Engineering Graphics in a Community College Setting: Challenges and Opportunities

Hannah Dawes Budinoff

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Conference: 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access
Location: Virtual On line
Publication Date: June 22, 2020
Start Date: June 22, 2020
End Date: June 26, 2021
Conference Session: Engineering Design Graphics Division Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Engineering Design Graphics
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--34553
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/34553
Download Count: 502

Paper Authors

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Hannah Dawes Budinoff Pima Community College orcid.org/0000-0001-5556-4389

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Hannah D. Budinoff is a researcher interested in additive manufacturing, geometric manufacturability analysis, design for manufacturing, and engineering education. She received her BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona and recently completed her PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where she was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Dr. Budinoff teaches CAD classes in her role as Instructional Faculty at Pima Community College.

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Abstract

This evidence-based practice paper describes a study of the efficacy of several engineering education pedagogy practices in an engineering graphics course at a large community college in the southwestern US. The student population at community colleges is typically diverse and has a larger proportion of non-traditional students relative to four-year institutions. Most studies of engineering graphics research are conducted at four-year institutions, but results derived from the more diverse student populations at community colleges could help develop more general strategies to improve retention of underrepresented groups in engineering. In this paper, we survey some of the unique demographic and social challenges of community college students and assess the following pedagogical strategies derived from previous literature: lab activities, active learning, and improving spatial visualization ability. Lab activities and content that encourage active learning have been previously cited as effective strategies for engaging non-traditional students. Spatial visualization ability has been shown to impact learning outcomes in engineering graphics courses, and activities like sketching have been shown to help students with low spatial visualization. This study focuses on an introductory engineering graphics course that teaches modeling and assembly and drawing creation in SolidWorks, a 3D computer-aided-design software. We discuss the impact of lab time, active learning activities, and sketching activities on student’s self-efficacy and perceived learning, as well as connections between spatial visualization ability and learning outcomes. Students reported a large increase in their 3D-modeling self-efficacy over the semester and agreed that working on CAD during lab time and following along with instructor demos were helpful to their learning. In an attempt to improve spatial visualization ability of the students, sketching components were included during the course. The average spatial visualization skills of the students improved over the semester, but students had mixed agreement about whether the sketching activities were helpful for learning course material. Our results are compared to previously reported findings from four-year institutions and other community colleges, when available. We highlight promising strategies to promote learning and confidence for diverse student populations learning engineering graphics, which could potentially improve retention at other community colleges and four-year institutions.

Citation
Format

Budinoff, H. D. (2020, June), Engineering Graphics in a Community College Setting: Challenges and Opportunities Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34553

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This evidence-based practice paper describes a study of the efficacy of several engineering education pedagogy practices in an engineering graphics course at a large community college in the southwestern US. The student population at community colleges is typically diverse and has a larger proportion of non-traditional students relative to four-year institutions. Most studies of engineering graphics research are conducted at four-year institutions, but results derived from the more diverse student populations at community colleges could help develop more general strategies to improve retention of underrepresented groups in engineering. In this paper, we survey some of the unique demographic and social challenges of community college students and assess the following pedagogical strategies derived from previous literature: lab activities, active learning, and improving spatial visualization ability. Lab activities and content that encourage active learning have been previously cited as effective strategies for engaging non-traditional students. Spatial visualization ability has been shown to impact learning outcomes in engineering graphics courses, and activities like sketching have been shown to help students with low spatial visualization. This study focuses on an introductory engineering graphics course that teaches modeling and assembly and drawing creation in SolidWorks, a 3D computer-aided-design software. We discuss the impact of lab time, active learning activities, and sketching activities on student’s self-efficacy and perceived learning, as well as connections between spatial visualization ability and learning outcomes. Students reported a large increase in their 3D-modeling self-efficacy over the semester and agreed that working on CAD during lab time and following along with instructor demos were helpful to their learning. In an attempt to improve spatial visualization ability of the students, sketching components were included during the course. The average spatial visualization skills of the students improved over the semester, but students had mixed agreement about whether the sketching activities were helpful for learning course material. Our results are compared to previously reported findings from four-year institutions and other community colleges, when available. We highlight promising strategies to promote learning and confidence for diverse student populations learning engineering graphics, which could potentially improve retention at other community colleges and four-year institutions.
AU  - Hannah Dawes Budinoff
CY  - Virtual On line 
DA  - 2020/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Engineering Graphics in a Community College Setting: Challenges and Opportunities
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/34553
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--34553
ER  -