scholarly journals AN OPEN-ENDED DESIGN-BASED LAB EXERCISE FOR A FIRST THERMOFLUIDS COURSE

Author(s):  
Michele Hastie ◽  
Jan Haelssig

The Thermo-Fluid Engineering I course provides all first-semester second-year engineering students at Dalhousie University with a basic introduction to thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. In the past three years, we have used a combination of six traditional laboratory exercises and a short four-week design project to provide students with hands-on learning experiences in this course. In general, these projects have been well-received by students as a welcome break from the many abstract theoretical concepts that are normally associated with introductory thermodynamics. However, two of the continuing challenges with these projects have been the students’ limited engineering design experience and the availability of time to perform a design project. To address these challenges, in the fall 2015 offering of Thermo-Fluid Engineering I, the four-week design project was replaced by an open-ended design-based lab exercise.The open-ended lab exercise required groups of students to develop specific laboratory experiments related to thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, given a limited quantity of resources. While the focus shifted away from a traditional short design project, the open-ended lab exercise continues to allow students to develop their creative thinking, critical analysis, hands-on, communication, and team work skills, which was the primary purpose of the short design projects in the first place.

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (36) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Kyle Alexander Jazwa

AbstractIn this paper, I explore the use of long-term, hands-on learning activities for Classics courses. I will show that a carefully designed project can complement classroom lectures on Greek and Roman culture and contribute towards the development of students’ critical thinking and group work skills. As an example, I describe a successful hands-on learning project that I designed for my Ancient Greek Cities course at Monmouth College (USA). The students were tasked with researching and building an historically faithful, ancient Greek mudbrick building for the college's annual Classics Day event. With the success of this project in my class, I will show that Classics instructors can pursue similar long-term, hands-on learning activities for engaging students in ancient Greek and Roman culture and teaching essential skills.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wathiq N. Abdul-Razzaq ◽  
Ryan K. Bushey

Introductory physics labs provide many challenging yet applicable experiments and concepts to the many fields of engineering.  One such lab has been developed at West Virginia University that explores resistivities of several different materials and ties this concept into electrical engineering practices and standards.  Many students do not realize that resistivity is a very significant quantity that contributes greatly to the understanding of natural as well as man-made materials; it is the DNA of materials. This lab provides engineering students an opportunity to not only learn physics of materials, but to also gain real-world experience and understanding of why certain materials are used in electronic devices and when designing and constructing buildings.  This lab has been implemented in several introductory lab levels here at West Virginia University, and all have been met with enthusiasm and strong participation.  In our pre-engineering physics course, this has been especially effective, as it has given the students some hands-on experience with physics principles that they will make use of in their future careers.


Author(s):  
Carol Hulls ◽  
Chris Rennick ◽  
Mary Robinson ◽  
William Melek ◽  
Sanjeev Bedi

In Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo, a joint project involving small, inexpensive fuel cells cars was introduced to show how courses in the first term relate to one another. Additionally, the project was designed to provide the students with hands on learning, to give the students a taste of what to expect in later years, and to start incorporating many of the CEAB's graduate attributes at an introductory level. The fuel cell car consists of two low-voltage cells, a low power microcontroller and several sensors mounted on a motorised platform. Students employed concepts from chemistry, programming and mechatronics systems throughout the project, submitting reports at key milestones. during the projet, students needed to make decision in a team environment on which strageties to implement to meet the goals of the project. The project culminated in a final competition and report. Students were surveyed at the start, and end, and the term to measure any changes in attitude with regards to the courses as well as their satisfaction with the project. The project was well recieved by students but significant challenges remain to be solved.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda J. Nelson ◽  
Richard Masters

Inspired by New York City Center’s Encores! programme, we came together as a music director and stage director to develop a new college programme focused on producing rarely heard musicals. As faculty members, we select a little-known musical and research basic production history to provide a launchpad for hands-on learning for students. Our process involves examining a show’s production history, exploring the story and score in their original historical milieu, and mounting a workshop production. Given the many forgotten musical theatre pieces, this act of excavation is possible for any college musical theatre programme, including those with limited resources. In this article, we share our approach and process, connecting strategies and tactics to experiential learning, and reflect on challenges encountered and opportunities discovered during our workshop production of Richard Maltby, Jr and David Shire’s The Sap of Life, a show that spent several months Off-Broadway in 1961 and then disappeared into the composer’s closet for the next 54 years. For The Sap of Life, we seized the opportunity to offer our students the experience of working and learning directly from Maltby and Shire, who visited campus as guest artists. Our excavation process provides the opportunity for students and professors alike to learn more about how a musical is developed, written, honed and ultimately produced on the stage.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh Lewis ◽  
Benjamin Estrada ◽  
Paul Pena ◽  
Martin Garcia ◽  
Ayse Tekes

Abstract Undergraduate mechanical engineering students struggle in comprehending the fundamentals presented in an introductory level mechanical vibrations course which eventually affects their performance in the posterior courses such as control theory. One salient factor to this is missing the visualization of the concept with hands-on learning since the vibrations and control laboratory course is offered in the following semester. This study presents the design, development of three portable and 3D-printed compliant vibratory mechanisms actuated by a linear motor and their implementation in vibrations course and vibrations and control laboratory. The proposed setups consist of flexible and compliant springs, sliders, and base support. Mechanisms are utilized to demonstrate free and forced vibrations, resonation, and design of a passive isolator. In addition to the 3D-printed, portable lab equipment, we created the Matlab Simscape GUI program of each setup so instructors can demonstrate the fundamentals in the classroom, assign homework, project, in-class activity or design laboratory.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-156
Author(s):  
Kumar Yelamarthi ◽  
Joseph Slater ◽  
John Wu ◽  
P. Ruby Mawasha

AbstractInnovation in the changing undergraduate engineering curriculum mandates efficient management of interdisciplinary capstone senior design projects. This effort requires collaboration and management of students and faculty from multiple disciplines, and provides students an opportunity to learn from other engineering disciplines. In addition, this approach will i) emphasize problem solving and creative thinking skills; ii) provide students first-hand experience in generating a management plan; iii) expose students to multiple engineering disciplines, and work in diverse, multi-cultural teams; and iv) prepare students with an in-depth understanding of the interdisciplinary skills necessary for success. The senior design project (SDP) presented is based on the interdisciplinary collaboration of electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering students and faculty to design an integrated high altitude balloon system that would reach an altitude of 100,000 feet and return safely to earth. This paper presents methods by which all the above issues are addressed, results obtained over the recent years.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Camarata ◽  
Mark D Gross ◽  
Ellen Yi-Luen Do

This paper describes a studio that explores interfaces for computationally enhanced artifacts and environments. The studio is designed as a traditional architectural design studio, fostering creative thinking and encouraging hands-on learning. It brings students from art, music, architecture, computer science, and engineering together into teams to design and build physical computing projects. The team's unusual mix of knowledge and experience allows for creative solutions. As a result, the studio has become a test bed for new and interesting ideas.


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