(59) Engineering and (R) Research/ Assessment. This project is developing agreement about (and a means for testing) the fundamental concepts in engineering graphics. Its goal is to begin the process of developing a validated and tested concept inventory. The first step, the primary objective of this project, is a Delphi Study to identify the fundamental concepts in engineering graphics. The results will subsequently be used to develop a concept inventory for engineering graphics. Engineering graphics is often one of the largest enrollment courses within engineering. Much of engineering graphics education today tends to focus on the "tool of the day" rather than the fundamental concepts. Students are enrolled in engineering graphics within high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions. Engineering students, technology students, and technician students all take engineering graphics courses. There has been little attempt to articulate between these courses across the various levels in the educational spectrum. A concept inventory for engineering graphics would: (1) enable high school teachers to ensure that the topics they cover translate well to higher education settings; (2) ensure a greater degree of articulation between 2-year and 4-year institutions; and (3) enable graphics curriculum reform at all levels. Concept Inventories have been developed for many fundamental courses in the STEM fields. In the past few decades, much work has been done in developing concept inventories for engineering courses. Concept inventories are viewed as a means for spurring curriculum reform because they allow faculty to design their courses with a focus on the fundamentals and they provide them with a validated means of assessing student understanding of these basic concepts.
This project was the first major step in in defining a concept inventory for engineering graphics. Unlike many other foundational subjects in engineering such as statics, dynamics, or strength of materials, engineering graphics instruction has changed significantly over the past century, and it is important that graphics educators keep sight of the fundamentals in graphics education. The primary reason for the change in graphics education over the past few decades has been the development of new graphical tools and methods at an increasingly rapid pace. There is little agreement about what constitutes the fundamentals in graphics education. In other science and engineering fields, such as physics, mathematics, statistics, and engineering science, concept inventories have been developed in recent years to define the fundamental concepts in those disciplines. Concept inventories provide educators with a standardized instrument they can use to help design their courses and to determine if their students understand the fundamental concepts. As a first step in the development of a nationally normed concept inventory for engineering graphics, this Delphi study was conducted to define the fundamental concepts that will be used as the basis for the engineering graphics concept inventory. The results from the study were rigorously examined through input from the engineering graphics education community and will fill a gap in engineering and technology education. The findings from this study will be available to engineering graphics educators as they develop and transform the courses that they teach. This project involved a three-round Delphi study with graphic expert panelist from universities, community colleges, high schools and industry. The initial brainstorming round identified 80 engineering graphics topics that were included for review by the panel. After three rounds, ten concepts with 37 constructs were identified as fundamental for the discipline of engineering graphics. Final Concepts and Constructs: Visualizing in 2D - Understanding the relationship of orthogonal views of geometry. Important constructs: Edge View, Normal, True shape & True Size, View Alignment, and View Direction. Mapping between 2D and 3D - Representing, converting, creating, and interpreting drawings from 2D to 3D and 3D to 2D. Important constructs: Creation and Interpretation. Planar Geometry- The ability to pass a plane in space that serves a particular function. Important constructs: Reference planes, Cutting planes, Datum planes, and Projection planes. Sectional Views - The establishment of a plane for the purpose of showing interior and exterior features of an object. Important constructs: Full sections, Half sections, Removed sections, Revolved sections, Offset sections, and Broken-out sections. Engineering methodologies for Object Representation - Representing the 3D world using 2D visual methods using engineering graphic techniques. Important constructs: Isometric, Exploded, and Assembly. Projection Theory - Viewing an object with a transparent plane placed between the observer and the object. Important constructs of this concept have been identified as: Line of sight, Plane of Projection, Auxiliary views, True Length, Edge Views, and Inclined surfaces. Parallel Projection Methodologies - Graphically representing 3D objects in a 2D medium based on a line of sight and a plane of projection. Important constructs: Orthogonal and Isometric. Drawing Conventions - Conventional Methods for to expressing a graphical description. Important constructs: Annotations & Notes and Callouts. Dimensioning - The process of providing an accurate, clear, complete, and readable, description of an object. Important constructs: Shape description, Size description, Dimension placement, and Location description. Solid Modeling - A consistent set of principles for mathematical and computer modeling of three-dimensional solids which supports the creation, exchange, visualization, animation, interrogation, and annotation of digital models of physical objects. Important constructs: Extruding, Sweeping, Revolving, and Features. Broader Impacts: Engineering graphics is one of the highest enrollment courses in all of the STEM fields. Graphics remains a requirement for many engineering and technology disciplines. Graphics is also taught in pre-engineering and in engineering technology programs at community colleges and high schools. High school graphics is often taught primarily for students who intend to major in a STEM field after graduation. No consensus regarding optimal content for graphics courses exists, resulting in a large degree of variation among courses across the country. This concept inventory will lead to a better connection between all levels of graphics courses ensuring that high school and community college courses map to the expectations of university-level graphics courses. This Delphi study defined the foundational concepts of engineering graphics so that educators can design courses to meet the needs of today’s students and the ever-changing tools and graphics techniques.
