Abstract
A group of mechanical engineering faculty members have initiated a hybrid Vector Statics course which involves Macromedia presentations, Hands-on experiments, Online homework program for collecting homework, and online Multimedia computer interactive games. The main objective for designing the new hybrid course is to reduce failure rate which is as high as 44% among approximately 800 students who enroll in this course annually in the college of engineering at Cal Poly, Pomona. In order to measure the effectiveness of the newly developed course an assessment tool is needed. The commonly employed tools such as homework, quizzes, and exams that we use in a typical Vector Statics course serve as good indicators of students’ understanding about the subject matter we teach and students are tested on; however, these tools may not reflect student’s knowledge accurately. For instance, Vector Statics may be a prerequisites course for advanced required courses in engineering, and students must usually earn a C- grade (or better) in order to take the subsequent courses. However, having a C- in this course means that students are leaving this prerequisite course with ability to solve the given exercises, but often they do not have the ability to answer a simple quantitatively question about the fundamental concept in this course. We believe that by implementing an effective assessment tool we will measure the effectiveness of the newly developed hybrid course. We plan to measure the effectiveness of the hybrid course by: 1. Integrating previously developed and tested Concept Inventory test specifically for Statics throughout the course into its weekly modules. 2. Multiple choice questions drawn from Fundamentals of Engineering Exam and comparing the results with the national average scores. 3. Comparing the student test scores on Concept Inventory test with the national and peer institution scores. Introduction Engineering education is under considerable pressure to include more and new materials, to restructure the course content using new approaches and technologies and to manage a spectrum of students with diverse backgrounds in spite of the reduced total number of credits for graduation. Most engineering curricula have become more intensive and thus students are required to spend more time for each subject. California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California has one of the largest engineering programs in the US with over 4,500 undergraduate students. On the other hand, more than 84 percent of students at CPP are working during the week [1]. In recent years, student attrition has been a problem for many engineering programs across the nation such that a significant number of students drop out in their first- and second- year. As indicated in the EERP report on student attrition [2], the primary non-university related reasons students claimed for leaving their studies were the difficulties managing work and class schedules, and commuting to campus. Vector Statics is the first hardcore engineering class, as required by almost all the majors at the beginning of sophomore year in the College of Engineering at Cal Poly, Pomona. During the academic year of 2004-2005, 27 sections of Vector Statics and 8 sections of Vector Statics