As background, the Kolb learning cycle describes an entire cycle around which a learning experience progresses [1]. The goal, therefore, is to structure learning activities that will proceed completely around this cycle, providing the maximum opportunity for full student comprehension of the course material. This model has been used previously to evaluate and enhance teaching in engineering [2, 3, and 4]. Most college education is geared toward abstract conceptualization, but complete learning is enhanced by the use of all four learning stages Abstract Hypothesis and Conceptualization, Active Experimentation, Concrete Experience and Reflective Observation. Some parts of this paper were presented at an earlier conference [13]. The Finite Element (FE) method is a numerical procedure that is widely used to analyze engineering problems accurately and quickly in many corporations. It has become an essential and powerful analytical tool in designing products with ever-shorter development cycles [5, 6, and 7]. The use of commercial finite element software tutorials along with the Kolb model of learning has been used for the past three years to instruct undergraduate students in an introductory FE course. This paper provides outlines of the use of the commercial software tutorials using two Kolb learning cycles, a global learning cycle for the course and a micro learning cycle for the FE tutorials.
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