The finite element method (FEM) is one of the most important numerical methods used to solve various engineering problems in many physics' domains. In this study, engineering students enrolled in “Computer‐Aided Analysis and Design” course were first introduced to FEM through a simple computer code for analyzing two‐dimensional (2D) and 3D trusses. Computational tools called “Truss Builder” and “Truss Analyzer” were provided to help modeling and analyzing large and complicated trusses. Students were then asked to generate assignments for their peers on analyzing 2D and 3D trusses that simulate real‐world structures or practical applications of their choice in two mini projects. In each mini project, each student selected a practical truss problem and, then, chose questions on this truss from a pool of questions designed to check the students' ability to navigate through the computer code, understand the results of the analysis, and investigate the effects of the various parameters on the results. Students exchanged their assignments with their peers, solved their peers' assignments, and then graded the solutions of their peers and discussed the mistakes. The proposed approach has been assessed through a comparison of exam scores with the scores of a previous cohort that was taught FEM traditionally and took the same exam. The assessment results showed that the improved performance of the students who were part of this intervention, compared to those who were not, is statistically significant. The anonymous students' written comments also supported the hypothesis that this new approach is more engaging to students compared to traditional approaches.

中文翻译：

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通过桁架构建器和桁架分析器计算工具和学生生成的作业小项目向本科生教授有限元方法基础知识

有限元法 (FEM) 是用于解决许多物理领域中各种工程问题的最重要的数值方法之一。在这项研究中，参加“计算机辅助分析与设计”课程的工科学生首先通过一个简单的计算机代码介绍了 FEM，用于分析二维 (2D) 和 3D 桁架。提供了称为“Truss Builder”和“Truss Analyzer”的计算工具来帮助建模和分析大型复杂的桁架。然后要求学生为他们的同龄人生成作业，分析 2D 和 3D 桁架，模拟真实世界结构或他们在两个迷你项目中选择的实际应用。在每个小项目中，每个学生都选择了一个实际的桁架问题，然后，从一系列问题中选择关于这个桁架的问题，这些问题旨在检查学生浏览计算机代码、理解分析结果和调查各种参数对结果的影响的能力。学生与同龄人交换作业，解决同龄人的作业，然后对同龄人的解决方案进行评分并讨论错误。提议的方法是通过将考试分数与传统上教授 FEM 并参加相同考试的先前队列的分数进行比较来评估的。评估结果表明，与没有参与的学生相比，参与此干预的学生的表现改善具有统计学意义。匿名学生