Physics education research and the development of "inquiry" teaching methods over the last 20 years have, by all measures, significantly reduced misconceptions and improved student understanding in physics. But adoption of these methods in upper division science and engineering courses has been slow. This paper describes the modification of an electronics/circuits course designed for physics majors to determine whether the benefits of the inquiry method can be extended to upper level circuits/electronics courses. Formative and summative assessments and methods for evaluation of student misconceptions and understanding including the application of a standardized electric circuit concept inventory instrument are described. The results suggest that inquiry teaching methods implemented in upper level university courses contribute significantly to extinguishing common misconceptions and improving long-term understanding of the material. With so much to be gained it is time for the engineering education community to embrace these concepts and implement the fruits of physics education research for the benefit of our students and the world community.
Crush resistance has become a key, perhaps even the singular, parameter used in selection of proppant for hydraulic fracture stimulation operations. The API Recommended Practice 19C (RP19C)-which is identical to the ISO13503-2 standard 1lays out procedures intended to produce repeatable results.However, repeated measurements in the same lab are inherently noisy and lab-to-lab results often produce crush strength differences of as much as 2k psi. The RP19C is intended to produce reliable and repeatable proppant crush results. However, results from this study show that when compared to other possible methods, the RP19C procedure both increases the noise in the measurement and lowers the crush rating. We describe a series of experiments which provide statistically reliable insight on the effect that loading and handling of the crush cell has on the crush results. The data allow a comparison of five loading methods: the standard RP19C method; the Pluviator; a jarred-cell approach to test the RP19C admonition to avoid "agitating" the cell; a vibratory settling method and a new mechanical loader, designed by the authors. Because two of the loading methods produce statistically significant improvements in crush resistance (specifically the vibratory method and the new mechanical loading device) and because the primary effect appears to be tied to maximizing the packing density, we conclude that the in-situ crush resistance of these proppants may be higher than estimated by the standard test.
Much has been written about the current and future need for employees in the oil and gas industry. As the price of oil continues to climb again, prospects for a student graduating with a petroleum engineering degree look encouraging. This is helping to encourage high school students to consider studying petroleum engineering at the university level. However, the structure of many university systems and the lack of petroleum engineering programs make it difficult for the universities to ramp up to meet this surging enrollment. As a school experiencing record numbers, Montana Tech is experimenting with ways to manage enrollment, ensure quality and provide well trained students to enter the workforce. A number of measures designed to manage enrollment and ensure quality have been either implemented or are in the proposal stage. The implemented measures include a new minimum GPA requirement on transfer students, the development of a pre-engineering program, the development of an anti-cheating policy, the enforcement of a 19 credit hour per semester rule, and a search for additional faculty. Proposed measures include allowing students only two attempts to pass courses in their major and establishing a common curriculum for incoming first year engineering students, after which they would apply to the petroleum department. An enrollment cap is proposed as a final measure to be considered after the effects of the above methods are evaluated. Data currently being collected include class sizes, number of transfer students, class GPA's, and faculty student ratio. Preliminary observations show that some of the implemented measures are having an effect, as they indicate a stabilization of enrollment numbers and a better distribution of class grades. Many of the institutions that offer a petroleum engineering degree are facing the same enrollment issues. The evaluation of these methods may lead to approaches that can be applied at other institutions, allowing for petroleum education to better able meet the needs of the industry.
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