(97f) Desktop Learning Modules (DLMs) and Their Effects on Student Progression through Bloom’s Taxonomy for Fluid Mechanics Concepts

The use of alternative and complementary learning methods has been explored for the past several decades to aid in student comprehension and retention of engineering concepts. Hands-on learning methods, specifically, have gained notoriety due to their potential for being more applicable to engineering students, as the majority of these students tend to be kinesthetic learners. To support this mode of learning, low-cost Desktop Learning Modules (DLMs) were created by Dr. Bernard Van Wie’s group at Washington State University. DLMs are hands-on apparatuses representing industrial process units; activities associated with the modules may be used to assist student learning of engineering concepts. To determine the effectiveness of these DLMs, two types of modules—Hydraulic Loss and Venturi—were tested on two Chemical Engineering undergraduate classes at Washington State University. To account for the differences in teaching style of the instructors and ensure equal opportunity for success, the two classes alternated between being treated as the control group and the variable group for each lecture unit. To begin the study, all students were given an articulated pre-test to determine their incoming knowledge of mass and energy balances with respect to the DLM of interest. From there, the control group continued with lecture as normal, while the variable group ran mini-experiments on the DLM and filled out a worksheet corresponding to the experiments. All students were then given the same posttest on mass and energy balances with respect to the DLM used. Both the pre- and posttests consist of a mix of multiple choice questions and justification sections that correspond to the Bloom’s taxonomy levels: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. This study will determine the effectiveness of the DLMs on student learning of fluid mechanics concepts using Bloom’s taxonomy to observe student progression from pre- to posttest in the control and experimental groups.