Pilot Study Results from Using TrussVR© to Learn About Basic Trusses

Ryan Banow; Sean Maw

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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: Experimentation and Laboratory-oriented Studies Division Technical Session 4
Tagged Division: Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies
Page Count: 26
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--35055
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/35055
Download Count: 350

Paper Authors

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Ryan Banow University of Saskatchewan orcid.org/0000-0002-3795-3310

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Ryan Banow is an Educational Development Specialist at the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Saskatchewan. He is also a PhD student in the within the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked as an Educational Developer since 2012 and has taught as a Sessional Lecturer since 2014. He is currently the chair of the University of Saskatchewan’s Instructional Design Group. His educational background includes a BSc (Math), a BEd (Secondary Math and Physics), and an MEd (Educational Technology and Design). He is passionate about teaching and has a variety of research interests around the central theme of enhancing teaching and learning. He has worked, presented, and published on research in the fields of STEM education, educational technology, virtual reality, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and others.

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Sean Maw P.Eng. University of Saskatchewan

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Dr. Maw currently holds the Huff Chair in Innovative Teaching in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. In this capacity, his work focuses on learning facilitation methods especially as they pertain to engineering design. He earned his BASc and MASc degrees in Systems Design Engineering from Waterloo, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta. His current research interests lie in sports engineering and engineering pedagogy.

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Abstract

TrussVR©, a custom-designed VR application, was developed to help engineering students learn about basic trusses in a virtual lab. Trusses are a mainstay of many first-year engineering Statics courses. They are relatively simple to analyze. However, hand calculations are typically time-consuming. As a result, most textbook problems involve evaluating one truss loading scenario and end with the calculated values of forces running through the two-force members (2FMs). This scenario does not lend itself to a holistic understanding of how trusses behave under loads of various magnitudes and locations. It does not facilitate a comparison of the relative strengths and weaknesses of different truss designs, nor a constructivist learning style driven by curiosity.

TrussVR© carries out the computations of solving a truss almost instantaneously. What this affords is a new way to learn about trusses, and a way to learn features of trusses that have been previously impractical to learn through conventional lab techniques. Build a truss, apply an external force, and see the distribution of forces within the truss. This cycle can be repeated quickly in VR, allowing learners to gain an enhanced visual appreciation of how trusses behave.

In the 2018/19 academic year, 166 first-year engineering students at the University of xxxxx volunteered for a pilot study that examined the efficacy of TrussVR©. The study was approved by the xxx Behavioural Research Ethics Board. Volunteers completed a “pre-survey” that examined knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding trusses, before trusses had been taught in the classroom. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: no lab, regular lab, and TrussVR© lab. All participants then attended 2 weeks of in-class lectures on trusses, frames and machines, as they normally would. During this time, the “no lab” group did not complete an experimental lab on trusses. The “regular lab” group completed the same 3-hour lab as the rest of the course’s non-participants. This involved the evaluation and construction of a physical truss using a Pasco© construction set. The “TrussVR©” group went through a 7-10 minute tutorial and then a 20 minute VR lab experience consisting of i) examining and playing with a variety of truss types, ii) solving a number of skill testing problems involving basic trusses, and iii) building a bridge and testing it. At the end of the 2 week unit on trusses, frames and machines, participants in all groups completed a mixed-methods “post-survey” that re-examined their knowledge and skills, as well as their impressions of the TrussVR© and Pasco© systems, if they used one. A “distant post-survey” was conducted 2.5 months later followed by a “very distant post-survey” another 6 months after that, to further re-examine knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Statistically significant differences were found between TrussVR© and the other groups for recognition and recall of truss types 2.5 and 8.5 months afterwards. Likewise, the virtual lab experience was highly rated in most respects.

Citation
Format

Banow, R., & Maw, S. (2020, June), Pilot Study Results from Using TrussVR© to Learn About Basic Trusses Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35055

TY - CPAPER
AB - TrussVR©, a custom-designed VR application, was developed to help engineering students learn about basic trusses in a virtual lab. Trusses are a mainstay of many first-year engineering Statics courses. They are relatively simple to analyze. However, hand calculations are typically time-consuming. As a result, most textbook problems involve evaluating one truss loading scenario and end with the calculated values of forces running through the two-force members (2FMs). This scenario does not lend itself to a holistic understanding of how trusses behave under loads of various magnitudes and locations. It does not facilitate a comparison of the relative strengths and weaknesses of different truss designs, nor a constructivist learning style driven by curiosity.

TrussVR© carries out the computations of solving a truss almost instantaneously. What this affords is a new way to learn about trusses, and a way to learn features of trusses that have been previously impractical to learn through conventional lab techniques. Build a truss, apply an external force, and see the distribution of forces within the truss. This cycle can be repeated quickly in VR, allowing learners to gain an enhanced visual appreciation of how trusses behave.

In the 2018/19 academic year, 166 first-year engineering students at the University of xxxxx volunteered for a pilot study that examined the efficacy of TrussVR©. The study was approved by the xxx Behavioural Research Ethics Board. Volunteers completed a “pre-survey” that examined knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding trusses, before trusses had been taught in the classroom. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of three groups: no lab, regular lab, and TrussVR© lab. All participants then attended 2 weeks of in-class lectures on trusses, frames and machines, as they normally would. During this time, the “no lab” group did not complete an experimental lab on trusses. The “regular lab” group completed the same 3-hour lab as the rest of the course’s non-participants. This involved the evaluation and construction of a physical truss using a Pasco© construction set. The “TrussVR©” group went through a 7-10 minute tutorial and then a 20 minute VR lab experience consisting of i) examining and playing with a variety of truss types, ii) solving a number of skill testing problems involving basic trusses, and iii) building a bridge and testing it. At the end of the 2 week unit on trusses, frames and machines, participants in all groups completed a mixed-methods “post-survey” that re-examined their knowledge and skills, as well as their impressions of the TrussVR© and Pasco© systems, if they used one. A “distant post-survey” was conducted 2.5 months later followed by a “very distant post-survey” another 6 months after that, to further re-examine knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Statistically significant differences were found between TrussVR© and the other groups for recognition and recall of truss types 2.5 and 8.5 months afterwards. Likewise, the virtual lab experience was highly rated in most respects.

AU - Ryan Banow
AU - Sean Maw P.Eng.
CY - Virtual On line
DA - 2020/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Pilot Study Results from Using TrussVR© to Learn About Basic Trusses
UR - https://peer.asee.org/35055
DO - 10.18260/1-2--35055
ER -