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A CAD Course Revision: Active Learning In and Out of the Classroom

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Conference

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Columbus, Ohio

Publication Date

June 24, 2017

Start Date

June 24, 2017

End Date

June 28, 2017

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment in ME 2

Tagged Division

Mechanical Engineering

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--27439

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/27439

Download Count

689

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Paper Authors

biography

Robert J. Rabb P.E. The Citadel

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Robert Rabb is an associate professor and the Mechanical Engineering Program Director at The Citadel. He previously taught mechanical engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Military Academy and his M.S.E. and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His research and teaching interests are in mechatronics, regenerative power, and multidisciplinary engineering.

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Patrick Bass The Citadel Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-6495-6202

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Patrick Bass is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Citadel, in Charleston, SC. He received his B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, in 2005, his M.E. degree in space operations from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO, in 2009, and his Ph.D. in materials engineering from Auburn University, Auburn, AL, in 2016. His main areas of research interest are electroactive polymers and space mechanics.

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Monika Bubacz The Citadel

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Dr. Monika Bubacz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Citadel. She received both her B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Poznan University of Technology in Poland, and the Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Science from the University of New Orleans. Before her current appointment she has worked for Mercer University, Center for NanoComposites and Multifunctional Materials in Pittsburg, Kansas and Metal Forming Institute in Poznan, Poland. Her teaching and research interest areas include materials science, polymers and composites for aerospace applications, nanotechnology, and environmental sustainability.

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Kevin Skenes The Citadel

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Kevin Skenes is an assistant professor at The Citadel. His research interests include non-destructive evaluation, photoelasticity, manufacturing processes, and engineering education.

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Abstract

Larger classes in a growing program have prompted instructors to seek alternative classroom management techniques while maintaining student-instructor interaction. A revision of a Computer Applications course was necessary due to annual software updates and an initiative to promote classroom discussion. Early offerings of the CAD course focused on learning how to use SolidWorks in a combined lecture and lab time. The instructor passed on his/her knowledge to the students by lecturing and demonstrating. The instructor could easily move around the classroom and help students as needed in the small enrollments. With small class sizes in a new, growing program, instructors did not assign a textbook, but used notes and handouts. A later offering of the course used a textbook, and the instructor used the same approach in the classroom. With growing enrollment requiring full computer labs, the pedagogical approach has shifted the instruction of the software out of the classroom in order to maintain individual student interaction. Without the need to revise notes and handouts for a newer edition of the software, the instructor assigned SolidProfessor SolidWorks lessons to be watched before coming to class for the day’s topic. During class the instructor did a short overview, led discussion, and then allowed students to work on the daily assignment or lab. Previously, a significant portion of the lab and class time was devoted to lecturing on software use. This change in instruction has allowed more time for in-class discussion, student collaboration, and in-class design exercises. The complexity of parts and models created over previous offerings shows that the change in presentation style has resulted in more rapid understanding of SolidWorks. The use of the external tutorials has also assisted the instructor with keeping class content up-to-date for each new version of the software. This paper summarizes the results of revising a traditionally taught course, with notes and handouts, to one that utilized a textbook, then finally into a hybrid flipped classroom model.

Rabb, R. J., & Bass, P., & Bubacz, M., & Skenes, K. (2017, June), A CAD Course Revision: Active Learning In and Out of the Classroom Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27439

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