Initial Validation of a Technical Writing Rubric for Engineering Design

Engineering design serves as the capstone experience of most undergraduate engineering programs. One of the key elements of the engineering design process is the compilation of results obtained into a technical report that can be shared and distributed to interested stakeholders including industry, faculty members and other relevant parties. In an effort to expand the tools available for assessment of engineering design technical reports, this study performed an initial validation of a previously developed Technical Writing rubric. The rubric was evaluated for its reliability to measure the intended construct, inter-rater reliability and external validity in comparison to an existing generalized written communication rubric. It was found that the rubric was reliable with Cronbach’s alpha for all dimensions between 0.817 and 0.976. The inter-rater reliability for the overall instrument was also found to be excellent at 0.85. Finally, it was observed that there were no statistically significant differences observed between the measurements obtained on the Technical Writing rubric in comparison to the more generalized Written Communication Value rubric. This demonstrates that although specific to engineering design environments the Technical Writing rubric was able to measure key constructs associated with written communication practice. This rubric can now serve as one additional tool for assessment of communication skills within engineering capstone design experiences

Work In Progress: Combining Concept Inventories with Rapid Feedback to Enhance Learning

In this project our goal is to adapt the Concept Inventory for frequent classroom use, and to implement it in a system to provide rapid feedback to students of their understanding of key concepts being presented. The feedback system acts as the focal point and catalyst to encourage students, working in pairs, to assist each other in correcting misconceptions or deepening each other’s understanding of the topic at hand. Furthermore, the system allows the professor to assess the students’ level of comprehension (or misconception) in a just-in-time fashion, and thus guides his or her pacing and coverage of the material. The rapid feedback is enabled through wireless-networked handheld computers. In this first year of the study, we have implemented the system in a lower-level, core-engineering course (engineering mechanics: statics). This paper will focus on the motivation for and the design of this project; our presentation will describe results from the first implementation

Promoting Excellence in Education with an Outstanding Student Instructor Award Program

The ASEE Student Chapter at the University of Michigan in conjunction with the College of Engineering has developed and organized an annual Outstanding Student Instructor Award in recognition of excellence in engineering education. The award not only acknowledges the outstanding contributions of the individuals selected for the award, but also coincides with the ASEE’s goals of promoting excellence in engineering education and attracting new members. The paper outlines the planning procedures developed since the inception of the award in 1994 and provides suggestions and insights for other ASEE Student Chapters to create and organize such an award

Organ-izing the Curriculum: Enhancing Knowledge, Attitudes and Interests in Engineering with Biomedical Course Modules

Proposed abstract for the NSF-Grantees Poster Session Organ-izing the Curriculum: enhancing knowledge, attitudes and interests in engineering with biomedical course modules The relatively new discipline of biomedical engineering emerged from informal collaborations between engineers, physicians and life scientists, and is the fastest growing engineering discipline at most universities. Chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineers play an important and expanding role in this burgeoning field because the fundamental core principles of each discipline are critical to biomedical mainstays such as the design of artificial organs. This project introduces hands-on, biomedically-related experiments and course materials into the engineering curriculum, with the aim of increasing core disciplinary knowledge and increasing interest in engineering. This paper describes the biomedical modules that have been developed and integrated into a variety of courses throughout XXXX’s engineering curriculum. Results demonstrate an increase in student’s understanding of engineering concepts in comparison to control groups. At the freshman level, the treatment group that participated in biomedical education showed significantly higher gains in their perception of classroom climate, interest and confidence in biomedical engineering, confidence in engineering, confidence in writing,and perception of engineers’ contribution to society

A NOVEL STUDY EXAMINING COGNITIVE-MOTOR INTERFERENCE AFTER ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION

The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of examining cognitive motor interference (CMi) in athletes following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and return to sport through electroencephalography (EEG) and three-dimensional motion capture recordings. A 128-electrode EEG system is used to track brain wave patterns for specific biomarkers of CMi during sitting and balance tasks. An 8-camera Optitrack system is used to obtain three-dimensional kinematics during anticipated and unanticipated drop vertical jumps. Preliminary EEG N200 amplitudes (ACL: -4.99 ± 2.39; Control: -7.75 ± 5.83) and peak knee flexion (ACL: 93.29 ± 12.92°; Control: 92.87 ± 7.17°) during dual-task and unanticipated landings, respectively, demonstrate the feasibility of this study. Future work will continue to assess the effect of CMi on risk factors for secondary ACL injury

Integrating Design Throughout The Mechanical Engineering Curriculum: A Focus On The Engineering Clinics

At Rowan University, we have infused design into the curriculum through an eight-semester course sequence called the Engineering Clinic. Through this experience students learn the art and science of design in a multidisciplinary team environment. While many engineering programs currently include a Capstone Design course taken near the end of the college career to meet the design needs, Engineering Clinic at Rowan allows students to hone their design skills throughout their four-year career. This paper will describe in further detail the objectives and execution of each year in the design sequence, types of projects and how the Clinics complement traditional core courses in the curriculum. Impacts and benefits of the Clinics on students and faculty are discussed, as well as comparative data of Rowan Mechanical Engineering students and their peers nationally

Enhancing Student Learning in Mechanics Through Rapid-Feedback

In this project our goal is to improve student learning in engineering mechanics courses. The aim to improve learning was accomplished by providing rapid feedback to students of their understanding of key concepts and skills being taught. The feedback system acts as a catalyst to encourage students, working in pairs, to assist each other in correcting misconceptions or deepening each other’s understanding of the concept or skill at hand. Furthermore, the system allows the professor to assess the students’ level of comprehension or misconception in a just-in-time fashion, and thus guide the pace of covering the material. The feedback is enabled through wireless-networked handheld computers or color-coded flashcards. In the first two years of the study, the feedback system was implemented in two sections of a lower-level, core-engineering course, statics, as well as in follow-on courses of dynamics and solid mechanics

Radial and torsional coupling in elastomeric bushings.

Elastomeric bushings are essential components in vehicle suspension systems since they isolate vibration, reduce noise transmission, accommodate oscillatory motions and accept misalignment of axes. Thus, an accurate, reduced order model is valuable for predicting bushing force-deformation response. An experimental study was conducted, subjecting bushings to radial, torsional, and coupled radial-torsional deformation modes, which are typical of deformations imposed during application. The experimental results show that the relationship between the forces and moments and their corresponding displacements and rotations is nonlinear and viscoelastic. An unusual coupling phenomena exists; the radial force decreases then increases for increasing angle of preset. The results were used to assess bushing behavior, to determine the strength of coupling, to assess time variation and to determine parameters in a proposed model for uniaxial and coupled bushing response. The developed force-deformation model reasonably predicts the response to step and sinusoidal deformation histories and is a useful model in multibody dynamic simulations of vehicle suspensions. A finite element model of the bushing was developed, imploying two particular hyperelastic models for the elastomeric material, and the model results were compared to experimental data. Differences between finite element and experimental results are attributed to the material differences between the samples used for material characterization and the actual production parts and the initial stress state of the bushing due to the cooling and swaging procedures. It is concluded that accurate determination of material parameters is necessary to improve the use of finite element analysis as a design tool.Ph.D.Applied SciencesAutomotive engineeringMechanical engineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/131681/2/9929855.pd

Initial Validation of a Technical Writing Rubric for Engineering Design

Engineering design serves as the capstone experience of most undergraduate engineering programs. One of the key elements of the engineering design process is the compilation of results obtained into a technical report that can be shared and distributed to interested stakeholders including industry, faculty members and other relevant parties. In an effort to expand the tools available for assessment of engineering design technical reports, this study performed an initial validation of a previously developed Technical Writing rubric. The rubric was evaluated for its reliability to measure the intended construct, inter-rater reliability and external validity in comparison to an existing generalized written communication rubric. It was found that the rubric was reliable with Cronbach’s alpha for all dimensions between 0.817 and 0.976. The inter-rater reliability for the overall instrument was also found to be excellent at 0.85. Finally, it was observed that there were no statistically significant differences observed between the measurements obtained on the Technical Writing rubric in comparison to the more generalized Written Communication Value rubric. This demonstrates that although specific to engineering design environments the Technical Writing rubric was able to measure key constructs associated with written communication practice. This rubric can now serve as one additional tool for assessment of communication skills within engineering capstone design experiences

Using Technology for Concepts Learning and Rapid Feedback in Statics

In this project our goal is to improve student learning in the foundation mechanics course Statics as well as improve knowledge retention (durability) and knowledge application in a different environment (transferability). We aim to do this by providing rapid feedback to students of their understanding of key concepts and skills being presented. The feedback system acts as the focal point and catalyst to encourage students to assist each other in correcting misconceptions or deepening each other’s understanding of the topic or skill at hand. Furthermore, the system allows the professor to assess the students’ level of comprehension (or misconception) in a just-in-time fashion, and thus guide his or her pacing and coverage of the material. The rapid feedback is enabled through wireless-networked handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) or flashcards. In the first two years of the study, we have implemented the system in two sections of Statics using a crossover design of experiment, where one section receives the rapid feedback ‘treatment’ (i.e., use of the PDAs) while the other (the ‘control’ group) receives rapid feedback on the exact same topics, but only through the use of flashcards instead of PDAs. After a predetermined period, the sections swap their feedback treatment. Several swaps are achieved during the course, and in this manner each student acts as his or her own experimental control to assess the effectiveness of the treatment. This paper focuses on implementation and feedback methods in statics, a brief summary of statistical analysis, results of student learning and use of feedback in follow-on courses