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1. Guiding or Exploring? Finding the Right Way to Teach Students Structural Analysis with Augmented Reality

   Radkowski, R. (January 2018, Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: Interaction, Navigation, Visualization, Embodiment, and Simulation. VAMR 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer ScienceLecture Notes in Computer Science)

   Chen, J. (Ed.)

   The paper reports on the design of an augmented reality (AR) application for structural analysis education. Structural analysis is a significant course in every civil engineering program. The course focuses on load and stress distributions in buildings, bridges, and other structures. Students learn about graphical and mathematical models that embody structures as well as to utilize those models to determine the safety of a structure. An often reported obstacle is the missing link between these graphical models and a real building. Students often do not see the connection, which hinders them to utilize the models correctly. We designed an AR application that superimposes real buildings with graphical widgets of structural elements to help students establishing this link. The focus of this study is on application design, especially on the question whether students prefer an application that guides them when solving an engineering problem or whether the students prefer to explore. Students were asked to solve a problem with the application, which either instructed them step-by-step or allowed the students to use all feature on their own (exploring). The results are inconclusive, however, tend to favor the explore mode. 

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2. Advancing Civil Engineering Education: Implications of Using Augmented Reality in Teaching Structural Analysis

   https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.70059  

   Miner, Nathan; Karabulut‐Ilgu, Aliye; Jahren, Charles; Alipour, Alice (July 2025, Computer Applications in Engineering Education)

   ABSTRACT As technological advances appear, it is desirable to integrate them into new engineering education teaching methods, aiming to enhance students' comprehension and engagement with complex subjects. Augmented reality (AR) emerges as a promising tool in this effort, offering students opportunities to visualize and conceptualize challenging topics that are otherwise too abstract or difficult to grasp. Within civil engineering curriculums, structural analysis, a junior‐level course forming the foundation of many other courses, poses challenges in visualization and understanding. This paper investigates the development of a mobile AR application intended to improve the conceptual understanding of structural analysis material. This application is designed to overlay schematic representations of structural components (i.e., beams, columns, frames, and trusses) onto images of iconic local campus buildings, allowing students to interactively explore exaggerated deflections and internal and external forces under various loading conditions. By contextualizing structural analysis calculations within familiar settings, the goal is to leverage a sense of relevance and place‐based attachments in students' learning. Furthermore, the paper examines the development process and usability of the AR application, providing insights into its implementation in educational settings. Experimental results, including comparisons with a control group, are analyzed to assess the efficacy of the AR application in improving students' understanding of structural analysis concepts. Furthermore, the paper examines the development process and usability of the AR application, providing insights into its implementation in educational settings. Perspectives from structural analysis faculty members are also discussed, shedding light on the potential benefits and challenges associated with integrating AR technology into engineering education. In addition, the study highlights the value of place‐based learning, wherein students engage with real‐world structures in their immediate environment, fostering deeper connections between theoretical concepts and practical applications. Overall, this research contributes to the growing body of literature on innovative teaching approaches in engineering education and highlights the potential of AR as a valuable tool for enhancing student learning experiences in structural analysis and related disciplines. 

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3. Developing and Formatively Testing a Preschool Classroom Intervention using a Design-Based Implementation Approach

   Lewis_Presser, A E (June 2025, International journal of education)

   This paper presents the development and formative testing of a preschool spatial orientation intervention using a design-based implementation research (DBIR) approach. Over the course of eight weeks in both classroom and home settings, spatial language, navigation, and modelling skills are fostered through curriculum that incorporates books, hands-on activities, movement, and digital tools, including an augmented reality (AR) app. Co-design with teachers, user studies, and pilot testing informed iterative revisions to ensure usability, instructional support, and engagement for diverse learners. Findings indicate that the activities fill a curricular gap, promote spatial vocabulary and reasoning, and are generally well received by teachers, parents, and children. While the AR app shows promise for enhancing motivation and collaboration, challenges related to usability and scaffolding remain. This work contributes to early childhood STEM education by providing accessible, developmentally appropriate resources that support spatial thinking, especially for underserved communities, and offers insights into integrating technology effectively in preschool learning environments. 

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4. Using Narrative to Engage Girls in Museum Engineering Design Tasks

   Bennett, D.; Letourneau, S.; Liu, C.C.J. (July 2018, Visitors Studies Association: Fostering Transparency, Fostering Public Trust)

   In this design-based research study, the New York Hall of Science, in collaboration with the Amazeum (Bentonville, AR), the Tech Museum (San Jose, CA), and the Creativity Labs (Indiana University), are examining how narratives can shape girls’ engagement in museum-based engineering activities. The project involves developing and testing six engineering activities that incorporate elements of narrative.Through iterative activity development, the project team is exploring how design prompts and materials can suggest narratives via characters, settings, or scenarios in a way that invites visitors’ perspective-taking and empathy. In addition, by comparing narrative and non-narrative versions of each activity, the team is gathering evidence about whether and how narratives support girls’ participation in engineering activities, as well as their persistence in creating and iterating solutions. This poster shares the beginning theoretical framework for defining narrative and empathy in museum-based engineering activities, as well as the results from three activities developed and tested by summer 2018. 

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5. Design and Implementation of Experiential Learning Modules for Reinforced Concrete

   Lovell, Matthew D.; Carroll, J. Chris; Kershaw, Kyle; Derks, Alec C. (January 2021, ASEE annual conference exposition)

   null (Ed.)

   Most undergraduate civil engineering programs include an introductory course in reinforced concrete design. The course generally includes an introduction to the fundamentals of reinforced concrete behavior, the design of simple beams and one-way slabs to resist shear and flexure, and the design of short columns. Because of the scale of typical civil engineering structures, students commonly do not get to experience large or full-scale structural behavior as a part of an undergraduate reinforced concrete course. Rather, students typically learn fundamental concepts through theoretical discussions, small demonstrations, or pictures and images. Without the interaction with full-scale structural members, students can struggle to develop a clear understanding of the fundamental behavior of these systems such as the differences in behavior of an over or under-reinforced beam. Additionally, students do not build an appreciation for the variations between as-built versus theoretical designs. Large-scale models can illustrate such behavior and enhance student understanding, but most civil engineering programs lack the physical equipment to perform testing at this scale. The authors from St. Louis University (SLU) and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) have designed and implemented large-scale tests for in-class use that allow students to experience fundamental reinforced concrete behavior. Students design and test several reinforced concrete members using a modular strong-block testing system. This paper provides a detailed overview of the design, fabrication, and implementation of three large-scale experiential learning modules for an undergraduate reinforced concrete design course. The first module focuses on service load and deflections of a reinforced concrete beam. The first and second modules also focus on flexural failure modes and ductility. The third module focuses on shear design and failure modes. Each module uses a large scale reinforced concrete beam (Flexure specimens: 12 in. x 14 in. x 19 ft, Shear specimens: 12 in. x 14 in. x 10 ft.) that was tested on a modular strong-block testing system. The three modules were used throughout the reinforced concrete design course at SLU and RHIT to illustrate behavior concurrent to the presentation of various reinforced concrete design concepts. 

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