Integrating Theory and Hands-On Practice using Underwater Robotics in a Multidisciplinary Introductory Engineering Course

Matthew Spencer is a professor at Harvey Mudd College. He received B.S. and M.Eng. degrees from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, in 2007 and 2008, respectively and a Ph.D. degree at the University of California, Berkeley in 2015. He has been the recipient of an Outstanding Technology Directions paper award from the International Solid State Circuits Conference and an Intel Fellowship.

His research interests are integrating mechanical, chemical and quantum devices into circuits and communication links in harsh environments. He has also worked on experiential and hands-on learning.

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Erik Spjut Harvey Mudd College

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Prof. Spjut is the Union Oil Company Design Fellow and Professor of Engineering in the Department of Engineering at Harvey Mudd College. He has served a Director of the Engineering Clinic at Harvey Mudd and has been a Visiting Professor at Olin College Of Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and the California Institute Of Technology. He was also the John Chipman Assistant Professor of Chemical Process Metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology. Prof. Spjut has taught most of the required engineering courses and has been involved in innovative pedagogy at Harvey Mudd.

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Laura Palucki Blake Harvey Mudd College

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Laura Palucki Blake is the Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at Harvey Mudd College, where her primary role is to coordinate data collection, interpretation and dissemination to support teaching and learning, planning and decision-making across the college.

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Abstract

This Complete Evidence-based Practice paper will focus on the design, implementation, and evaluation of a multidisciplinary introductory engineering course that integrates theory and hands-on practice around a theme of underwater robotics. The course is required for all students (including non-engineering majors) at a small liberal arts college and is the first engineering course for the majority of enrollees. The previous version of the course was a traditional lecture-based introduction to lumped element modeling of mechanical and electrical systems and modeling of signals using a Fourier analysis approach. The new version of the course covers most of the same technical content, although a Laplace transform approach has replaced the Fourier transform approach and a brief introduction to control theory has been added.

Based on best practices in engineering education, the course design and implementation team has moved from the lecture model to a model that includes active learning (flipped classroom) tutorials and hands-on practicums. Students watch videos created by the instructors before the first tutorial session of the week, then come to tutorial to take both individual and team quizzes (similar to Team-Based Learning practices) and work with their teams on a short problem that provides real-world context for the content covered in the videos. The second tutorial session of the week is dedicated to context-rich problem solving with significant interaction between the instructors and students. Following the two tutorial sessions each week, students take part in a 2.5-hour practicum session where they experience the content in a hands-on environment, with most practicums focused on an aspect of the underwater robot. For example, the robot is placed in a water tank with a buoyancy “spring” attached and a chirp signal is input to the thruster to obtain a Bode plot response of the robot’s position versus thruster input frequency.

Evaluation measures include a pre/post attitudinal survey regarding the usefulness of class content, intent to major in engineering, and understanding of the engineering profession and pre/post content tests from both the previous, lecture-based incarnation of the course, and the new version of the course. Results show significant increases in student learning, affective gains, perceived understanding of the field of engineering, and an erasure of a previous gender gap in course performance.

Citation
Format

Lape, N. K., & Bassman, L., & Clark, C., & Dato, A., & Lee, A. M., & Spencer, M., & Spjut, E., & Palucki Blake, L. (2017, June), Integrating Theory and Hands-On Practice using Underwater Robotics in a Multidisciplinary Introductory Engineering Course Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28561

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This Complete Evidence-based Practice paper will focus on the design, implementation, and evaluation of a multidisciplinary introductory engineering course that integrates theory and hands-on practice around a theme of underwater robotics. The course is required for all students (including non-engineering majors) at a small liberal arts college and is the first engineering course for the majority of enrollees. The previous version of the course was a traditional lecture-based introduction to lumped element modeling of mechanical and electrical systems and modeling of signals using a Fourier analysis approach. The new version of the course covers most of the same technical content, although a Laplace transform approach has replaced the Fourier transform approach and a brief introduction to control theory has been added. 

Based on best practices in engineering education, the course design and implementation team has moved from the lecture model to a model that includes active learning (flipped classroom) tutorials and hands-on practicums. Students watch videos created by the instructors before the first tutorial session of the week, then come to tutorial to take both individual and team quizzes (similar to Team-Based Learning practices) and work with their teams on a short problem that provides real-world context for the content covered in the videos. The second tutorial session of the week is dedicated to context-rich problem solving with significant interaction between the instructors and students. Following the two tutorial sessions each week, students take part in a 2.5-hour practicum session where they experience the content in a hands-on environment, with most practicums focused on an aspect of the underwater robot. For example, the robot is placed in a water tank with a buoyancy “spring” attached and a chirp signal is input to the thruster to obtain a Bode plot response of the robot’s position versus thruster input frequency. 

Evaluation measures include a pre/post attitudinal survey regarding the usefulness of class content, intent to major in engineering, and understanding of the engineering profession and pre/post content tests from both the previous, lecture-based incarnation of the course, and the new version of the course. Results show significant increases in student learning, affective gains, perceived understanding of the field of engineering, and an erasure of a previous gender gap in course performance.
AU  - Nancy K. Lape
AU  - Lori Bassman
AU  - Christopher Clark
AU  - Albert Dato
AU  - Angela M. Lee
AU  - Matthew Spencer
AU  - Erik Spjut
AU  - Laura Palucki Blake
CY  - Columbus, Ohio
DA  - 2017/06/24
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Integrating Theory and Hands-On Practice using Underwater Robotics in a Multidisciplinary Introductory Engineering Course
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/28561
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--28561
ER  -