Hands-on experience of manual control in a human-machine systems engineering course

This paper presents the results of integrating hands-on experience in an engineering MSc course on human-machine systems. Students could voluntarily complete a homework assignment in which they performed manual control tasks using dedicated software. The tasks were accompanied by questions that students had to answer using the theory taught in the lectures. The lecturer processed the students’ recorded data and presented the results in class. One-and-a-half month after the completion of the assignment, students took a written exam on all topics of the course, including manual control theory. Students (n = 32) reported in a questionnaire that the assignment was valuable in improving their understanding of manual control (mean = 7.80, SD = 1.53 on a 10-point scale with anchors at 1 (poor) and 10 (excellent)). A correlation analysis of assignment participation, questionnaire responses, assignment grades, and exam scores is reported as well.