Exploring a simple visualization tool for improving conceptual understanding of classical beam theory
Journal article, Peer reviewed
Published version
Date
2016-12Metadata
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Abstract
First year students struggle to understand the concepts in introductory engineering physics courses. Computer generated visuali
zations have
proven their value for improving learning in tertiary education. However, it remains often unclear how visualization software
can be effectively
deployed in classrooms to best improve learning outcomes. In this paper we p
ut a freshly developed educational software entitled “The virtual
beam demonstrator” to a first test in a physics and mechanics
lecture
at Oslo University College. The intenti
on of this work was to explore how
to get the balance between technology, pedagogics, and content k
nowledge right to best support student learning. We evaluated s
tudent learning
outcomes of our initial attempt to use the
software in a classroom based on a student evaluation form. While initial results ar
e promising, we
cannot claim to have significantly improved student learning in our initial attempt at
using the software. The evaluations showed only slight
improvement in conceptual understanding by the students. This finding was not unexpected as we anticipated that finding the rig
ht approach for
putting this software to use would take several attempts. To turn failure into success, we would need a stronger emphasis on cu
stomized pedagogic
methods. Relevant theory is explored and an approach based on “Interactive Lecture Demonstrations” is proposed.