The Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R)is among the most comm... more The Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R)is among the most commonly used measurement instruments to assess spatial ability. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a factor analysis of the PSVT:R given to 335 introductory engineering design graphics students. Psychometric analysis of the student sample data indicated alternate loading patterns, divergent from a single factor solution. Introduction Calls for greater numbers of practitioners with skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are only increasing as global and societal demands for innovation in technology, medicine, transportation, communications, and other markets continue to advance. Spatial visualization skills represent a key component in a variety of STEM fields and of crucial importance in technical professions such as engineering (Sorby, 1999; Torpey, 2013). STEM credentialed professionals tend to demonstrate notable levels of spatial ab...
Research was conducted in the fall of 2008 to explore emerging trends in technical/ engineering g... more Research was conducted in the fall of 2008 to explore emerging trends in technical/ engineering graphics education. The study surveyed Engineering Design Graphics Division (EDGD) members through a follow-up study that had been used in previous years to collect data on current trends and issues related to the field. This paper will discuss the overarching issues and trends currently in technical/engineering education and one significant area within the survey that dealt directly with new instructional strategies for graphics education (i.e. distance education). One section of the survey explored distance education in technical/engineering graphics education; as prior research suggested that changes had occurred in the instructional topics and practices of the field. Previous research also shows that instructors wondered if the same topics were being taught and the same technology was being used by graphics professionals as a part of their curriculum at other institutions. The study s...
Welcome to the 2010 issue of CIE (Computers and Information in Engineering) Division Newsletter. ... more Welcome to the 2010 issue of CIE (Computers and Information in Engineering) Division Newsletter. First of all, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all CIE fellow members for their contribution and dedicated services. Without them, we could not have celebrated our 30th anniversary successfully. Let us remember that this is not a time to look back, but rather to look into the future. We should look for what possibilities our future holds and should strive to take steps to make this happen.
Binkley et al. (2012) contends that the economy and workplace for the 21st Century will not lie i... more Binkley et al. (2012) contends that the economy and workplace for the 21st Century will not lie in the routine tasks of the past, instead emphasis will be put on the ability of stu¬dents to communicate, share and use information to solve increasingly complex prob¬lems. This is especially true of individuals who chose to pursue careers in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For many engineers and technol¬ogists, at the heart of this exchange of information is the ability to model, design, and fabricate complex objects using the latest three-dimensional modeling software. Yet, for many students tackling this authoring software begins with their own perceived ability to complete said task. Eccles et al. (1983) seminal research revealed that students’ belief about their ability to complete a task is inextricably linked to their previous experience and other socialization factors. To better understand how different experiences impact students’ belief about thei...
Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2021
Two scales measuring teaching self-efficacy and beliefs were developed from previous instruments ... more Two scales measuring teaching self-efficacy and beliefs were developed from previous instruments for use with near-peer facilitators assisting with peer-supported pedagogies. Construct and face validity, measurement reliability, and factor structure were determined using a population of near-peer facilitators working in a peer-led team learning chemistry classroom at a large research-intensive postsecondary institution in the Southeast United States. Results suggest that the scales produce valid and reliable data. Teaching self-efficacy and beliefs were found to increase between pre and post administrations with small to medium effect sizes. The scales can provide a means to evaluate peer-supported pedagogies and as discussion points for faculty members training near-peer facilitators.
This inquiry examined the concept of workplace power as related to community college engineering/... more This inquiry examined the concept of workplace power as related to community college engineering/technical graphics graduates employed at their first job after graduation. In particular, the investigation focused upon the following three groups: (a) cooperative education graduates who remained with their former co-op employer, (b) cooperative education graduates who gained employment with a new employer and (c) graduates who lacked co-op experience. Following the same mission as other past co-op studies, this research was conducted to broaden the understanding of cooperative education. While studies exist which concern cooperative education's effect on the process of socialization into organizations (e.g.,Williams, Sternberg, Rashotte & Wagner, 1993;Aultman, 1997), most co-op research supports other types of benefits. A literature review into this subject exposes such a reality and that additional studies exist which suggest that cooperative education experience enhances various...
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R) is among the most comm... more The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R) is among the most commonly used measurement instruments to assess spatial ability among engineering students. Previous analysis that explores the factor structure of the PSVT:R indicates a single-factor measure of the instrument. With this as a basis, this research seeks to examine the psychometric properties of the test. This paper presents the findings of single and multi-factor analyses of the PSVT:R given to 335 students enrolled in an introductory engineering design graphics course. Initial analysis did not support a single factor solution. Further examination of pattern analyses and communalities are suggestive of the possibility that the PSVT:R may load on multiple factors. The magnitude of the variance is not explained by a single factor and whether the PSVT:R can be considered a single construct measure of mental rotation ability is not supported by this study. This represents a potential divergence ...
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R)is among the most comm... more The Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R)is among the most commonly used measurement instruments to assess spatial ability. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a factor analysis of the PSVT:R given to 335 introductory engineering design graphics students. Psychometric analysis of the student sample data indicated alternate loading patterns, divergent from a single factor solution. Introduction Calls for greater numbers of practitioners with skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are only increasing as global and societal demands for innovation in technology, medicine, transportation, communications, and other markets continue to advance. Spatial visualization skills represent a key component in a variety of STEM fields and of crucial importance in technical professions such as engineering (Sorby, 1999; Torpey, 2013). STEM credentialed professionals tend to demonstrate notable levels of spatial ab...
Research was conducted in the fall of 2008 to explore emerging trends in technical/ engineering g... more Research was conducted in the fall of 2008 to explore emerging trends in technical/ engineering graphics education. The study surveyed Engineering Design Graphics Division (EDGD) members through a follow-up study that had been used in previous years to collect data on current trends and issues related to the field. This paper will discuss the overarching issues and trends currently in technical/engineering education and one significant area within the survey that dealt directly with new instructional strategies for graphics education (i.e. distance education). One section of the survey explored distance education in technical/engineering graphics education; as prior research suggested that changes had occurred in the instructional topics and practices of the field. Previous research also shows that instructors wondered if the same topics were being taught and the same technology was being used by graphics professionals as a part of their curriculum at other institutions. The study s...
Welcome to the 2010 issue of CIE (Computers and Information in Engineering) Division Newsletter. ... more Welcome to the 2010 issue of CIE (Computers and Information in Engineering) Division Newsletter. First of all, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all CIE fellow members for their contribution and dedicated services. Without them, we could not have celebrated our 30th anniversary successfully. Let us remember that this is not a time to look back, but rather to look into the future. We should look for what possibilities our future holds and should strive to take steps to make this happen.
Binkley et al. (2012) contends that the economy and workplace for the 21st Century will not lie i... more Binkley et al. (2012) contends that the economy and workplace for the 21st Century will not lie in the routine tasks of the past, instead emphasis will be put on the ability of stu¬dents to communicate, share and use information to solve increasingly complex prob¬lems. This is especially true of individuals who chose to pursue careers in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). For many engineers and technol¬ogists, at the heart of this exchange of information is the ability to model, design, and fabricate complex objects using the latest three-dimensional modeling software. Yet, for many students tackling this authoring software begins with their own perceived ability to complete said task. Eccles et al. (1983) seminal research revealed that students’ belief about their ability to complete a task is inextricably linked to their previous experience and other socialization factors. To better understand how different experiences impact students’ belief about thei...
Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2021
Two scales measuring teaching self-efficacy and beliefs were developed from previous instruments ... more Two scales measuring teaching self-efficacy and beliefs were developed from previous instruments for use with near-peer facilitators assisting with peer-supported pedagogies. Construct and face validity, measurement reliability, and factor structure were determined using a population of near-peer facilitators working in a peer-led team learning chemistry classroom at a large research-intensive postsecondary institution in the Southeast United States. Results suggest that the scales produce valid and reliable data. Teaching self-efficacy and beliefs were found to increase between pre and post administrations with small to medium effect sizes. The scales can provide a means to evaluate peer-supported pedagogies and as discussion points for faculty members training near-peer facilitators.
This inquiry examined the concept of workplace power as related to community college engineering/... more This inquiry examined the concept of workplace power as related to community college engineering/technical graphics graduates employed at their first job after graduation. In particular, the investigation focused upon the following three groups: (a) cooperative education graduates who remained with their former co-op employer, (b) cooperative education graduates who gained employment with a new employer and (c) graduates who lacked co-op experience. Following the same mission as other past co-op studies, this research was conducted to broaden the understanding of cooperative education. While studies exist which concern cooperative education's effect on the process of socialization into organizations (e.g.,Williams, Sternberg, Rashotte & Wagner, 1993;Aultman, 1997), most co-op research supports other types of benefits. A literature review into this subject exposes such a reality and that additional studies exist which suggest that cooperative education experience enhances various...
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R) is among the most comm... more The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R) is among the most commonly used measurement instruments to assess spatial ability among engineering students. Previous analysis that explores the factor structure of the PSVT:R indicates a single-factor measure of the instrument. With this as a basis, this research seeks to examine the psychometric properties of the test. This paper presents the findings of single and multi-factor analyses of the PSVT:R given to 335 students enrolled in an introductory engineering design graphics course. Initial analysis did not support a single factor solution. Further examination of pattern analyses and communalities are suggestive of the possibility that the PSVT:R may load on multiple factors. The magnitude of the variance is not explained by a single factor and whether the PSVT:R can be considered a single construct measure of mental rotation ability is not supported by this study. This represents a potential divergence ...
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