This paper describes results of the project "Leveraging Simulation Tools to Deliver Ill-Structured Problems: Enhancing Student Problem-Solving Ability in Statics and Mechanics of Materials", which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and carried out in the Department of Engineering Science and Materials at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. In this project, design problems that require the use of relevant simulation tools are incorporated into the Statics and introductory

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... ics of Materials (MoM) courses; these problems further serve to vertically integrate the two courses. The subject of this paper is to describe the projects that have been developed for the MoM course. These projects engage students in the use of the structural analysis software SAP2000 and also design codes from ASCE, AISC, and AASHTO. Initial assessment results demonstrate that students enjoy the realistic feel of the projects and that they are able to complete the required tasks, but with a variety of execution and interpretive errors.