Interactive Scenario-Based Teaching of Metal Casting Processes

It is well documented that students learn more effectively when they are actively involved in the learning process. Interactive scenario-based education is a novel concept expected to stimulate active learning and provide an engaging learning experience. Recently we have developed a Create your Scenario Interactively (CSI) module to teach metal casting and have implemented it in manufacturing engineering courses at the University of Oklahoma. In this paper, we discuss the impact of the CSI on students’ learning in manufacturing engineering education. The pedagogical effectiveness of the CSI instruction has been evaluated in several areas such as students’ engaging and active learning through pre-test and post-test format and survey questionnaires. Our preliminary results suggest that a majority of the students feels that the CSI module is very effective in keeping them engaged. Results also indicate that the CSI instructions help improve their understanding of the metal casting process. The details of the CSI module, implementation details, and assessment results are discussed.