Research and academia have been recently affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and physical classrooms and laboratory experiments have been affected significantly due to the recent laboratory closures. This has led to innovative approaches to curb this problem. To address these difficulties in teaching bioengineering related courses that is of significant interest to students of the Faculty of Engineering in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, and of course, useful for engineering-based higher education institutions (HEI), a transitional pedagogy: Communicate, Active, Collaborate, Problem-based Solving, Learning and Assessment (CACPLA), which encompasses blended learning, was developed as a new teaching and learning strategy. In this study, we show that this new strategy can initiate a steady transition from physical classrooms to full online instruction for some subjects in engineering. This method has been trialled as an exercise for a module as part of an envisioned biomedical engineering degree programme which can be integrated with local industries and research institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. The teaching materials and environment were carefully designed and 253 students of third and final year classes participated as the experimental group. Also, the effect of critical thinking, pre-lecture, and post lecture on the overall performance of the students was assessed. Two questionnaires were designed for data collection, (a) for technical questions, (b) for receptiveness. The result of a student survey suggests favourable reception of the teaching methodology, which aided their understanding of the general bioengineering concept as applied to the materials chemistry and mechanical measurements context. It was noticed that 80% of the students indicated that the blended learning method was sufficient in achieving the learning outcomes of the study. The method is envisioned as a useful and sustainable complement to traditional teaching pedagogies and workshops due to the convenience and relatively high accessibility to Zoom and Google Meet Apps which can be readily employed without incurring significant costs.
The general-purpose engine lathe is the most basic turning machine tool. As with all lathes, the two basic requirements for turning are a means of holding the workpiece while it rotates as well as a means of holding cutting tools and moving them relatively to the workpiece. In this paper, we present the results of finite element analysis (FEA) performed to investigate nature of stress and their distribution at optimum point along the two turning tables of a micro-controller based versatile machine tool desktop learning module. Commercial Autodesk Inventor was used to create both three-dimensional (3D) and 2D models as well as performing simulation. Dynamics simulation generated the motion load expected to act on the tables when used for real-life operation which were in turn used to perform the FEA. The motion of the DC stepper motor driving the tables and other parts of the module is designed to be controlled by programmable chips. Before creating FEA simulation for the tables, numerical divergence were prevented by varying the mesh settings to obtain the settings at which the results of the analyses converges which was obtained at 0.03 average element size and 0.04 minimum element size. Finite element analysis carried out on the tables shows that aluminium alloy 4032-T6 chosen will serve in the fabrication of physical prototype. FEA revealed the nature and level of stresses that will be experienced on the tables, it also revealed region where these stresses will concentrate on them. The analysis also estimated the expected weight of the turning tables 1&2 to be 1.23536 and 0.257182 kg respectively and show that the minimum factor of safety was constantly 15 ul within the tables which means that they will not fail during operation.
He has two publications and one grant to his credit. Emmanuel Shide, ABU Zaria, Nigeria Emmanuel G.Shide obtained an MSc in Chemical Enginering in 2001 and is currently a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria.He has several publications and two grants to his credit.
The contents of senior secondary education curricula in Nigeria are rich and the objectives are attainable, but there are some short falls in the implementation process. This led to suboptimal academic performance by the majority of Economics students at the senior secondary school level that has largely been cited to be the consequences of ineffective teaching methods applied by teachers. Consequently, the objectives of the study were: to examine the effect of heuristic approach on students' performance in Economics in senior secondary schools in Kano State and ascertain the effects of heuristic approach on students' retention ability in Economics in senior secondary schools in Kano State. Two null hypotheses were formulated in line with these objectives. The design for this research was quasi-experimental. The population of the study was the entire students of Senior Secondary Schools Two (SSII) in Kano State that are offering Economics. The One hundred and twenty-seven (127) SSII Economics students found intact in two (2) senior secondary schools in the Dawakin-Kudu zone, was the sample size for this study. The instrument used for data gathering for both post-test and retention-test in this research was Economics Performance Test (ECOPERTES). The null hypotheses were tested using t-test at 0.05 level of` significance. Findings revealed that: heuristic approach is effective for teaching Economics in senior secondary schools in Kano State. Moreover, students taught Economics using heuristic approach retained knowledge. It was recommended that the Federal and the State Government, the professional bodies like the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) and the Economics Teachers Associations should sensitize Economics teachers (through seminars and workshops) on the efficacy of heuristic approach in teaching Economics. Inspectors from Kano Educational Resource Department (KERD) and Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) should encourage the Economics teachers to use heuristic approach in teaching Economics in senior secondary schools because the approach will help them to elicit the expected learning in Economics easily. The Government, in conjunction with curriculum developers and Economics teachers, should establish Economics resource centers in each educational zone of the State for the procurement and storage of relevant heuristic approach instructional materials.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.