This project will develop an innovative instructional software system which will increase visual reasoning capabilities of engineering students. We will provide a learning system with which a student can develop visualizing and spatial reasoning capabilities in a self-paced series of exercises. Specifically, we will take the missing view problem which forms the foundation for all visual reasoning processes. This problem requires both visual analysis and visual synthesis, and has been identified as the one for which students show immense diversity in their solving capabilities. We will draw from solid modeling and artificial intelligence technology and the power of interactive computer graphics to implement such an instructional system. The system will capture and critique the reasoning steps of each student. The system will select a suitable level of difficulty based on perceived capability of the student in solving previous problems so that a suitable path of exercises can be provided for each student. The system will provide a discovery-oriented learning environment where the students develop visual reasoning skills from their own accumulated experiences guided by the system. The software system will be tested and evaluated in the laboratory curriculum of Engineering Graphics and Design course at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This is a required course of most disciplines in the College of Engineering. The software system will then be ported to diverse computing platforms and disseminated to other institutions nationwide. The project results will also be disseminated by holding workshops in ASEE meetings.
