofreal-world applications. While there are a variety of formulae and procedural ideas to be learnedand understood, it is also important to develop conceptual understanding of key course ideas.Active learning supports students’ performance in the STEM disciplines as compared totraditional lecture [1], particularly for students from historically marginalized groups [2], and cansupport the development of conceptual understanding. One way to do this is to use 3D models ofcommon statics concepts, such as vectors, forces, and moments to

Conference Session

Will This Be on the Mechanics Test? Concept Inventories and Understanding Exams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez; Eric Davishahl, Whatcom Community College; Jean Carlos Batista Abreu, Elizabethtown College; Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Dominic J. Dal Bello, Allan Hancock College; Kurt M. Degoede, Elizabethtown College; Anna K. T. Howard, North Carolina State University at Raleigh; Azize Akcayoglu; Hadas Ritz, Cornell University; William A. Kitch, Angelo State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

hasmatured and expanded, and through a regular meeting Community of Practice, they have debateddetails of question phrasing to larger questions of how to make use of student responses.Additional issues that are addressed in this article relate to the effect of timing, repetition, andmodality of deployment on student performance.2. Institutional ProfilesTables 1 and 2 provide descriptions of the participating institutions and the modality ofdeployment of the CW questions. Table 1. Summary of Institutions and Modalities for Statics. Institution Description S1: University of Puerto Public, mid-sized, urban, bilingual, HSI. Primarily deployed in class after substantial discussion Rico, Mayagüez (UPRM) on

Conference Session

Miscellaneous Mechanics: Covid and Free Body Diagrams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sridhar S. Condoor, Saint Louis University; Bryan MacGavin, Saint Louis University; Raja Shekar P. V.

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

consequences. On the other hand,some devices use instability for their functioning.While this concept is essential, it is usually given limited attention in traditional statics books andlectures. It is generally discussed as just a short section on the equilibrium of a rigid body. Thecurrent treatment of this topic in statics books needs to be revised. Thus, this paper recommendsa more in-depth examination of this topic and provides insights into the pedagogy, potentialactivities, and practical examples to help faculty better integrate the concept of tipping. Theexperimental results highlight the benefits of integrating the footprint concept in the tippingmodule.1. IntroductionThe Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report [1] estimates an

Conference Session

Digital Methods in Mechanics: Teaching with Digital Tools

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew R. Sloboda, Bucknell University; Sarah Wodin-Schwartz, P.E., Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Kimberly Lechasseur, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Jennifer deWinter, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

called out how theapp provided feedback. They specifically mentioned the positive experiences of receivingfeedback that is immediate, that explains boundary connections, and that deepens learning aftermistakes are made. These and other findings from the pilot study are discussed withcorresponding next steps for development.IntroductionNo skill is more important for a student of mechanics than the ability to draw a complete andaccurate free-body diagram (FBD). FBDs are foundational to all mechanics courses in civil,mechanical, and biomedical engineering programs. Together, these courses enroll a significantportion of the over 600,000 students who enter engineering programs in the United States eachyear [1]. Thus, educational approaches that

Conference Session

Will This Be on the Mechanics Test? Concept Inventories and Understanding Exams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julian Ly Davis, University of Southern Indiana; Andrew Jason Hill, University of Southern Indiana

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

a confusion matrix. The confusion matrix is a 2x2matrix with column headings scoring student oral reasoning and row headings scoring questionoutcome. These results are expected to illuminate the influence of luck versus true understandingduring the exam.Introduction Concept inventories have been around for many years now. As their title suggests, they testone’s understanding of concepts, and require no calculations. They can be considered as a way tounderstand a person’s thinking process. Concept inventories have been developed for Physics, [1],Statics [2], [3], Dynamics [4] , Strength of Materials [5], Heat Transfer [6] and many other statistics,engineering and/or physics topics [7]. Faculty often say that we want students

Conference Session

Will This Be on the Mechanics Test? Concept Inventories and Understanding Exams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maxine Fontaine, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

set at60% or 70% to identify students with low spatial ability. At Stevens Institute of Technology,thresholds of 70% and 80% are used to separate students into groups of low, medium, and highspatial ability. The performance of these three groups in the statics course are compared usingone-way ANOVA.Preliminary results indicate significant differences between the high spatial ability and lowerspatial ability groups for specific concepts that require thinking in more than two dimensions,such as bending stresses, and specific problems that require more complex free-body diagrams.IntroductionThe link between strong spatial visualization skills (SVS) and success in engineering is wellestablished [1], [2]. Higher spatial ability has been correlated

Conference Session

Digital Methods in Mechanics: Teaching with Digital Tools

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diana Arboleda, University of Miami; James Giancaspro, P.E., University of Miami; Max Cacchione, University of Miami; Mert Okyay, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

provide the reader with an overall picture of the resourcesneeded to develop AR applications for use in pedagogical settings, the design decision tradeoffs,and practical issues related to deployment. As AR technologies continually improve, they areexpected to become an integral part of the pedagogical toolset used by engineering educators toimprove the quality of education delivered to engineering students.KeywordsAugmented reality; beam; mechanics; structural analysis; technology1. IntroductionAugmented reality and virtual reality (AR and VR, respectively) are growing technologies thatallow users to visualize virtual or digital objects through a device such as a smart phone orheadset [1]. For engineering educators, the motivation to develop AR

Conference Session

Keeping It Real: Real World Examples and Systems Thinking

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Waterloo Tsutsui, Purdue University, West Lafayette ; Daniel DeLaurentis, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

helps them to understand how everything fits together and fosters creativity. Inthe framework, we created specific examples of how structural mechanics educators can startusing the approach immediately (i.e., a summary table and a two-table approach) to solve crosssectional properties (i.e., a centroid location, area moments of inertia, and product of inertia).Finally, as a future work, combining the System-of-Systems inspired framework with digitalteaching techniques like virtual lab could be an exciting topic since the interactive andmultimedia environment appeals to today’s students who are comfortable using digital media asan active learning tool.1. IntroductionThe amalgamation of different disciplines and fields of study can benefit

Conference Session

Will This Be on the Mechanics Test? Concept Inventories and Understanding Exams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yan Tang, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach; Lin Ding, The Ohio State University; Haiyan Bai, University of Central Florida; Richard Catrambone, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

Educational Psychology (1/2008 - 12/2011), the Journal of Experimen- tal Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition (6/2000 - 12/2001 and 1/2009 - 12/2009), the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (1/2001 - 12/2007), and the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (6/2000 - 12/2001). He has published his research in journals such as the Journal of Experi- mental Psychology: General; Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition; Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied; Memory & Cognition; Journal of Educational Psychology; Human-Computer Interaction; Human Factors; and other basic and applied journals. He has also served on grant review panels for a variety of funding agencies

Conference Session

Miscellaneous Mechanics: Covid and Free Body Diagrams

Collection

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew R. Sloboda, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

an overhang above a doorway. Foreach problem, three images of the scenario were developed: a photograph of the system (lowabstraction), a line drawing of the system (medium abstraction), and a line-drawn image of thesystem in which most details identifying it as a real-world object were removed (highabstraction). Figure 1 shows the images used at each level of abstraction for each of the threeproblems.Students in a first-year course, who had just learned to draw FBDs (the assessment was justprior to their first exam on the topic), and students in a third-year course, who wereexperienced with FBDs, were asked to draw FBDs for these problems. Each student populationwas randomly divided into three groups: A, B, and C. Each group saw each of the