College Teaching Part 55

1. The annual _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education_, from 1913 to date, contain many valuable articles on various phases of engineering education. Each volume consists of 200 to 300 8vo pages. The society has no permanent address. All business is conducted by the secretary, whose address at present is University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The more important papers of the above _Proceedings_ which are closely related to the subject of this chapter are included in the list below.

Many of the articles relate to the teaching of a particular branch of engineering, and hence are not mentioned in the following list.

2. "Methods of Teaching Engineering: By Textbook, by Lecturing, by Design, by Laboratory, by Memoir." Professor C. F. Allen, Ma.s.sachusetts Inst.i.tute of Technology. An excellent presentation, and discussion by others. _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education_, Vol. VII, pages 29-54.

3. "Two Kinds of Education for Engineers." Dean J. B. Johnson, University of Wisconsin. An address to the students of the College of Engineering of the University of Wisconsin, 1901. Pamphlet published by the author; 15 8vo pages. Reprinted in _Addresses of Engineering Students_, edited by Waddell and Harrington, pages 25-35.

4. "Potency of Engineering Schools and Their Imperfections." Professor D. C. Jackson, University of Wisconsin. An address presented at the Quarto-Centennial Celebration of the University of Colorado, 1902.

_Proceedings_ of that celebration, pages 53-65.

5. "Technical and Pedagogic Value of Examinations." Professor Henry H.

Norris, Cornell University. A discussion of the general subject, containing examples of questions in a topical examination in an electrical engineering subject. Discussed at length by several others.

_Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education._ Vol. XV, pages 605-618.

6. "Limitations of Efficiency in Engineering Education." Professor George F. Swain, Harvard University. An address at the opening of the General Engineering Building of Union University, 1910. A discussion of various limitations and defects in engineering education. Pamphlet published by Union University; 28 small 8vo pages. Reprinted in _Addresses of Engineering Students_, edited by Waddell and Harrington, pages 231-252.

7. "The Good Engineering Teacher: His Personality and Training."

Professor William T. Magruder, Ohio State University. An inspiring and instructive presidential address. _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education_, Vol. XXI, pages 27-38.

8. "Hydraulic Engineering Education." D. W. Mead, University of Wisconsin. An interesting discussion of the elements an engineer should acquire in his education. The article is instructive, and is broader than its t.i.tle; but it contains nothing directly on methods of teaching engineering subjects. _Bulletin of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education_, Vol. IV, No. 5, 1914, pages 185-198.

9. "Some Considerations Regarding Engineering Education in America."

Professor G. F. Swain, Harvard University. A paper presented at the International Engineering Congress in 1915 in San Francisco, California. A brief presentation of the early history of engineering education in America, and an inquiry as to the effectiveness of present methods. _Transactions of International Engineering Congress_, Miscellany, San Francisco, 1915, pages 324-330; discussion, pages 340-348.

10. "Technical Education for the Professions of Applied Science,"

President Ira N. Hollis, Worcester Polytechnic Inst.i.tute. A discussion of the methods and scope of engineering education, and of the contents of a few representative engineering curricula. _Transactions International Engineering Congress_, San Francisco, 1915, Miscellany, pages 306-325.

11. "What is Best in Engineering Education." Professor H. H. Higbie, president Tau Beta Pi a.s.sociation. An elaborate inquiry among graduate members of that a.s.sociation as to the value and relative importance of the different subjects pursued in college, of the time given to each, and of the methods employed in presenting them. Pamphlet published by the a.s.sociation, 107 8vo pages.

12. "Some Details in Engineering Education." Professor Henry S.

Jacoby, Cornell University. A president's address, containing many interesting and instructive suggestions concerning various details of teaching engineering subjects and the relations between students and instructor. _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education_, Vol. XXIII, 15 pages.

13. "Report of Progress in the Study of Engineering Education."

Professor C. R. Mann. Several of the National Engineering Societies requested the Carnegie Foundation to conduct a thorough investigation of engineering education, and the Foundation committed the investigation to Professor C. R. Mann. First Report of Progress, _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education_, Vol. XXIII, pages 70-85; Second Report, Bulletin, same, November, 1916, pages 125-144; Final Report: A Study of Engineering Education by Charles Riborg Mann, _Bulletin Number 11, Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching_, 1918.

14. "Relation of Mathematical Training to the Engineering Profession."

H. D. g.a.y.l.o.r.d, Secretary of the a.s.sociation of Teachers of Mathematics in New England, and Professor Paul H. Ha.n.u.s, Harvard University. An elaborate inquiry as to the opinion of practicing engineers concerning the importance of mathematics in the work of the engineer. _Bulletin of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education_, October, 1916, pages 54-72.

15. "Does Present-Day Engineering College Education Produce Accuracy and Thoroughness?" Professor D. W. Mead, University of Wisconsin, and Professor G. F. Swain, Harvard University. An animated discussion as to the effectiveness of a collegiate engineering education.

_Engineering Record_, Vol. 73 (May 6, 1916), pages 607-609.

16. "Teach Engineering Students Fundamental Principles." Professor D.

S. Jacobus, Stevens Inst.i.tute. Address of the retiring president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. A clear and forceful discussion of general methods of studying and teaching, and of the choice of subjects to be taught. _Engineering Record_, December 16, 1916, pages 739-740.

17. A considerable number of thoughtful articles on the general subject of technical education appeared in the columns of _Mining and Scientific Press_ (San Francisco, California) during the year 1916. In the main these articles discuss general engineering education, and give a little attention to mining engineering education.

18. Since the preceding was written there has appeared a little book, the reading of which would be of great value to all engineering students, ent.i.tled _How to Study_, by George Fillmore Swain, LL.D., Professor of Civil Engineering in Harvard University and in the Ma.s.sachusetts Inst.i.tute of Technology. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York City, 1917. 5 x 7-1/2 inches, paper, 63 pages, 25 cents.

XXVI

THE TEACHING OF MECHANICAL DRAWING

=Mechanical drawing a mode of expression=

Drawing is a mode of expression and is therefore a form of language.

As applied in the engineering field drawing is mechanical in character and is used princ.i.p.ally for the purpose of conveying information relative to the construction of machines and structures. It seems logical that the methods employed and the standards adopted in the teaching of engineering drawing should be based on an a.n.a.lysis of conditions found in the engineering world. In the best engineering practice the technical standards of drawing are high, so high in fact that they may be used as an ideal toward which to work in the cla.s.sroom. Examples of good draftsmans.h.i.+p selected from practice may well serve to furnish standards for cla.s.sroom work, both in technique and methods of representation.

=Mechanical drawing disciplinary as well as practical in value=

Engineering drawing demands intellectual power quite as much as it does skill of hand. The draftsman in conceiving and planning his design visualizes his problem, makes calculations for it, and graphically represents the results upon the drafting board. The development of the details of his design makes it necessary that he be a trained observer of forms. Since new designs frequently involve modifications of old forms, in his efforts to recall old forms and create new ones, he develops visual memory. If the requirements of a successful draftsman or designer be taken as typical, it is evident that the young engineer must develop, in addition to a technical knowledge of the subject, and a certain degree of skill of hand, a habit of quick and accurate observation and the ability to perceive and retain mental images of forms.

Modern methods of instruction recognize both the motor and mental factors involved in the production of engineering drawings. It is the aim of the drawing courses in engineering colleges to familiarize the student with the standards of technique and methods of representation found in the best commercial practice; likewise to develop in him the powers to visualize and reason, which are possessed by the commercial draftsman and designers.

=Organization and content of courses in mechanical drawing=

The drawing courses of engineering curricula may be divided into two groups: (1) _General courses_, in which the principles and methods of representation are taught, together with such practice in drawing as will develop a satisfactory technique. (2) _Technical courses_, the aim of which is to a.s.sist the student to acquire technical knowledge or training, drawing being used primarily for the purpose of developing or testing a student's knowledge of the subject matter.

The general courses usually include an elementary course and a course in descriptive geometry. These courses deal with the fundamental principles and methods which have universal application in the advanced and technical courses. While the courses of the two groups may overlap, the general courses precede the courses of the technical group. There is no general agreement as to the order in which the subjects belonging to the general group should be given. Each of the following orders is in use:

1. A course in descriptive geometry followed by an elementary technical course.

2. An elementary course and a course in descriptive geometry given simultaneously.

3. An elementary course followed by a course in descriptive geometry.

The _first plan_ is followed by a number of inst.i.tutions which conclude, because of the general practice of offering courses in drawing in the secondary schools, that pupils entering college have a knowledge of the fundamentals ordinarily included in an elementary course. In other inst.i.tutions it is held that the principles of projection can be taught to students of college age in a course of descriptive geometry without preliminary drill.

Where the _second plan_ is used, the courses are so correlated that the instruction in the use of instruments given in an elementary course is applied in solving problems in descriptive geometry, while the principles of projection taught in descriptive geometry are applied in the making of working drawings. This plan is followed by several of the larger engineering colleges.

Under the _third plan_ the principles of projection are taught through their applications in the form of working drawings. In this way the principles may be taught in more elementary form than is possible in any adequate treatment of descriptive geometry. The ill.u.s.tration of the principles in a concrete way makes it possible for those who find visualizing difficult, to develop that power before abstract principles of projection are taken up in the descriptive geometry. The skill of hand developed in the elementary course makes it possible to give entire attention to a study of the principles in the course in descriptive geometry. While excellent results are being obtained under each of the three plans, this plan is the one most generally adopted.

The order of courses in the technical drawing groups is determined by other considerations than those relating to drawing, such as prerequisites in mathematics, strength of materials, etc.

=The elementary courses=

The elementary courses have undergone a number of important changes during recent years. In those of the present day more attention than formerly is given to the making of complete working drawings. In the earlier courses the elements were taught in the form of exercises. In the latter part of the courses the elements were combined in working drawings. In the modern courses, however, there is a very marked tendency to eliminate the exercise and make the applications of elements in the form of working drawings throughout the course.

In the early type of course the theory of projection was taught by using the synthetic method; i.e., by placing the emphasis first upon the projection of points, then lines, surfaces, and finally geometrical solids. In the modern type of course, however, this order is reversed and the a.n.a.lytic method is used; i.e., solids in the form of simple machine or structural parts are first represented, then the principles of projection involved in the representation of their surfaces, edges, and finally their corners are studied. In this type of course the student works from the concrete to the abstract rather than from the abstract to the concrete.

=Fundamentals of the elementary course=

_Geometrical constructions_, which were formerly given as exercises and which served as a means of giving excellent practice in the use of instruments, are now incorporated in working drawings and emphasized in making views of objects. It is believed that in the applied form these constructions offer the same opportunity for the training in accuracy in the use of instruments that was had in the abstract exercises, to which is added interest naturally secured by making applications of elements in working drawings.

_Conventions_ are also taught in an applied form and are introduced as the skill for executing them and the theory involved in their construction are developed in the progress of the course.