Collaboratively Developing Research-Based Curricular Materials to Improve Conceptual Understanding in Engineering Education

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The findings of educational research are not always put into practice by teachers. This project is addressing this problem through collaboration of 20 educational researchers and engineering instructors at different colleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest, who are creating and implementing new approaches to teaching the engineering course Mechanics of Materials. Specifically, this project is focusing on deeper understanding of fundamental engineering concepts such as stress, strain, and equilibrium. The collaborators are working to discover and change students' preconceptions, which may be incorrect assumptions of how materials behave, based on their prior coursework and life experience. This project is addressing a real problem that engineering instructors are currently experiencing in their classrooms. Since the engineering educators have been involved in the project from the beginning, they are more likely to continue to use the curriculum materials they develop, and to encourage others to use them. This collaboration is also ensuring that the findings are being implemented in classrooms soon after they are discovered. More interactive, conceptually oriented classrooms, such as those being implemented in this project, will improve student learning and increase student interest and retention in engineering.