Developing students' cognitive skills in MMS classes

Eduard Krylov; Sergey Devyaterikov; Eduard Krylov; Sergey Devyaterikov

doi:10.3934/steme.2023003

STEM Education

2023, Volume 3, Issue 1: 28-42. doi: 10.3934/steme.2023003

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Research article Special Issues

Developing students' cognitive skills in MMS classes

Eduard Krylov ^{1
,
,},
Sergey Devyaterikov ²

1.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University, Izhevsk, 7, Studencheskaya str., Izhevsk, 426069, Russia
2.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University, Izhevsk, 7, Studencheskaya str., Izhevsk, 426069, Russia; sdtmitmm@yandex.ru

Academic Editor: Giuseppe Carbone

Received: 19 December 2022 Revised: 28 February 2023 Accepted: 06 March 2023 Published: 27 March 2023

Modern engineers face the challenges of complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity as three fundamental aspects of post-industrial technology. Hence, meta-subjective cognitive skills, critical thinking and creativity become no less important than professional knowledge acquired in vocational training. The better conditions for the development of these skills can be found if a contextual approach in teaching/learning is incorporated into the engineering curriculum. The article discusses the strategies for involving students in active learning activities while studying Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS) and developing students' cognitive competencies and metacognitive skills. Following the contextual approach, one can find that the simulation of mechanisms and the use of virtual labs form a powerful methodology to help learners better understand theory concepts. They provide students with a means of deeper numerical analysis and stimulate independent learning activity. Simulation and modeling of MMS products contribute greatly in students' comprehension of kinematics and dynamics of mechanisms. Another milestone of contextual approach is a creative problem-based learning that has been shown to be effective in education. However, creative problem-based learning is not in a focus of MMS courses yet. Brainstorming, TRIZ (theory of inventive problem solving, it sometimes occasionally goes by the English acronym TIPS), Synectics, and other creative problem-solving methods can be adapted for the active MMS learning. The article suggests the adaptation of SCAMPER, a method for solving several problems concerning structural analysis, kinematics, and gear trains.
- MMS,
- students,
- cognitive skills,
- creative thinking,
- problem-based learning,
- SCAMPER,
- heuristic method,
- problem solving
Citation: Eduard Krylov, Sergey Devyaterikov. Developing students' cognitive skills in MMS classes[J]. STEM Education, 2023, 3(1): 28-42. doi: 10.3934/steme.2023003

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Abstract

Modern engineers face the challenges of complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity as three fundamental aspects of post-industrial technology. Hence, meta-subjective cognitive skills, critical thinking and creativity become no less important than professional knowledge acquired in vocational training. The better conditions for the development of these skills can be found if a contextual approach in teaching/learning is incorporated into the engineering curriculum. The article discusses the strategies for involving students in active learning activities while studying Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS) and developing students' cognitive competencies and metacognitive skills. Following the contextual approach, one can find that the simulation of mechanisms and the use of virtual labs form a powerful methodology to help learners better understand theory concepts. They provide students with a means of deeper numerical analysis and stimulate independent learning activity. Simulation and modeling of MMS products contribute greatly in students' comprehension of kinematics and dynamics of mechanisms. Another milestone of contextual approach is a creative problem-based learning that has been shown to be effective in education. However, creative problem-based learning is not in a focus of MMS courses yet. Brainstorming, TRIZ (theory of inventive problem solving, it sometimes occasionally goes by the English acronym TIPS), Synectics, and other creative problem-solving methods can be adapted for the active MMS learning. The article suggests the adaptation of SCAMPER, a method for solving several problems concerning structural analysis, kinematics, and gear trains.

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Author's biography Dr. Eduard Krylov is a professor of mechanics with Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University, Russia. He is specialized in mechanics and engineering education. His research interests include dynamics of machinery. He is a deputy chair of IFToMM PC for education; Dr. Sergey Devyaterikov is an assistant professor of mechanics with Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University, Russia. He is specialized in mechanics and engineering education. His research interests include synthesis of mechanisms. He is a member of Russian section of IFToMM

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