The availability and accessibility of professional-quality Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software, bundled with solid modeling CAD tools, presents the opportunity to enhance ME and CE engineering instruction. In part this would be by illustrating and reinforcing class materials, and in part by enabling novice students to study problems of deeper complexity and design orientation. Although some freshmen design courses are beginning to incorporate FEA as a modeling and simulation tool, it appears that attempts to incorporate FEA in subsequent mechanics courses like Statics and Mechanics of Materials are often mired in top-down theory-first pedagogy. We argue that a theory-first approach is neither necessary nor even sufficient to leverage the full potential of the available tools throughout all of the formative phases of the curriculum. Based on evidence from experience, we advocate for a new, consistent approach of early and continued exposure to FEA, beginning with the freshmen year, and continuing with subsequent mechanics courses, in which students can learn and interpret results of FEA, without requiring deep instruction in the underlying FE theory. We further argue that this concurrent FEA usage will improve students' understanding of mechanics theory and practice. We hope that this paper may provide a foundation and justification for considering the use of professional software in engineering education.
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