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1. Using Digital Sketching and Augmented Reality Mobile Apps to Improve Spatial Visualization in a Freshmen Engineering Course

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--33501  

   Bairaktarova, Diana ; Van Den Einde, Lelli ; Bell, John ( June 2019 , 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   null (Ed.)

   Spatial reasoning skills contribute to performance in many STEM fields. For example, drawing sectional views of three-dimensional objects is an essential skill for engineering students. There is considerable variation in the spatial reasoning skills of prospective engineering students, putting some at risk for compromised performance in their classes. This study takes place in a first-year engineering Spatial Visualization course to integrate recent practices in engineering design education with cognitive psychology research on the nature of spatial learning. We employed three main pedagogical strategies in the course - 1) in class instruction on sketching; 2) spatial visualization training; and 3) manipulation of physical objects (CAD/3D print creations). This course endeavors to use current technology, online accessibility, and implementation of the three pedagogical strategies to bring about student growth in spatial reasoning. This study is designed to determine the effect of adding two different spatial reasoning training apps to this environment. Over 230 students (three sections) participated in our study. In two of the three sections, students received interactive spatial visualization training using either a spatial visualization mobile touchscreen app in one section or an Augmented Reality (AR) app in the other section. Research suggests that there are benefits to using the Spatial Vis Classroom mobile app for college students.The app has been shown to increase student persistence resulting in large learning gains as measured by the Purdue assessment of spatial visualization (PSVT-R), especially for students starting with poor spatial visualization skills. The Spatial Vis Classroom app can be used in the classroom or assigned as homework. The AR app is designed to help users develop their mental rotation abilities. It is designed to support a holistic understanding of 3-dimensional objects, and research has shown that, in combination with a traditional curriculum, it increases students’ abilities also measured by the PSVT-R. Of particular interest, the data suggest that the app overcomes the advantage found by males over females in a traditional class alone focused on spatial reasoning. Both of the course sections were required to use the apps for approximately the same time in class and outside of class. Students in the control section were required to do hand sketching activities in class and outside of class, with roughly the same completion time as for the sections with the apps. Students grades were not affected by using the three different approaches as grading was based on completion only. Based on current literature, we hypothesize that overall benefits (PSVT-R gains) will be comparable across the 3 treatments but there will be different effects on attitude and engagement (confidence,enjoyment, and self-efficacy). Lastly, we hypothesize that the treatments will have different effects on male/female and ethnic categories of the study participants. The final paper will include an analysis of results and a report of the findings. 

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2. “I Understand Their Frustrations a Little Bit Better”: Elementary Teachers’ Affective Stances in Engineering in an Online Learning Program

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--33969  

   Portsmore, Merredith ; Watkins, Jessica ; Swanson, Rebecca ( January 2020 , ASEE annual conference)

   As K-12 engineering education becomes more ubiquitous in the U.S, increased attention has been paid to preparing the heterogeneous group of in-service teachers who have taken on the challenge of teaching engineering. Standards have emerged for professional development along with research on teacher learning in engineering that call for teachers to facilitate and support engineering learning environments. Given that many teachers may not have experienced engineering practice calls have been made to engage teaches K-12 teachers in the “doing” of engineering as part of their preparation. However, there is a need for research studying more specific nature of the “doing” and the instructional implications for engaging teachers in “doing” engineering. In general, to date, limited time and constrained resources necessitate that many professional development programs for K-12 teachers to engage participants in the same engineering activities they will enact with their students. While this approach supports teachers’ familiarity with curriculum and ability to anticipate students’ ideas, there is reason to believe that these experiences may not be authentic enough to support teachers in developing a rich understanding of the “doing” of engineering. K-12 teachers are often familiar with the materials and curricular solutions, given their experiences as adults, which means that engaging in the same tasks as their students may not be challenging enough to develop their understandings about engineering. This can then be consequential for their pedagogy: In our prior work, we found that teachers’ linear conceptions of the engineering design process can limit them from recognizing and supporting student engagement in productive design practices. Research on the development of engineering design practices with adults in undergraduate and professional engineering settings has shown significant differences in how adults approach and understand problems. Therefore, we conjectured that engaging teachers in more rigorous engineering challenges designed for adult engineering novices would more readily support their developing rich understandings of the ways in which professional engineers move through the design process. We term this approach meaningful engineering for teachers, and it is informed by work in science education that highlights the importance of learning environments creating a need for learners to develop and engage in disciplinary practices. We explored this approach to teachers’ professional learning experiences in doing engineering in an online graduate program for in-service teachers in engineering education at Tufts University entitled the Teacher Engineering Education Program (teep.tufts.edu). In this exploratory study, we asked: 1. How did teachers respond to engaging in meaningful engineering for teachers in the TEEP program? 2. What did teachers identify as important things they learned about engineering content and pedagogy? This paper focuses on one theme that emerged from teachers’ reflections. Our analysis found that teachers reported that meaningful engineering supported their development of epistemic empathy (“the act of understanding and appreciating someone's cognitive and emotional experience within an epistemic activity”) as a result of their own affective experiences in doing engineering that required significant iteration as well as using novel robotic materials. We consider how epistemic empathy may be an important aspect of teacher learning in K-12 engineering education and the potential implications for designing engineering teacher education. 

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3. Mini-Hints for Improved Spatial Visualization Training

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--33112  

   Delson, Nathan ; Van Den Einde, Lelli ; Cowan, Elizabeth ; Mihelich, Bob ( June 2019 , 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   null (Ed.)

   The pedagogical approach of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is based on the belief that effective learning occurs when students are challenged just beyond the level they can do on their own. An expert teacher looking over the shoulder of a student would give just the right amount of hints; too much hinting gives away the solution which deprives the student of the productive struggle that is needed for learning new concepts. Alternatively, no hinting may leave the student frustrated to the point where they give up. A key challenge with online learning is how to provide the right level of hints as if an expert teacher were there. This paper describes the evolution of hints for spatial visualization training using a mobile app. Students sketch orthographic and isometric sketches, which are automatically graded by the app. When a student draws an assignment incorrectly, they are provided with the option of a hint or peeking at the solution. This paper discusses the development of the app feedback and how it has impacted student behavior in using the app. In a first implementation, some students who excessively peeked at the solution without trying very hard on the assignments, did not significantly improve their spatial visualization ability as measured by the standardized PSVT:R test. To address the over-use of peeking, gamification was added that rewarded students to try on their own before looking at a hint or peek. In this paper, we look at a classroom trial that used a version of the spatial visualization mobile app with gamification. In general, gamification increased the post PSVT:r test scores. However, there was also a partial negative effect that and we see instances where the gamification lead to student frustration and waste of time because they avoided using hints to maximize their gamification points. We realized that the encompassing the knowledge of an expert teacher in providing hints just when needed, is difficult to implement in an algorithm. Specific examples are presented along with proposed improvements to the in-app hints. The final paper will include data comparing results of a class in January 2018 that used the original hints, with a class in January 2019 that will use the newer hints. 

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4. Student Approaches and Performance in Element Sequencing Tasks Using 2D and Augmented Reality Formats

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12040247  

   McCord, Kieren H. ; Ayer, Steven K. ; Perry, Logan A. ; Patil, Karan R. ; London, Jeremi S. ; Khoury, Vanessa ; Wu, Wei ( April 2022 , Education Sciences)

   In civil and construction engineering education research, a focus has been on using 3D models to support students’ design comprehension. Despite this trend, the predominant mode of design communication in the industry relies on 2D plans and specifications, which typically supersede other modes of communication. Rather than focusing on the presentation of less common 3D content as an input to support students’ understanding of a design, this paper explores more common 2D inputs, but compares different visualization formats of student output in two educational interventions. In the first intervention, students document a construction sequence for wood-framed elements in a 2D worksheet format. In the second, students work with the same wood-framed design, but document their sequence through an augmented reality (AR) format where their physical interactions move full-scale virtual elements as if they were physically constructing the wood frame. Student approaches and performance were analyzed using qualitative attribute coding of video, audio, and written documentation of the student experience. Overall, results showed that the 2D worksheet format was simple to implement and was not mentally demanding to complete, but often corresponded with a lack of critical checks and a lack of mistake recognition from the students. The AR approach challenged students more in terms of cognitive load and completion rates but showed the potential for facilitating mistake recognition and self-remediation through visualization. These results suggest that when students are tasked with conceptualizing construction sequences from 2D documentation, the cognitive challenges associated with documenting a sequence in AR may support their recognition of their own mistakes in ways that may not be effectively supported through 2D documentation as an output for documenting and planning a construction sequence. The results presented in this paper provide insights on student tendencies, behaviors, and perceptions related to defining construction sequences from 2D documentation in order for educators to make informed decisions regarding the use of similar learning activities to prepare their students for understanding the 2D design documents used in industry. 

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5. Home-based Cantilever Beam Experiment for Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

   Ikiriko, S. ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)

   null (Ed.)

   There is a growing concern in STEM fields during the ongoing pandemic about how students will be able to achieve one of the major learning outcomes; an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering/scientific judgement to draw conclusions. Experimental Centric Pedagogy (ECP) has been shown to promote motivation and achievement in electrical engineering among black students and students in general. This paper focuses on the development of a hands-on laboratory experiment for undergraduate students in the department of civil engineering using Mobile Hands-On Studio Technology to improve experiential learning. The home-based experiment focuses on the measurement of beam stresses resulting from weights applied to the free-end of the beam while being fixed at the other end. The beam is made up of an acrylic material and has dimensions of 1500 mm in length, 40 mm in width, and 3.175 mm in thickness. Data acquisition from strain gauges installed on the beams was made possible using ALICE Voltmeter which displays voltage readings upon beam displacement. The stress readings are then calibrated and transformed to strains based on hooke’s law relationship. Findings indicate good understanding of concepts, motivation and students learning experiences through teamwork and collaborative activities. and achievement of stated learning outcome. 

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