This document describes an innovative graduate course taught in Brazil on light structural systems for covering large spans, such as tensile structures. The course uses a hands-on approach where students work in groups to design and build scaled models of tensile structures. This connects the theoretical concepts to practical application, improving student learning and motivation. Students first make paper models then progress to building 1:10 plastic prototypes. For their final project, students construct a scaled prototype of a real tensile structure, gaining experience with all aspects of the design and construction process. Former students found the practical focus of the course to be highly engaging.
The document summarizes the new curricular framework for the Bachelor's and Master's programs in Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology. The Bachelor's program aims to provide students with foundational knowledge and design skills through a coherent curriculum organized around themes and storylines. The Master's program offers more specialized tracks and allows for both mono-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary study, with a focus on research methodologies and internship experiences to prepare students for engineering practice and research careers. Stakeholders including students, alumni, industry, and society were consulted to shape the new framework.
The document describes various strategies for effective teaching, including using practical examples, case studies, guided design projects, and open-ended labs. It focuses on one strategy: reversing student roles through "Show and Tell" techniques. This strategy has students take the role of teacher by preparing a demonstration or presentation to "show and tell" their peers about an application of the course concepts. Doing so helps students better understand the concepts by requiring them to teach it. It also gives students a new perspective as a teacher rather than just a learner.
This project requires grade 9 science students to research two or more energy sources and present their findings on the advantages and disadvantages of each. Students will document their research process and share summaries of their findings on a class wiki. The goal is for students to demonstrate their understanding of electrical energy sources and use inquiry skills like collaboration and online research. Teachers will facilitate the problem-solving process and encourage use of technologies like wikis, blogs and multimedia for the presentations.
This document discusses modernizing higher education curricula through a student-centered learning (SCL) approach. It defines SCL as promoting active student participation and transferable skills. Key aspects of SCL include innovative teaching methods, learning outcomes, and flexible curricula. Specific methods mentioned include group projects, presentations, and problem-based learning. Learning outcomes should specify the knowledge, skills, and abilities students will gain. Assessment should involve students and include various formative and summative methods. The document provides examples from the Technical University of Crete and KU Leuven on implementing aspects of SCL like multi-disciplinary projects and competency-based curricula.
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This document summarizes an ALT-C 2009 symposium that explored curriculum design representations and how they can improve curriculum design activities. It discusses three projects funded by the JISC Institutional Approaches to Curriculum Design Programme. The symposium involved viewing posters from each project and discussing challenges with the project teams. Key themes from the discussion included shifting from quality assurance to quality enhancement, encouraging staff engagement, involving students, and collaboration.
This document provides a literature review and introduction to a research dissertation on investigating alternate models of contextual real world projects in architectural education. The literature review covers architectural education, experiential learning, and situated learning. It establishes that there has been a resurgence of design-build studios aiming to better integrate theory and practice in architectural education. The literature discusses key theorists like Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky and concepts like the zone of proximal development. The research aims to investigate the potential for multidisciplinary learning and better integrating theory and practice through experiential learning models. It will analyze data collected from participation in design-build studios.
CS0: A Project Based, Active Learning Coursedrboon
The recruitment and retention of students in early computer programming classes has been the focus of many Computer Science and Informatics programs. This paper describes an initiative underway at Indiana University South Bend to improve the retention rate in computer science and informatics. The approach described in this work is inspired by the SCALE-UP project, and describes the design and implementation of an instructor-guided, active learning environment which allows students to gradually acquire the necessary critical thinking, problem solving, and programming skills required for success in computer science and informatics.
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION: POTENTIALS AND LIMITATIONS FOR A BETTER DE...Iman Gawad
Lately, the study of 'History of architecture' courses has lost its vitality and importance, and has become far too ignored from the current architectural design debates. Students in different schools of architecture, especially in architectural institutions with limited resources, are expected to associate History and Theory subjects with Design challenges. This does not always happen dependably and if it does, it is not attributed to educational studies and methodical teaching practices. Therefore, the process of teaching History of architecture, with the need of reinstating its relevance to solving design problems, must actively re-adjust its focus to give students opportunities to analyze more rather than learn by heart the history of the world architecture. The questions are: “How can history of architecture's courses respond to this challenge?” and “How can history teachers apply new teaching strategies to relate more to the design courses and projects?” With answers to these questions and guidance into these arguments, university educators can help students make sense of studying different courses of the history of architecture as well as benefiting from lessons of the past in their current design projects.
The research begins with reference to successful teaching pedagogies and education in history of architecture courses and continues with the author’s personal teaching experiences in different history of architecture courses in several national and private universities in Egypt. The author proposes a number of re-visualisation of different exercises and assignments adopted in history classes with the aim of translating them into ones that account for students being able to tackle their own design studio problems and use history as a tool to find answers to questions that emanate from their own design experiences.
The document summarizes the new curricular framework for the Bachelor's and Master's programs in Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology. The Bachelor's program aims to provide students with foundational knowledge and design skills through a coherent curriculum organized around themes and storylines. The Master's program offers more specialized tracks and allows for both mono-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary study, with a focus on research methodologies and internship experiences to prepare students for engineering practice and research careers. Stakeholders including students, alumni, industry, and society were consulted to shape the new framework.
The document describes various strategies for effective teaching, including using practical examples, case studies, guided design projects, and open-ended labs. It focuses on one strategy: reversing student roles through "Show and Tell" techniques. This strategy has students take the role of teacher by preparing a demonstration or presentation to "show and tell" their peers about an application of the course concepts. Doing so helps students better understand the concepts by requiring them to teach it. It also gives students a new perspective as a teacher rather than just a learner.
This project requires grade 9 science students to research two or more energy sources and present their findings on the advantages and disadvantages of each. Students will document their research process and share summaries of their findings on a class wiki. The goal is for students to demonstrate their understanding of electrical energy sources and use inquiry skills like collaboration and online research. Teachers will facilitate the problem-solving process and encourage use of technologies like wikis, blogs and multimedia for the presentations.
This document discusses modernizing higher education curricula through a student-centered learning (SCL) approach. It defines SCL as promoting active student participation and transferable skills. Key aspects of SCL include innovative teaching methods, learning outcomes, and flexible curricula. Specific methods mentioned include group projects, presentations, and problem-based learning. Learning outcomes should specify the knowledge, skills, and abilities students will gain. Assessment should involve students and include various formative and summative methods. The document provides examples from the Technical University of Crete and KU Leuven on implementing aspects of SCL like multi-disciplinary projects and competency-based curricula.
Representing and Supporting Curriculum Design at Task, Module and Programme L...PeterBullen
This document summarizes an ALT-C 2009 symposium that explored curriculum design representations and how they can improve curriculum design activities. It discusses three projects funded by the JISC Institutional Approaches to Curriculum Design Programme. The symposium involved viewing posters from each project and discussing challenges with the project teams. Key themes from the discussion included shifting from quality assurance to quality enhancement, encouraging staff engagement, involving students, and collaboration.
This document provides a literature review and introduction to a research dissertation on investigating alternate models of contextual real world projects in architectural education. The literature review covers architectural education, experiential learning, and situated learning. It establishes that there has been a resurgence of design-build studios aiming to better integrate theory and practice in architectural education. The literature discusses key theorists like Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky and concepts like the zone of proximal development. The research aims to investigate the potential for multidisciplinary learning and better integrating theory and practice through experiential learning models. It will analyze data collected from participation in design-build studios.
CS0: A Project Based, Active Learning Coursedrboon
The recruitment and retention of students in early computer programming classes has been the focus of many Computer Science and Informatics programs. This paper describes an initiative underway at Indiana University South Bend to improve the retention rate in computer science and informatics. The approach described in this work is inspired by the SCALE-UP project, and describes the design and implementation of an instructor-guided, active learning environment which allows students to gradually acquire the necessary critical thinking, problem solving, and programming skills required for success in computer science and informatics.
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION: POTENTIALS AND LIMITATIONS FOR A BETTER DE...Iman Gawad
Lately, the study of 'History of architecture' courses has lost its vitality and importance, and has become far too ignored from the current architectural design debates. Students in different schools of architecture, especially in architectural institutions with limited resources, are expected to associate History and Theory subjects with Design challenges. This does not always happen dependably and if it does, it is not attributed to educational studies and methodical teaching practices. Therefore, the process of teaching History of architecture, with the need of reinstating its relevance to solving design problems, must actively re-adjust its focus to give students opportunities to analyze more rather than learn by heart the history of the world architecture. The questions are: “How can history of architecture's courses respond to this challenge?” and “How can history teachers apply new teaching strategies to relate more to the design courses and projects?” With answers to these questions and guidance into these arguments, university educators can help students make sense of studying different courses of the history of architecture as well as benefiting from lessons of the past in their current design projects.
The research begins with reference to successful teaching pedagogies and education in history of architecture courses and continues with the author’s personal teaching experiences in different history of architecture courses in several national and private universities in Egypt. The author proposes a number of re-visualisation of different exercises and assignments adopted in history classes with the aim of translating them into ones that account for students being able to tackle their own design studio problems and use history as a tool to find answers to questions that emanate from their own design experiences.
This document presents a conceptual framework for an online interactive module to teach computer programming courses. The framework is based on Mayer's learning model and includes three dimensions: materials to be learned, presentation methods, and learning strategies. The materials include concepts, techniques, simulations, and other multimedia. Presentation methods consider how content is delivered, such as through lectures, student interaction, or asynchronous learning. Learning strategies involve cooperative learning, e-learning, brainstorming, and problem-solving approaches. The framework is intended to address challenges in traditional teaching methods and better prepare students for computer-focused careers.
Comprender lo que es un proyecto educativo implica identificar un problema, sus causas y consecuencias y a partir de ello planear un proceso para alcanzar el objetivo que lo solucione total o parcialmente. Este proceso implica desde la selección del problema, su tratamiento y la presentación del informe de resultados: concepción, planeamiento, formulación de acciones, implementación y evaluación. El aprendizaje colaborativo es la instancia de aprendizaje que se concreta mediante la participación de dos o más individuos en la búsqueda de información, o en la exploración tendiente a lograr una mejor comprensión o entendimiento compartido de un concepto, problema o situación. (scagnoli, 2005). Es así que en la materia de Electricidad y Electrónica Industrial que se imparte en la carrera de Ingeniería Industrial se ha utilizado todo lo referente al ámbito del aprendizaje colaborativo, para que todos los alumnos del grupo elaboraran el libro de texto del módulo, cumpliendo con el programa oficial de la carrera aprobado por el Tecnológico Nacional de México. En este orden de ideas, leidner y jarvenpaa (1995), señalan que el aprendizaje colaborativo, además de ayudar a desarrollar el pensamiento crítico en los estudiantes, también contribuye a mejorar las relaciones interpersonales, pues implica que cada uno de los miembros aprenda a escuchar, discernir y comunicar sus ideas u opiniones a los otros con un enfoque positivo y constructivista. Por otra parte, barab, thomas y merrill (2001), se refieren al aprendizaje colaborativo, como la construcción de significado que resulta de compartir experiencias personales. Estos autores insisten que los entornos virtuales ayudan a los modelos educativos a ser más participativos, y amplían las oportunidades de investigación, comunicación y distribución del conocimiento.
Engineering Sketching: A Valuable Teaching Tool in Construction EngineeringLeonhard Bernold
Sketching in general engineering and science has been “outmanoeuvred” by computer graphics while still holding on in architectural engineering as a tool to think about spatial relationships, allowing the students to develop conceptual designs quicker than any CAD. Moreover, a recent paper reported that sketching helped students in geology develop critical thinking skills. Based on students’ feedback, it was concluded that it led to a deeper understanding of important concepts. Should it surprise us that psychological research shows that sketching facilitates inference, discovery and learning? This paper presents a model for creating and assessing assignments that uses engineering sketching to teach and learn in a second year civil engineering course.
This document provides a handbook for teaching assistants with strategies for effective teaching. It discusses using practical examples to connect engineering theory with real-world applications. Practical examples can help explain new concepts and show how to apply principles. Examples should be clear, relevant to students, and allow time for discussion. The handbook also provides categories of examples, such as those that explain theory or illustrate applications. Specific examples discussed include analyzing why baseball bats break, modeling water rockets, and demonstrating relative motion on a merry-go-round. The handbook aims to provide teaching assistants with research-backed techniques to improve student learning.
This document describes an approach for embedding global, societal, environmental, and economic (GSEE) context into engineering design courses. It draws on the concept of "product archaeology" - reconstructing a product's lifecycle including customer needs, design specs, and manufacturing processes. The authors map this approach to Kolb's experiential learning cycle. Students analyze products to understand past GSEE influences and address these factors in their own designs. The authors implemented activities like product dissection and reflection to integrate GSEE thinking into a senior design course. Related work integrating GSEE faces challenges like faculty expertise and curricular space. This approach shows promise for equipping students with tools to understand products and address context in design.
This document provides a framework for a 9-day project-based learning module on exploring angles, lines, and triangles through building toothpick bridges. Students work in groups to research designs, build a bridge with limited supplies, and test their bridge. The project aligns with New York state geometry standards and incorporates collaboration, communication, and applying geometric concepts to solve design problems. Detailed instructions, rubrics, and handouts guide students through each stage of the project from introduction to testing.
This document presents the CDIO Syllabus, which aims to codify the skills needed by contemporary engineers. It was developed by examining engineering practice and consulting with industry leaders. The Syllabus consists of a comprehensive list of topics organized into categories related to personal, interpersonal, and technical skills. It is intended to serve as a requirements document to guide curriculum design and assessment in undergraduate engineering programs. The document outlines the process used to develop the Syllabus, including structuring topics, surveying stakeholders to define desired competence levels, and reformulating topics as learning objectives. The goal is for the Syllabus to provide clear and detailed guidance for engineering education.
The document summarizes two approaches to developing an online portfolio system for engineering students at the University of Texas at Austin.
The top-down approach involved developing a department-wide portfolio website to allow students to document coursework and projects. This faced challenges with the time required for students to build individual websites. A standardized website was then created to make it easier for students.
The bottom-up approach involved encouraging students in an engineering communication course to publish course projects online. This faced potential student resistance but was made easier by providing web space and templates. It proved popular with students and helped them learn web publishing skills.
Both approaches aimed to help students document accomplishments and skills for future career opportunities. The standardized website and
Blended-learning in Science and Technology. A Collaborative Project-Based Cou...eLearning Papers
Authors: Silvia Di Marco, António Maneira, Paulo Ribeiro, Manuel J.P. Maneira
The core of our work was to identify critical points and recommendations concerning the use of e-learning and project-based learning in an Applied Optics course where laboratory activities are a relevant part of the curriculum.
This document provides information about Alan Hayes' PhD research which aims to develop a tool to automatically generate formative feedback for students by comparing design diagrams and implementations submitted as solutions. The research addresses challenges in representing student submissions, facilitating meaningful comparisons between them, and utilizing comparisons to produce feedback. It will analyze six datasets of student diagrams and implementations to help develop an assessment framework. The goal is to assist teaching staff with assessment tasks like preventing plagiarism.
This document discusses methods for teaching structures to architecture students through hands-on activities. It notes that architecture faculty and students struggle with traditional engineering-based approaches. The document reviews different teaching methods including hands-on activities, computer simulations, web-based education, and integrating structures with design studios. It provides examples of hands-on labs used at the University of Michigan including building balsa wood towers and testing them. Student evaluations indicate hands-on activities help them intuitively understand structures. The discussion concludes hands-on, analogy, group work and analysis of experiments enhances learning structures.
Exploring didactic possibilities of an electronic devices remote lab with stu...Federico Lerro
This paper presents some results of an exploratory study carried out with the
collaboration of students, whose aim was to examine the teaching potential of a selfdeveloped
remote lab, called “Electronic Physics Remote Lab”. The remote lab
allows us, among other things, to test different kinds of diodes and transistors.
Students of Electronic Engineering attending Physics IV have been asked to use the
remote lab for the development of the following activities: a) to study the development
of different junctions and infer about their constructive features and b) to obtain
parameters of the devices under different test conditions, and to explain the behaviors
observed from the point of view of the physical processes. Besides, students prepared
test reports of the remote lab.
Ac 2009-1109 Capstone Projects Integrating Industry Through Student LeadershipJoaquin Hamad
This document describes a student-led capstone project model used at California Polytechnic State University. In this model, students independently identify their own capstone project topics and seek out industry partners, with faculty acting as mentors. Many students are successful in partnering with their summer internship employers or through alumni connections. The model aims to develop student leadership and communication skills. Benefits include highly relevant, practical projects, while drawbacks can include added difficulty for students to secure partners. The success of the model relies on students' networking abilities and the faculty's professional experience to guide project selection.
As we enter the second decade of open course materials, interest is growing in alternate models that include much more of the support necessary for independent learners and that can be used directly as courses at colleges and universities. This “open courseware” builds upon the lessons learned in openly publishing course materials through OpenCourseWares (including MIT), as well as the opportunities raised by the confluence of the growing interest in open educational resources (OERs) coupled with declining university budgets. Through Project Greenfield we aim to build upon selected course materials published by MIT OpenCourseWare and transform them into “full courses” including support for formative assessment, the addition of existing, illustrative and interactive OERs. Presented by Brandon Muramatsu at the OER'11 Conference, Manchester, UK, May 12, 2011.
IRJET- The Role of Participatory Design as a Contemporary Approach in Creatin...IRJET Journal
This document discusses participatory design as a contemporary approach for creating school buildings. It begins by reviewing different design patterns that have been used for contemporary school buildings. It then discusses previous architectural studies that examined the importance of actively involving users, like teachers and students, in the design process. While these studies called for user participation, they did not clearly define what participatory design is, its principles, obstacles to its use, and the different levels and stages of user participation. Therefore, the research problem is the lack of clarity around participatory design as an approach, how it works, and how users can be involved at different stages of the design process. The goal of the research is to develop a model that addresses these gaps and clarifies
The document discusses pedagogical approaches for teaching architectural building construction. It notes that traditional lecture-based instruction does not align well with the visual and kinesthetic learning preferences of many architecture students. It suggests integrating hands-on activities and case studies to complement lectures. The use of 3D modeling, multimedia, and visual manuals are recommended to help students better understand construction processes, sequences, and techniques. Developing instruction that engages different learning styles can improve student comprehension and learning outcomes.
Design of a standardized tool to integrate learning scenarios in mobile learn...Mª Luz Guenaga Gómez
This document outlines a project to integrate mobile learning experiences into university courses. It aims to make the work of teachers easier by developing a conceptual framework and standardized digital learning scenarios that incorporate mobile devices. The project will define scenarios based on competency-based learning and five categories of teaching activity. An experimental phase will assess the impact on student motivation and results, and teacher preparation efforts. The goal is to standardize high-quality mobile learning experiences across different competencies and conclude by expanding the framework to all university competencies.
The document describes a new generic construction process modelling method called GEPM. GEPM was developed to overcome limitations of existing process modelling methods. It uses object-oriented principles and concepts such as activities, tasks, inputs, outputs, and temporal dependencies borrowed from methods like IDEF0 and scheduling. GEPM allows for flexible conceptual modelling and supports different views representing partial models through rules for converting between views. The evaluation showed GEPM provides more modelling features compared to earlier methods. A key feature is distinguishing between activities and tasks, where activities define actions and tasks add starting time, duration and location.
A novel approach of multimedia instruction applications in engineering educat...Karla Long
This document summarizes a research article that investigated the use of multimedia instruction applications in engineering education. It conducted a systematic literature review of studies from 2004 to 2014 on this topic. The review found that the engineering curriculum, educational resources, and students' learning characteristics were often incompatible, posing major challenges for teaching and learning engineering courses. The study concluded that multimedia instruction can enhance students' understanding of engineering concepts through visualization and indirectly support higher-order learning. It suggested future research on mobile multimedia instruction and student-generated multimedia approaches to improve engineering education.
Types of tenders & stages for successful tenderingAditya Sanyal
The document provides information on the types of tenders and stages involved in successful tendering for projects in Indian Railways. It discusses open tenders, limited tenders, and single tenders. It also outlines the stages of tendering such as issuing tender notices, accepting earnest money and security deposits, opening tenders, forming tender committees, and accepting final tenders. The document aims to guide railway officials on following proper procedures at each stage of the tendering process to ensure best value for money is obtained.
The document discusses different types of construction contracts and tendering processes. It provides definitions for key terms like tender, quotation, earnest money deposit, liquidated damages, unliquidated damages, firm price and period. It also summarizes the important components of a contract document and classifications of contracts such as lump-sum, cost plus percentage, cost plus fixed fee, target, percentage rate and item rate contracts.
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This document presents a conceptual framework for an online interactive module to teach computer programming courses. The framework is based on Mayer's learning model and includes three dimensions: materials to be learned, presentation methods, and learning strategies. The materials include concepts, techniques, simulations, and other multimedia. Presentation methods consider how content is delivered, such as through lectures, student interaction, or asynchronous learning. Learning strategies involve cooperative learning, e-learning, brainstorming, and problem-solving approaches. The framework is intended to address challenges in traditional teaching methods and better prepare students for computer-focused careers.
Comprender lo que es un proyecto educativo implica identificar un problema, sus causas y consecuencias y a partir de ello planear un proceso para alcanzar el objetivo que lo solucione total o parcialmente. Este proceso implica desde la selección del problema, su tratamiento y la presentación del informe de resultados: concepción, planeamiento, formulación de acciones, implementación y evaluación. El aprendizaje colaborativo es la instancia de aprendizaje que se concreta mediante la participación de dos o más individuos en la búsqueda de información, o en la exploración tendiente a lograr una mejor comprensión o entendimiento compartido de un concepto, problema o situación. (scagnoli, 2005). Es así que en la materia de Electricidad y Electrónica Industrial que se imparte en la carrera de Ingeniería Industrial se ha utilizado todo lo referente al ámbito del aprendizaje colaborativo, para que todos los alumnos del grupo elaboraran el libro de texto del módulo, cumpliendo con el programa oficial de la carrera aprobado por el Tecnológico Nacional de México. En este orden de ideas, leidner y jarvenpaa (1995), señalan que el aprendizaje colaborativo, además de ayudar a desarrollar el pensamiento crítico en los estudiantes, también contribuye a mejorar las relaciones interpersonales, pues implica que cada uno de los miembros aprenda a escuchar, discernir y comunicar sus ideas u opiniones a los otros con un enfoque positivo y constructivista. Por otra parte, barab, thomas y merrill (2001), se refieren al aprendizaje colaborativo, como la construcción de significado que resulta de compartir experiencias personales. Estos autores insisten que los entornos virtuales ayudan a los modelos educativos a ser más participativos, y amplían las oportunidades de investigación, comunicación y distribución del conocimiento.
Engineering Sketching: A Valuable Teaching Tool in Construction EngineeringLeonhard Bernold
Sketching in general engineering and science has been “outmanoeuvred” by computer graphics while still holding on in architectural engineering as a tool to think about spatial relationships, allowing the students to develop conceptual designs quicker than any CAD. Moreover, a recent paper reported that sketching helped students in geology develop critical thinking skills. Based on students’ feedback, it was concluded that it led to a deeper understanding of important concepts. Should it surprise us that psychological research shows that sketching facilitates inference, discovery and learning? This paper presents a model for creating and assessing assignments that uses engineering sketching to teach and learn in a second year civil engineering course.
This document provides a handbook for teaching assistants with strategies for effective teaching. It discusses using practical examples to connect engineering theory with real-world applications. Practical examples can help explain new concepts and show how to apply principles. Examples should be clear, relevant to students, and allow time for discussion. The handbook also provides categories of examples, such as those that explain theory or illustrate applications. Specific examples discussed include analyzing why baseball bats break, modeling water rockets, and demonstrating relative motion on a merry-go-round. The handbook aims to provide teaching assistants with research-backed techniques to improve student learning.
This document describes an approach for embedding global, societal, environmental, and economic (GSEE) context into engineering design courses. It draws on the concept of "product archaeology" - reconstructing a product's lifecycle including customer needs, design specs, and manufacturing processes. The authors map this approach to Kolb's experiential learning cycle. Students analyze products to understand past GSEE influences and address these factors in their own designs. The authors implemented activities like product dissection and reflection to integrate GSEE thinking into a senior design course. Related work integrating GSEE faces challenges like faculty expertise and curricular space. This approach shows promise for equipping students with tools to understand products and address context in design.
This document provides a framework for a 9-day project-based learning module on exploring angles, lines, and triangles through building toothpick bridges. Students work in groups to research designs, build a bridge with limited supplies, and test their bridge. The project aligns with New York state geometry standards and incorporates collaboration, communication, and applying geometric concepts to solve design problems. Detailed instructions, rubrics, and handouts guide students through each stage of the project from introduction to testing.
This document presents the CDIO Syllabus, which aims to codify the skills needed by contemporary engineers. It was developed by examining engineering practice and consulting with industry leaders. The Syllabus consists of a comprehensive list of topics organized into categories related to personal, interpersonal, and technical skills. It is intended to serve as a requirements document to guide curriculum design and assessment in undergraduate engineering programs. The document outlines the process used to develop the Syllabus, including structuring topics, surveying stakeholders to define desired competence levels, and reformulating topics as learning objectives. The goal is for the Syllabus to provide clear and detailed guidance for engineering education.
The document summarizes two approaches to developing an online portfolio system for engineering students at the University of Texas at Austin.
The top-down approach involved developing a department-wide portfolio website to allow students to document coursework and projects. This faced challenges with the time required for students to build individual websites. A standardized website was then created to make it easier for students.
The bottom-up approach involved encouraging students in an engineering communication course to publish course projects online. This faced potential student resistance but was made easier by providing web space and templates. It proved popular with students and helped them learn web publishing skills.
Both approaches aimed to help students document accomplishments and skills for future career opportunities. The standardized website and
Blended-learning in Science and Technology. A Collaborative Project-Based Cou...eLearning Papers
Authors: Silvia Di Marco, António Maneira, Paulo Ribeiro, Manuel J.P. Maneira
The core of our work was to identify critical points and recommendations concerning the use of e-learning and project-based learning in an Applied Optics course where laboratory activities are a relevant part of the curriculum.
This document provides information about Alan Hayes' PhD research which aims to develop a tool to automatically generate formative feedback for students by comparing design diagrams and implementations submitted as solutions. The research addresses challenges in representing student submissions, facilitating meaningful comparisons between them, and utilizing comparisons to produce feedback. It will analyze six datasets of student diagrams and implementations to help develop an assessment framework. The goal is to assist teaching staff with assessment tasks like preventing plagiarism.
This document discusses methods for teaching structures to architecture students through hands-on activities. It notes that architecture faculty and students struggle with traditional engineering-based approaches. The document reviews different teaching methods including hands-on activities, computer simulations, web-based education, and integrating structures with design studios. It provides examples of hands-on labs used at the University of Michigan including building balsa wood towers and testing them. Student evaluations indicate hands-on activities help them intuitively understand structures. The discussion concludes hands-on, analogy, group work and analysis of experiments enhances learning structures.
Exploring didactic possibilities of an electronic devices remote lab with stu...Federico Lerro
This paper presents some results of an exploratory study carried out with the
collaboration of students, whose aim was to examine the teaching potential of a selfdeveloped
remote lab, called “Electronic Physics Remote Lab”. The remote lab
allows us, among other things, to test different kinds of diodes and transistors.
Students of Electronic Engineering attending Physics IV have been asked to use the
remote lab for the development of the following activities: a) to study the development
of different junctions and infer about their constructive features and b) to obtain
parameters of the devices under different test conditions, and to explain the behaviors
observed from the point of view of the physical processes. Besides, students prepared
test reports of the remote lab.
Ac 2009-1109 Capstone Projects Integrating Industry Through Student LeadershipJoaquin Hamad
This document describes a student-led capstone project model used at California Polytechnic State University. In this model, students independently identify their own capstone project topics and seek out industry partners, with faculty acting as mentors. Many students are successful in partnering with their summer internship employers or through alumni connections. The model aims to develop student leadership and communication skills. Benefits include highly relevant, practical projects, while drawbacks can include added difficulty for students to secure partners. The success of the model relies on students' networking abilities and the faculty's professional experience to guide project selection.
As we enter the second decade of open course materials, interest is growing in alternate models that include much more of the support necessary for independent learners and that can be used directly as courses at colleges and universities. This “open courseware” builds upon the lessons learned in openly publishing course materials through OpenCourseWares (including MIT), as well as the opportunities raised by the confluence of the growing interest in open educational resources (OERs) coupled with declining university budgets. Through Project Greenfield we aim to build upon selected course materials published by MIT OpenCourseWare and transform them into “full courses” including support for formative assessment, the addition of existing, illustrative and interactive OERs. Presented by Brandon Muramatsu at the OER'11 Conference, Manchester, UK, May 12, 2011.
IRJET- The Role of Participatory Design as a Contemporary Approach in Creatin...IRJET Journal
This document discusses participatory design as a contemporary approach for creating school buildings. It begins by reviewing different design patterns that have been used for contemporary school buildings. It then discusses previous architectural studies that examined the importance of actively involving users, like teachers and students, in the design process. While these studies called for user participation, they did not clearly define what participatory design is, its principles, obstacles to its use, and the different levels and stages of user participation. Therefore, the research problem is the lack of clarity around participatory design as an approach, how it works, and how users can be involved at different stages of the design process. The goal of the research is to develop a model that addresses these gaps and clarifies
The document discusses pedagogical approaches for teaching architectural building construction. It notes that traditional lecture-based instruction does not align well with the visual and kinesthetic learning preferences of many architecture students. It suggests integrating hands-on activities and case studies to complement lectures. The use of 3D modeling, multimedia, and visual manuals are recommended to help students better understand construction processes, sequences, and techniques. Developing instruction that engages different learning styles can improve student comprehension and learning outcomes.
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Light structural systems for covering large spans: an innovative and pioneering
Engineering and Architecture graduate course in Brazil
Article · January 2006
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Nets and impact loading View project
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Universidade Federal de São Paulo
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2. Session T3J
San Juan, PR July 23 – 28, 2006
9th
International Conference on Engineering Education
T3J-5
Light structural systems for covering large spans: an
innovative and pioneering Engineering and
Architecture graduate course in Brazil
Reyolando M. L. R. F. Brasil, Ruy Marcelo O. Pauletti, and Luiz C. S. Feitosa
Dept. of Structural and Foundations Engineering, Polytechnic School, University. of S. Paulo
Av. Prof. Almeida Prado tv. 2, n. 271 - Cidade Universitária 05508-900 S. Paulo, Brazil
reyolando.brasil@poli.usp.br, pauletti@usp.br (www.lmc.ep/usp.br/people/pauletti), eng.luizfeitosa@gmail.com
Abstract - This paper presents the experience of the
authors in successfully preparing and giving a graduate
course on “Light Structural Systems for Covering Large
Spans” in both the Polytechnic School and the Faculty of
Architecture of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Tensile
structures (membranes, cable nets, tensegrities, etc) are a
very modern and hi-tech way for covering very large spans
of sports fields (Georgia Dome, for example), exposition
halls (Rayleigh Arena, for example), airport halls (Denver
and Jedah, for example). To motivate students, a hands on
approach to the subject was adopted. As part of the
course, they are requested to form groups to design and
build scaled down tensile structures. Such an approach
conveniently connects theory and practice leading to a
better and more effective learning process. The resulting
scaled structures are kept mounted in the free areas of the
University. Thus, a continuously growing set of didactic
material is collected for use in future editions of the course.
The authors feel that part of the success is also due to the
fact that graduate Engineering and Architecture students
work in the same projects contributing with their
particular views on the subject..
Index Terms - tensile structures, practice based education,
graduate courses.
INTRODUCTION
In this paper we intend to report on a successful pedagogic
experience attempted in graduate courses both in the
Polytechnic School and the Faculty of Architecture of the
University of São Paulo, Brazil We also display the techniques
used to achieve this success. In the course “Light Structural
Systems for Covering Large Spans”, a new educational model
was implemented in order to get the students involved in the
learning process, with interaction between theory and practice,
in order to render a more complete course. Empirical
verification of the proposed concepts leads to a motivating and
effective learning process.
According to PINHEIRO [1], one of the challenges
involved in teaching Engineering is the promotion the global
development of the students by unlashing all their potential,
that is, to form better students not only in school but in their
personal lives. To that end, it is necessary to find motivating
mechanisms by engaging them in the learning process,
encouraging to study and initializing them in the way of their
learning responsibility.
Learning must be a fun, exciting and continuous
experience. The role of a teacher should be to teach how to
learn. His main duties are to stimulate the drive for learning of
his students and to present the foundations of the subject in a
logical and organized fashion, so to give a general overview of
the problem and to direct the students to further study and
research.
We find in the literature various alternatives to the
traditional way of teaching, i.e., formal classes, exercises and
didactic samples. AMARAL et al. [2], for example, describe a
teaching method based on scenarios, leading to some
evolution with respect to the traditional teaching, namely: a
larger level of knowledge absorbing by the participants; a
practical design experience near to real development
conditions; a full and integrated product development
procedure, called a holistic one. In short, it is important and
interesting that the students should follow a practical way,
realizing the necessary competences and abilities to their
formation.
MASETTO [3] defines competence as “the aptitude to
face in a correct, quick and creative fashion, multiple
cognitive resources: knowledge, capacities, micro-
competences, information, values, and patterns of perception,
evaluation and reasoning”.
Also in [3], we find “... emphasis must be put in the
actions of the student so that they can learn what is
proposed…”. That author also says that learning is not
possible without the partnership of the students themselves,
that is, the teachers must try to make their pupils their
accomplices in the learning process, so that they fill motivated
and interested in the subject at hand.
THE COURSE
I. General Aspects
The course “Light Structural Systems for Covering Large
Spans” is given by Professors Reyolando Manoel Lopes
Rebello da Fonseca Brasil and Ruy Marcelo de Oliveira
Pauletti, and is offered, with slight adaptations, to graduate
3. Session T3J
San Juan, PR July 23 – 28, 2006
9th
International Conference on Engineering Education
T3J-6
students of Civil Engineering of Polytechnic School and
Architecture of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism,
both of the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
The course covers theoretical elements, design details,
materials and constructive methods of light structural systems
for covering large spans, such as the tensile structures. Tensile
structures (membranes, cable nets, tensegrities, etc) are a very
modern and hi-tech way for covering very large spans of
sports fields (Georgia Dome, for example), exposition halls
(Rayleigh Arena, for example), airport halls (Denver and
Jedah, for example).
The course is divided in theoretical classes, practical
classes, seminaries and written tests.
II. Initial Classes
The initial classes of the courses serve as a motivation to the
study of tensile structures. Besides giving the general
theoretical basis necessary to the analysis of this kind of
systems, a show of the historical aspects and the most recent
present day examples is displayed with extensive use of
iconographic material, such as photographic slides and
drawings.
Although the main goal is to present large span roof
structures using membranes and cable networks, a complete
presentation is also made of structural systems for suspended
and stayed bridges. The courses always try to develop a
qualitative feeling of the behavior of these structures, never
forgetting the underlying theory.
The main presentation topics are the necessary tools to
design, analyze and construct tensile structures. First, the
students are introduced to basic usual shapes, the
characteristics of the materials, as shown in Figure 1.a), the
concept of shape finding and patterning, the importance of
model building, as in Figure 1.b), among other ideas.
(A) (B)
FIGURE 1
(A) COMPONENTS OF STRUCTURAL FABRIC; (B) PAPER MODEL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS.
Next, the process of computer aided analysis is presented,
using Finite Element Method programs [4]. Computer analysis
is a powerful design tool, providing great easiness in obtaining
different shapes and choosing among them, as in Figure 2.
Further, if makes possible to analyze stresses and strains
besides allowing a convenient form and cutting pattern
definition procedure (Figure 3).
FIGURE 2
SOME POSSIBLE SHAPES.
4. Session T3J
San Juan, PR July 23 – 28, 2006
9th
International Conference on Engineering Education
T3J-7
(A) (B)
FIGURE 3
(A) WIND EXCITED DISPLACEMENTS; (B) CUTTING PATTERNS.
In this phases of the course, the students are also informed
of important manufacturing details, such as the necessity of
great accuracy in the cutting and welding of the material
peaces, as displayed in Figure 4.a, the correct use of
connection devices (Figure 4.b), the importance of applying
the prescribed traction to the cables so to obtain the sought for
final form, as shown in Figures 5.a and 5.b.
(A) (B)
FIGURE 4
(A) STRCTURAL FRABIC WELDING; (B) IN SITE MEMBRANE DEPLOYMENT.
(A) (B)
FIGURE 5
(A) MEMBRANE FIXED TO THE STEEL SUPPORTS; (B) COMPLETED TENSILE STRUCTURE.
III. Practical classes
After those initial classes, the students are invited to take the
main role in the course, as several practical activities are
assigned to them in order to apply the fundamental concepts
already displayed.
The first assignment is to build a 1:50 scaled model of a
large real tensile structure (Figure 5). It is a 3,000 square
meters roof structure for the Central Presbyterian Church of
Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, designed by the first two authors [5].
The material is regular printing paper instead of the real fabric
and cotton wires instead of the steel cables. The cutting pattern
used in the real membrane is printed in the paper, cut using
5. Session T3J
San Juan, PR July 23 – 28, 2006
9th
International Conference on Engineering Education
T3J-8
scissors and “welded” with stick glue, reinforced, if needed,
with tape. The model is mounted on a wood base. Figures 6.a
and 6.b show a group of students at work.
This first assignment is important to develop a close
feeling for usual tensile structures geometry and to observe the
great care that must be exercised in cutting and joining the
patterns to avoid wrinkling. Further, this activity encourages
integration among the participants and helps to develop
organization abilities such as goals setting and team work.
(A) (B)
FIGURE 6
(A) PAPER MODEL READY; (B) PAPER MODEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION BY STUDENTS.
The second assignment is the construction of a 1:10 PVC
prototype of the same tensile structure. In this particular case,
the Professors provide all the material necessary to the task,
including the welded plastic material. The student’s task is to
deploy the prototype structure as designed. This assignment
gives a strong notion of most difficulties and possible pitfalls
in erecting this kind of structure. The job is performed
outdoors in the open areas of the Paula Souza Hall where the
Civil Engineering undergraduate and graduate courses of the
Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, are
held.
FIGURE 7
ERECTING THE 1:10 SCALE PROTOTYPE (FIRST TWO FROM RIGHT TO LEFT IN THE PICTURE ARE PROF. BRASIL AND PROF. PAULETTI)
Next, the students are given their most demanding task.
They are put in charge of the complete construction of scaled
down prototype of another really built tensile structure. It is
the 800 square meters People’s Memorial of Belém of Pará,
Brazil, also designed by the two professors [6]. A lot more
team work and discipline is needed as materials must be
procured, cutting and welding made (Figure 8), besides
erecting in the University’s grounds.
Costs of materials are rated between the students. The
cutting is made according to the original full size project.
6. Session T3J
San Juan, PR July 23 – 28, 2006
9th
International Conference on Engineering Education
T3J-9
FIGURE 8
CUTTING PATTERNS.
After cutting the material by the students, the pieces are
sent to a professional seamstress to be joined in a single
membrane. As this is not a usual task for a seamstress, she
must be closely watched in her procedures to avoid wrinkling
of the final surface. Afterwards, a date is fixed for the
erecting procedures in the University’s grounds, usually in the
same place where the previous prototype was mounted. The
steel fixtures are carefully placed in the ground and the steel
cables introduced in the membrane to put it in tension. Figure
9, displays those activities by the graduate students.
FIGURE 9
ERECTING A PROTOTYPE OF THE PEOPLE’S MEMORIAL OF BELÉM OF PARÁ, BRAZIL.
Finally, the steel cables are pulled, introducing traction
stresses into the membrane in order to make it reach its final
shape (Figure 10). At this point, it becomes clear to the
students that the objectives of the course were completely
fulfilled, that is, their learning the theoretical and practical
aspects of tensile structures. This is quite different of what
happens in other engineering courses that give too much value
to purely mathematical analysis.
7. Session T3J
San Juan, PR July 23 – 28, 2006
9th
International Conference on Engineering Education
T3J-10
FIGURA 10
FINAL STAGES OF THE ERECTING PROCEDURE.
IV. Gradings
To compute final grades for the students, the professors rely
both on their performance in the assigned tasks and on a final
individual seminary presentation. Each one, together with the
professors, selects a theme related to the subject, usually some
recently built large span roof, to conduct an in depth research
and prepare a presentation.
SUMMARY
We presented a successful pedagogic experience in graduate
courses of Civil Engineering and Architecture in the
University of São Paulo, Brazil. The courses “Light Structural
Systems for Covering Large Spans” are considered by former
students very motivating. The success of the courses may be
attributed to practical aspects that allow for the participants to
build their own knowledge by connecting theory to practice.
The several prototype structures that are built and collected
every semester form a rich set of examples for future editions
of the courses.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors acknowledge financial support by CAPES, CNPq
and FAPESP, all Brazilian research support agencies.
REFERENCES
[1] PINHEIRO, P. C. C. “Desenvolvimento de protótipos: instrumento de
motivação e ligação das disciplinas do curso de engenharia”. In:
COBENGE, 2000, Ouro Preto-MG.
[2] AMARAL, D. C.; ZANCUL, E. S.; ROZENFELD, H.; “Cenário de
engenharia integrada: ampliando e avaliando uma aplicação na
educação”. (in www.numa.org.br).
[3] MASETTO, M. T. “Competência pedagógica do professor
universitário”. São Paulo: Summus, 2003.
[4] PAULETTI, R. M. O., BRASIL, Reyolando M L R F. “Design and
analysis of tension structures using general purpose finite element
programs”. In: International Conference on Textile Composites and
Inflatable Structures, 2003, Barcelona. Textile and Inflatable Structures.
Barcelona: CIMNE, 2003.
[5] PAULETTI, R. M. O., BRASIL, Reyolando M L R F, ALVIM, Rosana
de Albuquerque Arléo. “A large membrane roof for the Baptist Church
of Fortaleza: from models to realization”. In: IASS 2004 Symposium -
Shell and Spatial Structures: from Models to Realization, 2004,
Montpellier. Shell and Spatial Structures. Montpellier: Editions de
l'Espérou, collection Formes-Forces, 2004.
[6] PAULETTI, R.M.O., BRASIL, R.M.L.R.F. “A Simple Geometric
Procedure to Obtain Cutting Patterns of Membrane Tensile Structures”.
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