2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Many mechanical vibrations courses emphasize theoretical knowledge, but students often struggle to develop appropriate models and have a weak understanding of how mathematical models relate to the physical system they are modeling. Interacting with a physical model may help. To investigate this, I incorporated a few hands-on homework problems using inexpensive materials into the required undergraduate mechanical vibrations course for two consecutive semesters. Based on survey responses, students found the hands-on homework problems at least slightly useful but had some challenges with the logistics of completing the problems. Providing advance notice that the homework set included a hands-on problem reduced the logistical issues. It was unclear how much the problems improved student learning, with some metrics increasing slightly and others remaining the same compared to before the intervention. In summary, adding a few hands-on homework problems to a required undergraduate course without a lab component is feasible. Students found the problems somewhat helpful, and they may slightly improve learning, but not by a significant amount.