Nathan Delson

Hand sketching of isometrics and orthographic projections is an important skill for concept generation and team brainstorming.In addition, hand sketching skills increase spatial visualization abilities, which have been correlated with increased GPAs in math and science.In an effort to teach freehand hand sketching and spatial visualization skills in an engaging and cost effective manner, two applications that use iPad touchscreen technology have been developed.The Spatial Visualization Trainer (SVT), targeting high school and undergraduate students, and Spatial Kids, targeting K-8 students, allow users to learn spatial visualization skills independently.A unique feature of these applications is that hand sketches are graded automatically.Once a student submits a sketch, they receive an indication if their work is correct (within a tolerance threshold).When students have an error in their sketching solution, they are given the option to redo the sketch or take a peek at the solution.To evaluate the effectiveness of the App, a course was taught in Spring 2014.54 students completed the course using the SVT software on iPads during class with a teacher present, and took a pre-and post-assessment test to gauge improvement.Of the 13 students who began the class with a low pre-test score (<70%), one subgroup increased their posttest score by 43% while the other sub-group had virtually no improvement and actually had an average score decrease of -4%.The primary difference between these two groups was that the students who did not see improvement peeked at the solution with minimal effort to challenge themselves and try on their own.Accordingly, the App has been redesigned with the focus of increasing student engagement and student persistence.This paper introduces four main modifications that were made: 1) the development of assignments that start simple and get more complex, 2) an intermediate option to receive a hint (animation) before peeking at the solutions, 3) a point system (stars) to encourage students to try without taking hints or peeking, and 4) the use of a few assessment questions at the end of each lesson where the hint and peek options are disabled.This paper describes the SVT and Spatial Kids applications, the enhancements to the feedback provided to the students in order to promote engagement, and future directions.

In this paper, we present the outcomes of a three-year NSF IUSE project focused on the integration of oral examinations in engineering classes. Our exploration begins with an examination of the manifold advantages of oral exams, benefiting both students and instructors. We delve into oral exams as an assessment tool, elucidating their learning benefits and emotional advantages. While some of these aspects align with existing literature, we also unveil novel findings. Additionally, we address the benefits for instructors and Teaching Assistants (TAs), encompassing informative insights that can catalyze instructional improvements. Next, we share our strategies for mitigating the scalability challenges inherent in high-enrollment classes. We elucidate our approach of effectively involving TAs through a comprehensive TA training program comprising two crucial components: video-based asynchronous behavioral training and course-specific instructor-led technical training. In the third segment, we explore the holistic preparation of students for oral exams. Beyond mere notification of the oral examination format, we delve into the critical aspects of psychological and technical readiness. We unveil a diverse array of key considerations for ensuring students are adequately mentally prepared, especially how to reduce their stress towards oral exams. Furthermore, we present the derived assignments designed to augment students' think-aloud skills, reasoning capabilities, and metacognitive prowess. Finally, we provide insights into the practical implementation of oral exams in engineering classes. This section outlines the essential design dimensions of oral exams, considerations for effective grading, and the judicious utilization of technology to enhance the assessment process, among other valuable tips and recommendations.

In 1999 he co-founded Coactive Drive

With Engaged Teaching Hub, Minju has designed TA training materials for oral exams and have conducted quantitative analysis on the value of oral

Background and context Pair programming and oral exams were deployed in tandem in a remote undergraduate computer programming course to promote social interaction and enhance learning.Objectives We investigate their impact on social interactions, sense of connection, academic performance, and academic integrity within a virtual learning environment, and explore the dynamics of student collaboration in the context of voluntary pair programming.Method Students’ coding activities, pairing preferences, and performance were survey responses were recorded and analyized.Findings First and second year students were more likely to participate in virtual pair programming than their more senior classmates. Willingness to pair program strongly correlated with GPA. Partner changes were infrequent. 20–40% of students pair programmed per assignment. Oral exam scores positively correlated with other course scores. Surveys indicated that virtual pair programming and oral exams positively impacted learning, sense of community, and academic integrity.Implications The study offers perspectives on how these practices can be leveraged to foster inclusive learning, meaningful discourse, peer collaboration, and student-faculty relationships, with a positive effect on student motivation and academic integrity.

San Diego and the President of eGrove Education, Inc.She incorporates education innovations into courses (Peer Instruction, Projectbased learning), prepares next generation faculty, advises student organizations, hears cases of academic misconduct, is responsible for ABET, and is committed to fostering a

Abstract This abstract is intended as a presentation only (no full paper). Mobile devices are becoming more prevalent and a common part of the education experience. Students can access their devices at any time to perform assignments or review material. Mobile apps can have the added advantage of being able to automatically grade student work and provide instantaneous feedback. However, numerous challenges remain in implementing effective mobile educational apps. One challenge is the small screen size of smartphones. A freehand sketching and spatial visualization mobile app was implemented in two college freshman engineering graphics course to teach students how to sketch orthographic and isometric assignments. The app provides automatic grading and hint feedback to help students when they are stuck. The app was originally developed for iPads, but the wide prevalence of smartphones led to porting the software to iPhone and Android phones. The sketching assignments on a smartphone screen require more frequent zooming and panning, These classes were the first to use the spatial visualization training app on their smartphones to study if the experience was the same as on larger screen sizes using iPad tablets. Students were assigned sketching problems as homework using their personal devices. Students were administered a pre- and post- spatial visualization test (PSVT-R, a reliable, well-validated instrument) to assess learning gains. The trial analysis focused on students who entered the course with limited spatial visualization experience as identified based on a score of ≤70% on the PSVT:R since students entering college with low PSVT:R scores are at higher risk of dropping out of STEM majors. In the first course, almost 60% of the class failed the pre-test, which was a significantly higher percentage than the same trial conducted at another large institution. Among the low-performing students in the first class, 35% of those who used the app showed significant progress, raising their test scores above 70% bringing them out of the at-risk range for dropping out of engineering compared to 71% at the other institution. These mixed results could be attributed to the software not being ready for prime-time during the initial trial. In addition to the PSVT-R instrument, a survey was conducted at both institutions to evaluate student usage and their impressions of the app. Students found the app engaging, easy to use, and something they would do whenever they had "a free moment". In the first trial, 79% of the students recommended the app to a friend if they are struggling with spatial visualization skills as opposed to 95% in the second course. This presentation will compare the implementation of the mobile spatial visualization sketching app in two large college engineering classroom using smartphones vs. past trials using tablets, highlight the app's impact in increasing self-efficacy in spatial visualization and sketching, and present a detailed comparison of the results of the pre- and post- test and survey related to smartphone usage.

Abstract Objectives: Spatial visualization (SV) refers to the ability to manipulate geometric shapes in one's mind and is important in many STEM fields. Studies have shown that SV skills are learnable, and SV training can increase GPAs and graduate rates in engineering. Additionally, sketching has been shown to be an important part of increasing 3D visualization skills, which is key for creativity and team communication. However, few engineering curricula include SV training, and adding new content to an already full program can be difficult. The Spatial Vis™ App, developed by eGrove Education, was designed with the potential to teach SV training outside of scheduled class time. It allows for freehand sketches of isometric and orthographic assignments to be graded automatically and for hints to be provided when needed. The app has been tested in a number of trials at universities across the country and has been shown to be an engaging and effective tool in improving SV skills. The app is currently available on Android and Apple smartphones and tablets, as well as advanced touchscreen Chromebooks. Features of the app include automatic grading, personalized hints for students when stuck, teacher data for tracking student progress, gradual increase in difficulty of assignments, a gamification start system to encourage persistence, and several test questions the end of each lesson where the Hint and Peek questions have been disabled. Results from trials using the technology in a number of university classroom settings, which have demonstrated the efficacy of the app based on a pre- and post- standardized spatial visualization test, will be discussed. Targeted audience: First year engineering or engineering graphics college or community college instructors; K-12 pre-engineering teachers and administrators. Activities Planned: This workshop will provide an overview of the benefits and best practices of using the Spatial Vis app in your classroom. Participants will be given a license to the app to use on their own smartphone devices to engage in interactive spatial visualization (SV) activities. Learning Outcomes: Instructors will learn 1) spatial visualization skills such as 2D rotations, 3D isometric views, and 2D orthographic projections; 2) how to use the app including the algorithm that automatically grades students' sketches and provides guidance when requested; and 3) best practices for how to implement the SV training in their curriculum. You won't want to miss this interactive workshop! Approximate length: 2 hours Required supplies: Android or Apple touchscreen device such as a smartphone or tablet.

She incorporates education innovations into courses (Active Learning, Project-based learning), prepares next generation faculty through TA Training, serves as advisor to student organizations, and is

Peer oral exams, a cross between oral exams and peer assessment, were designed and implemented in a high-enrollment undergraduate computer programming course for engineers. The intention was to leverage the educational and implementational advantages of both evidence-based approaches simultaneously. Oral exams, for instance, have been argued to promote conceptual understanding, self-reflection, communication competency, and professional identity formation in students – but their deployment in large classes is resource-demanding and nontrivial, stifling their broader adoption. Peer assessment, on the other hand, is highly scalable and affords students many potential educational benefits of its own, including the benefits of peer-enhanced learning, more developed evaluative skills, a greater sense of belonging, improved self-efficacy beliefs, and higher levels of intrinsic academic motivation. The merging of the two evidence-based assessment approaches promises a scalable assessment modality hybridizing the pedagogical dimensions of the former two assessment practices. Our study of students’ surveyed perceptions about peer oral exams offers perspectives on the qualities and potential role of peer oral exams in educational practice and suggests directions for future educational research.

Abstract Developing a Curiosity Mindset in Engineering Undergraduates Via Hands-On, Inquiry-Based Learning Activities with Hidden Discoveries In a world full of rapidly developing new technologies, it is critical that engineers develop their sense of curiosity so that they are prepared - and excited - to continue to learn throughout their careers. An engineer who is curious about technology will be intrinsically motivated to engage in life-long learning. Indeed, it is an ABET requirement that engineering students recognize the need for life-long learning, but in addition to recognizing this need we wished to increase the likelihood for engineers to indeed engage in a life-long activity throughout their careers. Accordingly, to promote intrinsic motivation for life-long learning, we developed a series of inquiry-based activities promoting curiosity in an upper-division mechanical engineering senior design course. Our method includes three components. First, we explicitly introduced the value of curiosity in engineering and created assignments that prevented students from treating lab components as a "black boxes", but rather required understanding of how they work. The second method was mechanical dissection, where students took apart and discovered how a gearbox, encoder, and potentiometer worked. In the third method, students are challenged to discover a "hidden" factor that will improve their theoretical model to better match with experimental results. This upper division design class with 131 students, and students were surveyed at the beginning of the class, and after the curiosity focused activities in week 6. The survey showed that after the class exercises 83% of the students were somewhat or much more interested in using theory in engineering design, 79% were somewhat or much more interested in understanding the physics of how things work, and 76% of the students were somewhat or much more inclined to take things apart. Demographic differences were observed. More than twice as many students from Under-Represented Minorities (URMs) had not taken anything apart prior to the class; 40% for URM students vs 18% for non-URM students. In terms of gender, 30% of female students compared to 20% of the male students had not taken any objects apart prior to the class. Discovering the hidden factor proved to be a challenging yet rewarding activity; only 35% of the students discovered the challenge on their own, but overall, 83% did discover the challenges with help from other students. Student comments expressed how inquiry-based activities promoting curiosity are valued by students.

With Engaged Teaching Hub, Minju has designed TA training materials for oral exams and have conducted quantitative analysis on

He teaches introductory design, mechanics, mechatronics, capstone design, medical devices, and product design & entrepreneurship.His interests in design education includes increasing student motivation, teamwork, hands-on projects, and integration of theory into design projects.In 1999 he cofounded Coactive Drive Corporation (currently General Vibration), a

Saharnaz Baghdadchi is an Assistant Teaching Professor at UC San Diego. She is interested in scholarly teaching and uses active learning techniques to help students achieve expert-like level of

Candidate in Experimental Psychology at UC San Diego.I am interested in promoting meaningful learning in engineering classes with research in class designs (e

Abstract Engineers often employ freehand sketching to effectively communicate ideas to their peers. Additionally, research has demonstrated that practicing freehand sketching of orthographic and isometric views enhances spatial visualization skills and subsequently improves GPAs in engineering disciplines. This study aims to determine if adding additional freehand sketching to an introduction to design class is beneficial. A controlled trial was conducted with 85 students in a Control Section that were assigned just 6 freehand sketching assignments on paper. In contrast, an Intervention Section, consisting of 73 students, were assigned 146 sketching assignments using software that automatically graded the sketches. Both sections covered CAD, hands-on tool use, and an open-ended design project. Pre- and post-course assessments of spatial visualization ability were conducted using the PSVT:R standardized test. The results indicated that the average PSVT:R score increased by 1% in the Control Section, while it rose by 10% in the Intervention Section, with statistical significance of p=0.0019. In addition, students' self-assessed abilities were measured through pre- and post- Likert scale surveys. The number of students in the study was not high enough to show statistical significance with the Likert data, yet there were intervention related gains. The survey showed that compared to the Control Section the Intervention Section had a higher percentage of students that rated their ability as higher in areas related to communication. These communication areas included "sketching to communication a design idea" (59% vs. 74%), oral communication (59% vs. 72%), and teamwork effectiveness (71% vs. 77%). Benefits of sketch training was especially high for students who entered the class with low PSVT:R scores. For students who enter the class with high PSVT:R scores there were still increases in areas of oral communication, sketching, and CAD. This study showed that sketch training with a large number of assignments has benefits beyond what is learned in CAD and hands-on design.

is a Teaching Professor in Structural Engineering at UCSD.She incorporates education innovations into courses (Peer Instruction, Project-based learning), prepares next generation faculty through TA Training, serves as advisor to student organizations, and is committed to fostering a supportive environment for diverse