DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.22281

Summary
A new approach to teach finite element method (FEM) to undergraduate students is presented in this paper. The approach is based on analysis of simple FEM code and educational activity which is composed of generating tasks to peers and solving them. The authors state that such an approach enables students to develop critical thinking by analyzing the effect of different boundary conditions, material and geometrical properties. They hypothesize that students’ involvement in the assignment creation process under clear structure with the focus on the real-life problems enhance their engagement in the learning process and results in better exam grades. The course structure is defined in the article by means of covered topics, learning goals, and learning material. The course covers a wide range of topics, such as review of structural mechanics, introduction to finite element analysis, meshing, discretization error, finite element convergence, and others. The learning material is mainly based on the exemplary MATLAB code, thus, the description of it with the theoretical background is provided. Several examples of generated assignments are discussed to demonstrate the variety of possible tasks. The students’ survey results and comments showed that the students’ engagement to the topic was increased, and the learning goals were achieved.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The authors of the article state that the engineering students usually use finite element method as a black box to solve engineering problems. However, building the code step by step helps students to understand the fundamentals of finite element analysis. This approach requires complex knowledge in the fields of the mechanics, mathematics, and programming. The authors describe assignments to analyze 2D/3D truss structures using finite element method. Students create their own problem with a practical background, such as structure of power transmission tower, roller coaster support, Tokyo Gate bridge or Eiffel tower. Although the starting code was provided for the students, they had to modify and analyze it to perform the goals of the assignments. The authors also present the learning process which develops critical thinking and assessment skills as peer review and solving problems created by colleagues are included. It is also stated that these projects made students act as instructors and this led to a higher level of engagement.

Point of Strength
The article provides learning process which includes peer review and a contest in order to enhance students’ engagement in solving complex problems such as simulation of real-world structure using 2D/3D trusses by finite element method.