Implementation Grant: Simulation and Visualization Enhanced Engineering Education

老道明大学的这一系级改革项目将通过实施本科工程课程改革来加强学生的学习过程，该课程改革整合了电气、土木工程和机械工程三个学科的15门工程科学和工程核心课程的可视化模块、模拟软件和虚拟实验。一个由来自这三个工程系的12名教员、教育学院的教员和一名评估专业人员组成的多学科团队将参与拟议的改造。该项目的智力价值包括通过在整个课程中彻底整合交互模拟和可视化，可以在工程教育中进行教学改进。重点将放在课内和课外的互动性上，以便学生在他们通常在实验室课程中学到的基础上，在本地和分散的虚拟领域中获得实践经验。期望的目标是让学生更深入地理解基本原理，特别是对于在物理实验室中难以解释或不切实际的现象。新课程将包括：(A)将模块内容与模块前后的材料相结合(互联互通)；(B)通过信息、数据和视频图像，将模块内容所依据的控制方程和物理原理的工程背景结合起来；(C)模块内容的分层安排，以便学生能够设定自己的学习目标水平，并为实现这些目标设定自己的进度；(D)可视化、计算和分析的一体化(VISCOMPANA)，工程专业的三个关键方法。拟议项目的更广泛影响将是为受课程改革影响的大量学生和教员带来的长期教育和职业利益。在课程中整合先进的教育技术工具，如交互式可视化和模拟模块，将加强学生的学习，提高工程教育的质量，并培养拥有工程知识的毕业生在计算机和互联网技术改变的世界中实践。在全额拨款期间开发的模块将成为这所工程学院计划在不远的将来推出的完整的基于网络的本科工程课程的基石。一旦实施，这些计划将覆盖到多样化的非传统学生群体，否则他们将因地理或其他限制而无法入学。STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)学科的注册人数没有增长到支持未来工业增长预测所需的速度。尤其是女学生，预计将从拟议的工作中受益。也就是说，由于工程专业的女性通常比男性学生更反感与硬件相关的课程，可视化和模拟增强课程将为女性学生提供另一种实践体验的途径。不受限制地访问用户友好的基于网络的模块将使所有工程专业的学生受益。

This department level reform project at Old Dominion University will enhance the student learning process by implementing an undergraduate engineering curricula transformation that integrates visualization modules, simulation software, and virtual experiments in 15 engineering science and engineering core courses in three disciplines, namely electrical, civil and mechanical engineering. A multidisciplinary team of twelve faculty members from these three engineering departments, faculty from the College of Education and an assessment professional will participate in the proposed transformation. The intellectual merit of the project includes the pedagogical improvements that can be made in engineering education as a result of thorough integration of interactive simulation and visualization throughout the curriculum. The focus will be on interactivity both inside and outside of classes so that students obtain hands-on experience in local and distributed virtual domains in addition to what they generally learn in laboratory courses. The desired goal is to allow students to achieve a deeper understanding of basic principles, especially for phenomena difficult or impractical to illustrate in physical laboratories. The new curriculum will include: (a) integration of module contents with materials preceding and following the module (interconnectivity), (b) engineering context of governing equations and physical principles underlying modular contents through information, data and video-images, all accessed from web-resources, (c) hierarchical arrangement of modular contents so that students can set their own level of learning goals, and set their own pace to achieve them, and (d) integration of visualization, computation and analysis (VISCOMPANA), three critical methodologies of the engineering profession.The broader impact of the proposed project will be the long-term educational and career benefits to the large number of students and faculty who will be affected by the curricular transformation. Integration of advanced education technology tools such as interactive visualization and simulation modules in the curricula will enhance student learning, improve quality of engineering education, and prepare graduates who possess engineering know-how to practice in a world transformed by computer and Internet technologies. Modules developed during the full-grant period will become building blocks for complete web-based undergraduate engineering programs that the engineering college plans to launch in the not so distant future. Once implemented, these programs will reach a diverse and non-traditional student population that would not have otherwise enrolled due to geographical or other limitations. Enrollments in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines are not rising as fast as needed to support future projections of industrial growth. Female students in particular are expected to benefit from the proposed work. That is, since women in engineering have been found to be generally more averse to hardware related courses than are male students, the visualization and simulation enhanced courses will provide female students an alternative pathway for hands-on experience. Unfettered access to user friendly web-based modules will benefit all engineering students.Sushil K. Chaturvedi, Principal Investigator, Old Dominion University