Collaborative Research: Using Low Cost Desktop Learning Modules to Educate Diverse Undergraduate Communities in Engineering

该项目是华盛顿州立大学和坎贝尔大学之间的合作，旨在为教育工程师创造更多的体验，有效和引人入胜的动手互动学习环境。该项目将开发名为“桌面学习模块”的实验室单元，这是一种代表真实工业过程的动手小型化设备。它们是便携式的，可以在课堂外使用，并且显著地帮助学生学习流体力学和传热，这两者都是工程中基本的运输概念。该项目的目标是通过在全国范围内传播流体力学和传热桌面学习模块，改变基础工程课程的教学和学习。将通过将设立的五个区域中心提供培训讲习班和社区发展，以帮助传播“桌面学习模块”方法。先前使用水力学桌面学习模块表明，平均70%的学生在概念测试中达到了能力，而对照组为39%。此外，在流体力学中，参与者表现出显著的学习成果。在初步研究中，桌面学习模块的可转移性已被证明。例如，在使用桌面学习模块后，肯塔基大学观察到在诸如水力损失等主题的后测试中有50%至100%的提高。在这个项目中，一项混合方法研究将被用来检验一个假设，即当桌面学习模块在一个以团队为导向的、实践的学习环境中使用时，学生的学习和兴趣会发生决定性的变化。教师支持框架将用于促进对新教学法的参与变化，从而提高教师采用和实施的便利性。预计该项目将对学习困难的工程概念产生重大影响，并通过适应学生的各种能力和学习偏好来增加工程的多样性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project is a collaboration between Washington State University and Campbell University that aims to create more experiential, effective, and engaging hands-on interactive learning environments for educating engineers. The project will develop lab units called Desktop Learning Modules, which are hands-on miniaturized equipment representing real industrial processes. They are portable, can be used outside of class, and significantly assist students in learning about fluid mechanics and heat transfer, both of which are fundamental transport concepts in engineering. The goal of the project is to transform teaching and learning in foundational engineering courses through national dissemination of fluid mechanics and heat transfer Desktop Learning Modules. Training workshops and community development will be provided through five regional hubs to be established to help disseminate the Desktop Learning Module approach.Prior use of hydraulics Desktop Learning Modules have shown that 70% of students achieved competency on concepts tested, on average, compared to 39% in control groups. Also, in fluid mechanics, participants have shown significant learning gains. In preliminary studies, the transferability of Desktop Learning Modules to other institutions has been demonstrated. For example, after using a Desktop Learning Module, the University of Kentucky observed a 50-100% improvement in post-tests on topics such as hydraulic loss. In this project, a mixed methods research study will be used to test the hypothesis that definitive changes can occur in student learning and interest when Desktop Learning Modules are used in a team-oriented, hands-on learning environment. A faculty support framework will be used to foster changes in engagement with the novel pedagogy, thus enhancing instructor ease of adoption and implementation. It is expected that the project will have significant impact on the learning of difficult engineering concepts and increase diversity in engineering by accommodating of a range of student abilities and learning preferences.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.