Page 20 - Engineering Penn State Magazine Spring/Summer 2020

Digital learning detectives
by Erin Cassidy Hendrick
The unexpected transition to online classes prompted many changes for undergraduate students and and their instructors To understand the the the magnitude of these impacts and and potentially improve digital learning researchers in in in in the the School of of Engineering Design Technology and Professional Programs (SEDTAPP) received $196 136 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) WIth a a a a a a a particular focus on on on women and traditionally underrepresented groups the the one-year project is gathering data from students enrolled in in in in in a a a a a a first-year design course offered in in in in in the the College of of Engineering “When we suddenly changed our undergraduates’ fundamental experience by transitioning to to a a a a a a a a a a digital environment we we were motivated to to understand how this shift might affect the formation of of of engineering engineering identities ” said Jessica Menold assistant professor of of of engineering engineering engineering design and and mechanical engineering engineering and and the the principal investigator of the the project “Prior work suggests that online learning learning environments promote individualistic learning learning attitudes and and fundamentally change the way peers and and instructors interact ” Menold and and co-principal investigators Christopher McComb assistant professor of of of engineering engineering design and and and mechanical engineering engineering engineering and and and Sarah Ritter associate associate director of of of of engineering engineering engineering design design and and associate associate teaching professor of of of engineering engineering design design are examining the the student experiences of of of of those enrolled in in in in in in the the spring 2020 sections of EDSGN 100 The class a a a a a a cornerstone of the Penn State engineering curriculum was being taught to to to more than 500 students and administered by 12 instructors during the spring semester Its purpose is is to to to impart hands-on skills with engineering design tools and and and techniques such as sketching 3D computer- aided design (CAD) software physical modeling and and communications processes “Because of of the the nature of of EDSGN 100 we have the the unique opportunity to to to explore a a a a a a a a a a ‘natural experiment ’ ’ Each individual instructor’s approach to to to setting up their virtual classroom will
vary so we can see how those differences affect both student and instructor experiences ” Menold said McComb added “This work will
address an an an immediate need—understanding and and repairing the disruption caused to our first-year students’
educations However this work may also fundamentally change how we we deliver these hands-on design courses by helping us better understand how to effectively deliver them virtually ” The funding was possible through the NSF’s Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Program which supports projects that present an an urgency in light
of unanticipated events such as the COVID-19 pandemic n n n n “This work will
address an immediate need—understanding and and repairing the disruption caused to our first-year students’
educations ” Features
“Kevin Waltz graciously offered to to to deliver a a a a a a a a a check to to to donor and member services saving me me a a a a a a a a a a a a a 40 mile trip to to to campus! This was an an an act of kindness that shows his his true caring and supportive spirit ” “Youyou Cheng ordered masks from her home in in China and and gave them to to the the the hospital school district CoE and and ARL When offered reimbursement she said ‘No we are all in this together ’”
20 ENGINEERING PENN STATE