NSF Award
9150567
A module for the introductory course in thermodynamics is to be developed which is to be sufficiently flexible to match the learning styles of most engineering students. The combined expertise of subject matter experts and teaching psychology experts are used to define the boundaries and content of the module and the order and method of presentation of material. Technologies appealing to the visual senses, including use of computer controlled interactive displays of full motion graphic images are exploited. Performance of students is to be compared with that of students exposed to the standard lecture format, and the results will be correlated. Results will be disseminated by sending a paper submitted for publication outlining the results of the study and a videotape of a sample lecture to all the mechanical engineering departments in the United States. It is expected that this rapid dissemination of results will result in the incorporation of some or all of this module into thermodynamics courses taught by many engineering schools. In addition, it is hoped that the results of this study will encourage professors to utilize the principles developed in this research to develop courses in other areas such as dynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer.
