Kay Ramey
April 17, 2012
CTA Report
Focus statement
I am interested in teaching spatial visualization skills for engineering design to high school or middle school students. Ideally instruction on spatial visualization skills would be imbedded into a larger curriculum on engineering design. This could take the form of either a computer-aided design course, a design course using paper and pencil sketching and physical models or some combination of the two. In the context of such a course, I am also interested in developing ways to use project-based engineering instruction to convey key math and science concepts to these age groups.
There is considerable research demonstrating that one of the skills students need in order to pursue careers in engineering is the ability to think spatially. Research has found that spatial thinking skills predict performance in STEM fields, such as engineering (e.g., Shea, Wai, Lubinski, 2001; Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). More specifically, Sorby (1999) found that visual thinking and particularly spatial visualization skills are important for success in engineering. Furthermore, Hsi, Linn & Bell (1997) found that spatial reasoning ability was a strong predictor of course grade for students enrolled in a college engineering course. They also recommended the incorporation of spatial strategies used by professional engineers into instruction in introductory college engineering courses. My rationale for targeting younger students is both to prepare them with a toolkit for success in engineering or other STEM college majors or careers and also to expose them to engineering as a discipline and potential career option.
Initial resources
Although I do not have previous experience as a teacher or student of engineering, I am familiar with some of the literature on spatial reasoning in engineering design (see above). We are also familiar with at least one educational intervention to improve spatial visualization skills for freshman engineering students (See Sorby, 1996; SorbyBaartmans, 2000). This course, however, targets only students who have scored low on spatial ability tests and thus is considered a remedial course on spatial visualization for engineering. We are also familiar with some K-12 engineering programs/curricula such as Engineering is Elementary, Project SYNCERE, the James Dyson Foundation and Girls 4 Science. These programs introduce younger students to engineering design principles and tasks but do not necessarily specifically develop students’ spatial visualization skills related to these tasks.
Bootstrapping
Step / Description1) Identify the Design Problem / Talk to boss/client
2) Brainstorm / Come up with ideas (ie. more than one idea) to solve the design problem
3) Sketch/Prototype / - Create sketches for a few of the design ideas using 3D computer aided design (CAD) program or pencil and paper
- Possibly produce physical prototype of design(s)
4) Testing/Feedback / Get Input on designs from:
a) Other engineers
b) Boss/client
c) Users
5) Final Design / - Choose one design, revise based on testing/feedback
List of experts
Joel Oropeza - Manufacturing and Design Engineer, Caterpillar Inc., Irving, TX
Problem(s)
What are the steps of the engineering design process? What skills are necessary to complete this process? How might we convey these skills to novices?
Choice of method(s)
I’ve chosen to conduct an expert interview. I chose this method for multiple reasons. First, the complete engineering design process is complex and time consuming, and therefore does not lend itself well to a think-aloud. Further, any design activity that I might come up with for a think-aloud would run the risk of being artificial, in that it might not reflect the actual practice of a professional engineer. Additionally, I expect that our expert will have a salient concept of the engineering design process that will be relatively easy to access without doing a think-aloud task. Finally, as my expert is remotely located (Irving, TX) I will have to conduct my interview with him via telephone. This interviewing format does not lend itself well to the co-construction of a concept map or a think-aloud procedure but is much better suited to an expert interview.
In addition to the expert interview, I have also asked our expert to complete a psychometric assessment of spatial ability (Santa Barbara Solids Test). This was done in order to insure that he is in fact an expert not only in engineering design but also in spatial reasoning. The specific measure I used targeted the spatial visualization skill of cross-sectioning, a skill that I hypothesized and my expert confirmed is often used by professional engineers in the engineering design process.
Summary
The expert I interviewed was Joel Oropeza a manufacturing and design engineer for Caterpillar Inc. in Irving, Texas. His job responsibilities include designing new products or components for Caterpillar’s production line in order to improve efficiency and productivity. He engages in both physical product design and also the design of projects. The current project he is working on involves designing a cart to move heavy (2000+ lb)Caterpillar machines. He also engages in engineering related activities in his free time, including the design and construction of remote controlled airplanes.
He described the goal of the design process as being to design an innovative product or component for the company or a client to improve efficiency or productivity. Underneath the main goal of creating a new product to fill a specific manufacturing need, he also mentioned important subgoals. These included producing a product that was 1) safe and 2) economical. He also mentioned that although it is not a factor in manufacturing design, in other engineering design contexts there is a third goal of producing a product that is aesthetically pleasing and/or marketable.
Hierarchical goal/task analysis
Procedures
Step / Type / Description / Concept/Process/Principle1) Identify the Design Problem / A / Talk to client
- what kind of machine/component does the company need
- what do they need it to do
- what is currently being used by the company / -Knowledge of what information needs to be obtained
-Ability to elicit that information from boss/client
2) Research the Design Problem / A / Web Research
- what other companies might have the same or a similar type of machine,
- what kind of tool have others used to address this design problem
- research patents for existing machines/components
- research similar products/designs/ideas
- research materials - find economic material with necessary characteristics / -Ability to use a computer
-Ability to conduct internet research
-Knowledge of what needs to be researched
-Knowledge of where/how to find the relevant information.
3) Do we need to Design? / D / Does a product already exist that we can use? If so, stop and use that product. If not, continue to Step 4. / -Ability to synthesize research in order to draw a conclusion about whether to proceed with design or not.
4) Brainstorm / A / - individually or more often with a team brainstorm solutions to design problem / -Creativity
-Experience with brainstorming conventions.
-Knowledge (either prior or obtained from steps 1 and 2) about what things/types of things the design should include.
5) Choose best ideas / D / - Pick the best, most workable ideas from brainstorming. Continue to step 6. / - Ability (based on prior knowledge or information from steps 1 and 2) to distinguish good ideas from bad ones.
6) Metrics/Sketches / A / - Create sketches using 3D computer aided design (CAD) program
- Create multiple sketches for multiple options/ideas (ex. For the cart project, created 4 different designs for carts to move machines)
- All design should include necessary qualities
- Sketches accompanied by information about materials, dimensions, cost, weight, time to manufacture and other physical properties of the design called “metrics”
- Here decisions have to be made about what material to use etc. In doing this, he says safety is the number one priority, followed by cost effectiveness (ie. highest quality material for the lowest price) / -Creativity
-Computer literacy
-Ability to use design software.
-knowledge of what needs to be included in a good sketch or metric
6) Testing/Final Elements Analysis / A / - After creating sketches and metrics each sketch/metric must be run through a computer simulation to gauge strength of materials/design etc. (how well the part will hold up under necessary amounts of weight/pressure/force)
- Find out what stresses you’re going to have on a part
- consider material, shape, structure
- Ideally you want to choose a design that can handle 1.2, 1.4 or even 2 times as much force/pressure/weight as what the part will actually encounter during use
- Done on a computer
- Analysis that takes 3 hours to do by hand takes less than an hour on thecomputer
- Might have to change design based on this analysis / -Understanding of how to use the simulation software
-Understanding of the underlying principles of:
-Physics
-Trigonometry
-solid mechanics
-fluid mechanics
-dynamics
-kinematics
-gravity
-velocity
-momentum
-Knowledge of when and how to apply math and science concepts
7) Feedback / A / - Input from:
a) Other design/manufacturing engineers
b) Boss/client
c) maintenence personnel (those who have maintain the machine/part after its manufactured)
d) users (people who will be working with the manufactured design)
e) safety manager / - ability to present designs in a comprehensible way
8) Choose best design / D / Do we have a good design, IF so, select it andproceed to step 9. IF not, go back to step 4 or step 6.. IF we have a design that is mostly workable but needs small tweaks, make changes and then proceed to step 9. / - ability to understand feedback
9) “Final” more detailed Design / A / - choose 1 of the metrics and do a more detailed design
- includes schematics for manufacturing
- top, side and cross section computer generated images
- information on materials etc. included in original metric / -ability to understand and incorporate feedback into final design
-knowledge of what features need to be present in the final design schematics in order for design to be manufactured
Conditions
1)Identify the Design Problem: Conditions – There is a design problem that needs to be solved and we need clarification as to what that design problem entails.
2)Research the Design Problem: Conditions – We need more information about other approaches to addressing this design problem and/or possible materials or processes we could use to address it.
3)Do we need to design?: Conditions – We have complete step 2 and now need to decide whether to proceed to step 4.
4)Brainstorm: Conditions – We need help generating ideas to address the design problem.
5)Choose best ideas: Conditions – We have completed step 4 and need to know which ideas from the brainstorming session we will use as we proceed to step 6.
6)Sketching/metrics: Conditions – We need to produce visual representations of our solutions to the design problem.
7)Testing/Final Element Analysis: Conditions –We have come up with some designs that we think will address the problem but now we have to test them to make sure they are safe, economical, feasible, and efficient.
8)Feedback: Conditions – We want to make sure our boss or client is happy with our designs and to see if any changes need to be made to any of the designs. Then we want to select one design to be turned into a final product.
9)“Final” more detailed design: Conditions –We have decided on a final design. Now we need to make the necessary improvements or changes to the previous iteration of that design and produce sketches/metrics containing all of the necessary features/information from which the design can be manufactured.
Equipment
10)Identify the Design Problem: Equipment needed – the client.
11)Research the Design Problem: Equipment needed - Internet enabled computer.
12)Do we need to design?: Equipment needed - research on the design problem.
13)Brainstorm: Equipment needed – Whiteboard and marker or paper and pencil, team of other engineers to bounce ideas off of.
14)Choose best ideas: Equipment needed – ideas produced in brainstorming session.
15)Sketching/metrics: Equipment needed - CAD software, such as Solidword, Pro-E, Unigraphix, Inventors, or Autocad. My expert mentioned that not all of these software programs are the same and that some are better than others. For example, he mentioned that Autocad great for producing 3D representation of a design but that there was no easy way to extract 2D schematics and cross-sections from that 3D model. This is problematic, because such 2D schematics are necessary for manufacturing. If a designer starts out in Autocad, he/she eventually has to create them by hand or redo the design in another program, such as Pro-E, in which once you have the 3D representation, you can have the computer create a top, side or cross-section view of the design automatically.
16)Testing/Final Element Analysis: Equipment needed - computer simulation software. This could also be done by hand with paper and pencil calculations,but it is much more time consuming (think 3 hours vs. <1 hour) and therefore is not usually done in modern professional engineering.
17)Feedback: Equipment needed – other engineers, client, boss, maintenance personnel, safety inspector, or users; sketches/metrics from step 6.
18)“Final” more detailed design: Equipment needed – computer design and simulation software, physical products of steps 4 through 8.
Performance goals
1)Identify the Design Problem: Performance Goals –Understand the Design Problem.
2)Research the Design Problem: Performance Goals – Find out if there are other products out there that do the thing we are designing for. Find out what elements a product would need/could have to address the design problem.
3)Do we need to design?: Performance Goals – Make a decision based on research.
4)Brainstorm: Performance Goals – Come up with some plausible ideas.
5)Choose best ideas: Performance Goals – Choose the very best of the ideas from step 4.
6)Sketching/metrics: Performance Goals – Create sketches metrics that convey enough information about each design so that others will be able to determine its critical features and make informed judgments about it.
7)Testing/Final Element Analysis: Performance Goals – Ensure that the product is safe, functional, efficient and cost-effective.
8)Feedback: Performance Goals – 1) Reach a conclusion about which design to proceed with, 2) make sure the client/boss is happy with the product, 3) find out what needs to be changed.
9)“Final” more detailed design: Performance Goals – Create sketches/metrics that include all of the information about design necessary for the manufacturers to create it.
Performance standards
1)Identify the Design Problem: Performance standard(s) –Do we understand the Design Problem?
2)Research the Design Problem: Performance standard(s) – 1) Are we confident that there is not another product that already does the thing we are trying to design for? 2) Do we have all the necessary information we need to start designing?
3)Do we need to design?: Performance standard(s) – Has a decision, informed by step 2 been made?
4)Brainstorm: Performance standard(s) –Have we come up with a few plausible ideas?
5)Choose best ideas: Performance standard(s) – Have we chosen the plausible ideas from step 4?
6)Sketching/metrics: Performance standard(s) – Have we included enough information about each design so that others will be able to determine its critical features and make informed judgments about it?
7)Testing/Final Element Analysis: Performance standard(s) – Have we accurately tested all foreseeable physical problems that might be encountered by our design and tested/simulated its readiness for those situations?
8)Feedback: Performance standard(s) – 1) Have we reached a conclusion about which design to proceed with? 2) Do we know what if any changes need to be made to the design?
9)“Final” more detailed design: Performance standard(s) - Have we included all of the information about design necessary for the manufacturers to create it?
Experiences
NA