Converging Diverging Design Strategies In A Sophomore Level Design Sequence: Review Of An Electromechanical Project
- Conference
- Location
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Honolulu, Hawaii
- Publication Date
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June 24, 2007
- Start Date
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June 24, 2007
- End Date
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June 27, 2007
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Design in Engineering Education
- Page Count
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17
- Page Numbers
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12.406.1 - 12.406.17
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--2598
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/2598
- Download Count
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401
Paper Authors
Paris von Lockette Rowan University
Paris von Lockette is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University.
He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1999. His interests include
the physics or polymers and numerical / computational methods in materials science.
Eric Constans Rowan University
Eric Constans is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University. His
areas of interest include developing innovative techniques in engineering education and
engineering curricular reform. His research areas include vibration and optimization techniques.
In 2005 he was the recipient of the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from the Society of
Automotive Engineers.
Jennifer Courtney Rowan University
Jennifer Courtney is an Assistant Professor in the Writing Arts department at Rowan University,
where she teaches first year writing, College Composition II/Sophomore Clinic, and courses on
writing assessment. Her research interests include writing in the disciplines (WID), assessment,
and information literacy.
Kevin Dahm Rowan University
Kevin Dahm is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University. He has
received the 2002 ASEE PIC-III Award, 2003 Joseph J. Martin Award, 2004 Raymond W.
Fahien Award and 2005 Corcoran Award for his contributions to engineering education.
William Riddell Rowan University
William Riddell is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan
University. His research interests include design education, fatigue and fracture mechanics,
transportation safety, and enegy efficiency. He is currently sophomore clinic coordinator for the
college of engineering.
Roberta Harvey Rowan University
Roberta Harvey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing Arts at Rowan University.
She has been part of the faculty team that teaches Sophomore Clinic I since 1998 and played a
key role in the development of the integrated design and communication pedagogy of the course.
In addition to engineering communication, her areas of interest and expertise include
interdisciplinary learning, collaborative learning and teamwork, meta-cognitive learning,
information literacy, and student learning outcomes assessment.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Converging-Diverging Design Strategies in a Sophomore Level Design Sequence: Review of an Electromechanical Project
Abstract
At our university Sophomore Clinics I and II are part of an eight-semester design sequence in which students progress from basic data collection and reverse engineering projects through more open-ended, industry-sponsored capstone design experiences. The team of multidisciplinary faculty from Engineering and Communications who teach the sophomore level courses have observed the difficulty students have tackling the fundamental open-ended nature of true design problems and have subsequently revised the sequence. For the Fall of 2005 the Sophomore Clinic sequence was revised to introduce Dym et al.’s converging-diverging framework for design by incorporating a series of three projects of increasing complexity with accompany activities designed to reinforce the converging-diverging concepts. For the third project in the series, roughly sixty students participated in an open-ended electromechanical design project that included lectures and activities to reinforce the design framework, assessment of the retention/comprehension of the framework’s concepts, and a final design competition. While assessment data was unable to show a correlation between comprehension of the design framework and improvements in students’ designs, results do show that students had adequate retention/comprehension of the converging-diverging philosophy and that students’ designs performed better in the competition following the revised course as compared to the previous year.
Introduction
All students in the engineering curriculum at our university are required to take an eight-semester design sequence called the Engineering Clinics that moves from closed to more open-ended problems. The sophomore year of the Engineering Clinic series is a team taught course devoted to design and communication. The students spend 160 minutes in a single engineering lab section and 150 minutes in three communication sections per week. The course is taught by faculty from multiple departments within the College of Engineering and the College of Fall 2005 Spring 2006 60 Students 120 Students 60 Students
4 wks Rockets Green- 14 Electro- Public house Writing weeks mech. Speaking Hoistinator 10 wks Gas
Figure 1: Restructured sophomore design sequence beginning in fall 2005. The fall semester was divided into one four-week project and one ten-week project. Students could choose between semester-long electromechanical design projects or greenhouse gas projects in the spring. Students enrolled in communication courses concurrently during both semesters.
von Lockette, P., & Constans, E., & Courtney, J., & Dahm, K., & Riddell, W., & Harvey, R. (2007, June), Converging Diverging Design Strategies In A Sophomore Level Design Sequence: Review Of An Electromechanical Project Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2598
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