IMPROVING ENGINEERING DRAWING SKILLS THROUGH CONCRETE LEARNING AND MINDSET THEORY

Abstract

The engineering drawing skills for the Design-Build-Test (D-B-T) project in year 2 Mechanical Engineering and Product Design degrees at Aston University is introduced through regular practice exercises that are transferable to the project. However, analysis of the CAD assessment in the previous two cohorts (2015/16 and 2016/17) showed low performance and the associated engineering drawings for the D-B-T project was poor. The aim of this study was to address this disconnect by reviewing the CAD exercises and developing a more open growth mindset among the students. The program was developed with a two-pronged approach to include exercises that are more analogous to the D-B-T project with encouraged deliberate practice and introduce growth mindset theory and use of study strategies. Student mindsets will be captured at the end of the module through a short questionnaire. Thus far, the new intervention appears to yield better performance in CAD modelling and engineering drawings. However the study is on-going and therefore CAD assessment and the engineering drawings for the D-B-T in 2017-18 cohort will be compared to the previous two cohorts at the end of the academic year.