An effective teaching strategy for engineering mechanics to develop structural optimization modeling skills of undergraduates

Huang, Zhi; Wen, Mao; Yang, Tongguang; Fan, Bin

doi:10.1177/0306419018821293

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The results and graphs are displayed in real-time to bridge the gap between real experiments and the theoretical information. Huang et al (2020) presented a new strategy in teaching engineering mechanics by integrating the subject of optimization theory into mechanics modelling using normal modelling techniques. The main objective of this integration is to promote the students' structural optimization modelling skills to enhance their understanding of the basic concepts in mechanics and mathematics and master a general method for practical problem solving.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Merits of Teaching Basic Courses in Engineering Curriculum

ATA

2024

ESHS

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This paper tries to answer the question frequently asked by engineering students, why we are studying basic subjects such as Mathematics, Mechanics and Physics. Engineering students study these basic subjects in addition to some other courses such as computer programming, production, chemistry and some humanity courses during their first year of study as a preparatory year for all engineering disciplines. Students are expecting to study their major subjects in the first year of study when they enroll in faculty of engineering around the world. It is almost impossible to teach advanced subjects such as fluid mechanics, mechanical vibration, automatic control, modeling and simulation and robotics without prior knowledge of the basic courses. The students could not recognize in their first year of study that understanding basic mathematics and mechanics skills help them a lot in getting the knowledge of advanced courses easily and effectively. For example, all automatic control courses need some modelling techniques which the students can gain by studying engineering mechanics and calculus during their first level of study. Basic knowledge of Newton’s second law of motion and basic rules of calculus are very important in achieving satisfactory understanding of the advanced topics in all disciplines. Some of the advanced topics for example robot Jacobian is based on partial derivatives and the equations of motion of a multi-joints robot manipulator are based on Lagrange’s equation. The students cannot understand subjects such as heat transfer and thermal power stations and fluid mechanics without basic knowledge of physics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Merits of Teaching Basic Courses in Engineering Curriculum

ATA

2024

ESHS

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“…Huang presented a new and promising teaching strategy for engineering mechanics. By combining optimization theory and mechanics modeling, students improve their structural optimization modeling skills and acquire a generic approach to solving practical problems [19]. Chang proposed a method of using competitions to promote teaching and learning and to strengthen the role of mechanics competition questions in developing students' creative thinking skills and mechanical modeling abilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting higher engineering education: Three‐level progressive cultivation of mechanical thinking based on multi‐classroom integration

Xu,

Ao,

Zhu

et al. 2023

Comp Applic In Engineering

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To improve students' ability to solve complex engineering problems, cultivate their advanced mechanical thinking, and promote higher engineering education, in this paper, a reform of the teaching mode with the goal of advanced mechanical thinking cultivation and output orientation is carried out, and a three‐level theoretical mechanics teaching method based on multi‐classroom integration is proposed by adopting the concept of progressive cultivation of mechanical thinking. The meaning of three different levels of mechanics thinking, primary, intermediate, and advanced, and the implementation strategy of the three‐level progressive cultivation of mechanical thinking are clarified. An online and offline blended teaching method based on multi‐classroom integration is designed. The effectiveness of the proposed teaching method is verified by the combination of the evaluation of the examination score, the achievement of course objectives, and students' learning satisfaction. The results show that the final evaluation score in 2022 is 17.4% higher than that in 2021, and the score distribution shows a skewed distribution, with most students' scores skewing toward the excellent range, indicating that after adopting this teaching method, different students can eventually have similar excellent learning outcomes even though they start learning with different foundations and abilities. In addition, the three‐course objectives in 2022 are achieved at high degrees of 78.3, 81.5, and 81.3, respectively, which are significantly higher than those in 2021. Meanwhile, the questionnaire results show that students are satisfied with the teaching method, which fully proves that the teaching mode can achieve good teaching effectiveness.

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