Work in Progress: Reformulation of a Truss Competition Course Project to Improve Educational Outcomes

Luke Fredette; Michael Kennedy

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Statics Fanatics 2
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41364
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41364
Download Count: 184

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Paper Authors

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Luke Fredette Cedarville University

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Dr. Luke Fredette completed his Ph.D. and postdoctoral research at the Ohio State University before coming to Cedarville University as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 2020. His teaching focus is in mechanical systems and computational methods, which meshes with his research interests in vibration, noise control, and nonlinear system dynamics.

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Michael Kennedy Cedarville University

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Michael is a junior mechanical engineering student from Cincinnati, Ohio who is driven to solve demanding problems and understand novel concepts. He seeks to challenge himself to fulfill his goal of continuously learning and improving. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi and has completed an internship at Advanced Turning and Manufacturing in Jackson, MI where he furthered his engineering skills.

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Abstract

The sophomore-level Statics and Mechanics of Materials course provides the solid mechanics foundation for many undergraduate students. Since trusses are already a familiar sight to most students, this structure provides a good bridge between the abstract conceptual knowledge which has predominated their class to this point and a concrete practical application, while also tying many course concepts together. The design and physical construction of a truss lets students participate hands-on while providing the opportunity to self-assess and to evaluate their coursework against an objective standard: does it work in “real life”? Demonstrating the applicability of abstract theories in the real world to relatively inexperienced students is critical to their educational foundation. If project results can be predicted, then students receive a confidence boon and will be encouraged to delve deeper into their learning. Alternatively, if students cannot predict outcomes, they may conclude that what they’ve learned is not useful and lose motivation. The educational stakes of an in-depth course project like the design and construction of a truss merit a careful formulation of the project to definitively enhance students’ educational formation rather than hindering it.

As with any experimental work, many complexities may arise which are well beyond the scope of the course and the capabilities of the students at this stage. To ensure that students can observe their theory work out in practice, the project should be designed to eliminate, mitigate, or highlight these factors as much as possible. The truss competition project had several features which brought out these issues, including significant statistical variation in (craft sticks) material properties, geometric limitations due to the material dimensions, and subsequent deviations from truss theory. The variations and emerging discrepancy between the design model and the physical structure being constructed undermined students’ confidence in the analysis taught in class, evidenced by a predominance of heuristic failure load predictions rather than predictions directly resulting from the analysis.

The authors made some fundamental changes to the competition materials and rules, seeking to improve the educational impact of this project for the 2021-22 school year. First, a closer correspondence to theory should increase student self-efficacy in engineering analysis broadly at this early stage in their technical education. Second, a project outcome determined by correct application of course concepts rather than external aspects (e.g. craft skills or luck) should establish a deeper understanding of course content and cement longer-term retention. Finally, a sense of mastery over basic principles should empower students’ creativity, leading to innovation rather than a reliance on traditionally successful approaches. The first year of project revisions achieved partial success. An overall increase in material repeatability and student confidence was achieved compared to the previous year. However, some new problems were also revealed, preventing the expected dramatic improvement across the board.

As a work in progress, the next steps in this project involve addressing the remaining technical challenges and testing solutions, establishing assessment instruments, and streamlining the project with built-in year-to-year variations to make it more manageable for future instructors.

Citation
Format

Fredette, L., & Kennedy, M. (2022, August), Work in Progress: Reformulation of a Truss Competition Course Project to Improve Educational Outcomes Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41364

TY - CPAPER
AB - The sophomore-level Statics and Mechanics of Materials course provides the solid mechanics foundation for many undergraduate students. Since trusses are already a familiar sight to most students, this structure provides a good bridge between the abstract conceptual knowledge which has predominated their class to this point and a concrete practical application, while also tying many course concepts together. The design and physical construction of a truss lets students participate hands-on while providing the opportunity to self-assess and to evaluate their coursework against an objective standard: does it work in “real life”? Demonstrating the applicability of abstract theories in the real world to relatively inexperienced students is critical to their educational foundation. If project results can be predicted, then students receive a confidence boon and will be encouraged to delve deeper into their learning. Alternatively, if students cannot predict outcomes, they may conclude that what they’ve learned is not useful and lose motivation. The educational stakes of an in-depth course project like the design and construction of a truss merit a careful formulation of the project to definitively enhance students’ educational formation rather than hindering it.

As with any experimental work, many complexities may arise which are well beyond the scope of the course and the capabilities of the students at this stage. To ensure that students can observe their theory work out in practice, the project should be designed to eliminate, mitigate, or highlight these factors as much as possible. The truss competition project had several features which brought out these issues, including significant statistical variation in (craft sticks) material properties, geometric limitations due to the material dimensions, and subsequent deviations from truss theory. The variations and emerging discrepancy between the design model and the physical structure being constructed undermined students’ confidence in the analysis taught in class, evidenced by a predominance of heuristic failure load predictions rather than predictions directly resulting from the analysis.

The authors made some fundamental changes to the competition materials and rules, seeking to improve the educational impact of this project for the 2021-22 school year. First, a closer correspondence to theory should increase student self-efficacy in engineering analysis broadly at this early stage in their technical education. Second, a project outcome determined by correct application of course concepts rather than external aspects (e.g. craft skills or luck) should establish a deeper understanding of course content and cement longer-term retention. Finally, a sense of mastery over basic principles should empower students’ creativity, leading to innovation rather than a reliance on traditionally successful approaches. The first year of project revisions achieved partial success. An overall increase in material repeatability and student confidence was achieved compared to the previous year. However, some new problems were also revealed, preventing the expected dramatic improvement across the board.

As a work in progress, the next steps in this project involve addressing the remaining technical challenges and testing solutions, establishing assessment instruments, and streamlining the project with built-in year-to-year variations to make it more manageable for future instructors.
AU - Luke Fredette
AU - Michael Kennedy
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Work in Progress: Reformulation of a Truss Competition Course Project to Improve Educational Outcomes
UR - https://peer.asee.org/41364
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41364
ER -