Abstract:

The paper provides an overview of the implementation of the flipped learning approach in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering's lectures for first-year students at the University of West Bohemia. Mechanical Engineering has a crucial role in the ongoing fourth industrial revolution. Even though the field of technology has undergone tremendous leaps forward in past decades, understanding technical drawing rules and tolerances of size and position still have their inherent place. Proper learning of the basics is crucial for understanding the more complicated topics. Unfortunately, many students participated passively in the classes in the past, which led to problems during the following semesters. The classical, formal style of teaching does not bring with it the necessary participation of students and so had to be changed to a different method. Flipped learning was a perfect match in this case. A flipped learning classroom belongs to the blended learning types of teaching methods. In the opposite to the classical way of teaching, the student is the centre of attention and also represents a significant source of information for the other students. The teacher has just the role of support and checking. Group work and presentation of results are a very common part of the education method. Replacing lectures with both individual and group project-like activities forces students to participate and encourages deep thinking and understanding. The goal of the modernized methodology was to force all students to actively participate and avoid passive listening. Mechanical engineering is something completely new for most students, so their active participation is necessary for successfully passing the final exam. The main principles are explained at the beginning of the paper, several practical examples (small tasks, group projects, gamification) are shown and described later. The end of the paper discusses the obtained skills and the participation of students. The very last part covers students' feedback, encountered problems, and their possible solutions.

Keywords:

Flipped classroom, Flipped learning, Technical drawing.