Conference Session

Problem- and Project-based Learning in Engineering Mechanics

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Hasz, Carthage College

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

design an experiment to address the design brief. In addition tosolving the problem, students must ensure their solution is realistic through considerations ofcosts, safety, and regulations. Students then write a memo, design report, or white paper as theirlab assessment. They report both their technical results, individual interpretations, andrecommendations based on the results.Early labs in the sequence contain significant scaffolding for students through guiding questions,examples, and class discussions. This scaffolding is slowly removed throughout the coursesequence to help students develop independence. The sequence ends with an open-endedlaboratory in which students are given a mystery material and must determine the type ofmaterial and

Conference Session

Unique Pedagogies for Mechanics Education

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joshua Gargac, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

defined skill from 2021 (“Use vectors to evaluate the positions of links in amechanism.”) was split into multiple, specific skills for the 2022 course: • R3: Write vector loop equations for a mechanism of four or more links • R4: Calculate the position of points on a mechanism with four or more links • R5: Perform position analysis on a crank slider • R8-C: Perform analytical position analysis on a four-bar linkage using MATLABPractically, applying this best practice improved the consistency of test questions for the mastery-skills.As a result, students demonstrated higher pass rates for the mastery skills and reported higher levels ofcompetence on post course surveys (see Section 3).Best Practice 2: Lecture materials should

Conference Session

Unique Pedagogies for Mechanics Education

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jamal Ardister, Michigan State University; Geoffrey Recktenwald, Michigan State University; Sara Roccabianca, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

work was compared with thecomputer submitted answers.This paper examines what types of mistakes (conceptual and non-conceptual) students were ableto correct when feedback was provided. The answer is dependent on the type and difficulty ofthe problem. The analysis also examines whether students taking the computer-based testperformed at the same level as their peers who took the paper-based exams. Additionally, studentfeedback is provided and discussed.IntroductionAutomated grading has been around since Michael Sokolski invented scantron grading machinesin 1972. Over time, computers have evolved from grading multiple choice exams to acceptingnumerical and written solutions. New systems like PrairieLearn can grade a wide variety ofsolutions

Conference Session

Applications and Computational Tools for Mechanics Education

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Giancaspro, University of Miami; Diana Arboleda, University of Miami; Seulki Jenny Chin, University of Miami; Liping Yang, University of Miami; Walter G Secada, University of Miami

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

assessment ("post-test").Each learning activity was paper-based and was provided to students at the start of the classsession. Students were permitted to work with their peers in groups of 2 or 3. Control groupactivities involved solving computational problems, some of which had been used as test orlecture example problems by the instructors in previous semesters. In the case of the augmentedreality activities, the worksheet included several exercises (problems) for each student tocomplete. The exercises were arranged in order of increasing difficulty. The instructions on theAR activity worksheets provided scaffolding and paralleled the flow of the app such that studentscould record their work as they progressed through each exercise's tasks

Conference Session

Problem- and Project-based Learning in Engineering Mechanics

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amir H. Danesh-Yazdi, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Aimee Monique Cloutier, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Sean Moseley, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

name afew.By their very nature, fundamental engineering courses do not easily lend themselves to anintegrated design or open-ended element that meaningfully enhances student learning. This isespecially true in the case of Statics, where the primary learning objectives of drawing correctfree-body diagrams and applying them to equilibrium equations to solve for unknowns are usuallyassessed through well-posed problems with unique solutions. An in-depth review of papers inASEE’s PEER repository reveals that the most common open-ended project utilized byinstructors in their Statics courses involves designing, analyzing, constructing, and testing scaledmodel truss bridges using elements made from spaghetti 5 , wooden popsicle sticks 6 , straws 7

Conference Session

Student Self-assessment in Mechanics Courses

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amie Baisley, University of Florida; Chiranjeevi Singh Marutla, University of Florida

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

foundations of equilibrium that will be applied in manylater courses. At a large R1 university in the southeast students take the course in a flipped,mastery-based classroom environment. The mastery-based approach is employed for theassessments where students are evaluated for how they demonstrated the course mastery objectiveson each assessment in the course. The students solve a single assessment problem every other weekwhere they are asked to organize their solution following the mastery objectives. The masteryobjectives are the key pieces of the solution solving process for every statics problem. The studentsare required to write, draw, or include equation(s) for each objective for each problem, but thework is unique to the type of problem being

Conference Session

Unique Pedagogies for Mechanics Education

Collection

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marguerite Matherne, Northeastern University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics Division (MECHS)

checked and categorized individually by the instructor.Prompting ChatGPT in this manner – with clear, specific, and explicit instructions – was foundto produce a high rate of accurate classifications. It would miss many responses that should havebeen sorted into one of the groups, but leaving any space for ChatGPT to make its owninterpretation led to many incorrect classifications. Through much trial and error, it wasdetermined that writing the prompt in such a way that does not allow ChatGPT to interpret orassume anything is the best way to avoid false positive or negatives.Using Warm-ups in classFor most classes, the answers to all warm-up questions were summarized on slides and shared atthe beginning of class, starting with the muddiest point