Teaching Dynamic Systems and Control without Dynamics

This work-in-progress paper explores whether or not it is possible to teach dynamic systems and control effectively to students who do not take dynamics. Grand Valley State University offers two different versions of a junior-level dynamic systems and control course. One version is for mechanical engineering majors and requires dynamics as a prerequisite; the other version is for Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering (PDM) majors and does not have dynamics as a prerequisite. Learning outcomes are compared for students from these two different courses through common final exam questions and a common lab activity. This paper presents a baseline assessment of whether or not students who do not take dynamics can develop a solid understanding of the dynamics of under-damped, second-order systems along with a preliminary investigation into the effectiveness of several strategies for teaching dynamic systems. This paper also presents results from an online survey regarding how the course affected students’ attitudes towards computer programming and their assessment of their programming skills. Introduction and Background This work-in-progress paper provides both a bench mark and an assessment of initial strategies for teaching dynamic systems and control to students who do not take dynamics. The bench mark is done by comparing student learning outcomes between two different versions of a junior-level dynamic systems and control course: one that has dynamics as a prerequisite and one that does not. The Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering (PDM) program at Grand Valley State University is a hybrid between mechanical and manufacturing engineering with an emphasis on design and new product development. Because of the challenges of fitting in all of the desired content, students in the PDM program do not take dynamics. The prerequisites for the PDM version of the dynamic systems and control course are physics and differential equations. System dynamics can still be challenging even to students who did well in dynamics and not all of the concepts taught in dynamics are essential for system dynamics1,2. However, certain topics,