Improving Student Engagement: An Approach Used in Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery

Abstract

Instructors frequently ask themselves "What are the best ways for an instructor to support student learning? How can we assist students in engaging in deep learning? How can we help them bridge the divide between theory and practice?This paper discusses efforts to address these issues in a course on Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery. Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery is a core course in the mechanical engineering curriculum. One of the challenges in this course is to make students fully appreciate mechanism design by integrating the principles of kinematics and dynamics in real world design practice. To assist with this goal, students were encouraged, early in the term, to discover real life examples of mechanisms with an aim to promote curiosity and foster interest in learning. Throughout the term, a design project was introduced which required students not only to apply fundamentals of kinematics and dynamics, but also to exercise skills in teamwork, collaborative learning and communication. A student survey was conducted at the end of the course and the efficacy of the approach was assessed.

Hands-On Activity for Conceptual Understanding of Rigid Body Kinematics

“…In a dynamics of machinery course, rigid body kinematics was taught with the goal that students would develop a curiosity for real-world applications of the mechanisms taught in the course [2]. This group assigned students to find real-life examples of the mechanisms covered in class and to take photos or videos of them to later describe the motion of the mechanisms (through calculations and diagrams).…”

“…Students were surveyed and asked for feedback on the course project. Their results revealed that only 28% of students found the project to be helpful as a teaching method [2]. Student feedback mostly indicated that the project was time-consuming, taking away time from studying for exams.…”

“…Student feedback mostly indicated that the project was time-consuming, taking away time from studying for exams. However, a majority of the student feedback regarding the exploration of real-life examples showed that they found it useful to gain interest and motivation for studying the course material [2]. Their results suggest that a careful balance of open-ended real-world application and standard course material should be optimized for student learning and performance.…”