You-Learn: computer-based method of teaching

An interactive computer-aided instruction system is described for teaching statics in civil engineering. The system, called You-Learn, consists of a set of software packages whose essential features are: presentations of the same subject from different perspectives allowing the student to choose the approach he or she understands the best; and interactive example problems requiring a student´s participation and thus allowing the learner to use the just-obtained knowledge and check his or her subject comprehension. The variety of interactive example problems gives the learner an opportunity to continue studies while being exposed to as many different types of problems as he or she considers sufficient for the topic comprehension. The menu-driven system allows the student to judge topic mastery by a problem-solving-oriented computer-graded test with new problems each time it is taken. Students can improve their grades by retaking the test (an incentive for students to study the subject again and again). This system also allows online communication among the courseware authors, teaching faculty, and students, combined with an easy-to-change courseware structure to allow for a perpetual courseware improvement