This paper presents an innovative and interactive approach to teaching industrial drawing methods, which is designed to improve the way students learn about the spatial visualization of objects by means of orthographic projection and the resolution of complex orthographic projection problems, and how they master the standards and conventions of graphical representation. This new approach is supported by two innovative tools that function in accordance with the standards and prescribed approaches of the Bachelor of Engineering degree program at Polytechnique Montréal, and was validated in a classroom setting. The products of this research are a 2D/3D multimedia tutorial and a guide to the standards and conventions related to graphical representation which supports the tutorial. The examples provided in the tutorial teach students to visualize, with all the advantages of a multimedia presentation, a strategy for resolving orthographic projection problems. They are supported by the geometric laws that form the foundation of the resolution strategy itself. The strategy is based on the principles and techniques that are taught to students to develop their spatial visualization capabilities, in the belief that better visualization of those basic laws will allow students to fully grasp the nature of 3D objects in space, and obviate the need to apply a step-by-step resolution strategy. The tutorial is a tool that is supported by a reference document which outlines the standards and conventions governing graphical representation for product definition. This document is mainly composed of illustrations of examples and counterexamples which are accompanied by comments or brief descriptive para- graphs. This document is exhaustive and up to date, and, most importantly, it follows the standards prescribed by ACNOR CAN3-78-1-M83 and ISO 128-20. Used together, the tutorial and the guide save teachers time in the classroom, as well as facilitating the integration of new concepts into the course material for training future engineers, which have been approved by Polytechnique Montréal and the industry. The tutorial and guide also enable students to learn the various concepts more quickly, help them become more autonomous, and provide them with a structured method for finding valid solutions to complex orthographic projection problems.
An interactive approach to teaching medical students to conduct HIV-risk–assessment interviews
