The Effectiveness Of Online Learning Objects In Helping Students Master Required Course Competencies In Mechanical Engineering
- Conference
- Location
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Chicago, Illinois
- Publication Date
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June 18, 2006
- Start Date
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June 18, 2006
- End Date
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June 21, 2006
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Mechanical Engineering
- Page Count
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8
- Page Numbers
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11.1281.1 - 11.1281.8
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--364
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/364
- Download Count
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494
Paper Authors
Edward Perry University of Memphis
Edward H. Perry - is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Memphis, where he has served on the faculty since 1970. He received his university's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1977 and again in 2000. He also received the Herff College of Engineering's Outstanding Teaching Award in 1999. He is currently Co-Editor of the MERLOT Engineering Editorial Board and Co-Editor of the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. He received his B.S. (1966), M.S. (1967) and Ph.D. (1970) in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
Jeffrey Marchetta University of Memphis
JEFFREY G. MARCHETTA — joined the faculty of The University of Memphis in 2002. As a member of the AIAA, he received the Abe Zarem Award for Distinguished Achievement in 2000. His research interests include the modeling of flows with free surfaces, verification and validation of computational simulations, magnetic fluid management in reduced gravity, and particle image velocimetry. Dr. Marchetta received a B.S.M.E. degree (1997), an M.S.M.E. (1999), and a Ph.D. from The University of Memphis (2002).
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
The Effectiveness of Online Learning Objects in Helping Students Master Required Course Competencies in Mechanical Engineering
Abstract
A study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of using online learning objects to help students master the skills needed to satisfy required course competencies in two basic undergraduate mechanical engineering courses. Each course in the department has a defined set of required competencies that each student must satisfy in order to receive a passing grade in the course. Multiple opportunities are provided for satisfying each course competency during the semester, including the final examination.
Two introductory mechanical engineering courses, dynamics and fluid mechanics, were selected for this study. After introducing the concept underlying the given competency in class, students were assigned a homework set that required the use of an online learning object related to the competency. Mastery of the competency was tested using a pop quiz during the next class meeting and multiple-choice problems on the final examination.
The performance of students who had used the online learning object was compared to that of students in another semester who had covered the same material and had been assigned similar homework in the traditional manner of chalkboard and written assignments. Differences in the performances of the two groups will be discussed along with a learning style assessment conducted for the students in both classes.
Introduction
Several years ago our department established a set of 4-5 “competencies” for each required course in the mechanical engineering curriculum1-2. In order to pass the course, each student must successfully demonstrate that he/she has mastered each of the competencies. Various ways are used to test the competency skill, but most often "pop quizzes" are used. Students typically must get the answer to the short-answer pop quiz problem completely correct in order to satisfy the particular competency. Multiple opportunities are provided for satisfying each course competency during the semester, including the final examination.
A study was undertaken in two undergraduate mechanical engineering courses to determine if the use of online learning objects, such as those in the MERLOT collection3-4, would help students master the required course competencies. The performance of students who had used the online learning object was compared to that of students in another semester who had covered the
Perry, E., & Marchetta, J. (2006, June), The Effectiveness Of Online Learning Objects In Helping Students Master Required Course Competencies In Mechanical Engineering Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--364
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