Integrating textbooks , computer simulation and physical models

We proposed an effective method for education in acoustics that integrates three educational tools: textbooks, computer simulation and physical models. Our focus was the mechanism of vowel production in the speech and hearing sciences. We implemented a computer model by approximating a vowel as a plane wave propagating inside an acoustic tube, the diameters of which vary successively. In addition to the simulation, we made several physical models of the human vocal tract, composed of transparent acrylic materials, to give students an intuitive understanding of vowel production. As a result, we confirmed that the integration of computer simulations, textbook explanations and physical models was extremely powerful, especially for students with less technical backgrounds. Forum Acusticum Sevilla, 2002