Pedagogical Efficiency of Continuous vs. Discrete User Interaction with Computer Simulations
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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12
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--40758
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/40758
- Download Count
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281
Paper Authors
Gerald Sullivan Virginia Military Institute
Dr. Gerald Sullivan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and holder of the Hardaway Chair at the Virginia Military Institute received his Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1991. Prior to joining the faculty at the Virginia Military Institute in 2004, he held teaching positions at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Vermont, then took on a research position in the semi-conductor industry where he was involved in the development of precision alignment systems for X-ray Lithography applications. His interests include electromechanical design, materials, and control systems, with research applications ranging from seismic communication systems for rescue operations in coal mines, robotic tick eradication, and most recently space structures.
James Squire Virginia Military Institute
James Squire is the Jamison-Payne Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Virginia Military Institute. He earned a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was awarded a Bronze Star in the Army during Desert Storm and has been selected as Virginia’s Rising Star professor. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Massachusetts and Virginia and maintains an active consulting practice.
David Feinauer Virginia Military Institute
Dr. Feinauer is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Military Institute. His scholarly work spans a number of areas related to engineering education, including P-12 engineering outreach, the first-year engineering experience, and incorporating innovation and entrepreneurship practice in the engineering classroom. Additionally, he has research experience in the areas of automation and control theory, system identification, and energy resilience fundamentals. His work has been published through the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE); he is an active member of both organizations. He holds a PhD and BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.
Abstract
Pedagogical efficiency of computer-based simulations is explored for simulations using one of two types of user interface: discrete, where the user inputs numerical and text based parameters directly, or continuous, where highly interactive features such as software-implemented sliders determine the simulation parameters. This investigation builds on previous work in which it was shown that differences in objective learning between a discrete version of a phasor simulation app and a continuous version were statistically insignificant. Based on an expanded cohort, it was determined that for the case of students age 19 or younger, the superiority of the continuous version of the simulation relative to objective learning very nearly attained statistical significance with a p-value of 0.051. For older students no statistically significant difference in objective learning scores between the continuous and discrete versions of the simulation was measured. Finally, it was shown that for younger students, self-assessed knowledge was lower for the continuous version of the simulation than for the discrete version, in direct opposition to their actual objective learning performance.
Sullivan, G., & Squire, J., & Feinauer, D. (2022, August), Pedagogical Efficiency of Continuous vs. Discrete User Interaction with Computer Simulations Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40758
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