Student Use Of Author's Textbook Solution Manuals: Effect On Student Learning Of Mechanics Fundamentals

Evidence indicates 90% of engineering students have used author’s textbook solutions manuals, and up to 75% of these students regularly use the manuals when working graded homework assignments. 1 Many faculty intuitively believe that the use of these manuals by students is not only a form of academic dishonesty, but has negative effects on student learning; however the effect on learning is not well documented. In order to assess the effects of solution manual usage, classes in Statics and Dynamics were monitored at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Each of these courses is taught in multiple sections by the same instructor during the same quarter. In this study roughly one half of the sections were given homework problems from the textbook while the other half were give homework problems from other sources. Comparative assessment of student learning included course surveys, homework scores, quizzes, and final exams. Results of the study indicate that the students who attempt the majority of homework assignments without access to solution manuals perform better on exams and earn higher grades in the classes. This paper presents the detailed results with conclusions drawn concerning the effects of student usage of author’s textbook solution manuals.