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Work in Progress: Visual and Tactile Aids in Multidisciplinary Engineering for Better Learning Outcomes

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

Investigating Instructional Strategies

Tagged Division

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Page Count

16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--31315

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/31315

Download Count

544

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Paper Authors

biography

K. Jo Min Iowa State University

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K. Jo Min is Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Director of Undergraduate Education in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department at Iowa State University. He teaches courses on production systems, closed-loop supply chains, and engineering valuation. His education research interests include outcome assessment and visualization aids, and his engineering research focuses on application of stochastic optimal control on engineering decision making. He has co-authored numerous papers in The Engineering Economist, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Engineering Education, and other peer-reviewed journals. He has been serving as an ABET program evaluator for EAC and ETAC and as a reviewer for various NSF engineering education panels.

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John Jackman Iowa State University

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John Jackman is an associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering at Iowa State University. His research interests include engineering problem solving, computer simulation, web-based immersive learning environments, and data acquisition and control.

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Zhuoyi Zhao Iowa State University

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Zhuoyi Zhao is a current Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering of Iowa State University.

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Abstract

In the literature of visual and tactile aids for STEM disciplines, there are numerous studies providing supporting evidence that such aids enhance students’ learning outcomes as well as possible rationale (e.g., such aids reduce the burden placed on short term memory for engineering problem solving).

In this paper, we investigate the impact of visual and tactile aids in the teaching and learning of multidisciplinary engineering when the multidisciplinary nature is brought about due to abstract mathematical concepts. Specifically, for the following two contexts, we study if and to what extent the visual and tactile aids help students to increase their learning outcomes.

In the first case, we note that the engineering disciplines of industrial engineering, engineering management, and systems engineering are replete with abstract concepts without physical representations that are inherently difficult to learn. In such cases, we show to what extent graphical representations of specific mathematical concepts help students to grasp such concepts.

In the second case, we note that the physical production process of Additive Manufacturing (AM) resembles the mathematical concept of stochastic integral calculus. In such cases, we show how the visual and tactile aids produced via AM will help the students learn the mathematical concept of stochastic integral calculus as well as how such calculus provides a way to characterize the variations in products manufactured via AM and to enhance the mathematical and statistical aspects of AM.

Finally, we will compare and contrast our research findings in these two cases, and summarize the insights and best practices for teaching and learning of abstract mathematical concept-based multidisciplinary engineering with visual and tactile aids.

Min, K. J., & Jackman, J., & Zhao, Z. (2018, June), Work in Progress: Visual and Tactile Aids in Multidisciplinary Engineering for Better Learning Outcomes Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--31315

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