On Effective Methods to Teach Mechanical Design

Abstract The Mechanical Engineering Department of the Pennsylvania State University has created a “real world” approach to the teaching of mechanical design. This paper describes the efforts to restructure the teaching methods and integrate more effectively the knowledge of the design of machine elements through an open‐ended case study approach. It is a “just‐in‐time” learning method which uses the text book as a reference and prepares the students for their “capstone” design course, The “capstone” design course also has been redesigned to emphasize teamwork, scheduling, communication, ethics, and economics as well as application of analysis and prototype construction.