scholarly journals Building Bridges to a Better Engineering Design Education Experience

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Maw
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Design Element ◽  
Transfer Program ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Technical Drawing

In the Fall 2010 semester, Mount Royal University’s Engineering Transfer Program ran its first version of a new Engineering Design course that combined two term courses into one. The course consisted of integrated Technical Writing, Technical Drawing and Sketching, and Design elements. The Design element, consisting of three hours/week of in-class activities, focused on the introduction of elements of the design process, activities to expose students to the real-life aspects of each stage of the process, and a term project that brought all elements of the course together in one real-life application. The term project was the (re)design of a pedestrian footbridge on the Mount Royal (MRU) campus. The existing bridge, approximately 3.5 m long by 2 m wide, spans a man-made gulley and joins two parts of a pedestrian walkway. Relevant MRU grounds staff were involved in the project as clients and more than 100 students worked in small groups (3-5 members each) to design and then build a 1/3rd scale model of their bridge design using a somewhat constrained materials list and basic wood shop facilities. Components of the project were also integrated with other courses in the curriculum, such as Statics. This paper details the logistics of the course and of the project, as well as the lessons learned in terms of things that worked well and those that did not. Overall, the project was deemed a solid success based on feedback from students, clients and instructors. This kind of project could also be carried out at other Canadian university campuses with minimal alterations.

scholarly journals Gameful Learning for a More Sustainable World

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Hoffmann ◽  
Jella Pfeiffer
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning Outcome ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Design Element ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Systems Research

AbstractMunicipal waste sorting is an important but neglected topic within sustainability-oriented Information Systems research. Most waste management systems depend on the quality of their citizens pre-sorting but lack teaching resources. Thus, it is important to raise awareness and knowledge on correct waste sorting to strengthen current efforts. Having shown promising results in raising learning outcomes and motivation in domains like health and economics, gamification is an auspicious approach to address this problem. The paper explores the effectiveness of gameful design on learning outcomes of waste sorting knowledge with a mobile game app that implements two different learning strategies: repetition and elaboration. In a laboratory experiment, the overall learning outcome of participants who trained with the game was compared to that of participants who trained with standard analogue non-game materials. Furthermore, the effects of two additional, learning-enhancing design elements – repetition and look-up – were analyzed. Learning outcome in terms of long-term retention and knowledge transfer were evaluated through three different testing measures two weeks after the training: in-game, through a multiple-choice test and real-life sorting. The results show that the game significantly enhanced the learning outcome of waste sorting knowledge for all measures, which is particularly remarkable for the real-life measure, as similar studies were not successful with regard to knowledge transfer to real life. Furthermore, look-up is found to be a promising game design element that is not yet established in IS literature and therefore should be considered more thoroughly in future research and practical implementations alike.

Social and Cognitive Affordances of Two Depression-Themed Games

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 875-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Unintended Effects ◽  
Cognitive Effects ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Individual Design

Video games can have a variety of intended and unintended effects on players, making the impacts of games and the role that individual design elements play in causing those impacts a valuable area of research. This study explored the social and cognitive effects on players of two “art games” ( Depression Quest and Actual Sunlight) by analyzing player-generated discussion board posts, focusing on (1) what real-life social and cognitive effects the games had on players and (2) what elements of the games made the players consider them “good” or “bad” games. Players reported or demonstrated that the games led to understanding and empathy, self-evaluation, lessons learned, clinical discussion of depression, encouragement to others, a sense of community, and opening dialogue with friends and family. Discussions of game quality centered on realism, game endings and message, and player agency.

Political Science Research in the Middle East and North Africa

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Personal Accounts

Based on personal accounts of their experiences conducting qualitative and quantitative research in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, the contributors to this volume share the real-life obstacles they have encountered in applying research methods in practice and the possible solutions to overcome them. The volume is an important companion book to more standard methods books, which focus on the “how to” of methods but are often devoid of any real discussion of the practicalities, challenges, and common mistakes of fieldwork. The volume is divided into three parts, highlighting the challenges of (1) specific contexts, including conducting research in areas of violence; (2) a range of research methods, including interviewing, process-tracing, ethnography, experimental research, and the use of online media; and (3) the ethics of field research. In sharing their lessons learned, the contributors raise issues of concern to both junior and experienced researchers, particularly those of the Global South but also to those researching the Global North.

Training the Participatory Renaissance Man: Past Creative Experiences and Collaborative Design

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Sauder ◽  
Yan Jin
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Protocol Analysis ◽  
Creative Cognition ◽  
Collaborative Environment ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Renaissance Man ◽  
Current Engineering ◽  
And Training

Students are frequently trained in a variety of methodologies to promote their creativity in the collaborative environment. Some of the training and methods work well, while others present challenges. A collaborative stimulation approach is taken to extend creative cognition to collaborative creativity, providing new insights into design methodologies and training. An experiment using retrospective protocol analysis, originally conducted to identify the various types of collaborative stimulation, revealed how diversity of past creative experiences correlates with collaborative stimulation. This finding aligns with previous research. Unfortunately, many current engineering design education programs do not adequately provide opportunities for diverse creative experiences. As this study and other research has found, there is a need to create courses in engineering design programs which encourage participation in diverse creative activities.

scholarly journals Challenges for Experience Feedback in Engineering Design

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Nerga˚rd ◽  
Tobias Larsson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Empirical Finding ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Current Feedback ◽  
Active Dissemination ◽  
Different Levels

In this paper empirical finding from a study conducted at an aerospace company is compared to theory regarding Experience Feedback (EF), Lessons Learned (LL) and Decision Making (DM). The purpose with the study was to examine how EF within the organization was conducted and what problems and possibilities that was seen. A qualitative approach was taken and interviews and a workshop was conducted. The empirical findings show that EF exist on different levels within the organization but current feedback processes are currently leaning more towards archiving and storing than knowledge sharing and learning. Also passive dissemination approaches are mostly used whereas active dissemination within the correct context is needed The aim with this paper is to discuss issues and empirical findings that should be considered when creating work methods and systems that support learning by EF and LL dissemination.

A Pillar of Mechanical Engineering Design Education in Australia: 25 Years of the Warman Design and Build Competition

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren F. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
National Committee ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Institutional Learning ◽  
History Of

The “Warman Design and Build Competition”, running across Australasian Universities, is now in its 26th year in 2013. Presented in this paper is a brief history of the competition, documenting the objectives, yearly scenarios, key contributors and champion Universities since its beginning in 1988. Assuming the competition has reached the majority of mechanical and related discipline engineering students in that time, it is fair to say that this competition, as a vehicle of the National Committee on Engineering Design, has served to shape Australasian engineering education in an enduring way. The philosophy of the Warman Design and Build Competition and some of the challenges of running it are described in this perspective by its coordinator since 2003. In particular, the need is for the competition to work effectively across a wide range of student group ability. Not every group engaging with the competition will be competitive nationally, yet all should learn positively from the experience. Reported also in this paper is the collective feedback from the campus organizers in respect to their use of the competition as an educational experience in their classrooms. Each University participating uses the competition differently with respect to student assessment and the support students receive. However, all academic campus organizer responses suggest that the competition supports their own and their institutional learning objectives very well. While the project scenarios have varied widely over the years, the intent to challenge 2nd year university (predominantly mechanical) engineering students with an open-ended statement of requirements in a practical and experiential exercise has been a constant. Students are faced with understanding their opportunity and their client’s value system as expressed in a scoring algorithm. They are required to conceive, construct and demonstrate their device with limited prior knowledge and experience, and the learning outcomes clearly impact their appreciation for teamwork, leadership and product realization.

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