Teaching and assessing strategies for an undergraduate manufacturing processes course: Experiences of 9 years

Abstract

The Manufacturing Processes course includes the main principles of the processes, engineering materials, tools, machines, and examples of manufactured goods. Transferring the up-to-date knowledge to the students may change over time although core topics remain the same. This paper aims to attract attention to the need for change to obtain a well-prepared course content that combines theory and practice. For this purpose, the study is structured in two phases. In the first phase, teaching and grading activities for an Industrial Engineering undergraduate course is considered for nine years period. Statistical analysis confirm that workshop sessions have a positive effect on students’ success. To identify the overall learning experience during the course and the awareness of flipped classrooms, a feedback questionnaire is conducted in the second phase. The questionnaire results verify that students can benefit from audio-visual course materials that are shared with them before the class. Case discussions and hands-on practices may be helpful to increase the success of undergraduate engineering students for courses like Manufacturing Processes. However, strict health-safety regulations and unexpected occasions such as pandemics may restrict hands-on learning. Learning environments equipped with new technologies can replace traditional methods soon when it is not possible to conduct such training physically.