A heuristic to aid teaching, learning and problem-solving for mechanics of materials

Abstract

A concept map heuristic is offered as a tool for teaching and learning in Mechanics of Materials courses. In this paper, we present a literature review wherein we list previous efforts to improve Mechanics of Materials learning and the use of concept maps for teaching. We provide our "common concept map," we detail several ways in which we've used the heuristic, and finally describe preliminary results assessing its efficacy. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.