Copper Pitting and New Approaches to Teaching: A Career Development Plan

9503079 Edwards此奖项是为该研究者根据NSF 94-101（国家科学基金会教师早期职业发展（Career）计划）的要求提供支持，该计划旨在鼓励学术教师作为教育工作者和研究人员的早期发展。这位研究者计划进行的研究是为了提高我们对导致水分配系统中使用的材料腐蚀行为的因素的基本理解。研究者的教育计划包括探索基础课程结构的变化，包括主动学习，课堂上支持性学习环境的发展和奖励结构的实施，以鼓励非传统目标技能的发展，如团队合作，课堂动机和课堂外学习的兴趣。用于建造配水系统的材料在很长一段时间内会受到腐蚀，这会减少系统组件的有效寿命，并对通过配水系统输送给用户的水的质量有潜在的降低影响。充分确定腐蚀影响的程序可用于改进配水系统的工程设计。本研究者计划追求的教学计划是寻求在本科工程课堂环境中实施和评估新的学习方法，这将改善本科工程课程的教学方式。＊＊＊

9503079 Edwards This is an award to provide the support this investigator requested in response to NSF 94-101, the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program which has the intent of encouraging the early development of academic faculty as educators and researchers. The research this investigator plans to conduct is directed toward improving our fundamental understanding of factors that result in corrosive behavior of materials used in distribution systems for water. The investigator's education plan involves exploring changes in basic course structure that include active learning, development of supportive learning environments in the classroom and implementation of a reward structure that encourages development of non-traditional target skills such as teamwork, class motivation and interest in learning outside the classroom. Materials used in constructing water distribution systems are subject to corrosion over long periods of time which reduces the effective life of the system's components and has a potentially degrading effect on the quality of water delivered to users through the distribution system. Procedures to adequately determine the effect of corrosion can be useful in the improving the engineering design of water distribution systems. The teaching plan this investigator plans to pursue seeks to implement and evaluate new approaches to learning in the undergraduate engineering classroom environment that will improve the way in which undergraduate engineering courses are taught. ***