Teach Engineering

As I went through a textbook of Mechanics I saw illustrations of leavers, pulleys, cables, shock absorbers etc in various combinations to demonstrate the play of forces. I am wondering if a student at the first-semester level is able to visualize these mechanisms from the basic two-dimensional representative drawings? I also find the explanations to these diagrams tedious and the maths abrupt. These diagrams and examples are far removed from the objects they encounter in daily lives and it seems to me that textbooks are written by scholars for appreciation from other scholars and not necessarily with the student in mind. Why can't we teach these principals of mechanics using the day to day experience of the students? for example a door a  cantilevered load, a door closer, a chair or table, staircase railings, ceiling fans, etc. etc. We ie Nickey and me are now developing a three-legged stool that has the three legs hinged to the seat so that the legs can splay out f...

I am writing these blogs in collaboration with my colleague Nicky Joshi. Together we are trying to make engineering education at the undergraduate level a journey of discoveries such that academic chalk and talk reinforces and fills in the gaps between discoveries instead of the other way round.  To understand the concepts of fits and tolerances and clearly see the relationship between a technical drawing and the workshop processes involved divide the class into groups of two each. Give each group a simple brief for example draw a plate of so and so size of so and so thickness with a hole of Dia so and so located at so and so point and a also draw a shaft that will fit in the hole such that it is sliding fit , or tight fit etc. The idea being that each pair take reference from each others drawing and make the drawing complete with all dimensions tolerances etc having all the requirements of a good shop drawing. The discovery of fits and tolerances should be left to the studen...