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Project-Based Learning Success in Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics
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There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of project-based learning (PBL) in preparing students to solve complex problems. In PBL implementations in engineering, students are treated as professional engineers facing projects centered around real-world problems, including the complexity and uncertainty that influence such problems. Not only does this help students to analyze and solve an authentic real-world task, promoting critical thinking, but also students learn from each other, learning valuable communication and teamwork skills. Faculty play an important part by assuming non-conventional roles (e.g., client, senior professional engineer, consultant) to help students throughout this instructional and learning approach. Typically in PBLs, students work on projects over extended periods of time that culminate in realistic products or presentations. In order to be successful, students need to learn how to frame a problem, identify stakeholders and their requirements, design and select concepts, test them, and so on. Two different implementations of PBL projects in a fluid mechanics course are presented in this paper. This required, junior-level course has been taught since 2014 by the same instructor. The first PBL project presented is a complete design of pumped pipeline systems for a hypothetical plant. In the second project, engineering students partnered with pre-service teachers to design and teach an elementary school lesson on fluid mechanics concepts. With the PBL implementations, it is expected that students: 1) engage in a deeper learning process where concepts can be reemphasized, and students can realize applicability; 2) develop and practice teamwork skills; 3) learn and practice how to communicate effectively to peers and to those from other fields; and 4) increase their confidence working on open-ended situations and problems. The goal of this paper is to present the experiences of the authors with both PBL implementations. It explains how the projects were scaffolded through the entire semester, including how the sequence of course content was modified, how team dynamics were monitored, the faculty roles, and the end products and presentations. Students' experiences are also presented. To evaluate and compare students’ learning and satisfaction with the team experience between the two PBL implementations, a shortened version of the NCEES FE exam and the Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (CATME) survey were utilized. Students completed the FE exam during the first week and then again during the last week of the semester in order to assess students’ growth in fluid mechanics knowledge. The CATME survey was completed mid-semester to help faculty identify and address problems within team dynamics, and at the end of the semester to evaluate individual students’ teamwork performance. The results showed that no major differences were observed in terms of the learned fluid mechanics content, however, the data showed interesting preliminary observations regarding teamwork satisfaction. Through reflective assignments (e.g., short answer reflections, focus groups), student perceptions of the PBL implementations are discussed in the paper. Finally, some of the challenges and lessons learned from implementing both projects multiple times, as well as access to some of the PBL course materials and assignments will be provided.
Subjects related to fluid mechanics for hydraulic engineers ought to be delivered in interesting and active modes. New methods should be introduced to improve the learning students’ abilities in the different courses of the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. Related to active learning methods, a continuous project-based learning experience is described in this research. This manuscript shows the developed learning methodology, which was included on different levels at Universitat Politècnica de València. The main research goal is to show the active learning methods used to evaluate both skills competences (e.g., “Design and Project”) and specific competences of the students. The research shows a particular developed innovation teaching project, which was developed by lecturers and professors of the Hydraulic Engineering Department, since 2016. This project proposed coordination in different subjects that were taught in different courses of the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, in which 2200 students participated. This coordination improved the acquisition of the learning results, as well as the new teaching methods increased the student’s satisfaction index.
The dominant pedagogy for engineering education still remains “chalk and talk”, despite the large body of education research that demonstrates its ineffectiveness. In recent years, the engineering profession and the bodies responsible for accrediting engineering programs have called for change. This paper discusses the application of problem-based and project-based learning to engineering education, examines the difference between them. It reviews some examples of where they have been used to date and discusses the effectiveness and relevance of each method for engineering education.
There is growing evidence of the need to prepare engineering students for the future world in which they will practice as professionals. Educational practices that over-emphasise theory alone are outdated, as it is important for students to not only gain knowledge about engineering, but also to learn how to be an engineer. Hence a transformation in teaching and learning approaches is essential to prepare students to solve complex problems in a global world. In order for students to practice as engineers, they need to have had exposure to a number of projects that offer real-world problems, along with the complexity and uncertainty of factors that influence such problems. Students need to learn how to frame a problem, identify stakeholders and their requirements, design and select concepts, test them, and so on. Learning to apply theoretical principles is much better done when given real problems and hands-on activities in projects. This form of project-based learning calls for a different mode of interaction between staff and students, and is explained in this paper. In project-based learning, teachers facilitate and guide students through the engineering design process, while students actively engage in research and problem solving activities within a team setting. The approach presented here is part of the new re-design of the engineering curriculum at Massey University in New Zealand. Some of the challenges of implementation, and best practices, are shared in this paper.
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The impact of actively based learning, a new instructional method, in an existing mechanical engineering curriculum for fluid mechanics
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Entrepreneurially Minded Learning: Incorporating Stakeholders, Discovery, Opportunity Identification, and Value Creation into Problem-Based Learning Modules with Examples and Assessment Specific to Fluid Mechanics
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Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 26-29, 2016. [Online]
Available: https://peer.asee.org/26724. [Accessed February 12, 2023].