Matthew R. Stein Charles R. Thomas School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management
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Transcript of Matthew R. Stein Charles R. Thomas School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management
A New Approach to the Treatment of Modeling in the Freshman Engineering Course at Roger Williams University
Matthew R. Stein
Charles R. Thomas
School of Engineering, Computing
and Construction Management
Roger Williams University
Bristol, RI 02809
NE ASEE
WPI
March 2006
NE ASEE 2006 2
ENRG 110 – Engineering Graphics and Design
• 1st Engineering course at RWU – (Fall semester of freshman year)
• ~60 Students• 50% AutoCAD instruction• 50% instruction in
engineering design• Design: semester-long
group project 2005-2006 Undergraduate Catalog
NE ASEE 2006 3
Teaching “Design”
• Topics:– Difference between design
and science– 5 stages of design– Needs assessment– Stages of team
development– Managing Conflict– Models and prototypes
• Method:– Lecture– Hands-on activity
• Hands on Example for Models and Prototypes:– Draw a battery-powered
pencil sharpener
NE ASEE 2006 4
FA 2006 – Design Project Description
• Structurally Challenging– Raise a 16 lb bowling ball as high as possible over a
horizontal standard and deposit it back on the floor in a small wooden container
• Materials– 10’ of 2’’ diameter PVC– 2’ x 2’’ x 2’’ piece of lumber– 2’’ PVC spherical cap – Roll of el-cheapo duct tape– 200 standard, intact, unmodified empty aluminum cans
NE ASEE 2006 5
FA 2006 – Design Project Description
• Limited support points– Three wooden platforms
1, 2'x2' team-member platform with attached crank 3, 2'x2' structure
support platforms
Bowling Ball in starting fixture Destination fixture
Standard posts
HorizontalBar
4’
NE ASEE 2006 6
FA 2006 – Design Project Description
• Limited human participation– Students may only turn a crank
1, 2'x2' team-member platform with attached crank 3, 2'x2' structure
support platforms
Bowling Ball in starting fixture Destination fixture
Standard posts
HorizontalBar
4’
NE ASEE 2006 7
FA 2006 – Design Project Description
• Semi-competitive demonstration– Four trials used at any time during
the semester – typically the final day– Scoring
• Points for specific heights• Bonus for three best heights
NE ASEE 2006 8
Modeling the Design Project – Hands on activity
Common student questions:• Will our design work?• Do we violate any rules?
• Answer: Hold a mini-design competition based on the semester-long project– One class period in length– Fabulous prize (high-quality
duct tape)– Analogous materials– Analogous goals
Our Intent:
Demonstrate the value of modeling in solving engineering problems
NE ASEE 2006 9
Modeling the Design Project – Hands on activity
Materials Model
PVC pipe Drinking Straw
Piece of lumber 1/8’’ diameter wooden dowel
PVC cap [Nothing: A hidden message?]
Duct TapePlasticine Modeling Clay
Aluminum Cans
NE ASEE 2006 10
Comparison
To the Video!!
NE ASEE 2006 11
Did it work?
• Asked students to comment on the activity in their design notebooks and on semester-end course evaluations
• Just because the activity is enjoyed by the students, does not mean that the goal was accomplished!!
• Must avoid asking specific questions to which students think there is a “correct answer”
NE ASEE 2006 12
Student Feedback
• Survey question, comments in design notebook– The modeling exercise was excellent.– The modeling exercise was not useful at all, because my particular
groups idea could not work on a small scale, it just wasn’t possible, so we made a model of something totally different than our project.
– Modeling was excellent, helped us to creat a part for our structure we didn't think we needed
– I found the experiences of this class very valuable. The modeling was real life experiences that gave me an idea of what will be expected of me in an engineering job in the future. I found this information very helpful.
NE ASEE 2006 13
• Conclusions– Modeling activity seemed to be enjoyed by the students– Less convincing that the objective message was communicated
goals
• Future Work– Solicit more specific feedback– Again be wary of looking for what they perceive to be “correct
answers”– Do the exercise earlier in the semester to give them some time to
actually use the method
Conclusions and Future Work
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• Photo of PVC pipe: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nsf.org/business/newsroom/
plumbing99-1/pvcpipe.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nsf.org/business/newsroom/plumbing99-1/pvcpipe.html&h=162&w=232&sz=7&tbnid=PfD_XolzJ0pvlM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=103&hl=en&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3DPVC%2Bpipe%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2005-41,RNWE:en%26sa%3DN
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