THE EFFECT OF LABORATORY PRACTICES ON LEARNING OF SHAFT CRITICAL SPEED SUBJECT IN MACHINERY DYNAMICS CLASS

In the present study, the effect of a laboratory practice on learning of shaft critical speed subject in Machinery Dynamics class was investigated. The focus group of research consists of 20 undergraduate senior students inMechanical Design Division at the University of Duzce, Turkey. The qualitative research method is used in this study. Semi-structured interview form was used for data collection. Interview was carried out as focus group discussions. The students were divided into three groups for interview. Data were collected performing the group interview before and after laboratory practice. Interviews were recorded by video-camera together with an educational scientist and a specialist questioner involved directly to group meeting. Then, the video-camera recording was converted to written document form for analysis. Then these documents were subjected to content analysis. Obtained concepts were classified on the base of interview questions. It has been observed that the teaching of the critical speed subject with laboratory practices besides the lecture has provided that the successes of the students have increased at a significant level. Based on the fact that the students cannot visualize the information they have been provided theoretically, it has been concluded that the practice should not only be performed during the lesson with mathematical calculations but also in real laboratory medium, personally. It is a fact that laboratory practices have been effective on the increase of general success of the critical speed subject and that the real medium of the performed practices have effected learning positively (Kilic, Kara and Cicek 2009; Kilic, Kara and Cicek 2010). With this study, it has been recognized that only lecture does not provide the realization of total learning. Based on the reality that the students cannot fully visualize in their minds the information that is taught to them in theory, it has been concluded that the practice should not only be performed in the lesson with mathematical calculations but within the real laboratory medium personally