T1-A: A Flipped-Classroom Format Applied to a Software-Based Course

The Citadel’s Mechanical Engineering program offers a course that utilizes the SolidWorks software program as a means to introduce students to Computer-Aided Drafting and Finite Element Analysis. Early offerings of the course focused on learning how to use SolidWorks in a combined lecture and lab format. The instructor passed on their knowledge to the students by lecturing concepts and through demonstration. This session, which typically required 30-45 minutes, was followed by a hands-on session where the instructor could easily move around the classroom and help as students worked on exercises related to the day’s material. With small numbers of students in early course offerings, the instructors did not assign a textbook, but relied on notes and handouts. A textbook was implemented in a later offering of the course, while the instructor used the same approach in the classroom. As the engineering program grew, the instructors sought alternative classroom management techniques while maintaining a high-level of student-instructor interaction. As such, the pedagogical approach has shifted the instruction of the software out of the classroom in order to maximize the time for individual student interaction. In the current format of the course, the instructor assigns a series of short instructional video lessons provided by SolidProfessor to be watched before coming to class. During classroom time the instructor provides a short overview and discussion, for approximately 10 minutes, and then allows the students to work on the daily assignment. Initial findings of the students’ perception on this new teaching style were found to be inconclusive. While a section of the students appreciated the approach, some students complained about the tiresome videos and lack of immediate practice. With student numbers increasing from 3-10 students in one to two sections, to 13-24 students per section with 6 sections, the value of the flipped-classroom format is being reinvestigated for this software-based course. This paper summarizes the results of previous investigations and adds new data from revised and more detailed surveys and through feedback from faculty