Engineering Dynamics Course Research Articles

Didactical proposal for the study of rigid body kinematics using analytical, video-tracking, and simulated cases of a four-bar mechanism

This work used three methods (analytical, simulated, and video-tracking) to analyze the kinematics of a four-bar mechanism. The results obtained were shared and implemented in an engineering dynamics course at the university level to assess the impact of this exercise on motivation and understanding of the course topic. A survey was used to evaluate the exercise. The survey results showed that for the students, the implementation of different methods to tackle the same problem improved their understanding of the concepts and gave them other options for analyzing a mechanical system.

The Engineering Dynamics Course Companion, Part 1: Particles: Kinematics and Kinetics

Engineering Dynamics Course Companion, Part 1: Particles: Kinematics and Kinetics is a supplemental textbook intended to assist students, especially visual learners, in their approach to Sophomore-level Engineering Dynamics. This text covers particle kinematics and kinetics and emphasizes Newtonian Mechanics Problem Solving Skills in an accessible and fun format, organized to coincide with the first half of a semester schedule many instructors choose, and supplied with numerous example problems. While this book addresses Particle Dynamics, a separate book (Part 2) is available that covers Rigid Body Dynamics.

The Engineering Dynamics Course Companion, Part 2: Rigid Bodies: Kinematics and Kinetics

Engineering Dynamics Course Companion, Part 2: Rigid Bodies: Kinematics and Kinetics is a supplemental textbook intended to assist students, especially visual learners, in their approach to Sophomore-level Engineering Dynamics. This text covers particle kinematics and kinetics and emphasizes Newtonian Mechanics Problem Solving Skills in an accessible and fun format, organized to coincide with the first half of a semester schedule many instructors choose, and supplied with numerous example problems. While this book addresses Rigid Body Dynamics, a separate book (Part 1) is available that covers Particle Dynamics.

Student Perspectives on the Learning Resources in an Active, Blended, and Collaborative (ABC) Pedagogical Environment

Digital technologies have become central to higher education teaching and learning practices. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study of students’ experiences within a resource-rich and digitally-driven pedagogical system in a second year engineering dynamics course. Course instructors created an Active, Blended, and Collaborative (ABC) learning environment providing students with multiple learning resources. The resources included a hybrid Lecturebook (a combination of textbook and workbook), an online discussion forum, a large repository of online videos, and a tutorial room staffed by teaching assistants. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interview transcripts characterized how students perceived the utility of the available resources, especially given the complex integration of pedagogies and resources available in person and across the technology platform. The findings revealed that students valued the blended structure because it provided them with both immediate and asynchronous access to the learning resources. Students used the resources to help them solve homework problems, study for exams, and improve their conceptual understanding in the course. The students reported engaging with their peers to receive feedback constantly throughout out the course. The results highlight how the learning resources were aligned with each other and in-class pedagogies, and they worked in tandem to support students’ academic success. The results from this paper contribute to the literature on student perceptions of technology-mediated learning environments in core engineering courses.

Simulation‐based learning modules for undergraduate engineering dynamics

AbstractIn this paper, we describe software modules that provide both visual and haptic feedback to the student, and evaluate their effectiveness. The system integrates software modules with a haptic interface that can augment teaching and learning in a required undergraduate engineering Dynamics course. Students can change parameters, predict answers, compare outcomes, interact with animations, and feel the results using a haptic interface. Three software modules were evaluated in two separate studies. The first study focused on subjective ratings based on student opinions. The second study assessed the effect of the modules on students' conceptual understanding for force and motion using a pretest/posttest design. The results revealed that the practice with the modules significantly improved the conceptual understanding of the targeted concepts. In addition, students showed a significant preference by stating that the modules would increase their interest in Dynamics as a subject and their engagement in the Dynamics course.

Student perspectives of independent and collaborative learning in a flipped foundational engineering course

Flipped teaching and learning approaches are being increasingly used in higher education. Some advantages associated with the approach include providing opportunity for self-directed learning and enhanced collaboration between students. In this study, an implementation of a flipped approach in a first year foundational engineering dynamics course was researched to investigate student views on independent and collaborative learning inherent in flipped learning. Eighteen undergraduate students (11 male and 7 female) participated in this qualitative study. The flipped part of the course was designed to include self-paced independent learning and in-class learning, with opportunities to collaborate, ask questions, and work on examples. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The results of the study indicated that students universally enjoyed learning independently and appreciated the increased collaboration induced by the flipped approach. The flexibility of the approach enabled a range of approaches to independent learning and collaboration, and students were able to find learning styles that suited them. This article concludes with a range of recommendations for practice to further support independent and collaborative learning with the use of flipped approaches.

Strategies for the teaching-learning experiences in the engineering dynamics course based on the information and communication technologies

Technological developments in almost all sectors of industry and/or society has permitted to implement them even in universities by means of it is called ICT. This commits the universities to modify their educational approaches towards those that allow professionals be trained according to what the globalized industry demands today. In addition, it has been taking advantage of the virtual platforms in support of the teaching/learning experiences for the undergraduate courses that facilitate some activities like either the implementation of software of engineering or the student participation in forums or the revision of some concepts which can be impossible to understand in the traditional way of teaching. The Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) in Bucaramanga, Colombia, is looking for building a future with a continuous improvement, has undertaken several institutional projects in search of being at the forefront of the pedagogical and social requirements; This study sought to impact the current methods of teaching, and thus achieve a work in synergy with all the university that allows to show the UIS as an entity that continues to promote integrity and quality professionals. This project was divided into two stages. The first included the selection and thematic organization of the course, creating the virtual classroom in the Moodle platform and developing activities and tools that will be used there. The second phase was implementation. Always prioritizing skills training that improves quality and allows the future professional to adapt and meet the requirements demanded by the industry today.

Interactive computer simulation and animation for improving student learning of particle kinetics

AbstractComputer simulation and animation (CSA) has been receiving growing attention and wide application in engineering education in recent years. A new interactive CSA module was developed in the present study to improve student learning of particle kinetics in an undergraduate engineering dynamics course. The unique feature of this CSA module is that it integrates computer visualization with mathematical modeling, so students can directly connect engineering dynamics phenomena to underlying mathematics. A quasi‐experimental pretest–post‐test research design including a comparison group (n = 65) and an intervention group (n = 77) was implemented to assess to what extent the developed CSA module improved student learning. The results show that this new CSA module increased students' class‐average conceptual and procedural learning gains by 29% and 37% respectively. The difference in learning gains between the two groups is statistically significant (Z = −4.526, p = 0.000) based on a nonparametric statistical Mann–Whitney U test. It is found that the improvement of students' conceptual understanding and the improvement of their procedural skills are asymmetrical in this CSA learning environment. The CSA module can serve as an excellent tool to supplement traditional lectures, but cannot fully replace human teachers or tutors in teaching.

Students’ Perception of Different Learning Options and Use of Authentic Research Papers in a First Year Engineering Course

This case study presents a teaching strategy for an engineering dynamics course using a range of different learning options supporting different learning styles. The teaching strategy was implemented in a blended learning environment by combining traditional lectures with online resources. Additionally, hand-in assignments based on authentic research papers were introduced. Two sets of questionnaires were given to evaluate the students’ perception of the different learning options. The study shows that the students found online pencasts very useful as a means to increase the outcome of studying a traditional textbook. The implementation of an electronic audience response system to enhance active learning by peer instruction in combination with traditional lecturing was highly appreciated by the students. The students found it difficult and time consuming to work with real research papers but many students expressed that it was stimulating to see that the theory is used today by practitioners in engineering. Finally, the study indicates that the proposed teaching strategy as estimated by the students leads to increased motivation and engagement in their study.

Using Peer Instruction Pedagogy for Teaching Dynamics: Lessons Learned from Pre-Class Reading Quizzes

Peer Instruction (PI) is a widely used pedagogy which generally includes the use of two main teaching strategies: student pre-class preparation with an associated online quiz, and active in-class engagement including small-group discussions about conceptual questions. As an instructor trying this pedagogy for the first time, my purpose was to investigate both students’ learning and attitudes in my first/second year engineering dynamics course, using their answers to the reading quizzes as the main source of data. In short, students with the highest quiz marks did well in the course, indicating successful reading and learning strategies. Similarly, students with the lowest quiz marks attained lower overall marks. Students who did less well in the course were also more negative about the PI format (the class size of 17 did not allow for statistical analysis). Negative comments tended to be related to an expectation that the teacher should lecture more, indicating less understanding of cognitive principles. These results will provide a baseline for evaluating future teaching efforts which will include examining whether more directly encouraging deep learning strategies will be more effective for student learning.

Using Computer Simulation and Animation to Improve Student Learning of Engineering Dynamics

This paper reports the longitudinal assessment results of an interactive computer simulation and animation (CSA) learning module that was developed for, and implemented in, an engineering dynamics course. Longitudinal assessments were conducted in four semesters involving 304 engineering undergraduates. Pre-post tests and questionnaire surveys were administered to measure student learning gains and to determine students’ attitudes and experiences with the CSA learning module respectively. The assessment results show that students made an average learning gain of 36 to 85 percent. A total of 58 to 88 percent of the students who responded to the survey indicated positive experiences with the CSA learning module.

Predicting student academic performance in an engineering dynamics course: A comparison of four types of predictive mathematical models

Predicting student academic performance has long been an important research topic in many academic disciplines. The present study is the first study that develops and compares four types of mathematical models to predict student academic performance in engineering dynamics - a high-enrollment, high-impact, and core course that many engineering undergraduates are required to take. The four types of mathematical models include the multiple linear regression model, the multilayer perception network model, the radial basis function network model, and the support vector machine model. The inputs (i.e., predictor variables) of the models include student's cumulative GPA, grades earned in four pre-requisite courses (statics, calculus I, calculus II, and physics), and scores on three dynamics mid-term exams (i.e., the exams given to students during the semester and before the final exam). The output of the models is students' scores on the dynamics final comprehensive exam. A total of 2907 data points were collected from 323 undergraduates in four semesters. Based on the four types of mathematical models and six different combinations of predictor variables, a total of 24 predictive mathematical models were developed from the present study. The analysis reveals that the type of mathematical model has only a slight effect on the average prediction accuracy (APA, which indicates on average how well a model predicts the final exam scores of all students in the dynamics course) and on the percentage of accurate predictions (PAP, which is calculated as the number of accurate predictions divided by the total number of predictions). The combination of predictor variables has only a slight effect on the APA, but a profound effect on the PAP. In general, the support vector machine models have the highest PAP as compared to the other three types of mathematical models. The research findings from the present study imply that if the goal of the instructor is to predict the average academic performance of his/her dynamics class as a whole, the instructor should choose the simplest mathematical model, which is the multiple linear regression model, with student's cumulative GPA as the only predictor variable. Adding more predictor variables does not help improve the average prediction accuracy of any mathematical model. However, if the goal of the instructor is to predict the academic performance of individual students, the instructor should use the support vector machine model with the first six predictor variables as the inputs of the model, because this particular predictor combination increases the percentage of accurate predictions, and most importantly, allows sufficient time for the instructor to implement subsequent educational interventions to improve student learning.

Teaching engineering dynamics by use of peer instruction supported by an audience response system

The use of electronic audience response systems in university teaching is currently increasing rapidly. This paper describes how a consistent use of peer instruction facilitated by an audience response system has been introduced in an introductory engineering dynamics course. Data are presented that reveal that this teaching style leads to an increased learning outcome, especially regarding the students’ conceptual understanding of the subject. Further results show that the students are very satisfied with the teaching style and they give high rankings on several parameters, which is important to the learning process. Finally, this study indicates that the use of clickers provides the students with a more critical and hence maybe a more realistic self-assessment of their academic outcome.