ERIC Number: EJ1345131
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0046-2012
EISSN: EISSN-1949-9167
Available Date: N/A
A Tale of Two Universities: Developing Spatial Skills of Engineering Students during a Global Pandemic
Veurink, Norma; Richards, Melissa; Sorby, Sheryl
Engineering Design Graphics Journal, v84 p10-27 2020
Studies show that spatial skills are essential to engineering success, and particularly in engineering graphics courses. Research also shows that sketching is important in developing spatial skills. Aimed at improving the spatial skills of engineering students, an intervention was developed consisting of a workbook and software (Sorby et al., 2002). Implementation of the intervention has been shown to improve: spatial skills, grades in introductory STEM courses, and retention/graduation rates for first-year engineering students. In response to the global pandemic, course materials have been revised to facilitate remote learning. Resources for each module include video mini-lectures, online software, and Getting Started videos that show the basics in sketching and other topics. The original workbook included multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank questions, as well as sketching exercises. Partly in response to the pandemic, the fixed choice (multiple-choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank) questions in the workbook were converted to Canvas quizzes. A new workbook was developed with only the sketching content from the original workbook. For modules that did not previously contain sketching problems, new sketching exercises were created, and practice problems were created for difficult topics. The practice problems included solutions and examples of common student mistakes. This paper presents the revised intervention and feedback from four universities that employed the original and revised intervention.
Descriptors: Spatial Ability, Skill Development, Engineering Education, COVID-19, Pandemics, Intervention, College Freshmen, Distance Education, Electronic Learning, Academic Achievement
Engineering Design Graphics Division, American Society for Engineering Education. 1818 N Street NW Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-331-3500; Web site: http://www.edgj.org/index.php/EDGJ
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A