Author(s):
Need: Empirical research, learning sciences principles, and constructivist theory converge on the idea that active learning increases student performance in STEM. However, Civil and Building Engineering (CBE) students often have limited active-learning experiences in classrooms because the problems CBE addresses are large-scale, expensive, and usually not available locally for students to experience (e.g., civil & urban infrastructures). For example, CBE students usually learn concepts of structural behaviors or building science through textbooks, diagrams on whiteboards or computer screens, and problem sets. This abstract approach may build theoretical knowledge but affective outcomes, conceptual understanding, and ability to solve real-world problems are less than ideal. Moreover, top US programs in CBE reported difficulties attracting and retaining students. Therefore, there is a critical need to improve CBE education to form the next generation of STEM professionals to address the nation’s pressing infrastructure needs.Guiding Questions:RQ 1) How do students’ interest, motivation, and cognitive engagement vary for a given topic in embodied SCPS and typical instructional activities using computer software?RQ 2) How does SCPS affect student ability to sense and predict CBE problem solutions?RQ 3) How does exposure to sensing technology and data science aspects of SCPS affect students’ perceptions of CBE, particularly about the low/high tech nature of the field?Outcomes:A software modeling application was developed that improved integrated learning for software analysis, SAIL (Structural Analysis Integrated Learning). SAIL is web-based and has a mobile Android version. The SAIL software was launched in an upper-level structural analysis course after a user study and pilot study. In the pilot study, students expected SAIL to produce derivations, but since the goal of the application is to help improve student intuition the research team made some pedagogical changes within the homework tasks to motivate students to predict, observe, and explain what happens when they solve problems using the application. In the implementation study, SAIL was integrated into homework. Student feedback reveals that SAIL was helpful in multiple ways: (1) visualization along the beam and providing shapes for shear, moment, rotation and deflection, (2) improving incorrect assumptions and calculations, and (3) confirmation of numerical solutions. In some students, the research team started to see the conceptual understanding of relationships between forces. Broader Impact:The developed SCPS tools can be used as recruitment tools and have been demonstrated to K-12 visitors coming to PIs lab and at annual Engineering Open Houses. Moreover, PIs hosted underrepresented and disabled students from local high schools to come to NC State and have research experience. PIs also hosted underrepresented undergraduate students through Global Education, Academics, and Research Skills (GEARS) program at NC State. Lastly, the developed SCPS tools are deployed on a website and open sourced so the broader community can use it in their classes and also contribute to broadening the problem sets.
Coauthors
Tamicia Jones & Jason Patrick, NC State University and Youngjib Ham, Texas A&M
