Developing and assessing a collaborative open-ended design project with a renewable energy focus in an introductory thermal sciences course

Author:

Gibbons Melissa M.1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

Abstract

This paper describes the development and assessment of a collaborative open-ended design project for a second-year Introduction to Thermal Sciences course, in which groups had to design a renewable energy portfolio that would meet the University of San Diego's energy needs. The project was broken into three individual tasks, and the deliverables were a technical report and an oral presentation. Final reports submitted by groups in spring 2022 were directly assessed using rubrics to determine the efficacy of the project at meeting four of the student outcomes addressed by the course (1—ability to solve complex engineering problems, 2—ability to apply the engineering design process, 4—consider the impact of engineering solutions, and 7—ability to acquire and apply new knowledge). Four out of the six groups achieved student outcome 1, and five of the groups achieved student outcomes 2, 4, and 7. A self- and peer-evaluation form was used to indirectly assess student outcome 5—ability to function effectively on a team, and results showed that 27 of the 29 students achieved the outcome. Indirect assessment was performed using an anonymous survey instrument, and students’ responses about how the project improved their abilities in all skills that were assessed were statistically different from neutral in the positive direction. Students’ responses about their perception of the project organization, tasks expectations, timing, and difficulty were also statistically different from neutral in the positive direction. Open-ended feedback indicated that students appreciated learning about renewable energy, having real data from a realistic customer, and the amount of autonomy they were given.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Mechanical Engineering,Education

Reference30 articles.

1. Hart Research Associates. Falling short? College learning and career success. Hart Research Associates, 2015.

2. Long term stability of learning outcomes in undergraduates after an open-inquiry instruction on thermal science

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3