Integrated Learning In Context for Heat Exchanger Analysis

摘要

An Engineering Technology program is developing a new vertically integrated undergraduate energy systems curriculum that crosses traditional course boundaries. The goal is for students to recognize and understand energy conversion in a more comprehensive way by showing how similar processes occur in different disciplines. Courses in thermodynamics, electrical power generation, fluid power, manufacturing processes, and internal combustion engines are all being modified to include modules on energy conversion as a unifying and integrating theme. This paper targets one module of this comprehensive multi-course re-design, where a two-week segment of an introductory thermodynamics course was re-imagined to present the overarching energy conversion topic in an integrated learning-in-context format, so that the learning occurred just in time and the learning outcomes were tied to a practical hands-on experience to evaluate a heat exchanger. A survey to assess student learning showed that students 1) were more confident in their technical knowledge after having completed this project and 2) preferred to have detailed instructions to complete lab procedure (as opposed to working on their own).