Challenges and strategies for teaching “Engineering Mechanics” courses amid significant reductions in class hours
课时大幅缩减背景下“工程力学”课程教学面临的挑战及对策探索

摘要

随着教育改革的推进，理工科重要基础课程“工程力学”课时缩减幅度普遍达到20%~53%。这对课程教学内容和教师课程设计等提出新的挑战。本文以西华大学2023-2025学年工程力学课程改革为实践载体，采用教学实践总结和改革前后对比，探讨了在课时大幅缩减背景下“工程力学”课程教学面临的主要问题。针对开课专业修订了A、B两套教学大纲，将88课时与56课时方案分别匹配不同专业需求；课堂采用案例与BOPPPS结合的教学设计，并利用雨课堂、学习通等平台把预习、复习和答疑延伸到课外；在信息化与在线资源利用方面，依托虚拟仿真平台开展模块化虚拟实验，学生接受度达87%。实践表明，学生期末成绩及格率较改革前提高约12%，课堂互动频次增长近30%。该研究结合教育改革需求提出了可操作性的教学设计与对策，为理工科基础课程的教学改革提供了实践经验和应用价值。

Abstract

Engineering mechanics is a fundamental course in science and engineering education. However, with ongoing education reforms, class hours for “Engineering Mechanics” have been reduced by 20% to 53%, posing new challenges for course content delivery, students’ independent learning, and curriculum design. Taking the Engineering Mechanics curriculum reform implemented at Xihua University during the 2023–2025 academic years as a practical case, this study employs a synthesis of teaching practice and a pre- and post-reform comparative analysis to investigate the major challenges associated with substantial reductions in instructional hours. Two syllabi, namely Scheme A and Scheme B, were developed according to the requirements of different majors, with the 88-hour and 56-hour versions respectively tailored to specific disciplinary needs. In-class instruction incorporated engineering cases with the BOPPPS instructional design model, while platforms such as Rain Classroom and Xuexitong were used to extend previewing, review, and academic support beyond the classroom. In terms of digital and online resources, modular virtual experiments were implemented through a virtual simulation platform, with 87% of students expressing acceptance of this approach. The teaching practice showed that the pass rate of students' final examinations increased by approximately 12% compared with that before the reform, while the frequency of classroom interactions increased by nearly 30%. The findings provide practical and implementable instructional strategies for Engineering Mechanics under substantial reductions in teaching hours and offer useful practical experience and insights for the reform of fundamental courses in science and engineering programs.