Research: Examining the impact of mechanical objects in students learning of thermodynamics-related engineering problems

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As technology quickly advances in modern society, it is important that the engineers of tomorrow fully learn the basic concepts of engineering so that they can apply these concepts throughout their careers to a range of new applications. Many engineering courses in college involve teaching abstract concepts that are often difficult for students to understand. For example, "Thermodynamics" is an important course that involves learning about relationships between heat, energy, and mechanical work. Thermodynamics is known to be a difficult course for many students since some of the concepts in the class, such as heat and energy, are abstract. One method for teaching difficult engineering subjects is to use physical or mechanical objects that a student can touch and manipulate in order to demonstrate important concepts. This project examines new approaches for the use and evaluation of mechanical objects as teaching tools in a thermodynamics course with the idea that results from this work can then be applied to additional engineering courses. This project examines person-object interactions, a significant and critical aspect of engineering, to examine how these interactions affect comprehension of challenging concepts. The primary question to be addressed in the project is fundamental to engineering education and practice: What is the value of mechanical objects in learning engineering related concepts? This study uses quasi-experiments in a mixed methods design where different mechanical objects are used in several problem-solving activities in Thermodynamics classes. Physically demonstrating key thermodynamics concepts, involved in traditional problems, such as the conversion of heat to work, ideal gas behavior, or liquid-vapor phase change processes can be augmented with the use of mechanical objects. For example, a typical "piston-cylinder" arrangement in an automobile engine can be modeled with a simple mechanical object that consists of a plunger in a syringe with an integrated temperature sensor to physically illustrate relationships between compression, expansion, work, heat, temperature, and pressure. The study results will be analyzed in order to provide a clear picture of how the use of mechanical objects supports engineering activities and how individual differences affect the learning process. At the end of the project, the researchers will develop typologies of object use and mental models describing the cognitive processes involved in solving engineering related problems. Finally, the results from this work will provide guidance as to how mechanical objects can be used as educational tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.