Analysis of Capstone Design Reports: Visual Representations

Author(s):  
Sophoria Westmoreland ◽  
Ashley Grenier ◽  
Linda C. Schmidt

Engineers require effective written communication skills, including the appropriate presentation of mechanical design information in visual format. A study of 48 Capstone Design Reports submitted over a period 5 semesters gives insight into the choices students make when selecting visual representations for describing designs. Student choices reflect assignment requirements, student preference, student skill level, and perceived appropriateness of representation type. This study presents observations on the use of visuals in a set of Capstone Design Reports with particular emphasis on sketches.

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophoria Westmoreland ◽  
Ashley Ruocco ◽  
Linda Schmidt

Mechanical engineers and those in related fields require effective written communication skills. These include the appropriate presentation of mechanical design information in visual format. A study of 48 Capstone Design Reports submitted over a period of five semesters gives insight into the visual representations used to describe designs. This study presents observations on the use of visuals in a set of Capstone Design Reports with particular emphasis on sketches. The findings are that students will include hand drawn sketches of design alternatives during the conceptual design process when specifically required to do so. The sketches tend not to be of high quality artistically but they do include details relevant to engineering analysis as determined by a coding scheme focused on the content level of sketches. The authors believe that the positive benefits of sketching should be encouraged by requiring students to produce hand drawn sketches and accepting sketches as visuals in concept generation design sections of design reports.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 74-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Witkowski ◽  
Bruce Baker

Abstract In the early elementary grades, the primary emphasis is on developing skills crucial to future academic and personal success—specifically oral and written communication skills. These skills are vital to student success as well as to meaningful participation in the classroom and interaction with peers. Children with complex communication needs (CCN) may require the use of high-performance speech generating devices (SGDs). The challenges for these students are further complicated by the task of learning language at a time when they are expected to apply their linguistic skills to academic tasks. However, by focusing on core vocabulary as a primary vehicle for instruction, educators can equip students who use SGDs to develop language skills and be competitive in the classroom. In this article, we will define core vocabulary and provide theoretical and practical insights into integrating it into the classroom routine for developing oral and written communication skills.


1986 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 10-11
Author(s):  
David M. Brodsky ◽  
Eileen M. Meagher

Instructors directly responsible for improving student writing skills rely on many techniques, among them student journals, to help their charges master the rudiments of written communication. Instructors in such disciplines as political science, however, may exclude the development of written communication skills from the objectives they hope students achieve. Instead they regularly bemoan their students inability to put together two or three readily understandable sentences on any topic of concern, simultaneously condemning the high schools or English department for failing to teach students how to write.


Author(s):  
B A Marlow

Experience shows that the reliability of large turbogenerators depends substantially on the quality of detail design, particularly the quality of the mechanical design. In addition to the design problems common to all high-speed rotating machinery, the mechanical design of generators must take account of certain electrical requirements. This paper gives an insight into the detail mechanical design of large turbogenerators paying particular attention to the interaction of electrical requirements on the mechanical design.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Rômulo César Silva ◽  
Alexandre Ibrahim Direne ◽  
Diego Marczal ◽  
Ana Carla Borille ◽  
Paulo Ricardo Bittencourt Guimarães ◽  
...  

The work approaches theoretical and implementation issues of a framework for creating and executing Learning Objects (LOs) where problem-solving tasks are ordered according to the matching of two parameters, both calculated automatically: (1) student skill level and (2) problem solution difficulty. They are formally defined as algebraic expressions. The definition of skill level is achieved through a rating-based measure that resembles the ones of game mastery scales, while the solution difficulty is based on mistakes and successes of learners to deal with the problem. An empirical study based on existing students data demonstrated the suitability of the formulas. Besides, the motivational aspects of learning are considered in depth. In this sense, it is important to propose activities according to the student’s level of expertise, which is achieved through presenting students with exercises that are compatible with the difficulty degree of their cognitive skills. Also, the results of an experiment conducted with four highschool classes using the framework for the domain of logarithmic properties are presented.


Author(s):  
Jennifer Schneider

Students often experience significant challenges in adopting discipline-specific terminology and conforming to related writing expectations that are embedded in course materials, assignments, and discussions. Further, although written communication skills are desired by employers and broadly recognized as critical to business success, students commonly underestimate the essential role of these skills in their careers. Additional research was needed in terms of what types of resources might improve both student writing and related awareness regarding the value of written communication skills. This chapter summarizes a study that examined an intervention in the form of a supplemental (in-course), self-paced, instructional unit designed to address the above-described challenge.


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