Mechanical Objects and the Engineering Learner: An Experimental Study of How the Presence of Objects Affects Students' Performance on Engineering Related Tasks

People display varying levels of interaction with the mechanical objects in their environment; engineers in particular as makers and users of these objects display a higher level of interaction with them. Investigating the educational potential of mechanical objects in stimulating and supporting learning in engineering is warranted by the fact that practicing engineers work with mechanical objects as they design, test and improve devices. It is possible that mechanical objects can facilitate learning by providing opportunities to authenticate the teaching and learning experience. More importantly, mechanical objects can serve as an instrument in transferring the knowledge of abstract concepts to practical applications. What remains unclear is how individual differences in interests and aptitudes are related to these interactions in engineering students. This study investigated how individual differences related to thing orientation and mechanical aptitude affect interaction with mechanical objects in engineering education instruction. The study introduces a task designed to replicate a real-world engineering application and uses this task to examine the effect of these aptitudes, interests, and direct manipulation of mechanical objects on performance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]