Pixel International Conferences

Statics, Kinematics and Dynamics of machines and mechanisms have been among the topics most failed by the students in the bachelor degree of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Rovira i Virgili. In the academic course 2017-18 a new strategy with different methodologies was implemented to rise the student success. The methodologies were Agile philosophy and Kahoot questionnaires (gamification). By means of Agile, the students, which are organized in teams, must analyze a real mechanism in order to analyze its kinematic and dynamic analysis and to deliver it to a client (a fiction company) at the end of the course. Each team has a different mechanism. The experimental study has to be performed in successive steps through both semesters. Each step has a duration of two-three weeks and a list of requirements to complete. This methodology, thus, requires continuous work of the team, avoiding student last-minute poor deliveries. On the other hand, by doing a Kahoot questionnaire during a class (kahoot.com), you can easily quantify how much of this lesson your students have understood and which concepts have to be reinforced. The results of applying simultaneously both techniques in the course 2017-18 and in the first semester of 2018-19 have been extremely satisfactory. 70% of the students think that Kahoot questionnaires help them to better understand the subjects, and they are more connected during the lessons. Regarding Agile project, the results of a survey reveals that 94% of the students think that the methodology applied has facilitated them to better understand the concepts. Finally, a decrease in the subjects’ dropout of 8.6% and an increase in the number of students that pass the subjects of 6.5% have been obtained.

Keywords: Agile, Kahoot, Mechanics, Learning Games, Collaborative Work;

References:

[1] Schell, J. (2008). The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
[2] agilemethodology.org
[3] Kahoot.com