Impact and Effect of Formative Feedback Improvement for Dormant Deficiencies in MCAD Education

Considerable improvement in student performance and in learning outcomes has been achieved with an educational intervention previously introduced to a CAD course for mechanical engineering. This intervention was based on the novel dormant deficiency concept and metric, and a software-based feedback agent, among other innovations. This step aimed to address the shortcomings of most software tools and educational interventions for automated grading and assessment of CAD models, such as those currently provided to students in CAD courses. Most approaches are not structured to assess CAD model quality with respect to robustness and alterability, due to their static and exclusive nature, which often leads them to discount CAD model regeneration processes and their impact after alteration. However, it also became evident that students still have difficulties handling and correcting shortcomings and errors in their CAD models regarding certain types of dormant deficiencies. This led to several spin-off projects. One such project aimed at extending and improving the quality, scope, and detail of the feedback generated by the software-based feedback agent. After successful prototyping and usability testing, this improved feedback intervention was provided to all CAD course students. The results and outcomes of that project, together with an empirical study, are reported in this paper.