Online Design Critiques Encourage Student Interaction in the Virtual Classroom
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Biomedical Engineering Education (Ó 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-020-00028-7
Teaching Tips - Special Issue (COVID)
Online Design Critiques Encourage Student Interaction in the Virtual Classroom MEGAN O. CONRAD Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Detroit Mercy, 4001 W McNichols Rd, Detroit, MI 48221, USA (Received 25 June 2020; accepted 1 September 2020)
CHALLENGE STATEMENT Active learning is a means of promoting student engagement while improving outcomes in STEM disciplines.5 A factor influencing the success of active learning in the classroom is student ‘‘buy in’’ driven not only by student exposure to classroom activities but also solidified by the student’s belief and commitment to the learning environment.3 Certainly, motivation and ease of social interaction are two elements contributing to student buy in; yet, these factors are specifically identified as two barriers associated with successful online learning.6 Thus, when COVID-19 required rapid implementation of distance learning, a challenge existed in creating a virtual, social environment where students were motivated to actively participate in classroom activities. The ‘‘ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specific needs’’ is one student outcome in engineering education1 effectively accomplished, in part, through active processes like design reviews. Ultimately, aptitude in engineering design is tested in capstone courses; however, the necessary skill development is nurtured in earlier courses through opportunities to assess designs efficacy within the discipline. In a face-to-face classroom proficiency is practiced through design critiques appraising the students’ own work or by critique of existing design examples identified by the student or instructor. The practice of design critique serves students in future engineering careers where design reviews provide a means of assessing and testing product efficacy.4 Therefore, a need exists to overcome challenges of
Address correspondence to Megan O. Conrad, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Detroit Mercy, 4001 W McNichols Rd, Detroit, MI 48221, USA. Electronic mail: [email protected]
active student engagement in activities like design reviews that, when successfully implemented, reinforce learning objectives and lead to student success.
NOVEL INITIATIVE The Occupational Biomechanics course at the University of Detroit Mercy includes a series of modules focused on safe and effective design to minimize human risk of injury at work. Each module incorporates human anatomical/physiological structures and corresponding limitations, the proper design guidelines to minimize human risk, and appropriate assessment tools for evaluating a new or existing tool/job. Throughout the course, students develop their design critiquing skills through active engagement and the discussion of specific designs. With the move to online instruction, a key assignment that developed students’ design critiquing skills was altered from keeping a design journal to inc
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