scholarly journals Multi Mode Learning And Fluid Mechanics To Fluid Power: An Undergraduate Curriculum Reform

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alamgir Choudhury ◽  
Pavel Ikonomov ◽  
Jorge Rodriguez ◽  
Sam Ramrattan
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Mechanics ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Fluid Power ◽  
Multi Mode

Open-Ended Curiosity-Driven Fluids Lab Project

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Shepard ◽  
Christopher Haas ◽  
Rajagopala Menon
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Mechanics ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Design Build ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Positive Results

The lab component of a fluid mechanics course permits a great opportunity for students to engage with course material. These labs can take many forms including field trips, guided inquiry exercises, formulaic lab exercises, practical/hands-on skill development, CFD and design-build-test projects to name a few. Previous literature on self-determination theory suggests that many positive results can be gained by giving students a choice in their studies. Related literature on the importance of curiosity in students suggests similar benefits. This paper describes a multi-week lab experience where students were given the opportunity to study anything remotely related to fluid mechanics with very few restrictions on implementation. The project goals were proposed by a student, or a team of two students, and then refined with the assistance of the course instructor to ensure proper scope. Pre-project surveys were used to gage the importance students place on studying material which is of personal interest and to determine how other parts of the undergraduate curriculum match up with student interest. Post-project surveys were used to gather input on the student experience of completing the curiosity project. This paper details the results from the various assessments and discusses feedback from the course instructor, lab instructors and students relating to project implementation, opportunities for improvement and some of the advantages of such a lab experience.

Whose History?: The Americas and Music Curricula in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-460
Author(s):  
M. Leslie Santana
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Concert Music ◽  
Music Department ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Western European ◽  
Teaching Music

One moment from the much-discussed 2017 curriculum reform in the Music Department at Harvard University has stuck with me and transformed the way I approach teaching music in higher education. In one of the meetings leading up to the revision, graduate students in the department led an activity in which attendees—who included undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty alike—got into small groups and discussed the relative merits of three hypothetical models for the new undergraduate curriculum. Each of the models involved decentering to some extent the existing curriculum's emphasis on the history of Western European music and dominant music theoretical approaches to it. After a short while, we all gathered back together and one person from each group shared a bit about what had transpired. From the circle of desks nearest the door, an undergraduate student rose to speak and expressed enthusiasm for a broadening of curricular coverages. But, they said, their group also had some reservations about jettisoning the overall focus on Western European concert music altogether. “We still need to learn about our history,” they said, while a faculty member nodded behind them.

scholarly journals Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power (FMFP)

Sadhana ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-448
Author(s):  
Amitabh Bhattacharya ◽  
Jyotirmay Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Mechanics ◽  
Fluid Power

Managing a Major Curriculum Reform Effort in a Large Research University

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip S. Schmidt ◽  
Joseph J. Beaman
Keyword(s):  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Research University ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Reform Effort ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Engineering Theory ◽  
The University ◽  
Large Research ◽  
Management Issues

This paper describes a substantive undergraduate curriculum reform effort being undertaken over a five year period at the University of Texas at Austin, with special consideration to the management issues that are being addressed. The initiative, called Project PROCEED (for Project-Centered Education), grew out of a desire to strengthen our student’s understanding of fundamental engineering theory by continuously tying it to tangible objects and systems, to strengthen our Department’s connections with its industrial stakeholders by actively involving them in the development and delivery of curriculum content, and to provide our students with a broad range of team-based experiences which will better prepare them for growth and leadership in the corporate and professional world. The rationale for PROCEED and key program elements are described. Management issues, such as logistics, promoting faculty and student buy-in, financing, industrial interaction, and program evaluation are discussed.

scholarly journals Educational investment towards the ideal future: South Africa’s strategic choices

2017 ◽  
Vol Volume 113 (Number 1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suellen Shay ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Equity Of Access

Abstract Although there has been rapid expansion of higher education around the globe, such expansion has not resulted in a more equitable system. Drawing on the work of Nancy Fraser, equity in higher education is conceptualised as ‘parity of participation’ and includes both equity of access and outcomes. The tensions between expansion and equity are illustrated by comparing South Africa’s equity challenges with those of Brazil and the USA. Focusing on South Africa’s critical choices, four scenarios or possible futures are provided to illustrate some of the trade-offs and strategic choices. The main argument is that if South Africa’s higher education system continues to expand without a concomitant investment in the effectiveness of teaching and learning, it will not achieve the policy goals of equity of access and outcomes. Furthermore the investment needs to be strategically targeted to interventions that can serve as systemic levers of change for reducing drop-out rates and improving graduation rates. To this end, over the next decade the state needs to prioritise an investment in an undergraduate curriculum more ‘fit for purpose’. The investment needs to be in curriculum reform that normalises different levels of foundational provision, identifies and removes curriculum obstacles that delay or impede graduation, and provides opportunities for ‘breadth’ for all students, not only those who come from privileged backgrounds.

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