Introducing Cooperative Learning into a Dynamics Lecture Class

Howell, Kathleen C.

doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.1996.tb00210.x

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…Standard practice involved a typical classroom lecture format [9]. Usually, instructors handed projects to student teams for solutions, and students often did not experience all typical stages for solving "real-world" projects.…”

Section: Course Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating corporate world experience in capstone courses

Bruhn

Camp

34th Annual Frontiers in Education, 2004. FIE 2004.

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Many engineering capstone courses require senior design projects involving teamwork. The curricula at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Donaghey CyberCollege engages local industries in providing meaningful design projects for student teams in real world settings. Both St. Vincent Health System and Heifer International sponsored capstone design teams in yearlong projects. These projects resulted in the students gaining professional skills, the industries gaining products that saved money and won awards, and the CyberCollege faculty gaining understanding and experience for developing its engineering curricula. Engineering educators who want to provide real-world experience to graduating seniors may benefit from learning how we obtained corporate sponsors for the projects, created student-consulting teams, and developed a capstone course incorporating system design theory. They may also gain insight from discussions about our methods for student evaluations and about the lessons we learned from our experimental capstone course.

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Section: Course Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating corporate world experience in capstone courses

Bruhn

Camp

34th Annual Frontiers in Education, 2004. FIE 2004.

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“…Although, involving students in course activities or active learning requires innovative changes to the course examples and problems. Howell 5 introduced five basic elements to consider in cooperative learning: positive independence, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, collaborative skills, and group processing. Since there is a large volume of problem solving in engineering mechanics, cooperative problem-solving practices can be implemented suitably 3 .…”

Section: Employing Active Learning Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The complexity and diversity of problems and concepts make engineering mechanics a challenge for many students 4,5,6 . However, these are not the only reasons that motivate instructors to create new tools and methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These methods include, among others, novel teaching techniques, instructive and interactive computer modules, and the involvement of students in the process of learning through a variety of projects and similar activities 9,10 . Most of the above-mentioned tools/methods attempt either to distribute the content in order to decrease the cognitive load, or to enhance the representation of the content that is meant to assist students with the geometrical and physical perceptions 2,5 . Notable advancements in the creation of computer simulation and animation (CSA) in recent years have drawn great attention and placed CSA on the top of the educational enhancement tools list 13 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of Computer Simulation and Animation (CSA) in Teaching and Learning Engineering Mechanics

Tajvidi

Fang

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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Moe Tajvidi is a PhD student in engineering education at Utah State University. His BSc and MS degrees are in civil and structural engineering and he has a sixteen year long career experience in structural engineering along with four years of college instruction of both basic and advanced civil engineering courses. In his teaching experience he has been committed to introducing real life engineering problems to the learning environment. The subjects he has taught include engineering mechanics (statics, dynamics, and mechanics of material), soil mechanics and foundation engineering. His research areas of interest include: use of computer simulation in engineering education, project-based learning and innovative teaching techniques in interdisciplinary topics. He is also a member of ASCE and ASEE. Prof. Ning Fang, Utah State UniversityNing Fang is a Professor in the College of Engineering at Utah State University, USA. He has taught a variety of courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels, such as engineering dynamics, metal machining, and design for manufacturing. His areas of interest include computer-assisted instructional technology, curricular reform in engineering education, the modeling and optimization of manufacturing processes, and lean product design. He earned his PhD, MS, and BS degrees in mechanical engineering and is the author of more than 60 technical papers published in refereed international journals and conference proceedings. He is a Senior Member of the Society for Manufacturing Engineering, a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and a member of the American Society for Engineering Education.c American Society for Engineering Education, 2015Page 26.221.1 Application of Computer Simulation and Animation (CSA) in Teaching and Learning Engineering Mechanics AbstractUse of computer simulation and animation (CSA) in higher education is growing rapidly and has become a major trend in undergraduate engineering education. This paper conducts a comprehensive and critical literature review regarding the use of CSA as a learning aid to teach engineering mechanics courses. The paper addresses two main topics: (1) pedagogical innovations in the instruction of engineering mechanics, and (2) using CSA as a learning tool in engineering mechanics education. Representative pedagogical innovations are clustered into three categories: (1) altering the engineering mechanics curriculum, (2) active learning strategies, and (3) the application of enhancement resources. Focusing on CSA as an effective enhancement tool, this literature review summarizes the main characteristics of CSA modules that impact student learning: visualization enhancement, interactive features, and straightforwardness. Major theoretical, methodological issues and practical implications as well as the strengths and weaknesses in the published studies within cognitive learning domain are reviewed. The literature review show that although all studies justify the practical effectiveness of CSA modules in improving learnin...

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“…One way around these difficulties is to teach dynamics using real-life industrial problems and systematic problem-solving protocols. Across the United States as well as other countries, while some faculty have responded to the inherent difficulties of teaching and learning Dynamics by adopting procedural problem-solving methods [1,2], others have applied a variety of active learning approaches in dynamics (and statics) classrooms [3,4,5,6]. Asokanthan [3] for example, reports on the use of simulations using software, physical models, and videos to involve students in the learning process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Interactive Dynamics Learning Course

Mehendale¹,

Irwin²,

Marlor³

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

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The key course of Dynamics, taught in all Engineering and Engineering Technology (ET) curricula, covers a broad spectrum of foundational concepts, such as velocity, acceleration, force, energy, impulse, and momentum. It is well recognized that Dynamics is a fundamental building block for many subsequent courses such as Machine Design, Applied Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, and Heat Transfer. Engineering programs often focus on theory and conceptual design, while ET programs emphasize the applications of these principles. However, in Engineering and ET, successful learning of Dynamics demands several interrelated skills on the part of students, beginning with spatial visualization, a clear grasp and application of physical concepts in various settings, followed by mathematical skills. These skills, if developed harmoniously, should lead to the successful development of problem-solving skills in Dynamics. However, in our consistent experience, students struggle with spatial visualization as well as physical concepts, which blocks further progress in their learning. At two engineering universities, Michigan Technological University and Northern Michigan University, Dynamics courses (MET 2130 and MET 310, respectively) are high-enrollment, high-impact sophomore MET core courses. 2004-2013 GPA data for MET courses offered at Michigan Technological University confirm the statement made by Magill [1] that Dynamics is "one of the more difficult courses that engineering students encounter during their undergraduate study."Dynamics is essentially the study of motion, but textbooks and whiteboards, the traditional classroom teaching tools, cannot capture this motion. MET 2130 and MET 310 have traditionally been taught in "chalk and talk" mode, where the instructor presents three, 50-minute lectures or two 100-minute lectures per week. For the majority of the class duration, students passively take notes on theory and example problems presented by the instructor, while about ten minutes might be devoted to questions and answers. In this way, students are not actively engaged in the learning process. To try and remedy these deficiencies, we plan to develop an interactive class that will essentially transform the lecture-intensive course into an "Interactive Dynamics Learning Course" (IDLC) that will a.directly address the hands-on learning approach of ET students, b.enable students to clearly visualize particle and rigid body motion and forces, which they struggle with in traditional classes, c.enhance their comprehension of key physical concepts, and thereby d.improve their problem-solving skills and grasp of the subject.To study the impact on student learning in the IDLC, a pilot study was conducted at Northern Michigan University, the results of which are reported in this article. A manipulative model of a four-bar mechanism was designed and fabricated at Northern Michigan University that students directly worked with. This pilot study allowed students to explore the relative motion of various elements of the li...

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Introducing Cooperative Learning into a Dynamics Lecture Class

Cited by 32 publications

References 2 publications

Creating corporate world experience in capstone courses

Creating corporate world experience in capstone courses

Application of Computer Simulation and Animation (CSA) in Teaching and Learning Engineering Mechanics

An Interactive Dynamics Learning Course

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