The feasibility of using industrial simulation software to teach complex manufacturing concepts / Winterberger

Typescript (photocopy).An experiment was conducted to ascertain whether industrial simulation software could be used to teach complex manufacturing concepts to students in manufacturing technology programs. The objectives of the study were to discover if a simulation lecture followed by a simulation laboratory exercise could enhance the students' comprehension of the manufacturing material and if the learning and retention of the simulation material could be increased by limiting the time between the delivery of the lecture material and the simulation laboratory exercise. Four simulation programs, MAP/1, PCModel, SIMFACTORY, and SIMPLEenspace1, were considered for use in the experiment. MAP/1 was chosen because it was the only program which met all the selection criteria. Lecture outlines, laboratory activities, and tests were developed, evaluated during a pilot study in the Fall Semester 1987, and revised for use in the experiment. The experiment was conducted during the Spring Semester, 1988. Students in the four sections of manufacturing class at Texas A&M University served as subjects. A pretest was given to all subjects during the fifth week of the semester. The following week, all groups received the lecture in two 50 minute sessions. One group also began their laboratory exercise that same week. In week seven, all groups took the first posttest. The other groups did their laboratory exercises over the next three weeks. After all groups had completed their laboratory exercise, a second posttest was given to the four groups. A third posttest was embedded in the final examination. The results of the experiment showed that there was no significant difference in the scores of all groups on the pretest, second posttest, and third posttest. On the first posttest, however, there was a significant difference between the group that had received both the lecture and the laboratory activity and two of the groups that had received only the lecture. However, the other group that had received only the lecture scored did not differ significantly from the group that had received both the lecture and the laboratory activity. The evidence was inconclusive concerning the value of a simulation laboratory exercise in enhancing the learning of the material. Retention was not affected by the scheduling of the laboratory exercise. It was suggested that subsequent research in the field utilize a larger number of subjects, more laboratory exercises, or more questions