Enhancing Machine Design Courses Through Use Of A Multimedia Based Review Of Mechanics Of Materials

Abstract

Over the last seven years the Machine Design courses at the United States Air Force Academy and at the University of Texas, Austin have evolved through the development, implementation and assessment of extensive hands-on additions to the curriculum. These educational innovations, which promote experiential investigation using hands-on devices such as remote controlled cars, Lego  RoboLab, and reverse engineering of consumer products have had a very positive assessment from the student’s standpoint. However, some faculty members have expressed concern over the necessary removal of a non-trivial amount (approximately 25%) of traditional Machine Design course material in order to implement the hands-on active learning techniques. This paper reports on a partial solution to this removal of material. Specifically, the Machine Design course syllabus previously allocated 2-3 lectures for review of content from the Mechanics of Materials course. Although redundant from a pedagogical standpoint, experience has shown that the review is beneficial for establishing, a priori , the knowledge that is required for the study of machine components and systems. The challenge is to find a way to “recover” these lectures without compromising the necessary review. This paper presents the development, implementation and assessment of a multimedia-based courseware that students can use to review these fundamental Mechanics of Materials principles outside of class. In order to assess the course revisions and new multimedia component, a multifaceted assessment process has been developed. This assessment process evaluates the use of the multimedia review material in 2 categories: 1) assess the students’ competence gained by using exercises that are directly integrated into the courseware and 2) assess the students’ and the professors’ appraisal of the new courseware and its overall effect on the course. Assessment to date indicates that the incorporation of this multimedia review material improves the course efficiency by providing needed foundational competence in the area of Mechanics of Materials as well as releasing valuable lecture time for incorporation of additional Machine Design content.