Session: 09-05-01: Applied Mechanics, Dynamic Systems, Experimental and Computational Methods, Modeling and Virtual Simulations of Dynamic Structures, Advanced Materials and Testing

Paper Number: 150230

150230 - Introduction to the Interactive Simulations for Dynamics Education (Inside) 

Introduction to the Interactive Simulations for Dynamics Education (InSiDE)

We have developed two series of Interactive Simulations for Dynamics Education (InSiDE) aiming at teaching Vector Dynamics at the undergraduate level across engineering college.

Dynamics is a fundamental course across many engineering disciplines, such as mechanical, aerospace, and civil engineering. However, its highly mathematical nature often challenges students. The InSiDE follows a standard curriculum for Engineering Dynamics, including the kinetics and kinematics of particles, a system of particles, and rigid bodies. It follows almost all Dynamics textbooks. We will develop two complete sets of interactive simulations for each topic: 1) Teaching Simulations: These simulations are designed for instructors to use for teaching either during lecture time or in a flipped format. 2) Practice Simulations: These simulations are designed for students to use primarily as practice (homework or pre-lecture activities) or incorporated into assessments by instructors.

Within the InSiDE teaching simulations, students can change multiple parameters of a system and observe its behavior. These simulations cultivate an intuitive understanding of a system's motion and dynamic behavior. In our experience, this intuitive understanding of motion is critical to students’ ability to formulate a problem mathematically. The students will be able to interact with each system, design, calculate, predict, and observe the motion. The students will benefit from instructor guidance in working with these simulations. Therefore, we suggest using these simulations for teaching in a flipped format with instructions or in the classroom during lecture time.

The InSiDE practice simulations instill a systematic approach to problem-solving in Dynamics, guiding students step by step through a problem solution.  These simulations provide students with prompts on how to start and then proceed to solve a problem, check their answers at each step, and provide feedback when their answers are wrong.

The InSiDE simulations are created in Unity, a gaming engine that has also been used for other purposes. InSiDE is available to the public through our website: https://cpp-inside.github.io/. We implemented InSiDE during Spring 2024. With an approved IRB, we set up an experiment with a control class and a treatment class. In the treatment class, we used InSiDE to teach, while we didn’t use the control class. We used student surveys and analyzed chapter tests to study the impact of InSiDE on students’ learning.

The IMECE presentation will include an introduction to InSiDE and a discussion on how we suggest incorporating it into different teaching styles, including flipped format and lecture with active learning techniques. We will also report on our data analysis and the impact of InSiDE on students’ learning and possibly the equity gap in our vector dynamic course.

Presenting Author: Zahra Sotoudeh California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Zahra Sotoudeh is a professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). She has a Ph.D. and MSc. from Georgia Tech, specializing in computational nonlinear aeroelasticity. Zahra's research involves developing computational methods to study vibrational behavior in a wide range of frequencies for structures. Zahra has developed programs using the Finite Element Method (FEM) and Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) to study high-aspect-ratio flying wings, helicopter rotor blades, and energy harvesting from smart materials. Currently, her research is focused on Digital Twin Technology for Aerospace Engineering (DiTTA). Zahra has published two books and several journal articles. She frequently presents at the American Institute of Aeronautics, Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) conferences.

Zahra's leadership positions include the structural dynamics technical discipline chair for the AIAA-SciTech (2017), the student competition chair for the IMECE (2018) and the AIAA-SciTech (2020), and the AIAA Aerospace Design and Structure Group (ASDG) technical discipline chair for the AIAA SciTech 2026. Zahra served as Structure Technical Committee chair for the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (2018-2019). She is also a member of the inaugural organizing committee for the ASME Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference (SSDM) (2022–Present).

She has advocated for new pedagogies like active learning techniques, flipped classrooms, and hybrid teaching in virtual and face-to-face environments. She has used Universal Design for Learning and Quality Matters guidelines to create an inclusive learning environment for all her students. She has strived to create accessible course material for all the courses she taught for the Aerospace Engineering Department. Zahra was the CPP lead for the Champions for Accessibility and Inclusivity (CHAI) program from 2021 to 2023.

Authors:

Zahra Sotoudeh California State Polytechnic University Pomona
Markus Eger California State Polytechnic University Pomona
Donya Samadi Rahimi California State Polytechnic University Pomona