Rapidly Deployable Prototyping Activities to Teach Engineering Design (original) (raw)
Related papers
2018
Engineering students are required to take several mathematics and science courses along with other general university requirements during their first and second year. They have to wait for several semesters after admission before they get to work on engineering design activities. This can have a demoralizing effect on some students and they may start losing interest in, and passion for engineering. Introductory first-year courses present the perfect opportunity to get students to participate in a hands-on engineering design activity. We developed a concept design activity using Lego pieces to engage students by participating in various stages of engineering product design process. Students were divided into groups of 4 per team and were given 10 regular random Lego pieces. The engineering design activity (labeled as the Widget Activity) was conducted in two parts. In Part one, students were asked to design a product and make a model using the Lego pieces. In Part two, student groups...
Hk Maker Lab: An Engineering Design Summer Program for High School Students
The Journal of STEM Outreach, 2018
Increased emphasis on K-12 engineering education, including the advent and incorporation of the NGSS in many curricula, has spurred the need for increased engineering learning opportunities for younger students. This is particularly true for students from underrepresented minority populations or economically disadvantaged schools, who traditionally lag behind their peers in the pursuit of STEM majors or careers. To address this deficit, we have created the Hk Maker Lab, a summer program for New York City high school students that introduces them to biomedical engineering design. The students learn the design process through a series of interactive workshops and laboratory activities. In coordination with learning the process, students apply the engineering design process to identify real-world problems and create testable prototypes. The students explore the entrepreneurial aspects of their projects, creating basic business plans. The program has been successful in creating a diverse set of program participants who have learned engineering design and created solutions to open-ended problems. This paper presents the structure of the Hk Maker Lab and preliminary assessments of the program, providing a basic framework for those similarly interested in creating STEM education opportunities for high school students.
33rd Annual Frontiers in Education, 2003. FIE 2003.
At the University of Virginia, we have undertaken a major project to design, implement, test, and distribute Engineering Teaching Kits (ETKs) for use in middle school science and math courses. Each ETK will emphasize the engineering design approach to problem solving. A new senior design sequence for fourth year Mechanical Engineers allowed nearly 30 students to participate in this project. Six ETKs are under development: submersible vehicles, gels and brain perfusion, simple machines, solar car design, design for sustainability, and engineering materials. In this paper, we will review our approach to developing ETKs, briefly describe each of the ETKs, and assess the efficacy of a senior design course for developing instructional materials for middle schools. Under Pressurethe first team to pilot their ETK at a middle school-is featured, and their lesson plans are described along with their assessment methods.
AC 2007-2866: ENGINEERING TEACHING KITS: BRINGING ENGINEERING DESIGN INTO MIDDLE SCHOOLS
2007
Engineering Teaching Kits (ETKs) introduce engineering concepts and methods into existing middle school science and math classes. We identify topics from science, math, and technology that have interesting engineering applications, and then help students learn science and math in the context of engineering design. Each ETK includes real world constraints (budget, cost, time, risk, reliability, safety, and customer needs and demands), and each involves a design challenge that requires creativity and teamwork.
Utilizing rapid prototyping to enhance undergraduate engineering education
30th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Building on A Century of Progress in Engineering Education. Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.00CH37135)
This paper discusses how a rapid prototyping machine was used in two different undergraduate mechanical engineering classes to add excitement and realism. The two classes are a Design Methodologies class for 3rd year students and the Senior Mechanical Engineering Laboratory.
2003
At the University of Virginia, we have undertaken a major project to design, implement, test, and distribute Engineering Teaching Kits (ETKs) for use in middle school science and math courses. Each ETK will emphasize the engineering design approach to problem solving. A new senior design sequence for fourth year Mechanical Engineers allowed nearly 30 students to participate in this project. Six ETKs are under development: submersible vehicles, gels and brain perfusion, simple machines, solar car design, design for sustainability, and engineering materials. In this paper, we will review our approach to developing ETKs, briefly describe each of the ETKs, and assess the efficacy of a senior design course for developing instructional materials for middle schools. Under Pressurethe first team to pilot their ETK at a middle school -is featured, and their lesson plans are described along with their assessment methods.
Just-In-Time Implementation of Open-Ended Take-Home Miniature Design Engineering Projects
The open-endedness of design engineering problems overwhelms many first-year engineering students as these kinds of problems do not have the expected closed-form solution that, for instance, typical mathematics or science problems would have. Consequently, a need for developing a structured training method that improves design engineering learning outcomes by fostering creative thinking, encourages self-learning abilities and prepares junior engineering students for tackling design engineering term projects more successfully has been recently identified. In response, a concept that essentially involves gradual introduction of miniature open-ended take-home design engineering project assignments with increasing levels of difficulty has been proposed. The mini-projects have been deliberately developed for being assigned just-in-time to address freshly-covered material during lectures and CAD laboratory sessions. They are further reinforced during tutorial sessions where students are presented with a sample mini-project solution, respectively. These materials are also conveniently available in a form of self-learning, self-paced, voice-over-video digital content that also include guidance modules on project management and the implementation of the design engineering process and tools in addressing design engineering projects.
Toying With Design: Experiencing Design for Rapid Prototyping Using Mini-Fabrication Exercises
Volume 3: 20th International Conference on Advanced Vehicle Technologies; 15th International Conference on Design Education, 2018
This study explores the use of mini-fabrication exercises for helping students learn design for rapid prototyping in computeraided design and prototyping courses in engineering curricula. To this end, we conducted mini-fabrication exercises in ME444-an undergraduate course at Purdue University. The exercises provide hands-on exposure to design for rapid prototyping principles using simplified design problems. We developed two mini-fabrication exercises in ME444; (i) gear pair design & box design using laser cutting, and (ii) toy catapult design using stereolithography printing. These exercises were tested in a classroom-setting with 51 undergraduate students. Results show the mini-fabrication exercises facilitated students' learning of geometric dimensioning & tolerancing, part sizing, and material properties in laser cutting and stereolithography printing.
Toy Story: Improvements to a First Year Engineering Design Project Based on Student Feedback
2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference , 2021
This complete research paper describes changes in students' perceptions of an open ended firstyear project after Design Thinking concepts were utilized as a framework for project development. In the spring of 2019, we began a new mini-project so that students could experience the development of a prototype through 3D printing. Students were asked to design a bath toy for preschoolers which must float, be self-righting, and fit within the dimensions of 60mm x 60mm x 60 mm. 25% of their project grade consisted of the aesthetic appeal of the toy, as ranked by a panel of experts (students at the university preschool). Students worked in teams of four to design the toys. As a result of the 2019 student feedback, Designing Thinking concepts were incorporated, toy size limits were increased to 120 mm x 120 mm x 120 mm, individual student design submissions were increased, and more opportunities were included for team members to discuss designs prototypes and collaborate.