Flipping an Engineering Thermodynamics Course to Improve Student Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Colin Reagle joined the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University in 2014, specializing in the area of thermal fluid flows and sustainable energy systems. He brings his extensive background in the subjects to Mason as a boon to the growing mechanical engineering program. He has also taught and conducted postdoctoral research at Virginia Tech including research projects for Solar Turbines, Siemens, Pratt and Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and Honeywell. Reagle has R&D experience as a researcher for Techsburg, a small engineering services company in Christiansburg, Virginia.His primary focus at Mason has growing the Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program through teaching in his areas of expertise and service to department and VSE. Reagle has a passion for working with students and enabling them to pursue their goals. He is involved in multiple student centric efforts including developing a small scale, anaerobic digester to harvest energy from food waste in urban and suburban environments; a multidisciplinary entrepreneurship program encouraging students to develop ideas from the classroom; converting a required course in the ME curriculum to use Open Educational Resources; a cross institutional effort to flip and improve a required thermodynamics course; and a multidisciplinary research effort to assess urban hydroelectric microturbines as a solution to joint energy and water challenges. Flipping an Engineering Thermodynamics Course to Improve Student Self-Efficacy AbstractThermodynamics is well documented as a difficult course in the engineering and technology curricula that require it. The flipped lecture format has been similarly documented to improve student-teacher interaction and student engagement. This work attempts to address whether flipping a difficult, demanding thermodynamics course improves student self-efficacy.Student surveys were conducted in multiple sections of a thermodynamics course over two years to evaluate student perceptions of the flipped course format. Students had positive perceptions about how class time was used in the flipped lecture style which was expected based on previous literature. Nearly all of the respondents agreed that using class time for discussion and problemsolving was very useful. No specific topic was singled out as unsuitable for the flip format; however several comments suggest that highly conceptual topics or topics that may be difficult to understand without examples are not suited for the flip format. Many students commented that the video lectures allowed them to be more prepared when they went to class and more actively engaged with class material. Most students also agree that they are confident in their ability to solve problems and apply their knowledge to new problems introduced in the course and in their ability to solve related problems in their future academic and professional endeavors. A majority of students also agreed that the course helped them to develop their own questions about the material and become more independent learners. The...

The impact of flipped classrooms on student achievement in engineering education: A meta‐analysis of 10 years of research

“…In our review, more recent articles (e.g., Altaii et al, ; Baytiyeh & Naja, ; Cook et al, ) were included. In addition, several articles (e.g., Hanawa et al, ; Hayashi et al, ; Northrup & Burke, ) not in Karabulut‐Ilgu et al () were included in our review.…”

“…In flipped engineering courses, students were first exposed to new materials before class by visiting online lectures. Engaging in the materials again in class improved students' understanding (Altaii et al, ; Fogarty, ; Schrlau et al, ). Second, studying online learning resources before class helped to prepare students for class activities (Baytiyeh & Naja, ; Clark et al, ; Kim et al, ).…”

“…Second, studying online learning resources before class helped to prepare students for class activities (Baytiyeh & Naja, ; Clark et al, ; Kim et al, ). In the words of one student in the Altaii et al's () study, “I was able to more actively engage in the class because I had a background knowledge of the material” (p. 14).…”

“…In the student survey from Schrlau et al's () study, for example, more than 90% of the students expressed that these activities contributed to their learning. In addition, support from peers and instructors facilitated student learning in flipped classes (Altaii et al, ; Chao et al, ; Ghadiri et al, ). As one student from the Altaii et al's () study shared, “Being able to work on practice problems in an atmosphere where your peers and professor could help you get to the correct answer was extremely helpful” (p. 10).…”

“…According to Merrill (), student learning in the flipped classroom was promoted because they were provided with additional chances to apply their engineering knowledge through problem‐solving activities. The flipped classroom also freed class time for an instructor's individualized guidance (Helmke, ; Lemley et al, ; Ossman & Bucks, ) and peer‐assisted learning (Altaii et al, ; McClelland, ; Schrlau et al, ). Yelamarthi and Drake (, ) further reported that the collaborative learning environment in their flipped class not only enhanced their students' problem‐solving skills but also improved their confidence in interpersonal skills.…”