Using Kolb's learning cycle to enhance the teaching and learning of mechanics of materials

This paper considers the learning and assessment process of a mechanical engineering undergraduate student and applies it to designing a set of laboratory activities in the field of mechanics of materials. An informal survey was carried out among third-year mechanical engineering students on a four-year bachelor course at the University of Malta in order to find out about their preferred learning style. Thirty-one students were surveyed, which represented 12.5% of students following the BEng (Hons) course in mechanical engineering. The survey indicated that 59.7% of engineering students prefer learning through 'feeling or concrete experience', 9.7% prefer learning through 'watching or reflective observation', 12.9% prefer learning through 'thinking or abstract conceptualisation' and 17.7% prefer learning through 'doing or active experimentation'. The laboratory activities were designed in such a way as to entice students to use hands-on learning to complement the theory explained during lectures. The four-stage Kolb learning cycle was used as a model on which to design the set of laboratory activities. An example of a topic in mechanics of materials is used in this study to assess the students' response in terms of Kolb's proposal for effective learning. The topic selected (combined bending and torsion) is part of the mechanical engineering degree curriculum. © 2012 SAGE Publications.