Methods for evaluating technical drawing aimed at improving the quality of teaching and increasing students' levels of knowledge

Abstract

This paper deals with the evaluation of technical drawings and error prevention in the courses "Introduction to Mechanical Engineering" and "Fundamentals of Mechanical Design" for first-year students at the University of West Bohemia. Many technical schools, including universities, have to assess work related to technical drawing and documentation. Evaluating these works based only on the number of errors is insufficient; a comprehensive evaluation is necessary in this case. Students must be able to handle a significant amount of information to produce accurate technical drawings. They also must be proficient in searching for technical standards. That is why equal weight cannot be assigned to all errors during the evaluation process. Throughout the assessment of term papers it became apparent that students tend to repeat the same errors in their technical drawings. These errors can be categorized into basic groups. Identifying these errors and understanding the reasons for their occurrence is the first step toward preventing them in the future. This knowledge also enables teachers to identify weak spots in the course and focus more on error prevention. This paper also presents possible approaches for error prevention in these courses. Preventing errors and mistakes during a technical course can both improve the quality of teaching and motivate new undergraduate students to continue their studies.