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The purpose of this work-in-progress (WIP) paper is to report on an ongoing study that used Chi and Wylie (2014)'s Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive (ICAP) framework (I > C > A > P) to survey the degree to which LC-DLMs foster cognitive engagement as students learn about a venturi meter in a fluid mechanics and heat transfer course. Fredricks, Blumenfeld, and Paris (2004) define cognitive engagement as the effort students invest in understanding what they are learning. Indeed, cognitive engagement is critical for effective teaching and learning in engineering. Although there is research evidence showing that students learn better with hands-on approaches than traditional lectures [1, 2], little is known about student differential levels of cognitive engagement that underlie such improved learning. As part of a large program of federally-funded research, our research team has developed light-weight, portable, ultra-Low-Cost Desktop Learning Modules (LC-DLMs) that enable students to employ systems experientially to illustrate the physics that underlie transfer processes and provide students with visual cues to help develop robust understanding of the fundamentals of momentum, heat and mass transfer. Sixtyseven (67) participants used LC-DLMs to learn venturi concepts in an engineering course. Overall, preliminary results show that the majority of the participants reported that LC-DLMs helped foster active, constructive, and interactive forms of engagement far more than lectures did. For example, all but two of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that the use of LC-DLMs helped promote interactive forms of engagement such as discussion with peers, asking and answering questions and clarifying understanding with peers through robust discussions. Some open-ended items solicited information about the physical features of the LC-DLMs that were helpful in learning venturi concepts and ways the LC-DLMs hindered or enhanced their engagement and learning. Most of the participants reported that the visual cues afforded by LC-DLMs made the venturi concepts more relatable and helped them develop conceptual understanding better than if they had only been taught using lectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each engineering student who enters a fluid mechanics and heat transfer course has his or her own perception of transport phenomena, where the foundation of those perceptions could be built on previous coursework or experiences. As student progress through these courses, they build on such perceptions and develop a better understanding of the subject. Often, though, there is a lack of depth in knowledge of fundamental transport phenomena concepts. This level of understanding is necessary for enduring effects on student abilities. From data and literature, it has been proven that hands-on learning is more effective than passive learning in developing depth in conceptual understanding. As a result, low-cost desktop learning modules (LC-DLMs) were developed to enhance student understanding of various fundamental transport phenomena concepts: hydraulic loss, energy transformations in fluid flow, and heat exchange. However, there is a lack of robust measures for assessing student understanding. To address this gap, Bloom's taxonomy can be used to categorize learning outcomes, measure learning gains, and better analyze understanding of concepts embedded in use of exercises that involve the LC-DLMs. This method provides a novel means to predict areas of misconceptions and create corrective measures to address those misconceptions. The goal in this paper is to explicate the development of Bloom's-based questions to help students achieve a proper understanding of different transport phenomena through LCDLMs. A detailed outline of the development of Bloom's taxonomy-based questions is provided to ensure a concrete base for quantitative assessments. Results from preliminary evaluations of those Bloom's taxonomy graduated questions, along with the implications and limitations of these results are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective, organized dissemination and assessment of learning tools designed to address common misconceptions and foster learning in engineering courses is crucial. It has been widely shown that students engaged in active learning perform significantly better than those learning passively. Thus, there is currently a movement toward the use of active learning in the classroom. In the current paper, we report on an NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) project that seeks to complement the national efforts. We have developed Low-Cost Desktop Learning Modules (LC-DLMs) which replicate industrial equipment on a small scale and can be used in traditional classroom settings to display fundamental mass and heat transfer concepts in a highly visual format. Studies with existing venturi meter and hydraulic loss LC-DLMs show statistically significant improvement in performance, especially at higher Bloom's levels of evaluate and create, as well as positive impacts on motivation and self-efficacy for students exposed to the LC-DLM intervention versus those taught fluid mechanics concepts in a lecture-based format. This supports the hypothesis that use of LC-DLMs fosters deeper conceptual understanding. Based on these results, we are continuing to explore the benefit of LC-DLMs by engaging in a national dissemination effort which will allow a more critical assessment of LC-DLM impact across a wide demographic base. We have begun distributing existing LC-DLM cartridges to institutions nationwide, including minority serving colleges and those located in Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states, and will continue to expand the dissemination effort over the next several years. Dissemination will be supported with a webbased hotline structure, video tutorials, and worksheet and assessment materials. Additionally, seven regional hub-based workshops over five years, beginning with a workshop for hub coordinators in March 2019, will serve to educate faculty on appropriate use and implementation of LC-DLMs in the classroom, foster local interest, and catalyze the spread of LC-DLMs. Finally, additional LC-DLM cartridges including a miniature fluidized bed and cooling tower are in development. Through these efforts, we hope to gather and critically assess a multitude of evidence supporting the ability of LC-DLMs to improve undergraduate student performance as well as provide the complex support structure required for large-scale adoption of hands-on learning tools encouraging active, collaborative learning in engineering classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]