Abstract:

Students who were taking the subject matter of Engineering Mechanics had problems to write the shear and moment equations and to draw the shear and moment diagram in a statically determinate beam. This situation was displayed because they did not transfer what they have learned in beams subject to different types of loads.

Therefore, the purpose of this study was to promote the transfer of learning in the writing and drawing the shear and moment equations using the concepts map and the retrieval strategies to improve the performance of students who are studying the subject matter of Engineering Mechanics offered by an Ecuadorian public university. The subjects were 70 students 55 men and 15 women who were studying the subject of Engineering Mechanics in an Ecuadorian public university. The unit under study was Shear strength and bending moment in a beam. The texts used in the course were Mechanical Engineering: Static of R. C. Hibbeler and Vectorial Mechanics for Engineers: Static of F. P. Beer, E. R. Johnston and D. F. Mazurek. The evaluation instruments were the posttest consisting of 4 problems and lasted two hours. The 35 students belonging to the control group received the class in the traditional manner while the 35 students belonging to the experimental group received the same content using the conceptual maps and the strategy of retrieval. Both groups examined the problem-solving strategies of beams found in the assigned texts. At the end of the instruction the posttest was taken. The experimental design used is the one shown below:
X1 O1
− − −
X2 O2
Where X1 represents the control group and X2 represents the experimental group. The posttest corresponds to the observations O1 for the control group and O2 for the experimental group. The line in the middle indicates the fact that the groups were intact. The statistical analysis applied was the Gosset test with a confidence level p < 0.05. The Gosset test gave a value of t = 2.98, df = 67 and with a p value of 0.004. Therefore, the research hypothesis was accepted, and the null hypothesis was rejected. The research hypothesis was fulfilled for the following reasons: firstly, by the application of the nine events of Robert Gagné 's instruction, as this instructional model explicitly indicates how to impart instruction to encode, recover and transfer the contents. Secondly, because the problems presented followed a transfer sequence from close to far transfer. Thirdly, due to the application of the retrieval strategies that encouraged the discussion and the reasoning among the students and that they were applied during the learning of the content and thus improved their comprehension and retention. Fourthly, because the use of conceptual maps that promotes the organization of knowledge and are also idiosyncratic, belong to its creator, which through an informative feedback they improved. It is important to clarify that during all phases of the process; informative feedback was given to ensure a good conceptual understanding. A well-organized knowledge makes the difference between a novice and an expert. The main limitation of this work is that it worked with intact groups the experimental and control groups were not formed randomly. Based on the results obtained, it is recommended to use this intervention model to ensure the problem-solving process and its transfer to other contexts. The next study in this topic is how metacognition affects transfers.

Keywords:

Transfer of learning, Retrieval strategies, Concepts map.