Work in progress: Active learning activities to improve conceptual understanding in an undergraduate mechanics of materials course

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a suite of active learning activities for an undergraduate course on mechanics of materials. One of the primary motivations for creating and implementing the new activities stemmed from the physical space in which the course was taught - a classroom specifically designed to encourage peer-to-peer collaboration. The round tables in the room and white-board-lined walls inspired a veteran, mechanical engineering faculty member to collaborate with an engineering education doctoral student to design a series of active learning activities for a mechanics of materials course. The goals of the activities were twofold: 1) to increase the student peer-to-peer collaboration during lectures, and 2) to increase the students' conceptual understanding of difficult, yet foundational, topics. Preliminary results indicated that the students found the activities helpful to their learning and felt comfortable with the concepts targeted. This work in progress manuscript briefly describes each of the active learning activities and illustrates the pedagogical benefits of interdepartmental collaboration.