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Abstract BackgroundUndergraduate students consistently struggle with mastering concepts related to thermodynamics. Prior work has shown that haptic technology and intensive hands‐on workshops help improve learning outcomes relative to traditional lecture‐based thermodynamics instruction. The current study takes a more feasible approach to improving thermal understanding by incorporating simple mechanical objects into individual problem‐solving exercises. Purpose/HypothesesThis study tests the impact of simple mechanical objects on learning outcomes (specifically, problem‐solving performance and conceptual understanding) for third‐year undergraduate engineering students in a thermodynamics course across a semester. Design/MethodDuring the semester, 119 engineering students in two sections of an undergraduate thermodynamics course completed three 15‐min, self‐guided problem‐solving tasks, one section without and the other with a simple and relevant physical object. Performance on the tasks and improvements in thermodynamics comprehension (measured via Thermal and Transport Concept Inventory scores) were compared between the two sections. ResultsStudents who had a simple, relevant object available to solve three thermodynamics problems consistently outperformed their counterparts without objects, although only to statistical significance when examining the simple effects for the third problem. At the end of the semester, students who had completed the tasks with the objects displayed significantly greater improvements in thermodynamics comprehension than their peers without the relevant object. Higher mechanical aptitude facilitated the beneficial effect of object availability on comprehension improvements. ConclusionFindings suggest that the incorporation of simple mechanical objects into active learning exercises in thermodynamics curricula could facilitate student learning in thermodynamics and potentially other abstract domains.
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Using schema training to facilitate students' understanding of challenging engineering concepts in heat transfer and thermodynamics
Abstract BackgroundChi and colleagues have argued that some of the most challenging engineering concepts exhibit properties of emergent systems. However, students often lack a mental framework, or schema, for understanding emergence. Slotta and Chi posited that helping students develop a schema for emergent systems, referred to as schema training, would increase the understanding of challenging concepts exhibiting emergent properties. PurposeWe tested the effectiveness of schema training and explored the nature of challenging concepts from thermodynamics and heat transfer. We investigated if schema training could (a) repair misconceptions in advanced engineering students and (b) prevent them in beginning engineering students. MethodWe adapted Slotta and Chi's schema training modules and tested their impact in two studies that employed an experimental design. Items from the Thermal and Transport Concept Inventory and expert‐developed multiple‐choice questions were used to evaluate conceptual understanding of the participants. The language used by students in their open‐ended explanations of multiple‐choice questions was also coded. ResultsIn both studies, students in the experimental groups showed larger gains in their understanding of some concepts—specifically in dye diffusion and microfluidics in Study One, and in the final test for thermodynamics in Study Two. But in neither study did students exhibit any gain in conceptual questions about heat transfer. ConclusionOur studies suggest the importance of examining the nature of the phenomena underlying the concepts being taught because the language used in instruction has implications for how students understand them. Therefore, we suggest that instructors reflect on their own understanding of the concepts.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1232761
- PAR ID:
- 10454463
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Engineering Education
- Volume:
- 109
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1069-4730
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 743-759
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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