STUDENTS ’ LEARNING OF SPECIFIC BIOMECHANICAL COMPETENCIES

The purpose of this study was to examine student learning in various competency areas of undergraduate biomechanical concepts based on the North American guidelines. A total of 173 students were recruited from introductory biomechanics classes from two state universities. The third version of Biomechanics Concept Inventory (BCI3) was given during the first and last two weeks of the sessions to measure student learning in six competency areas. Data from the 162 students who completed the study protocol showed that performance on items requiring prerequisite skills remained consistent between pre- and post-test. Overall, post-test scores significantly improved by 17 percent from pre-test values. Furthermore, the students demonstrated significant learning progress on neuromuscular and kinetics competencies. KEY WORDS: BCI, biomechanics learning, learning competency. INTRODUCTION: Several studies have examined various factors such as learning styles and teaching methods (e.g., Champagne, Klopfer, & Anderson, 1980; Hsieh & Knudson, 2008; Hsieh, Smith, Bohne, & Knudson, 2012) related to student learning mechanics and biomechanics concepts. Though biomechanics is a difficult subject for many students t