Investigation of Student and Understanding of Geometric Design. Student Understanding of Sight Distance in Geometric Design: A Beginning Line of Inquiry to Characterize Student Understanding of Transportation Egineering

摘要

While many students demonstrate considerable aptitude in manipulating equations and variables within academic environments, research consistently shows that they lack a construct called conceptual understanding, which accounts for their difficulties in choosing appropriate equations, or understanding basic phenomena that undergird such equations. This study investigates undergraduate understanding of sight distance and stopping sight distance in introductory transportation courses. Although sight distance and stopping sight distance are fundamental concepts in transportation engineering, students demonstrated considerable difficulty in their understanding of these concepts, often relying on previous experience or preferred equations without relating them to specific phenomena of interest. This paper concludes with suggested approaches to improve student conceptual understanding for transportation engineering educators.