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Gotta Catch ‘Em All: Learning Graphical Communications through an Introductory Hands-on Design-Build-Test Project in a Hybrid Learning Environment

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) Technical Session 9

Tagged Division

Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED)

Page Count

22

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43811

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43811

Download Count

295

Paper Authors

biography

Anna Wang University of California San Diego

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Anna holds a MS in Structural Engineering from UC San Diego and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. She is currently working as an Associate Project Consultant in Simpson Gumpertz and Heger's Engineering Mechanics and Infrastructure group. Anna will continue her education at McGill University this fall for her PhD in Civil Engineering with a research focus on seismic assessment of historical masonry structures and engineering pedagogy.

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biography

Lelli Van Den Einde University of California San Diego

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Van Den Einde is a Teaching Professor in Structural Engineering at UCSD. She incorporates education innovations into courses (Active Learning, Project-based learning), prepares next generation faculty through TA Training, serves as advisor to student organizations, and is committed to fostering a supportive environment for diverse students. Her research focuses on engagement strategies for large classrooms and developing K-16 design-based curriculum in earthquake engineering and spatial visualization to support persistence.

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biography

Nathan Delson eGrove Education

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Nathan Delson, Ph.D. is a Senior Teaching Professor at the University of California at San Diego. He received a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and his interests include robotics, biomedical devices, product design, engineering education, and maker spaces. In 1999 he co-founded Coactive Drive Corporation (currently General Vibration), a company that provides force feedback solutions. In 2016 Nate co-founded eGrove Education an educational software company focused on teaching sketching and spatial visualization skills.

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Abstract

The maker movement merges creative makers and advanced technologies such as the Arduino microcontroller and 3D printing to drive advances in manufacturing, engineering, industrial design, hardware technology and education. Design-build-test challenges not only provide opportunities for students to learn deeper through making, but also educate next generation engineers in practical concepts such as technical communication, teamwork, and design reviews. The incorporation of 3D printing and computer aided design (CAD) in these courses also allows students to encounter the realities of the manufacturing and design processes and promotes student engagement. These projects not only “provide an alternative assessment method for students who may not excel on written quizzes and exams”, but also teach students technical communication skills. While design-build-test projects are a common Design Based Learning (DBL) pedagogy technique in engineering education, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has also introduced challenges for hands-on engineering learning. The need to move to hybrid or completely remote learning environments has resulted in students lacking the in-person makerspace experience which has been demonstrated to improve confidence in engineering design by demonstrating the realities of prototyping and manufacturing.

An 8-week design-build-test project called the Pokémon Challenge was implemented in a freshman Engineering Graphics course at XXX university. The motivation of the Pokémon Challenge was to allow students to apply the engineering design process while developing prototyping and graphical communication skills through hand-sketching, CAD, and manufacturing techniques. This paper introduces the Pokémon design-build project and describes some of the implementation challenges faced during the pandemic related to teamwork, motivation, and the ability to ensure all students were able to participate even if remote. A survey was conducted at the end of the project to understand the students’ perspective on their learning outcomes and experience. Furthermore, a peer review of team dynamics was administered at both the midpoint and end of the project. The survey at the midpoint of the term project asked students to provide specific, constructive feedback on their peers so that teams could address their issues and improve their team dynamic prior to wrapping up the project. The peer review survey repeated at the end of the term included survey questions rating the degree to which teams had high levels of cooperation and mutual support, took initiative to resolve issues between themselves, and how much they appreciated one another's unique capabilities. This case study found that despite communication challenges and fluctuations with safe, in-person learning, a hybrid approach to design-build-test projects is still effective in meeting practical student learning objectives. The study showed that while in person DBL is ideal, a hybrid DBL contributes to easy access to learning while still enabling participation and creativity. Best practices for supporting a collaborative hybrid learning environment for CAD based projects are provided.

Wang, A., & Van Den Einde, L., & Delson, N. (2023, June), Gotta Catch ‘Em All: Learning Graphical Communications through an Introductory Hands-on Design-Build-Test Project in a Hybrid Learning Environment Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43811

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