12th International Materials Education Symposium
| COVID-19 Important Information! |
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The health and safety of all attendees is of paramount importance. Following recommendations from Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and local public health authorities we have made the hard decision to cancel the 2020 Materials Education Symposia. This includes both the International and North American events. We will be scheduling mini online events for 2020 and look forward to continuing the series in 2021. For anyone that had registered for IMES 2020 or NAMES 2020, you will be contacted shortly with next steps. If you would like any additional information, please contact help@materialseducation.com |
Symposium Day One: Thursday, April 2
| time | session |
| 8.00 am | Registration, Coffee, and Poster setup |
| 8.45 am | Prof. David Cebon, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, UK Marc Fry, ANSYS Granta, Education Division, UK Welcome Address |
| SESSION 1: MOOCS AND ONLINE TRAINING | |
| 9.00am | Session Chairs Session introductions |
| 9.05 am | Keynote Speaker - TBC |
| 9.25 am | Keynote Speaker - TBC |
| 9.45 am | Poster Teaser Session Marc Fry, ANSYS Granta, Education Division, UK 25 x Poster Presenters invited to give a one-minute presentation |
| 10.10 am | One-hour Poster Session Coffee |
| 11.10 am | Dr. Gillian Saunders-Smith, TU Delft, The Netherlands The Development of a hands-on MOOC in Aerospace Structures and Materials on Edx |
| 11.30 am | Dr. John Schlup, Kansas State University, USA Moving MS&E to Online and Flipped Classroom Formats |
| 11.50 am | Prof. Paloma Fernández Sánchez, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain Are the MOOCS an adequate tool for a flipped classroom methodology? |
| 12.10 pm | Prof. Steffen Ritter, Hochschule Reutlingen, Germany How to foster students learning behaviour with an online Material Science Quiz |
| 12.30 pm | Session discussion led by the session chairs |
| 12.55 pm | Lunch and Symposium photograph |
| SESSION 2: SIMULATION AND DATA SCIENCE | |
| 2.00 pm | Session Chairs Session introductions |
| 2.05 pm | Keynote Speaker - TBC |
| 2.25 pm | Prof. David Cebon, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, UK Future of Simulation-based Product Innovation in a Digital World |
| 2.45 pm | Prof. Alejandro Strachan, Purdue University, USA Enhancing MSE education via online simulation and data science using nanoHUB |
| 3.05 pm | Dr. John Robertson-Begg, University of Derby, UK Using big data techniques in materials classes - a digital based approach for learning and teaching |
| 3.25 pm | Afternoon Tea |
| SESSION 3: DESIGN THINKING | |
| 4.00 pm | Prof. Carlo Santulli, Universita di Camerino, Italy Educating Industrial Design Students to Material Science Using DIY Materials Tinkering |
| 4.20 pm | José Eduardo Baravelli, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil Teaching building materials from the informal settlements perspective |
| 4.40 pm | Catherine May Boyd, University of the Arts London, UK Design thinking through materials: Designing cell furniture for a sustainable prison |
| 5.00 pm | Session discussion led by the session chairs |
| 5.25 pm | Symposium Award Ceremony |
| 5.35 pm | Marc Fry, ANSYS Granta, Education Division, UK Introduction to the next Symposia |
| 5.45 pm | Close |
| 6.45 pm | Symposium Dinner, all attendees welcome (pre-registration required) Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge |
Symposium Day Two: Friday, April 3
| time | session |
| 8.30 am | Registration and Coffee |
| SESSION 4: CORE PROGRAMME REVIEW: WHAT SHOULD WE TEACH? | |
| 9.00 am | Session Chairs Session Introductions |
| 9.05 am | Prof. Guang Chao Chen, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China The boundary of Education of Materials Science and Engineering |
| 9.25 am | Dr Adrian Lowe, Australian National University, Australia Translational Versus Traditional Core Skills – Orthogonal Or Synergistic? |
| 9.45 am | Poster Teaser Session Marc Fry, ANSYS Granta, Education Division, UK 25 x Poster Presenters invited to give a one-minute presentation |
| 10.10 am | One-hour Poster Session Coffee |
| 11.10 am | Prof. Peter Goodhew, University of Liverpool and NMiTE, UK Sprints: Some advantages of only doing one thing at a time |
| 11.30 am | Dr. Maria Romero-Gonzalez, Queen Mary, University of London, UK A programme level approach for curriculum review of joint international programmes in Materials Science |
| 11.50 am | Dr. Alexandre Mege-Revil, Ecole Centrale de Lille, France Materials for Transition, Transition for Materials |
| 12.10 am | Prof. Bill Clyne, University of Cambridge, UK Inverse Procedures for Mechanical Property Assessment, such as Indentation Plastometry, and their potential for Usage in Teaching |
| 12.30 pm | Session discussion led by the session chairs |
| 12.55 pm | Lunch |
| SESSION 5: ENGAGING STUDENTS | |
| 2.00 pm | Session Chairs Session Introductions |
| 2.05 pm | Carrie Wilson, Director, ASM Materials Education Foundation, USA Materials Camps for Teachers and other Outreach Activities |
| 2.25 pm | Prof. Jose Ygnacio Pastor, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain Discovering the murderer: a successful Sherlock Holmes gamification project |
| 2.45 pm | Dr. Andrew Rodda, Monash University, Australia Student Engagement and Skills Development via Extracurricular Student Teams: Monash Forge |
| 3.05 pm | Dr. Rajendran Raj, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India Reverse Engineering using realistic challenges – A Case Study |
| 3.25 pm | Afternoon Tea |
| 3,55 pm | Prof. Javier Orozco Messana, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain Mapping Materials Science into the student's brain |
| 4.15 pm | Prof. Nuria Salan-Ballesteros, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain Learning from disasters (when Halloween comes to Materials Science) |
| 4.35 pm | Session discussion led by the session chairs |
| 5.00 pm | Close and final photograph |
Presentation Abstracts
The Development of a hands-on MOOC in Aerospace Structures and Materials on Edx
Dr. Gillian Saunders-Smits, Dr. Calvin Rans, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Although Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been around since 2012, many of these MOOCs have been quite traditional in terms of their set up. They usually consist of weekly series of video lectures followed by some required reading and a knowledge quiz. This seems contradictory to the educational science which urges us to move away from this traditional model. This why when the course on aerospace structures and materials as delivered by Delft University of Technology to first-year students was redesigned as a MOOC to run on the Edx platform, a different, more active approach was chosen. It was decided to active engage the learners, ranging in age from 8-88, and have them also experiment with structures and materials during the course, using items from in and around their own home to experience the beauty and better understand the behaviour of aerospace structures and materials. To this end we created a virtual lecturer, Mrs Hannah Hypothesis, who talked learners through easily repeatable material and structures experiments. Next to that, we asked learners to create their own basic aerospace structures and materials designs in their weekly assignments to off set against the more traditional video lectures that were also included. In this talk we will present how we approached the design of the experiments and assignments, their delivery, the final result, and the user response to the developed set up based on the learning analytics of the course and the course evaluations. We will show that even in an online environment we can make materials and structures and their interdependence come alive. And, if she can be so persuaded, Mrs Hannah Hypothesis may even make a special appearance!
Moving MS&E to Online and Flipped Classroom Formats
Dr. John Schlup, Kansas State University, USA
The basic materials science and engineering course at Kansas State University is taught as a service course for the College of Engineering. During the past 5 years it has been taught both on-campus (with enrollments typically exceeding 325 per academic year) and as an online course (with enrollments of approximately 75 per calendar year). In both formats the electronic text has been integrated into the learning management system of the university. The on-campus course incorporates a rudimentary flipped classroom format. TopHat is employed in the classroom setting to promote student engagement. The online course is structured in an asynchronous mode within the constraints of the semester schedule. Experiences with the two formats will be described. In both cases, homework is graded electronically, and students are given multiple attempts with each question/problem. Student scores on the homework would indicate they understand the material; these scores, however, have not been seen to correlate with performance on quizzes or exams. Data describing student performance as measured by interaction with course videos and other course materials will be presented as well.
Are the MOOCS an adequate tool for a flipped classroom methodology?
Prof. Paloma Fernández Sánchez, A. Urbieta, University Complutense, Madrid, Spain
The implementation of a fully flipped methodology in the University courses is extremely difficult. The main reasons for this are the workload for both students and teachers, and the needs for coordination in the different disciplines. In this course we have made an approach using a MOOC that was elaborated as an introduction to Materials Science for non specialists. The different modules of the MOOC have been reordered to fit the main themes in the syllabus, and combined with complementary lectures on those topics non covered in the MOOC. Since we are using our own videos, we fill the gap that the students could otherwise find, between the persons appearing in the videos and their own teachers. As the video is accessible anytime they can go on their own pace. The fact that the same person is in the classroom an in the video contributes to minimize the feeling that an extra work is being made, and has the advantage that doubts can be worked out in class, directly with the person acting in the video, with the same language and materials. The MOOC takes eight weeks, and cover most of the program, then we have the rest of semester to solve problems, work on projects, etc… A summary of the tasks and the way to combine them with the MOOC and the rest of the topics to be considered during a Materials Physics course in the Degree in Physics will be presented.
How to foster students learning behaviour with an online Material Science Quiz
Prof. Steffen Ritter, Reutlingen University, Germany
The introduced lecture-accompanying material science learning quiz belongs to the activating teaching methods. An online quiz was developed and introduced to support the individual and continuous learning behaviour in the field of Material Science for the Industrial Engineering degree course in the first semester. It covers the basics of material science. In particular, the quiz has the aim of stimulating individual continuous learning during lectures. The quiz itself, the structure and the questions are presented. It is structured according to the content units of the lecture (a total of 11 quiz units) and is based on the Moodle learning system. The questions are categorized, randomly and automatically selected. The boundary conditions under which the quiz takes place are important components for the success of such a learning stimulus. The way the quiz is conducted, the evaluation and the incentives are the important success factors. These important boundary conditions were carefully examined in advance and will be presented in the talk. The quiz takes place without any noticeable administrative effort parallel to the lecture units as an automated Moodle-quiz. In the course of the lectures, it was shown that there is a clear correlation between the participation in the quiz and the final examination results. The students who actively participate in the quiz have the better grades. The more time spent on preparation and the quiz, the better the exam scores. The overall aim of this talk is to stimulate other lecturers to introduce a similar quiz into their lectures.
UK Future of Simulation-based Product Innovation in a Digital World
Prof. David Cebon, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, UK
Enhancing MSE education via online simulation and data science using nanoHUB
Prof. Alejandro Strachan, Purdue University, USA
In addition to their importance in materials research and development, physics-based simulations and data-science tools have a significant, and largely untapped, pedagogical potential. We will describe a set of online simulation tools and learning modules designed to help students explore important concepts in materials science where hands-on activities with high-fidelity simulations can provide insight not easily acquired otherwise. The simulation tools involve density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations and have been designed for non-expert, end-users. Only a few clicks are required to perform most simulations with no need to install any software, yet they are powered by research-grade codes and expert users can access advanced options. We will exemplify the use of these tools within learning modules that cover a range of topics from electronic structure of crystals, plastic deformation in metals, to physical properties of polymers. Complementing and enhancing such physics-based simulations and experiments, data science, including machine learning, is playing an increasingly important role in materials science and engineering. Thus, it has become imperative for MSE students and professionals to become acquainted with this rapidly evolving field. To address this gap, we developed as series of hands-on learning modules that introduce learners to the main concepts of data science: i) Obtaining data by querying data repositories and libraries, ii) Organizing and visualizing data, and iii) Developing models to extract underlying trends from the data performing supervised and unsupervised learning exercises. All the tools and modules are available for online simulation in nanoHUB.org and access is open and free. Modules are self-contained, easy to incorporate into existing courses, and include background material and suggested activities. Importantly, educators and researchers can share their own tools and material using nanoHUB, making them available and useful to the MSE community.
Using big data techniques in materials classes - a digital based approach for learning and teaching
Dr. John Robertson-Begg, University of Derby, UK
During a recent sabbatical, the author became interested in big data. This resulted in him learning new terms words such as ‘map reduce’ and ‘hadoop’. Further exploration saw him read generally in the fields of data science, data analysis, machine learning and deep learning. He learnt how to use Matlab and Python – both tools that data scientists use. He researched further in both the techniques and tools to understand how to apply them to the teach materials science. When he returned to work, he decided to adopt a digital approach to student learning. He had a new module to deliver with the main learning outcomes focussed on understanding “processing – structure – properties – performance relationships”. His first port of call was CES Edupack 2019 where he discovered a new dataset focussing on some of these aspects. He also found pyMKS, pycalphad, matminer, prisms, matins and many more resources. He researched and found papers on the application of machine learning to estimate mechanical properties of materials from images using random forest network algorithms. This was exciting - materials science meets big data. At the same time, he learnt about other tools, Anaconda, Jupyter notebooks and Google Colabatory. This paper describes the first attempt at using digital tools and resources in a second year module. It describes how students received and used them. Students completed their assignments by submitting Jupyter notebooks - a medium where text, images, and programme code can interwoven in one document. Some student work submitted in Jupyter notebooks will form part of the presentation. The author offers his reflections on the experience from himself and from students in terms of learning enhancement.
Educating Industrial Design Students to Material Science Using DIY Materials Tinkering
Prof. Carlo Santulli, Università di Camerino, Italy
The knowledge of materials science and technology is fundamental for industrial designers. This would not only allow the future professionals carrying on a sensible and motivated materials selection, but also appreciating the fundamental developments taking place into materials, namely the issues involved and the solutions possibly proposed. One theme currently discussed is the introduction and use of biocomposites into production. To introduce the industrial design students (II year of BSc course) to an operational knowledge of materials science, they have been proposed to use a waste material, originating from the agriculture or from food consumption, into the design of a DIY biocomposite, a process defined as “DIY materials tinkering”. The biocomposite matrix will be obtained either from a polysaccharide, such as starch, or from a protein, such as milk whey, with some plasticizer, such as glycerol. The obtained biocomposite results in the production of objects, defined as “material demonstrator”, therefore highlighting the potential of the material The objectives were introducing the students to the experimental method, since the material demonstrator will be obtained in a “trial and error” process, modifying one variable (e.g., composition, temperature, time, mould used, waste morphology) at a time. Students follow autonomously the production of samples, including moulding (mould filling, demoulding), measurement of the dimensional stability (water desorption, thickness variations) and degradation over time (formation of mold, creation of cracks, brittle failure due to wear). The above themes are essential in the creation of biocomposites and to possibly propose them for the creation of industrial prototypes. Finally, some further characterisation was introduced by other measurements, such as Shore hardness, tensile testing and FTIR, to improve the knowledge of the self-produced material. The results were analysed by questionnaires offering feedback on the issues encountered and on the solutions proposed to overcome them.
Teaching building materials from the informal settlements perspective
José Eduardo Baravelli, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil
Teaching building materials to architecture students is a challenging task due the very scope of Architecture Schools worldwide, which deals with a wide set of disciplines and academic interests, from art history to structural calculus. This challenge increases in a architecture course at the University of São Paulo, committed to understand building materials not only by legal codes and manufacture specifications, but also by its use in informal settlements, a relevant and poorly researched part of urban fabric in Brazil and other Latin America countries. The talk intends to present some pedagogical practices in “building technology” classes at the School of Architecture and Urbanism at USP, practices that imply the recognition of the most used building materials in informal cities and how to improve or combine its performance in three common necessities in Brazilian slums or “favelas”: urban drainage, pavements and humidity control. It’s a typical problem-based approach, but in this case associating material problems with urban and social problems.
Design thinking through materials: Designing cell furniture for a sustainable prison
Miss. Catherine Boyd, Design Against Crime Research Centre, UK
Designing for a custodial environment has unique challenges that can be hard to adhere to or even predict, where inappropriate material choices can have dangerous or even life-changing consequences. Safety and functionality and have always been the dominating factors when designing for prisons, but the CSM cell furniture design research project structured students learning to help young designers explore how to introduce improved wellbeing and ecological sustainability through material and design choices. In this talk we will present the design methods we used in order to teach product design (PD) students how their material choices will effect end users (prisoners) and the necessity of systems thinking in terms of circular design and sustainability. We offered seminars on materials within system maps in addition to one-to-one materials consultations but most effectively we constructed a prison cell as an empathy tool, (see full account Gamman L & Thorpe 2019). By putting together a small material library within the cell this enabled students to role play and experience how material choices can effect wellbeing by putting themselves in the position of the end user. Concurrently we conducted co-design workshops with inmates inside UK prisons, where we presented potential new materials, enabling discussion around how materials might effect relationships to objects and space within a cell environment. This relational engagement also highlighted some unintended uses of materials by prisoners that have led to them innovating inside and developing products for their cells. Introducing the student group to ethnographic data about the inmate experience, and introducing prisoners voices and feelings into the design account, propelled student furniture designers to push their ideas and gave access to insights from end users. This talk will critically reflect on the cell furniture project and the teaching techniques we used to better engage and prepare student designers.
The boundary of Education of Materials Science and Engineering
Prof. GuangChao Chen, UCAS, China
In the new century, human being faces a now living environment which is created by advanced information techniques, new type energy and artificial intelligence. The typical education style in material science and engineering meets into the challenges, such as what contents should be taught to students? How deep the contents should be taught? The first answer to these questions is what the boundary of materials science and engineering is. In this presentation, we discuss the meaning of MSE. Then, based on this principle concept, we discuss the scope of education of MSE. The experiences done in UCAS will also be introduced. These practices include that how to build the basic causes system of MSE, how to build the interesting of students in MSE, and how to direct the students working on MSE. Furthermore, we try to discuss the possibility of education of MSE to two novel kinds of student: human being-machine hybrid and AI.
Translational Versus Traditional Core Skills – Orthogonal Or Synergistic?
Assoc. Prof Adrian Lowe, Australian National University, Australia
The role of engineers in progressing society has never been more critical. The world needs thoughtleaders who can not only generate issues to the pressing problems faced by the world, but who can also proactively identify these issues before they manifest themselves into problems. This calls for people who not only have sound technical ability to create workable solutions to an issue, but who can also define and frame an issue in the most holistic of ways so that these solutions can be seen as truly global and for the betterment of everyone. To be able to successfully do this – we need to be able to ‘think like an engineer’ in terms of communication, thought processes, research methodologies and environmental awareness (i.e. translational skills) – all of which are independent of the technical expertise present. In addition, systems thinking has to be employed so as to bring together all technical and non-technical requirements to create a multidisciplinary, multi-skilled team that is ready to tackle any big-picture challenge. At the Australian National University, translational skills, and their contextualization within a well-designed engineering program, are a non-negotiable skills set for any graduate we produce and hence these skills form the basis of a compulsory ‘systems core’ that is embedded throughout our entire educational program. We aim to produce graduates who in their first job, can lead a team of other, more traditionally skilled graduates. However, convincing stakeholders that traditional and translational skills can be synergistic in an educational program, rather than orthogonal, is a long-standing problem for many of us across the world. This talk will look at the ANU experience of this over the last ten years and will highlight both the strengths and weakness in our current systems-focused multidisciplinary engineering program, whilst giving insights on the way forward.
A programme level approach for curriculum review of joint international programmes in Materials Science
Dr. Maria Romero-Gonzalez, Queen Mary University of London, UK
A programme level approach (PLA) was used for reviewing the content of the Materials Engineering and Polymer Science programmes from the Joint Educational Institute (JEI) of Queen Mary University of London, UK and the Northwestern Polytechnical Institute, China. The review was motivated by feedback from students and staff; where repetition of content, disconnection between modules and lack of clarity of skills gained were identified as main areas for improvement. PLA is a methodology that places emphasis on student experience and coherence across the curriculum within academic levels. The main benefits are a clear student learning pathway and reduction of excessive assessment. The review was centred around skills required for professional practice assessed through a skills map, built from an inventory of skills provided in each module. Students were consulted through staff-student meetings, feedback sessions, focus groups and an on-line survey. The review showed a lack of coherence in the delivery of knowledge that was improved through consultation with teaching teams resulting on the selection of areas that should be taught in specific modules. The results also showed that modularisation of knowledge was hindering the progress of students; 70% of students from the levels affected considered they did not gain the necessary knowledge and skills for understanding higher complex subjects. Student feedback on the reviewed programmes showed that 90% of students agreed that the programme was better structured and 97% of entry level students considered that the new structure will benefit them in the future. The study showed that PLA is an effective method for reviewing programmes, facilitates content selection, ensures knowledge progression and the inclusion of skills and competences at each stage of the curriculum. Due to its comprehensive and flexible approach PLA is a valuable method for the development and review of academic programmes.
Materials for Transition, Transition for Materials
Mr. Alexandre Mège-Revil, A. Tandjaoui, Centrale Lille, France
In a period of climate emergency and biodiversity collapse, we still burn each year more fossil fuels than ever. The Global Footprint Network estimates we used last year one point seventy-five times the renewable resources that the Earth can renew in the same time; in Europe, the value climbs to three Earths. Engineers have a key role to play in the transition that can allow us to reach back a sustainable society in a broader meaning. They have to choose – and be able to choose – the path they want to follow, and it is our task to put them in an educated position to do so. This implies that we change radically our approach to materials sciences and mechanical engineering and consider resources, energy and circular economy at each step of our teaching. In this presentation, we detail how we address these issues in a new curriculum for M2 students in Sustainable Conception and Production. The curriculum starts with a whole week of teamwork on the latest public reports on climate change (IPCC 1.5°C report), energy resources (BP stats report), energy outlook (IEA’s WEO), and mineral resources (USGS and BRGM data). The result is a booklet that one of the students is editing. A module on life cycle assessment and other impact measurements stands along usual subjects, such as mechanics, conception and design. A module on thermodynamics helps them understand better the notions of energy and entropy. Value engineering is then understood in a broader meaning that includes first and foremost a strong durability. Finally, the students are asked to develop from scratch a low-tech measurement device that can provide maximum precision with the lowest impact on our environment.
Inverse Procedures for Mechanical Property Assessment, such as Indentation Plastometry, and their potential for Usage in Teaching
Prof. Bill Clyne, University of Cambridge, UK
Inverse methods constitute a powerful tool for study of a range of phenomena, including the mechanical performance of materials and components. Commonly, the procedure involves FEM simulation of a mechanical loading scenario (ranging from a conventional tensile test to complex thermo-mechanical processing of shaped components). A comparison is then made between predicted and experimentally-observed outcomes, which could relate to sample shape, measurement of load, strain or temperature histories etc. The objective is often to obtain insights into thermo-mechanical characteristics of the material, which could include stress-strain relationships (captured via a constitutive law), the presence of residual stresses, thermal properties etc. These are incorporated into the FEM model and the procedure involves some kind of iterative convergence on the best-fit values of these characteristics, guided by optimising agreement between predicted and measured outcomes.
While this might sound potentially complex, there is in fact considerable scope for covering the concept in undergraduate teaching at a fairly basic level. FEM modelling is now a ubiquitous tool, which is increasingly becoming incorporated into Materials teaching. Neither cost nor logistical issues are at all prohibitive. Furthermore, by using a suitable example scenario, the power and versatility of the methodology can be illustrated in a tractable way. In this talk, a brief description will be given of Indentation Plastometry, for which inverse procedures are pivotal. Using indentation to obtain bulk mechanical properties is highly attractive. Specimens can be small and require minimal preparation. Testing of components in service is often possible, as is mapping of properties over a surface. On the other hand, the tested volume must be large enough for its response to be representative of bulk behaviour. In practice, this usually requires the deformed volume to contain a relatively large number of grains. So-called “nanoindentation” is therefore not viable, since the indentation depth is often required to be in the range of a few hundred µm. Iterative FEM simulation of the indentation process, converging on optimal plasticity parameter values by optimising the agreement between predicted and measured load-displacement data or residual indent shapes, is now becoming a standard procedure. A commercially available bench-top machine, and associated software package, will be briefly described. It will be shown that indentation data can (rapidly) be processed to obtain tensile (nominal) stress-strain plots, including the tensile strength (UTS), and that these agree closely with those obtained by conventional testing. Both the technical spec of the measurements and the issues involved in software optimisation will be discussed.
Sprints: Some advantages of only doing one thing at a time
Prof. Peter Goodhew, University of Liverpool and NMiTE, UK
Materials Camps for Teachers and other Outreach Activities
Carrie Wilson, Director, ASM Materials Education Foundation, USA
Discovering the murderer: a successful Sherlock Holmes gamification project
Prof. Jose Ygnacio Pastor, J. Orellana, S. Tarancón, E. Tejado, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Gamification is an increasingly popular approach of learning that has indeed proven especially useful in education. Modern theories on NeuroLearning state that when emotions are linked to the learning process, it is far more difficult to forget what has been learned, making game-based learning particularly useful because of their emotionally engaging nature. In this regard, a challenge is proposed to the students: to discover the most famous assassin of Materials Land (a world in which every citizen can be recognized by a material that characterises him). They were given a clue (a piece of material) found at the crime scene; what is more, it is the only reliable proof to imprison the murderer. Students should gather as much information as possible from it to identify the material and, with it, the villain. The detectives of Scotland Yard (students) in charge of this case were told that a tensile test is the key for capturing the thief, but they will need the help of the most famous private detective of Materials Land, Sherlock Holmes (Mike Ashby) and his incredible Mental Palace (database of CESEdupack) to match the “criminal profile”. By doing this, most of the students were able to identify the villain (i.e. the hidden material); depending on how far they went into the materials profile definition. The outcomes of this gamification strategy were mostly found to be positive, with an increased motivation, enjoyment and engagement of students with the subject. Not only students have applied what they learned in the police academy (Materials Selection classes), but they have also interacted with testing procedures while taking on role of a detective. Furthermore, Materials were given an extra emotional dimension, a personality that they had to discover and whose profile should be defined.
Student Engagement and Skills Development via Extracurricular Student Teams: Monash Forge
Dr. Andrew Rodda, A. Rodda, Monash University, Australia
Monash Engineering supports around 20 extracurricular student teams, in which (primarily undergraduate) students work on long-term open projects. While some teams are based around pre-existing student competitions, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering hosts several teams with goals based around student development, hands-on project work, community engagement and entrepreneurship. This presentation will describe recent progress, specifically concentrating on a team known as “Monash Forge”. [1,2] Monash Forge is a new student-led initiative that aims to develop fundamental practical and professional skills in Materials Engineering and related disciplines. Students develop technical skills in forging and casting, hand and power tools, welding, advanced machinery, design software and 3D printing, but crucially also develop broader professional skills. There is deliberate exposure to open questions and students are supported to be properly equipped to handle aspects such as project management, budgeting, marketing and OHS (the team undertakes thermomechanical processing with significant hazards). With an overall goal to promote positive change by providing sustainable manufacturing processes using recycled materials, the team engages regularly with community and industry to educate the public about sustainability in manufacturing. This presentation will describe the work of the team and its value for participants. There will also be broader discussion how to assess the value of student teams for various stakeholders, and how to maximise the value beyond the direct participants to benefit a wider cohort of students.
Reverse Engineering using realistic challenges – A Case Study
Dr. Rajendran Raj, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India
Mr. R. Alaguvel Armstrong, TAFE, India
Engineering graduates find it difficult to work in an industry environment as they are not exposed to the real-life problem in the university curriculum. To make the students industry ready, a program called automotive student orientation program was introduced by SAEINDIA in collaboration with industries. As part of this program the students undergo a summer internship in an industry and carry out a project. Project based learning has become one of the most effective tools used in engineering education. The undergraduate mechanical engineering students are made to learn the reverse engineering concept through a project. The main objective of the industry project is to introduce the students to what an industry is and their elements and make them work on projects in an industrial environment through lectures and hands on experiences. The students are divided into teams and are provided with product assembly for dissection. They study the performance characteristics of the products and disassemble the product. They also prepare freehand sketches and measure the dimensions to construct 3-D solid computer models of each major component. The teams conclude their project activities by generating engineering drawings directly from the 3-D geometric data base and prepare assembly drawings. They prepare the liaison matrix, Mates table and Functional deployment, cost estimation based on 3D model to be included in the project report which is assessed and evaluated by the industry person. The students are rated on a 5-point scale on 20 activities and each team has scored between 75-80 points which show their interest in self learning and in executing the project.
Mapping Materials Science into the student's brain
Dr. Javier Orozco-Messana, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Students usually lack motivation for learning subjects which they perceive as difficult to learn. For this reason, in the last decades, teaching approaches have been developed based on a constructivist approach to teaching and learning. The aim of these approaches is to increase the performance of students taking into account the limit of working memory and encouraging active participation of students in creating their own knowledge. Knowledge is more easily acquired as a link between concepts and propositions (Douma, Ligierko, & Romano, 2009), then it is clear that there is a need to introduce techniques of visual representation of knowledge. There are numerous techniques for visualizing information in teaching process. Some of them are: conceptual maps, mind maps, conceptual diagram, visual metaphor, semantic networks, etc… A concept map is a top-down diagram showing the relationships between concepts, including cross connections and their manifestation. Since concepts are very clearly connected to each other, concept maps represent knowledge structures as a whole and can be used as a learning, or teaching, strategy being at the same time a means of assessing students’ understanding of science concepts (Usta & Ültay, 2016). Our approach has been to expose the students to a basic structure (concept map) of the Materials Science curriculum, and guide them into the collaborative exploration, development and documentation of the different branches as they are introduced in class. Using this approach each student develops one part by defining concepts, preparing examples, finding applications and connecting their work to the collective map. Assessment is based on a rubric evaluating depth and breadth of personal progress, and by a peer evaluation on the relevance and importance of personal contribution. The result has been rewarding and well received by students who learn more easily through this self-questioning strategy.
Learning from disasters (when Halloween comes to Materials Science)
Dr. Nuria Salán, V. Marqués, T. Dolz, S. Illescas, UPC-BarcelonaTECH, Spain
Often in subject design, contents and syllabus are the priority over the forms. But each generation has its way of learning, and right now, forms can be preferred than contents or syllabus. On the other hand, if we look for attractive topics in Materials Science, cinema can be the best way to provide them. And scary movies are usually the students favorites. Therefore, if we install Halloween in our subjects, success is assured. "Learning from disasters" is a nice way to introduce some harsh aspects as failure mechanics. Historical cases of failures, adorned with deaths, blood and viscera, have contributed to our students being interested in the contents and, from there, consider what has failed, why, how it could be avoided... Do you creep me?