Mechanical reasoning is crucial for many engineering fields, yet undergraduate engineering students struggle to understand discipline-specific formalisms from their courses that model mechanical concepts. The current investigation observed undergraduate engineering students' speech during mechanical reasoning and the benefits of attending to…

This full paper considers how collaborative discourse can reveal ways upper-class engineering students mechanically reason about engineering concepts. Argumentation and negotiation during collaborative, multimodal discourse using speech and gestures helps establish common ground between learners and fosters reflection on their conceptual…