Games As Teaching Tools In Engineering Mechanics Courses

The computer as a teaching medium affords new opportunities for creative instructional activities that are not possible in the traditional lecture and textbook format. One such type of activity is the use of interactive games. Several games have been developed and implemented in the Statics and Mechanics of Materials courses at the University of Missouri – Rolla. These games focus on fundamental topics such as centroids, moments of inertia, shear force and bending moment diagrams, the first moment of area Q, and Mohr’s Circle for plane stress. These games seek to develop the student’s proficiency and confidence in narrowly defined but essential topic areas using repetition and carefully constructed levels of difficulty. The game format provides students with a learning structure and an incentive to develop their skills at their own pace in a non-judgmental but competitive and often fun environment. Performance improvements and student reaction to the games are discussed.