Brian Self
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View article: Accident Reconstruction: A Model-Eliciting Activity in Dynamics
Accident Reconstruction: A Model-Eliciting Activity in Dynamics Open
Typical assignments in a traditional dynamics course often do little to motivate students or to give them an indication of how they would use the material in a future job situation. Many instructors are now attempting to provide motivation…
View article: Modeling the Dynamics of a Small Catapult to Enhance Undergraduate Studies
Modeling the Dynamics of a Small Catapult to Enhance Undergraduate Studies Open
It is estimated that the average engineering student will work 3000 back of the book style homework problems by the time that they graduate. While these problems can certainly help with the learning process, many do not mimic any type of r…
View article: Service Learning in Engineering at Cal Poly
Service Learning in Engineering at Cal Poly Open
The benefits of service learning have been demonstrated in a number of different settings (Jacoby, 1996; Tsang, 2000). By participating in projects with a community-based focus, students gain an appreciation for the role they can play in s…
View article: Dynamics for D's: Avoiding Multiple Failures in a High Risk Course
Dynamics for D's: Avoiding Multiple Failures in a High Risk Course Open
Student struggles with dynamics are well documented. At our institution, students often fail the course multiple times, delaying their graduation or even demotivating them to pursue engineering. We postulate that students taking it multipl…
View article: WIP: Instructors’ Framing of their Instructional Practice
WIP: Instructors’ Framing of their Instructional Practice Open
This WIP study stems from a larger project focused on the propagation of educational technology in diverse instructional settings. During that study 24 faculty from 9 institutions were interviewed several times about a range of aspects of …
View article: A Modified Concept Inventory for Dynamics
A Modified Concept Inventory for Dynamics Open
The Dynamics Concept Inventory (DCI) was developed approximately 20 years ago as a tool for instructors teaching Dynamics to assess their students' gains in conceptual understanding of the material. Since its initial release, there have be…
View article: Smart enough to succeed: the case for supporting students' non-cognitive and affective factors
Smart enough to succeed: the case for supporting students' non-cognitive and affective factors Open
This is a presentation-only submission and thus only a summary of the presentation is included below.]Oftentimes, and perhaps more commonly in STEM disciplines, students who are struggling academically are provided additional academic supp…
View article: Understanding Context: Propagation and Effectiveness of the Concept Warehouse in Mechanical Engineering at Five Diverse Institutions and Beyond – Results from Year 2
Understanding Context: Propagation and Effectiveness of the Concept Warehouse in Mechanical Engineering at Five Diverse Institutions and Beyond – Results from Year 2 Open
It has been well-established that concept-based active learning strategies increase student retention, improve engagement and student achievement, and reduce the performance gap of underrepresented students. Despite the evidence supporting…
View article: WIP: Hands-On Statics in the Online “Classroom”
WIP: Hands-On Statics in the Online “Classroom” Open
Engineering instructors often use physical manipulatives such as foam beams, rolling cylinders, and large representations of axis systems to demonstrate mechanics concepts and help students visualize systems. Additional benefits are possib…
View article: Work-in-Progress: Computer Simulations to Deliver Inquiry-Based Laboratory Activities in Mechanics
Work-in-Progress: Computer Simulations to Deliver Inquiry-Based Laboratory Activities in Mechanics Open
Our previous work demonstrated that the use of inquiry-based laboratory activities (IBLAs) have helped students develop better understanding of core concepts in mechanics. IBLAs are constructed around brief hands-on-experiments designed so…
View article: The Mechanics of SUCCESS: How Non-Cognitive and Affective Factors Relate to Academic Performance in Engineering Mechanics
The Mechanics of SUCCESS: How Non-Cognitive and Affective Factors Relate to Academic Performance in Engineering Mechanics Open
One particular academic area of engineering student difficulty is in the field of mechanics. Mechanics, including introductory physics, statics, and dynamics, forms the basis of many upper division engineering courses and often causes stud…
View article: Sudden Shift to Online Learning: COVID-19's Impact on Engineering Student Experiences
Sudden Shift to Online Learning: COVID-19's Impact on Engineering Student Experiences Open
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, engineering education has faced a shift to a partial if not fully virtual environment that has disrupted students' educational experiences. This qualitative study was designed to explore how mechanical en…
View article: Update on the Role of Non-Cognitive and Affective (NCA) Factors in Engineering and Computing Student Academic Performance
Update on the Role of Non-Cognitive and Affective (NCA) Factors in Engineering and Computing Student Academic Performance Open
The NSF-funded Studying Underlying Characteristics of Computing and Engineering Student Success (SUCCESS) project is exploring the role that non-cognitive and affective (NCA) factors relate to retention and broad definitions of success for…
View article: Benchmarking SUCCESS: How do non-cognitive and affective factors vary among college undergraduates?
Benchmarking SUCCESS: How do non-cognitive and affective factors vary among college undergraduates? Open
The Studying Underlying Characteristics of Computing and Engineering Student Success (SUCCESS) survey has been distributed at three major universities in the United States to measure how non-cognitive and affective factors influence studen…
View article: Incorporating Six Pre-Defined Experiments Using Motion Analysis into Engineering Dynamics Courses
Incorporating Six Pre-Defined Experiments Using Motion Analysis into Engineering Dynamics Courses Open
Undergraduate engineering dynamics often lacks a concrete connection between methods learned and hands-on engineering applications. We tried to create a stronger link between real life problems and theory through the use of motion capture …
View article: Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics
Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics Open
Incorporating Motion Capture Technology in Undergraduate Engineering Dynamics Katherine Mavrommati, Jay Davis, Sonya Dick, Eileen Rossman, Brian P. Self California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Abstract This paper examines …
View article: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Virtual Pulley Inquiry-Based Learning Activity on Increasing Student Understanding of Newton’s Second Law
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Virtual Pulley Inquiry-Based Learning Activity on Increasing Student Understanding of Newton’s Second Law Open
In undergraduate mechanics classes, students tend to struggle with the application of Newton's Second Law to complex problems. When students in an undergraduate dynamics class were asked to use Newton's Second Law to evaluate a concept que…
View article: Student Self-Explanation When Solving a Rigid Body Kinetics Concept Question
Student Self-Explanation When Solving a Rigid Body Kinetics Concept Question Open
The purpose of this ongoing research is to increase conceptual understanding of dynamics using Instructional-Based Learning Activities (IBLAs). IBLAs allow students to participate in hands-on activities where they are presented with a phys…
View article: Using Utility Value Interventions to Explore Student Connections to Engineering Mechanics Topics
Using Utility Value Interventions to Explore Student Connections to Engineering Mechanics Topics Open
Engineering mechanics courses (e.g., statics and dynamics) are critical foundations within an engineering curriculum and a strong understanding of these topics is often important for success in the broad range of classes that leverage and …
View article: Generating Coupled Multiple Response Questions to Assess Student Understanding of Newton’s Second Law
Generating Coupled Multiple Response Questions to Assess Student Understanding of Newton’s Second Law Open
It is difficult to get at the root of a student's misunderstanding with a multiple-choice question, but more effective free response questions take significantly longer to process. In coupled multiple response questions (CMRs), students se…