Games as Teaching Tools in Engineering Mechanics Courses

Abstract

The computer as a teaching medium affords new opportunities for creative instructional activities that are not possible in the traditional lecture and textbook format. One such type of activity is the use of interactive games. Several games have been developed and implemented in the Statics and Mechanics of Materials courses at the University of Missouri - Rolla. These games focus on fundamental topics such as centroids, moments of inertia, shear force and bending moment diagrams, the first moment of area Q, and Mohr's Circle for plane stress. These games seek to develop the student's proficiency and confidence in narrowly defined but essential topic areas using repetition and carefully constructed levels of difficulty. The game format provides students with a learning structure and an incentive to develop their skills at their own pace in a non-judgmental but competitive and often fun environment. Performance improvements and student reaction to the games are discussed.

Meeting Name

2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (2003: Jun. 22-25, Nashbille, TN)

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Second Department

Business and Information Technology

Third Department

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Engineering mechanics; Games; Mechanics of materials; Teaching tools; Computer aided instruction; Engineering education; Engineers; Stress analysis; Students; Textbooks; Mechanical engineering

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0190-1052

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2003 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jun 2003

Link to Full Text

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