A competency assessment model for free-body diagrams construction in mechanical engineering students: a case study Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • The concept of a free body diagram is central to Mechanical Engineering. Beyond its correct layout, a series of analysis concepts in the development of this skill allows one to visualise, understand, and analyse mechanisms and other complex applications. The correct assessment of the skill goes beyond the simple application of a test because it is expected to be a lifelong skill and, therefore, long-term learning must be evaluated for the ability to recover learning. Concept inventory tests are usually an ideal tool for this evaluation. In this research, after a proposal to build and interpret this tool, we applied a test-of-concept analysis associated with free-body diagrams to mechanical engineering students. The analysis allows for quantitative visualisation of the behaviours of specific groups during the test application, particularly those related to the gender of the students and the campuses. In addition, the results were cross-analysed for possible causal errors in the associated concepts. Finally, the test items and distractors were analysed for improvement.Abbreviations: CIT: Concept Inventory Test; FBD: Free-Body Diagram; ICC: Item Characteristic Curve; IT: Inventory Test. © 2025 SEFI.

publication date

  • January 1, 2025