ENHANCING STUDENT COMPREHENSION THROUGH APPLIED SCENARIOS: FROM PRACTICE TO THEORY

DS 131: Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2024)

Year: 2024
Editor: Grierson, Hilary; Bohemia, Erik; Buck, Lyndon
Author: Causton, Edward
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Page(s): 79 - 84
DOI number: 10.35199/EPDE.2024.14
ISBN: 978-1-912254-200
ISSN: 3005-4753

Abstract

Engineering students frequently encounter difficulties with numerical and analytical techniques, perceiving them as unengaging or overly theoretical and failing to see the relevance to engineering contexts or their future careers. The issue may be exacerbated by the use of traditional didactic teaching methods that often emphasize recall and computational rigor over comprehension and the capacity to adapt and apply the methods learnt to new contexts. This paper details the approach taken to teaching a third-year module ‘Performance Engineering’ at Nottingham Trent University. By structuring learning around practical scenarios and introducing technical methods in the context of solving applied problems, students are better able to contextualize their knowledge. Flipped and active learning techniques are used to enhance conceptual comprehension and ensure students are able to apply the methods learnt beyond the contexts presented.

Keywords: active learning, applied scenarios, analysis

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