Using a Virtual Gaming Environment in Strength of Materials: Increasing Access and Improving Learning Effectiveness

这个工程教育研究项目旨在创建虚拟现实模拟，使学生能够进行材料强度的实验室实验。该项目的重点是通过现实模拟发展概念理解，由正在研究的现象的数学模型指导。这个项目的一个关键特点是允许模拟不成功或危险的实验，并调查这些实验作为学习工具的功效。这个项目的更广泛的意义和重要性将是证明或反驳所提出的模拟工具在核心工程课程中产生概念理解的有效性。项目团队计划广泛传播虚拟仿真产品，使其免费提供给工程界；计划中的讲习班将支持传播。这种传播可以降低学校采用的障碍，因为学校资源有限，实验室实验存在问题。

This engineering education research project seeks to create virtual reality simulations that will allow students to perform laboratory experiments in strength of materials. The project focuses on developing conceptual understanding through realistic simulations, guided by mathematical models of the phenomena being investigated. A key feature of this project is allowing simulations of unsuccessful or dangerous experiments and investigating the efficacy of these as a learning tool.The broader significance and importance of this project will be to demonstrate or disprove the effectiveness of the proposed simulation tool for engendering conceptual understanding in core engineering courses. The project team plans to broadly disseminate the virtual simulation product, making it freely available to the engineering community; dissemination will be supported by a planned workshop. Such dissemination may lower barriers to adoption by schools where limited resources make laboratory experiments problematic.