We have previously reported in this journal that spatial ability influences academic performance in engineering. We have also reported that spatial ability is trainable, and can be increased through instruction focused on using perception and mental imagery in three-dimensional representation. In this article, we present the results of a longitudinal evaluative study of student difficulties with engineering graphics at our university, involving research over a 24-year period. Prior to our intervention, the first-year engineering graphics course at our university had a failure rate of 36% for all engineering students, and failure rates of 80% for African students studying at our university. In terms of outcomes, our study indicates that changed teaching practices have been associated with increased pass rates, which currently average 88% for all students. There is clear evidence that African students no longer experience major difficulties in passing the course. This can be attributed both to changes in teaching methodology, as well as broader contextual changes occurring in South Africa over the period reviewed.
Despite evidence of increased pass rates, our data suggest that there is a continuing relationship between three-dimensional spatial perception and academic performance in engineering graphics, as well as with aggregated first-year engineering marks. For this reason, many students still require academic support. There is also evidence that female students experience difficulties with engineering graphics due to lack of previous technical experience, and use a variety of strategies to overcome their study problems. The most effective appear to be use of peers and friends, and in particular students who had previously taken the course, as mediators of the course content and materials. Those female students who have not taken technical drawing at school level, and female students who do not network with other engineering students, are those at greatest disadvantage. 相似文献
This article presents a multi-lagged-input based data-driven adaptive iterative learning control (M-DDAILC) method for nonlinear multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems by virtue of multi-lagged-input iterative dynamic linearization (IDL). The original nonlinear and non-affine MIMO system is equivalently transformed into a linear input-output incremental counterpart without loss of dynamics. The proposed learning law utilizes the desired trajectory to cancel the influence from iteration-by-iteration variations, as well as additional multi-lagged inputs to improve control performance. The developed iterative estimation law is more effective and also makes estimation of the unknown parameters easier because the dynamics for each parameter to represent are decreased by dividing the system into multiple components in the multi-lagged-input IDL formulation. Moreover, the proposed M-DDAILC does not need an explicit and accurate model. It is proved to be iteratively convergent with rigorous analysis. Both a numerical example and a practical application to a permanent magnet linear motor are provided to verify the validity and applicability of the proposed method. 相似文献
In this paper, the optimal synchronization controller design problem for complex dynamical networks with unknown system internal dynamics is studied. A necessary and sufficient condition on the existence of the optimal control minimizing a quadratic performance index is given. The optimal control law consists of a feedback control and a compensated feedforward control, and the feedback control gain can be obtained by solving the well-known Algebraic Riccati Equation (ARE). Especially, in the presence of unknown system dynamics, a novel adaptive iterative algorithm using the information of system states and inputs is proposed to solve the ARE to get the optimal feedback control gain. Finally, a simulation example shows the effectiveness of the theoretical results. 相似文献
In this paper, the problem of state and unknown input estimations for a class of discrete-time switched linear systems with average dwell time switching is investigated. First, a proportional integral observer with an exponential H∞ performance is constructed to estimate the system state and unknown input simultaneously. Second, both of the observability and the stability of the estimation error system are analyzed, then the derivation of the observer gain matrices is transformed into the calculation of linear matrix inequalities. Third, the obtained results are extended to the systems with output disturbances. Finally, two simulation examples are provided to show the validity and effectiveness of the proposed methods. 相似文献
This paper investigates the expected static group synchronization problem of the second-order multi-agent systems via pinning control. For directed communication topology with spanning tree, based on Gershgorin disk theorem and the matrix property, a static pinning control protocol with fixed gains is first introduced and some sufficient and necessary static group synchronization criteria are also established. It is worth mentioning that a rigorous proof is also given that only one pinning node is needed to guarantee static group synchronization, which could be inferred that our protocol might be more economical and effective in large scale of multi-agent systems. Then, for weakly connected directed communication topology with nodes of zero in-degree, an adaptive pinning control applied to the node with zero in-degree is also proposed to achieve static group synchronization. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed protocols is verified by two simulation examples. 相似文献