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Freshman/Sophomore Engineering Design Teams

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison made between visualization skills in a group of students that take a course with graphics topics, and those that take a course with solid modeling. The graphics course (2D) is in the context of manual drafting and a drafting software, while the solid modeling course (3D) in based on the utilization of concepts and software for solid modeling. The objective pursued is to identify any possible benefit, from the point of view of improved spatial visualization skills, from either of these two approaches. The visualization aptitude of the students was measured by administering the standard PSVT:R test before and after the respective topics were covered. This evaluation was done at two different academic institutions, with each one of the institutions using either a graphics or a solid modeling approach. Results from this study have relevance when defining course content, particularly with the current trend of including 2D and 3D topics in one single course. The result of the comparison indicates that although there are numeric differences between the two groups, particularly with standard deviations, they are not statistically significant to make a claim about the visualization skills of courses with 2D or 3D approach.


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Oct 30 2015

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Comparison of Spatial Visualization Skills in Courses with Either Graphics or Solid Modeling Content

This paper presents a comparison made between visualization skills in a group of students that take a course with graphics topics, and those that take a course with solid modeling. The graphics course (2D) is in the context of manual drafting and a drafting software, while the solid modeling course (3D) in based on the utilization of concepts and software for solid modeling. The objective pursued is to identify any possible benefit, from the point of view of improved spatial visualization skills, from either of these two approaches. The visualization aptitude of the students was measured by administering the standard PSVT:R test before and after the respective topics were covered. This evaluation was done at two different academic institutions, with each one of the institutions using either a graphics or a solid modeling approach. Results from this study have relevance when defining course content, particularly with the current trend of including 2D and 3D topics in one single course. The result of the comparison indicates that although there are numeric differences between the two groups, particularly with standard deviations, they are not statistically significant to make a claim about the visualization skills of courses with 2D or 3D approach.