IUPUC Spatial Innovation Lab

During the summer of 2016 the IUPUC ME Division envi-sioned the concept of an “Imagineering Lab” based largely on academic makerspace concepts. Important sub-sections of the Imagineering Lab are its “Actualization Lab” (mecha-tronics, actuators, sensors, DAQ devices etc.) and a “Spatial Innovation Lab” (SIL) based on developing “dream stations” (computer work stations) equipped with exciting new tech-nology in intuitive 2D and 3D image creation and Virtual Reality (VR) technology. The objective of the SIL is to cre-ate a work flow converting intuitively created imagery to an-imation, engineering simulation and analysis and computer driven manufacturing interfaces. This paper discusses the challenges and methods being used to create a sustainable Spatial Innovation Lab

Spatial Thinking in the Engineering Curriculum: an Investigation of the Relationship Between Problem Solving and Spatial Skills Among Engineering Students.

Long considered a primary factor of intelligence, spatial ability has been shown to correlate strongly with success in engineering education, yet is rarely included as a learning outcome in engineering programmes. A clearer understanding of how and why spatial ability impacts on performance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects would allow educators to determine if spatial skills development merits greater priority in STEM curricula. The aim of this study is to help inform that debate by shedding new light on the role of spatial thinking in STEM learning and allow teaching practice and curriculum design to be informed by evidence based research. A cross cutting theme in STEM education – problem solving – is examined with respect to its relationship with spatial ability. Several research questions were addressed that related to the role and relevance of spatial ability to first year engineering education and, more specifically, the manner in which spatial ability is manifest in the representation and solution of word story problems in mathematics. Working with samples of engineering students in Ireland and the United States, data were collected in the form of responses to spatial ability tests and problem solving exercises in the areas of mathematics and electric circuits. Following a pilot study to select and refine a set of mathematical story problems a mixed methods design was followed in which data were first analysed using quantitative methods to highlight phenomena that were then explored using an interpretive approach. With regard to engineering education in general, it was found that spatial ability cannot be assumed to improve as students progress through an engineering programme and that spatial ability is highly relevant to assessments that require reasoning about concepts, novel scenarios and problems but can remain hidden in overall course grades possibly due to an emphasis on assessing rote learning. With regard to problem solving, spatial ability was found to have a significant relationship with the problem representation step but not with the solution step. Those with high levels of spatial ability were more able to apply linguistic and schematic knowledge to the problem representation phase which led to higher success rates in translating word statements to mathematical form

Coupling K-12 Music Education with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Curricula: Implementation of a STEMusic Outreach Program

Many studies have investigated the effects of music on evoking human emotions and diverse types of brain responses. One study by Juslin and Vastfjall indicates that hearing music can stimulate brain stem reflexes, create emotional contagion, recall episodic memories and provoke visual imagery. Due to the influence music has on human brain waves, researchers have been studying the effect of music on enhancing the spatial abilities of young students. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) professions rely heavily on spatial skills. Research on the connection of music with spatial skills proposes that when the brain processes rhythm a “mental rotation” occurs, which stimulates the brain’s spatial-temporal ability. Also suggested, is that music enhances learning due to the multiple types of thinking that are required to make and learn music. Creating music requires an extended practice of musical, visual-spatial, mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal and kinesthetic intelligences and when students make music they will be practicing and enhancing these abilities. This study develops an innovative K-12 outreach program and explores the effects of coupling music education with STEM specific curricula through songwriting workshops, termed STEMusic workshops. The goal of the STEMusic outreach program is to promote creativity, conceptual understanding and retention of STEM specific concepts at the elementary level through the alternative cognitive process of creating music. Traditional methods of teaching engineering concepts do not involve emotional learning processes. By combining songwriting, rhythm and performance art with STEM principles, students are exposed to an emotional musical experience that may create long-term memories of the curricula and help with retention of the STEM concepts

Design-Build-Write: Increasing The Impact Of English For Specific Purposes Learning And Teaching In Aeronautical Engineering Education Through Multiple Intelligences Task Design

This article presents an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) task developed for teaching aeronautical engineering students. The task Design-Build-Write rests on the assumption that engineering students are skilled at mathematical reasoning, problem solving, drawing and constructing. In Gardner’s 1983 Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory, these skills strongly correspond to the logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic and spatial intelligences. The current task combines creativity, innovation and problem solving with the description of technical concepts. An enthusiastic learner response in class suggests that the target group of aeronautical engineering students could be engaged and captivated by this assignment.

Three-dimensional labels: A unified approach to labels for a general spatial grammar interpreter

Spatial grammars are rule-based, generative systems for the specification of formal languages. Set and shape grammar formulations of spatial grammars enable the definition of spatial design languages and the creation of alternative designs. The original formalism includes labels that provide the possibility to restrict the application of rules or to incorporate additional, nongeometric information in grammar rules. Labels have been used in various ways. This paper investigates the different uses of labels in existing spatial grammars, both paper based and computational, and introduces a new concept of three-dimensional (3-D) labels for spatial grammars. The approach consolidates the different label types in one integrated concept. The main use of 3-D labels is that they can simplify the matching of the left-hand side of rules in parametric grammars. A prototype implementation is used to illustrate the approach through a mechanical engineering example of generating robot arm concepts. This approach more readily enables the use of complex solid geometry in the definition and application of parametric rules. Thus, the flexible generation of complex, meaningful design solutions for mechanical engineering applications can be achieved using parametric spatial grammars combined with 3-D label

Equivalence between volume averaging and moments matching techniques for mass transport models in porous media.

This paper deals with local non-equilibrium models for mass transport in dual-phase and dual-region porous media. The first contribution of this study is to formally prove that the time-asymptotic moments matching method applied to two-equation models is equivalent to a fundamental deterministic perturbation decomposition proposed in Quintard et al. (2001) [1] for mass transport and in Moyne et al. (2000) [2] for heat transfer. Both theories lead to the same one-equation local non-equilibrium model. It has very broad practical and theoretical implications because (1) these models are widely employed in hydrology and chemical engineering and (2) it indicates that the concepts of volume averaging with closure and of matching spatial moments are equivalent in the one-equation non-equilibrium case. This work also aims to clarify the approximations that are made during the upscaling process by establishing the domains of validity of each model, for the mobile–immobile situation, using both a fundamental analysis and numerical simulations. In particular, it is demonstrated, once again, that the local mass equilibrium assumptions must be used very carefully

Spatial-Temporal Routing for Supporting End to End Hard Deadlines in Multi-hop Networks

abstract: We consider the problem of routing packets with end-to-end hard deadlines in multihop communication networks. This is a challenging problem due to the complex spatial-temporal correlation among flows with different deadlines especially when significant traffic fluctuation exists. To tackle this problem, based on the spatial-temporal routing algorithm that specifies where and when a packet should be routed using concepts of virtual links and virtual routes, we proposed a constrained resource-pooling heuristic into the spatial-temporal routing, which enhances the ``work-conserving" capability and improves the delivery ratio. Our extensive simulations show that the policies improve the performance of spatial-temporal routing algorithm and outperform traditional policies such as backpressure and earliest-deadline-first (EDF) for more general traffic flows in multihop communication networks.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Electrical Engineering 201

Making spatial pedagogy: using insights from spatial ability research to develop maker education pedagogy

Maker education has been shown to effectively raise children’s interest for STEM subjects. Creative maker activities, which mostly take place in informal learning environments such as museums and libraries, hold potential to teach children scientific concepts and train cognitive abilities that are critical to success in engineering in an engaging way. One of these often-overlooked skills fundamental to STEM is spatial ability, which is known to commonly function as a gateway skill to STEM disciplines. Spatial ability is malleable, and training can effect gains not only in psychometrically assessed spatial ability but also in mathematical skills, further demonstrating its importance to STEM learning. In practice maker education often lacks explicit pedagogical attention to the development of scientific skills and cognitive abilities such as spatial ability, instead overemphasising technological skills, and thus limiting its potential to increase learning related to science and engineering. Therefore, maker education practice would greatly benefit from a pedagogy that recognises spatial elements and scaffolds spatial ability development. In this paper the opposing pedagogies that lie at the roots of the maker education and spatial ability education are examined, as a prerequisite step to redesigning maker education practice. The final aim is to transform maker education practice into a STEM learning practice through which spatial ability development is scaffolded and can be assessed. This would help realise maker education’s potential for scientific learning and may help a wider audience to meaningfully partake in STEM-related activities from a young age

KORELASI ANTARA KECERDASAN VISUAL-SPASIAL DENGAN HASIL BELAJAR MAHASISWA PADA MATA KULIAH DASAR BIDANG STUDI TEKNIK MESIN

Kecerdasan visual-spasial merupakan kecerdasan yang penting dimiliki oleh mahasiswa teknik mesin, karena di bidang tersebut membutuhkan pandangan-pandangan dari sebuah objek untuk menghasilkan rancangan-rancangan produk yang benar. Kecerdasan visual-spasial mencakup kemampuan untuk memvisualisasikan objek abstrak, mewakili ide-ide grafis visual atau spasial, dan mengorientasikan diri secara tepat dalam matriks spasial. Faktor-faktor tersebut juga merupakan hal-hal yang diperlukan dalam hasil belajar pada mata kuliah dasar bidang studi teknik mesin, adanya konseptualisasi visual-spasial yang baik merupakan aset untuk memahami konsep-konsep yang ada di mata kuliah dasar bidang studi teknik mesin. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan pada tingkat korelasi antara kecerdasan visual-spasial dengan hasil belajar mahasiswa pada mata kuliah dasar bidang studi teknik mesin. Penelitian dilakukan terhadap 42 mahasiswa teknik mesin konsentrasi produksi dan perancangan Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, berusia antara 20 – 24 tahun dengan memberikan dua jenis tes untuk mengukur kecerdasan visual-spasial, yaitu Deferential Aptitude Test (DAT) dan Flanagan Aptitude Classification Test (FACT). Pengukuran tersebut bekerja sama dengan Laboratorium Psikologi Pendidikan dan Bimbingan UPI. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa korelasi antara kecerdasan visual-spasial dengan hasil belajar kimia teknik berada pada tingkat hubungan yang dapat dianggap tidak ada, korelasi antara kecerdasan visual-spasial dengan hasil belajar matematika teknik berada pada tingkat hubungan yang dapat dianggap tidak ada, dan korelasi antara kecerdasan visual-spasial dengan hasil belajar fisika teknik berada pada tingkat hubungan yang dapat dianggap tidak ada (r=0,20 untuk kima teknik, r =-0,04 untuk matematika teknik, dan r=0,06 untuk fisika teknik). Hal ini dikarenakan oleh tidak adanya instrumen khusus untuk mengukur tingkat kecerdasan visual-spasial yang sesuai dengan karakteristik mata kuliah dasar bidang studi teknik mesin. ;--- Visual-spatial intelligence is an essential Intelligence should possessed by mechanical engineering students, since it requires the pointviews of an object to produce the correct product designs. Visual-spatial intelligence includes the ability to visualize abstract objects, representing visual or spatial graphic ideas, and orientate appropriately in spatial matrices. These factors are also necessary for study result in the basic subject of mechanical engineering studies, the existence of a good visual-spatial conceptualization is an asset for understanding the concepts that exist in the basic subject of mechanical engineering studies. The purpose of the research is to determine the level of correlation between visual-spatial intelligence with student’s study result in the basic subjects of mechanical engineering studies. The study was conducted on 42 students of concentration production and design mechanical engineering of Indonesia University of Education, age group between 20-24 years by providing two types of tests to measure visual-spatial intelligence, namely Deferential Aptitude Test (DAT) and Flanagan Aptitude Classification Test (FACT). The measurements work in collaboration with the Educational Psychology Laboratory and Guidance Indonesia University of Education. The results showed that the correlation between visual-spatial intelligence and learning achievement of chemical engineering is at level of relationship that can't exist, the correlation between visual-spatial intelligence and mathematics learning achievement is at level of relationship that can't exist, and the correlation between visual-spatial intelligence and physics learning achievement is at level of relationship that can't exist (r=0,20 for chemical engineering subject, r = -0,04 for Mathematical techniques subject, and r=0,06 for engineering physics subject). This is due to the absence of special instruments to measure the level of visual-spatial intelligence in accordance with the characteristics of the basic courses in the field of mechanical engineering studies