Benjamin James Call

Bio: Benjamin James Call is an academic researcher from Utah State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Spatial ability & Engineering education. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 15 publications receiving 60 citations.

Utilizing Electroencephalography Measurements for Comparison of Task-Specific Neural Efficiencies: Spatial Intelligence Tasks

Abstract: Spatial intelligence is often linked to success in engineering education and engineering professions. The use of electroencephalography enables comparative calculation of individuals' neural efficiency as they perform successive tasks requiring spatial ability to derive solutions. Neural efficiency here is defined as having less beta activation, and therefore expending fewer neural resources, to perform a task in comparison to other groups or other tasks. For inter-task comparisons of tasks with similar durations, these measurements may enable a comparison of task type difficulty. For intra-participant and inter-participant comparisons, these measurements provide potential insight into the participant's level of spatial ability and different engineering problem solving tasks. Performance on the selected tasks can be analyzed and correlated with beta activities. This work presents a detailed research protocol studying the neural efficiency of students engaged in the solving of typical spatial ability and Statics problems. Students completed problems specific to the Mental Cutting Test (MCT), Purdue Spatial Visualization test of Rotations (PSVT:R), and Statics. While engaged in solving these problems, participants' brain waves were measured with EEG allowing data to be collected regarding alpha and beta brain wave activation and use. The work looks to correlate functional performance on pure spatial tasks with spatially intensive engineering tasks to identify the pathways to successful performance in engineering and the resulting improvements in engineering education that may follow.

Spatial Ability Degradation in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Students during the Winter Semester Break.

Abstract: Spatial Ability Degradation in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Students During the Winter Semester Break by Benjamin J. Call, Doctor of Philosophy Utah State University, 2018 Major Professor: Dr. Wade H. Goodridge Department: Engineering Education While spatial ability has a well-researched correlation with success in engineering, both academically and professionally, the vast majority of research is limited to short-term effects. Researchers have statistically shown that most interventions have a positive impact on spatial ability and claim that the impact is enduring. However, quantifying the duration of impact generally suffers from two limitations: 1) there is not a sufficient gap to determine if the impact endures, i.e., most research fails to follow up with participants more than a week later; and 2) no allowance is made for the influence of non-deliberate factors that may be increasing the spatial ability of participants. The nondeliberate factor of particular concern in this paper is undergraduate engineering coursework (Engineering Graphics and Statics) which have been correlated with increases in spatial ability – thus rendering them a type of indirect intervention even if they are not generally recognized as such. The research presented herein tracked changes in undergraduate engineering students’ spatial ability during the winter academic break following three courses

Manipulatives in Engineering Statics: Supplementing Analytical Techniques with Physical Models

Abstract: In order to assist students, gain conceptual understanding of internal forces, a physical manipulative of a truss was developed in order to help students visualize, feel, and analyze the behavior of the material being manipulated. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how a physical manipulative of a truss contributed to the conceptual understanding of truss analysis in statics. In this study, six students were presented with a simple problem of a truss, where no measurements or numerical quantities were provided, and asked to determine which members where in tension or compression. Subsequently, the participants were given a model of a physical manipulative resembling the same problem they were given before and asked the same questions. Preliminary qualitative results indicated that physical manipulative helped students visualize concepts taught in the classroom and provided a venue to gain conceptual understanding of internal forces.

Preliminary Analysis of Spatial Ability Improvement within an Engineering Mechanics Course: Statics

Abstract: Spatial ability has been an area of research for decades. Distinct correlations have been discovered regarding research into spatial ability and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics disciplines (STEM). However, spatial ability is a term that can be confusing to practitioners. For this purpose, spatial ability, a measure of an individual’s capability to exercise a specific construct of spatial thinking, will be defined explicitly in this paper. Spatial ability has been positively correlated to success in the professional engineering world as well as within engineering coursework. In view of this correlational evidence, an argument forms for the academy to develop a more refined understanding of the improvement in spatial ability and underlying impacting mechanisms of spatial thinking within undergraduate engineering courses. This paper presents preliminary research into spatial ability’s correlation to performance in an engineering Statics course. Statics is a fertile engineering course to research as it is a gateway course where students often determine if they will persevere in engineering. It is the first class in the Engineering Mechanics Series and is required by most mechanical, civil, environmental, biological, and aerospace engineering programs. Results indicate that spatial ability does improve significantly in a Statics course for both sexes. Data was collected using two spatial instruments, the Mental Cutting Test and the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations, and a demographic survey. A preand post-test design was used for both tests where tests where given in the first week and in the final week of the course. A series of paired t-tests are used to statistically analyze for improvement and the potential correlation between the spatial preand post-tests demographic variables. Additionally, the study was replicated in an Anatomy class to address potential risks to the study. Results indicate that spatial ability of the students in the Anatomy class does not significantly improve. Further research is suggested in looking into the demographic factors of each study including previous and concurrent course experience. Introduction and Literature Review Numerous studies have reported significant correlation of spatial thinking (the ability to use spatial skills in their learning and work) to success in performance, professional work1, 2, and within academic studies1, 3. In addition to this, studies also show that spatial thinking is highly correlated to success in the engineering field specifically1. It has been recorded that entering engineering students have a significantly higher spatial ability than their colleagues in other fields of study1. Within the engineering field, those with higher spatial ability perform, on average, better than other students in the same field of engineering who have lower spatial ability1, 3. This better performance in their academic career then translates to their professional career1, 2. Terms such as spatial thinking, spatial cognition, and visuospatial thinking, in addition to spatial ability, are commonly used to discuss individuals’ spatial understanding of innately spatial topics. For this paper’s purposes, the term spatial ability will be used and defined as the measure of an individual’s spatial aptitude. In 1993, Sheryl A. Sorby conducted an experiment at Michigan Tech regarding spatial ability and engineering students. The experiment required all freshmen engineers to take a spatial ability test known as the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PSVT:R). That year, 535 students took the test and 96 (18%) failed the test with a 60% or lower. From this group of 96 participants, 24 were randomly selected to take part in a three credit course that was developed to help the improvement of spatial ability. The remaining 72 students were not enrolled to serve as the control group3. At the end of the course, the 24 students were given the PSVT:R again to assess gain. The average of the test for the 24 students before the class was 51.7%. After the class, their reported average had increased from 30.3% to 82.0%. Additionally, the data indicated that males performed higher, on average, than females on the spatial ability test. Of those that took the test, 17% were female. Yet, of those that failed the test, nearly half were female3. Even though males, on average, have higher initial spatial ability regarding rotations2, 4, Sorby’s work demonstrates that spatial ability can be learned. It also demonstrates that the disparity in scores seen by the two sexes can be decreased or eliminated with training1. The study continued for the next five years. A change in methods involved actively advising those who failed the pre-test to enroll into a spatial intervention course rather than continuing to randomly select participants for the spatial intervention as was done before. The students that were accepted and voluntarily took the spatial ability class demonstrated roughly the same percentage increase as did the randomly selected group the year prior. Continued data collection revealed an average student gain of 27% on their PSVT:R test results3. While some may extend this research to discover how much spatial ability improves in those who already have a higher level initially, the work conducted nevertheless shows that spatial ability is not innate and responds to training and experiences within the studied demographics. It has also been verified that spatial ability can be learned through coursework not directly targeting its improvement2, 5. In a study performed by Prieto and Velasco, it was desired to know if spatial ability could be improved through a course that focused on technical drawing. The study concluded that spatial ability does improve, and the improvement was similar in men and women2. A similar study done by Németh focused on the development of spatial ability throughout a course focused on descriptive geometry. In her results, she reported that, indeed, spatial ability was improved by the end of the course but that males showed greater improvement in spatial ability than females5. Both studies agreed that spatial ability can be improved during engineering-related coursework; however, the two studies do not agree if males and females improved similarly or not. Finally, Sorby’s text6, targeted to improve student’s spatial ability, presents a method of increasing this ability using very traditional drafting instructional techniques. Her work provides one practical avenue to students to increase their spatial ability. There has been much work done with respect to differences in spatial ability between sexes. Levine states that at as early as four years of age there is already a difference in spatial ability favoring males7. In a study done by Lippa, Collaer, and Peters, it was found that across 53 separate countries males performed higher than women on two separate spatial tests. Also, it was reported that gender equality and economic development were significantly associated with a higher performance on the two tests4. On December 10th 2012, 44 spatially minded researchers and administrators from education and industry met to discuss the placement of curriculum, based on spatial thinking, in higher education. They brought together their knowledge about the teaching and development of spatial thinking in order to find the most effective way to teach this skill to the next generation of engineers and to other students in visually intensive majors8. On teaching spatial ability they reported the following: Although we believe that current attempts to teach spatial thinking are effective, we have little objective evidence for this and are not currently in a position to advocate a best approach or set of approaches for teaching spatial thinking across the college curriculum.8 Even with this and other research, Sorby claims, “That it is still too early to determine if those with spatial abilities are simply attracted to engineering fields or whether engineering education and practice aid in the growth of spatial abilities1.” Nevertheless, the argument is proposed that initial work is required to discover courses that are significantly spatial in nature9. Recently Uttal made this comment: Having good spatial skills strongly predicts achievement and attainment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields10, 11. Improving spatial skills is therefore of both theoretical and practical importance.12 In order to meet the demands of the world’s engineering needs in the coming years, we need to address the deficit in engineering graduates13. Spatial interventions stand to impact STEM education as evidenced in Uttal’s statement concerning the advantages for investigating spatial thinking, Considered together, the results suggest that spatially enriched education could pay substantial dividends in increasing participation in mathematics, science, and engineering.12 As supported by previous research, fostering the development of student’s spatial ability is one potential technique that may increase engineering student success. In accordance with the call for action made by Uttal12, spatially enhanced curriculum can and should be created and adopted into existing courses. However, we must first identify highly spatial topics and discover how students spatially reason through the concepts and problems taught within them to strategically tackle spatial enhancements that will have impacts. Research focused on such knowledge will set a foundation for instructors to develop spatially enhanced curriculum and will reveal if spatial ability can impact success at a course-specific level.

Cognitive strategies and misconceptions in introductory statics problems

Abstract: Introductory engineering problems set foundational knowledge required by students. While statics is a course that is typically offered during the start of an engineering student's sophomore year, it is one of the first pre-professional engineering courses students are exposed to and is important to their persistence in engineering. An understanding of the strategies and misconceptions that students employ to solve 2-D and 3-D force problems in statics is warranted due to its ties to their success and thus persistence. This study hopes to reveal some of the strategies and misconceptions engineering students implement and encounter when introduced to 2-D and 3-D concepts in Statics. The research design will focus on a qualitative approach where participants will engage in a Talk Aloud protocol implemented during problem solving activities. Data will be collected, segmented, and coded to determine misconception themes, strategies, and procedural understanding associated with solving equilibrium problems. A pilot study focusing on the experiences of 12 participants (3 female and 9 male) will be discussed in this paper. The study aims to identify areas where interventions may be strategically instituted facilitating students' success in solving Statics problems. Results will foster future research and refine the qualitative methods that will be applicable to such research.

Modern Applied Statistics With S

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Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis

Abstract: การวจยเชงคณภาพ เปนเครองมอสำคญอยางหนงสำหรบทำความเขาใจสงคมและพฤตกรรมมนษย การวจยแบบการสรางทฤษฎจากขอมล กเปนหนงในหลายระเบยบวธการวจยเชงคณภาพทกำลงไดรบความสนใจ และเปนทนยมเพมสงขนเรอยๆ จากนกวชาการ และนกวจยในสาขาสงคมศาสตร และศาสตรอนๆ เชน พฤตกรรมศาสตร สงคมวทยา สาธารณสขศาสตร พยาบาลศาสตร จตวทยาสงคม ศกษาศาสตร รฐศาสตร และสารสนเทศศกษา ดงนน หนงสอเรอง “ConstructingGrounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis” หรอ “การสรางทฤษฎจากขอมล:แนวทางการปฏบตผานการวเคราะหเชงคณภาพ” จะชวยใหผอานมความรความเขาใจถงพฒนาการของปฏบตการวจยแบบสรางทฤษฎจากขอมล ตลอดจนแนวทาง และกระบวนการปฏบตการวจยอยางเปนระบบ จงเปนหนงสอทควรคาแกการอานโดยเฉพาะนกวจยรนใหม เพอเปนแนวทางในการนำความรความเขาใจไประยกตในงานวจยของตน อกทงนกวจยผเชยวชาญสามารถอานเพอขยายมโนทศนดานวจยใหกวางขวางขน

Mindset The New Psychology Of Success

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The Borderlands of Education: Latinas in Engineering by Michelle Madsen Camacho and Susan M. Lord

Abstract: ichelle Madsen Camacho and Susan M. Lord released The Borderlands of Education: Latinas in Engineering in 2013. The 2017 paperback release provides a catalyst for engineering educators, field professionals, and those who study engineering education to revisit structural and cultural patterns that are changing or holding back programs from the gender parity enjoyed in most other STEM fields. The authors frame the text in critical race and Chicana feminist theory. Camacho and Lord’s use of the term “borderlands” in the title is a nod to the work of Gloria Anzaldua’s “Borderlands/La Frontera” (1987). In Anzaldua’s semi-autobiographical work, she theorizes through essays and poems the concept of border identities and the complexities of living at the border. Identifying as a queer Chicana feminist, Anzaldua draws on the history of the U.S./Mexico border examining power and oppression across borders of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. The physical and imagined borders produce a “mezcla” or hybridity of experience that locates an actor in a liminal space between worlds. Camacho and Lord write that engineering is a borderland field. Engineering has been largely absent from primary and secondary education, as well as from the breadth of experience of nonengineering college students. Often isolated from other programs, engineering is not usually part of the college general education curriculum the way that math, biology, or even sociology might be. Furthermore, as an elite white male (straight) space, the presence of STEM-ready Latina bodies is an exponential disruption. Latina engineering students live in the in-between world: as Latina engineers, they are aberrations both in the engineering world, as well as in the communities they call home. As a white female engineer (Lord) and a Latina sociologist (Camacho), both authors experience the borderlands in their fields. Lord’s account of the importance of a feminist studies class during her graduate education hints at the importance of feminist and critical race curriculum for all (women) engineers. She wrote, “The most difficult challenges for me in graduate school were not technical but social” (p. 15). The feminist studies class allowed her to situate her personal experience in a larger context of like experiences. Sociology educators know well the power of that moment when their own students make that connection between their personal M