The Impact of Hands-on Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Intervention Activities on Students In Engineering Design

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Đào

Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) is crucial in mechanical engineering design and manufacturing, yet it is often taught in theoretical ways that students struggle to master. This paper reports an active learning intervention implemented in an undergraduate mechanical engineering class at Georgia Institute of Technology. Students practiced manual inspection methods and learned to communicate using part drawings, targeting a hands-on understanding of GD&T. Impact was evaluated using knowledge assessments, self-efficacy surveys, and an exit survey.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background

Active Learning in Engineering

| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2023: VOLUME 11 ISSUE 2 DOI: 10. 18260/3-1-1153-36044 The Impact of Hands-on Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Intervention Activities on Students In Engineering Design MYELA PAIGE ANASTASIA SCHAUER ZOE KLESMITH ALEXIS DAVIS Georgia Institute of Technology KATHERINE FU University of Wisconsin-Madison ABSTRACT In many mechanical engineering undergraduate curriculums, there are topics that are vital to the students’ future careers in the manufacturing and design workforce that are not taught in-depth. As one of those topics, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, or GD&T, is vital to companies who develop and manufacture products because it allows one to communicate with other team members in order to produce and inspect manufactured parts. GD&T is filled with intricate concepts that are hard to grasp without repetition and practice. An active learning intervention was developed and deployed in a mechanical engineering undergraduate class at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The active learning interventions were developed to assist students in learning basic manual inspection methods and communicating through a part drawing. The goal was for the students to obtain a foundational, hands-on understanding of GD&T and implement their learnings onto a part drawing and inspection plan. The results of this intervention were based on a Knowledge Assessment, self-reported Self-Efficacy Survey, and an Exit Survey. These assessments revealed that the GD&T intervention had a significant impact on the students’ knowledgebase of the topic and their ability to perform identification and inspection tasks used in the workforce. This paper discusses the intervention structure and its potential applications for engineering education in the workforce. Key words: Experiential Learning, Student Assessment, Engineering Curriculum 66 2023: VOLUME 11 ISSUE 2 ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION The Impact of Hands-on Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Intervention Activities on Students In Engineering Design INTRODUCTION Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) is a subject in mechanical engineering that is widely used in design for manufacturing, and there is a high demand for competency in GD&T for graduates entering the workforce. This topic is often taught in a highly theoretical manner, with symbols, abbreviations, and references. Students in the first two years of introductory engineering classes are exposed to this topic, and it is a major component of activities that will be taught in the other classes as the students progress through their education, and beyond in their future engineering careers. GD&T is a system primarily used for part design and manufacturing in industrial settings. GD&T helps define and communicate design intent for specific part designs between engineers and manufacturers. These parts are created individually to be combined as a whole. Starting with CAD, the engineers design the parts, add the tolerances and characteristics of the design that are important, then send the part drawings with these specifications to be manufactured. The manufacturing team uses the part drawing to develop, then inspect the manufactured part to determine if it is acceptable from the specifications communicated through GD&T. This process is important for those engineers who want to pursue product and engineering design everywhere. This paper presents the development process and validation of an intervention for GD&T that is designed to help the students obtain a deeper understanding outside of a traditional lecture. The active learning GD&T intervention ties together major concepts with hands-on practice for topics that are prevalent in GD&T. Although in industry, coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are most typically used for inspecting machined parts for the outline

FAQs

What is the purpose of the GD&T intervention described in the paper?

The intervention aims to give students a foundational, hands-on understanding of GD&T so they can apply it to part drawings and inspection plans.

How was the intervention implemented during the engineering course?

Students developed basic manual inspection skills and practiced communicating specifications through part drawings rather than relying solely on traditional lecture.

How were the intervention results measured?

Results were based on a Knowledge Assessment, a self-reported Self-Efficacy Survey, and an Exit Survey.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Đào