Research
Current Research Projects:
The Mechanics Map Digital Textbook Project
The Mechanics Map Digital Textbook is an open textbook for engineering statics and engineering dynamics Project is centered around building a better digital textbook for engineering subjects. The project specifically examines new ways to organize and navigate the large stores of information within the textbook. A prototype textbook has been developed for engineering statics where students navigate the topics through a concept map based system, with the goal of increasing student the student's understanding and retention of the information being examined. In order to increase the usability of the large scale concept map navigation system, information visualization techniques have been used to display only the most relevant information to the user's current focus. This system helps users maintain a sense of context, while at the same time not overwhelming the user with too many details.
The current version of the Mechnaics Map Digital Textbook can be found here (mechanicsmap.psu.edu).
Results thus far have shown that the students using the Adaptive Map tool have been more likely to connect the topics they are learning to other ideas and preexisting knowledge. Work has also shown that tool encourages students to review prerequisite topics if they are having difficulty with the subject material. Both of these results show promise for the Adaptive Map tool as a learning aid, and highlight the importance of how information is organized and how that organization is presented to maximize student learning.
Mastery Grading in Engineering Mechanics Courses
Mastery Grading is a system in which students homework assignments are graded in an all or nothing fashion, but students are allowed unlimited resubmissions for these assignments. This system shifts the focus away from how many points are deducted and to how the student can fix any errors in their assignments. Results have shown that students prefer this grading system to a traditional partial credit system, specifically noting they feel this is a more accurate and fair assessment of what they know, but as of yet there has been no evidence linking this system to higher measures of student learning.
Past Research Projects:
The Effect of Acetone Vapor Treatment on 3D Printed Part Strength
Parts that have been Printed on many low cost desktop 3D printers often have low quality surface finishes. To improve the surface finish on many of these parts, an acetone vapor deposition process is used to post-process the parts. This process can markedly improve the surface finish, but will also invariably affect the part strength. For this project, I am working with other researchers to help quantify the effect of this process on printed part strength in a number of different situations.
Fatigue Characterization of Printed Elastomers
For this project I examined the fatigue properties of direct 3D-printed elastomer parts. The ability to print elastomers alongside stiffer materials opens the door to a variety of new designs, most of which will rely on the excellent fatigue properties of most elastomers. I worked to understand how the fatigue characteristics of printed elastomers compared to traditional elastomers, and worked to understand areas for potential improvement in the fatigue properties of printed elastomers.
Additive Manufacturing of Tactile Instructional Models
This project arose because of a specific need - the need to communicate about complex surfaces and solids between instructors and a visually impaired student. I worked with the student, her friend, and her teaching assistant to create models that could be used for instruction, homework, and tests. I had to address factors such as model size, surface finish, labeling the models, and helping the student orient the models independently.
Identifying the Key Elements of Problem Based Learning
Problem based learning has shown potential in research to have a strong effect on student motivation and thus to improve retention when used as a first year pedagogy. As a member of a team, I conducted observations of team meetings, interviewed students, and coded the results to determine what elements of the Problem Based Learning pedagogy had the largest impact on student motivation.