The Problem-Solving Approach for the Fundamental Hands-On Practice Courses in Mechanical Engineering Education

摘要

Hands-on practice has been an essential element in mechanical engineering education. In mechanical engineering curriculum of the universities in Taiwan, four fundamental courses aim at providing students with hands-on experience: Workshop Practice, Engineering Graphics, Mechanical Drawing, and Mechanical Engineering Experiments. The resource required by these courses is very large, but according to our survey, teaching these courses in the traditional "skill-practicing" format was not very effective. This paper describes the transformation of the aforementioned "skill-practicing" courses into those that emphasize on enhancing the problem solving ability of students through hands-on activities. This transformation was nothing drastic, and the course materials and teaching facilities did not need any major change. The only thing added in the courses is a design problem to be solved, which aims to change the mindset of students when they do the hands-on practice. We want the students to realize that the purpose here is not only to get familiar with the operational skills, but also to make them able to use the skills to solve the problem given to them. The impact of the transformation is significant. The results of a three-year questionnaire show that this transformation effectively raises students' interests and value ratings towards these courses.