Doing Science in the Undergraduate Classroom Using Rapid Prototyping

快速成型设备被要求在本科生入门课程中使用，学生在哥伦比亚大学设计，建造和测试他们自己的实验解决方案，以解决正在进行的研究问题。该课程教授CAD和基于CAD的原型设计技能，学生可以快速学习，然后应用于真实的世界，科学问题。研究问题的几何和设计方面的强调，而超出学生能力的技术方面作为固定的输入。这门课的“试一试”哲学给教授和助教带来了沉重的负担，因为从其入门性质来看，学生没有原型设计的背景。所要求的设备将大大减轻这一负担，并改善学校现有计算机辅助设计设施和课程与其基于计算机辅助设计的原型制作能力之间的联系。该课程没有先决条件，吸引了来自整个大学的学生。虽然最初令人生畏，但“设计”教授的挑战已经被学生们热情地接受，他们感谢他们的努力被认真对待，尽管他们的技术背景有限。该课程本身可以作为一个全国性的模式，使本科生在研究机构进行原创性的科学工作，也可以吸引新的学生科学和工程。作为这项建议的一部分，哥伦比亚已承诺提供资金，由师范学院对该课程进行全面的教育评价，并由电影研究生院制作一部关于该课程的纪录片。这些具体的交付成果加强了拟议的评价和传播计划。

Rapid prototyping equipment is requested for use in an introductory undergraduate course in which students design, build, and test their own experimental solutions to an on-going research problem at Columbia University. The course teaches CAD and CAD-based prototyping skills that can be quickly learned by students and then applied to a real world, scientific problem. Geometric and design aspects of the research problem are emphasized while technical aspects beyond the student capabilities are presented as fixed inputs. The cut-and-try philosophy of the course places a heavy fabrication burden on the professor and course TA because, by its introductory nature, students do not have prototyping backgrounds. The requested equipment will greatly reduce this burden and improve the linkage between the School' s existing CAD facilities and curriculum and its CAD-based prototyping capabilities. The course has no prerequisites and has attracted students from throughout the University. Although initially daunting, the challenge of "out designing" professors has been enthusiastically embraced by the students, and they appreciate that their efforts are being taken seriously despite their limited technical backgrounds. The course itself may serve as a national model for enabling undergraduates to perform original scientific work at research institutions, and may also attract new students to science and engineering. As part of this proposal, Columbia has committed funds for a comprehensive educational evaluation of the course by Teachers College and a documentary film about the course by the Graduate Film School. These concrete deliverables strengthen the proposed evaluation and dissemination plans.