Project-Based Teaching and Learning in Thermo-Fluid Courses By Syed M. Zubair and M. A.

Antar Mechanical Engineering Department King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia CONTEXT The rapid growth of information and its availability electronically makes the use of latest technologies for the teaching and learning process a convenient way for disseminating information in various fields of education. In March 1987, the American Association of Higher Education first published "Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education." These seven principles are a meta-analysis of 50 years of research on good teaching principles (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). These principles apply to teaching and learning in any environment. They have been recognized as a base for improving teaching and learning process in general either in face-to-face, distant learning or online learning. Many researchers (Kulik, 2002; Waxman et al., 2002) indicated that technology can improve education if used appropriately provided that there is sufficiently available technology support and maintenance. The uses of technology have linkages to important educational learning expectations and that teachers are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively model and teach exemplary uses of technology. Kulik (2002) indicated that computer tutorials can produce good results in both natural and social science instruction. Simulations can improve the leaning process though the results reported did not support this idea. One factor that increases maximum effectives of technology use is good teacher preparation and skills. To be effective when using technology, teachers ought to be highly involved in providing feedback to students. Researchers (Byrom & Bingham, 2001; Clements & Sarama, 2003; Kulik, 2002; Mann, et al., 1999; Valdez, et al., 1999; and Waxman, et al., 2002) indicate that appropriate technology use can be very beneficial to increase educational productivity. RESEARCH QUESTIONS One of the important questions in engineering education is to integrate all the basic knowledge of elementary engineering courses such as Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer and Fluid Mechanics to introduce both design and performance evaluation problems of heat exchangers. These problems are normally introduced through projects (or detailed case studies). Some case studies will be presented to explain the whole philosophy of teaching and learning through the use of modern tools that help to improve the delivery and contents of the course material. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The seven principles of good teaching and learning are summarized as (Chickering & Gamson , 1987):

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Encourages contact between students and faculty, Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students, Encourages active learning through use of EES software, Gives prompt feedback, Emphasizes time on task, Communicates high expectations, and Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

It should be emphasized that these elements emphasize as the commitment and action of students and faculty members to improve or at least address the quality of the teaching and learning process starting from face-to-face to all the way through the online domain. That includes the in-between modes such as hybrid scheme and face-to-face technology through use of software such as EES. In the proposed paper, details of the usefulness of applying the above seven principles of good learning and teaching will be discussed with respect to project-based thermofluid courses that we teach in the department, reference to the instructors who focused on the usefulness and use of these principles in a face-to-face mode, distance learning mode and online mode will be highlighted, in addition to the integration of EES software in the courses. The personal experience of the authors in applying these principles will be presented in the form of case studies. METHODOLOGY The format that we have adopted in our classrooms is to first introduce heat exchanger design and performance evaluation problems in a classical manner (i.e., explain all basic fundamentals such as conservation of mass, first and second-law analysis), and then solve the relevant equations in the classroom using Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software. Present all possible scenarios of design and rating problems in terms of tables and graphs. The good thing about EES is easy availability of fluid thermophysical properties that are very important for all thermo-fluid problems. Case Studies in Thermo-Fluid Courses In this section, we present some of our activities in teaching thermo-fluid courses. The sample has shown for the are both Heat Transfer (Junior level course) and Thermodynamics I (Sophomore level) and Heat Exchanger Design (senior level). These courses are taught in the technology assisted mode, particularly the heat transfer and heat exchanger design courses are taught in a blended mode. A typical interface of the heat transfer course is shown in Figure 1. This image shows the main course page. It has various elements such as: Course Syllabus that represents a contract between the instructor and students. This includes course objectives, outcomes and detailed course topics breakdown. It also contains course mechanism in terms of grade distribution and letter grade assignment policy. They are made available for the students from the first day. This would help setting the expectation for students. Everyone will be able to calculate his grade at any day in the semester and accordingly know in which category he belongs (A, B, C.). In addition, the student can anticipate what score he should target to improve

his grade and know his possibilities in attaining higher grades. The My Grade link provides information for the students throughout the course with all available statistical information (average, median, highest, lowest and standard deviation).

Figure 1. Heat Transfer main page in WebCT Course calendar is another place where time management can be emphasized. All assignments, quizzes and exam dates are specified. Students can also enter their own time limits and deadlines. Furthermore, students are reminded each time they login by the important activities occurring in the near future. The course content part includes all the lectures originally prepared for online domain. The lectures are prepared as a mixture of text, voice, figures, animations and end of the lecture quizzes. This way, the seventh principle of respecting students' diverse talents and ways of learning is taken care of so that diversity of reading, listening, animation watching and interactive quiz is demonstrated. In addition, a set of virtual experiments designed to handle the same principle were added as Java programs. More experiments were prepared by students who showed interest either through EES software (interactive analytical and numerical work), or through LabView software where students were taught to design virtual experiments that cover most of the course contents and made available to others through the heat transfer lab website. This way, active learning tools are made effective through students' interaction with or design and implementation of these modules. Since the online (technology assisted) mode adds unlimited resources, some links to websites are shown to students. An example is the link to an interactive site that

shows the students how to calculate the radiation shape factor. Moreover, a free book available on the internet is provided. Some additional activities are occasionally used such as adding links to Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) for more resources. This way, an additional feature to the diversity of students learning styles is realized. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS It is noticed during our interaction with the students that it is not what we include in the course management system that makes a successful online, hybrid or even technology assisted face-to-face mode, it is actually what we practice as instructors and learners. It is the environment or motivation created during the course that makes the difference. The major elements in this respect are the communication tools. Emails (for person-to-person contact), discussion boards that allow for student interaction among themselves and with the instructor is the place for real learning since it has elements of critical thinking, discussions and deliberation of various course elements. It is the place where an instructor leads discussions out of the normal borders of a classroom. Students are encouraged to surf the net for additional information, application and critiques related to the topics that we introduce in our classrooms. During the Thermodynamics course, some hints on heat transfer modes are given. Introducing thermal radiation leads to the subject of microwave heating. Due to limited class time, students are asked to explore more the idea and hazards of microwave heating and the result are overwhelming. This helped actually to motivate the students to further explore various aspects of thermo-fluid problems. Another example that we found very useful for students is to first explain all fundamental aspects of thermo-fluid problems and then use EES software to solve and discuss various possible scenarios that is difficult to explain through conventional means. It is observed that the students' involvement is considerably increased. We found that students learning outcomes are considerably enhanced by tackling many real-life thermal design problems through the seven basic principles of learning in an academic environment, wherein the students follow the basic fundamentals and compare the results with commercial soft wares that do not provide the complete details, in terms of basic fundamentals and relevant equations. In some cases students end up exploring more complicated engineering problems that involve critical thinking, effective use of both computational and graphical tools. RECOMMENDATIONS It is very important that an institutions administration is responsible for creating and maintaining a strategy that supports innovative teaching and learning process in engineering education. All resources to support the leaning process are to be availed for a successful teaching and learning experience. It is recommended to be part of the institutions vision to establish partnership with stakeholders in order to increase the initiatives chances of success. On the other hand, instructors and course designers consider the courses as an integral part of the institution vision and mission. It is recommended that the institution has to value the following qualities: (a) a strong sense of shared purposes; (b) concrete support from administrators and faculty leaders for these endeavors; (c) adequate funding appropriate for such activities; (d) policies

and procedures consistent with the overall objective of improving teaching and learning skills; (e) continuing examination of how well the purposes are being achieved; and (f) establish measure to guarantee the quality of course and course delivery through peer review process. The institute should set criteria for rewarding faculty members taking the challenge in improving the course contents through integration of modern tools in addition to research related to these issues. The students' interaction is also very important for teaching and learning to succeed. Classes ought to be small enough to allow for faculty-students interaction to guarantee a sense of community, to experience the value of their contributions, and to confront the consequences of their failures. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors acknowledge the support provided by KFUPM to complete this work. REFERENCES 1. Byrom, E. and Bingham, M. (2001), Factors influencing the effective use of technology for teaching and learning: Lessons learned from SEIR-TEC intensive site schools (2nd ed.) Durham, NC: South East Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium. Available from http://www.seirtec.org/publications/lessons.pdf. 2. Chickering, A.W. and Gamson Z.F. (1987), Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education, AAHE Bulletin, 39(7), 3-7. 3. Clements D. H. and Sarama, J. (2003), Strip Mining for Gold: Research and policy in educational Technology-A response to Fools Gold Educational Technology Review, 11(1), 7-69. 4. Kulik, J. A. (2002), School Mathematics and Science Programs Benefit from Instruction Technology (Info Brief, NSF 03-301) Washington DC: NSF. 5. Mann, D., Shakeshaft, C., Becker, J. and Kottkamp, R. (1999), West Virginia Story: Achievement Gains from a Statewide Comprehensive Instructional Technology Program. Available from http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME155.pdf. 6. Valdez, G., McNabb, M., Foertsch, M., Anderson, M., Hawkes, M. and Raack, L. (1999), Computer Based Technology and Learning: Evolving uses and Expectations. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Available from http://www.ncrel.org/tplan/cbtl/toc.htm. 7. Waxman, H. C., Connell M. L. and Gray, J. (2002), A Quantitative Synthesis of Recent Research on the Effects of Teaching and Learning with Technology on Students Outcomes. Naperville, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Available from http://www.ncrel.org/tech/effects/effects.pdf