scholarly journals Hands-On Workshops to Assist in Students' Conceptual Understanding of Heat Transfer

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher F. Cirenza ◽  
Thomas E. Diller ◽  
Christopher B. Williams

A two-year study was conducted to engage undergraduate mechanical engineering students to approach heat transfer education in an active, hands-on manner and excite them to pursue research and graduate studies in the field. Physical workshops were designed and implemented into junior level heat transfer classes, allowing students to feel and observe heat transfer using heat flux and temperature sensors that provided real-time data. These instruments, coupled with open-ended, challenge-based pedagogy, provided opportunities for students to explore important heat transfer concepts, such as the differences between heat and temperature. The conceptual knowledge of the students was assessed through concept-specific questions. These results were compared to those of a control group who took the traditional lecture without the workshops. The results yielded significantly higher scores for the experimental group in the first year but much less of a difference in the second year, which added video-enhanced workshops in place of the purely hands-on workshops. In addition to concept questions, surveys taken by the students reveal that the students much preferred the workshops in either form over not having them. They also believed the workshops strongly enhanced their learning by giving them a real, hands-on experience.

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Naidoo ◽  
R. Naidoo

This paper focuses on blended learning in mathematics I module in elementary calculus, at a University of Technology.  A computer laboratory was used to create a learning environment that promoted interactive learning together with traditional teaching. The interactive learning was performed using projects to optimize the discovery and error diagnosis in an elementary differential calculus class consisting of first year engineering students.  A group of 33 engineering students (the experimental group) completed a project in elementary calculus as part of their course requirement for the mathematics I module in the engineering faculty. The project was designed to support the development of the differential calculus frames “limit of a sequence”, “average rate of change” and “instantaneous rate of change”.  Students were clinically interviewed on their tasks in the project. We also compared a control group of students (randomly selected students) in a completely traditional to the experimental group. Both groups were subjected to the Orton’s test on differential calculus.  Analysis of project work indicated that students have developed specific mathematical mental frames in elementary calculus. The control group exhibited more structural and executive errors than the experimental group. The experimental group tended to describe the concepts using deep structures than surface structures.  Statistically the scores on the Orton’s tests indicated a clear difference between the experimental group and the control group. We can suggest blended learning enhances understanding of key concepts in elementary calculus.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11487
Author(s):  
Peiyuan Li ◽  
Bin Zeng ◽  
Xuanmin Chen ◽  
Zhifeng Liu ◽  
Jing Yang

Purpose The purpose of this research was to assess whether the efficacy of the seminar-case learning model is superior to the traditional lecture-based learning model in the gastroenterology curriculum for first-year graduate students. Materials & Methods This research was a prospective randomized controlled trial that enrolled 92 first-year postgraduate students with a rotation internship in the gastroenterology department. The students were randomly divided into 2 groups and then subjected to an identical version of the curriculum for 8 weeks. The experimental group (n = 50) used the seminar-case learning model, while the control group (n = 42) used the traditional lecture-based learning model. Examinations consisted of a theoretical test and a case analysis test, and anonymous questionnaires were used to assess teaching quality. Results All participants completed the examinations and questionnaires. The average theoretical test score of the experimental group was no statistical significance with that of the control group (P = 0.17). The average case analysis test score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The indicators of the experimental group’s feedback were better than those of the control group, such that there were significantly higher learning interest and motivation, a better understanding of diseases and knowledge, improvements in clinical thinking and summary ability, and an active classroom atmosphere in the experimental group (P < 0.05). However, students in the experimental group felt more burdensome. Conclusion Compared to the traditional method, the seminar-case learning model showed a higher efficacy. The seminar-case learning model effectively improved students’ outcomes and satisfaction, which helped students narrow the gap between theoretical knowledge and clinical practical application.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 180
Author(s):  
José Manuel Navarro Jover

This study was carried out on first-year engineering students in the subject of technical drawing, an eminently practical subject that requires the continuous development of spatial vision and also that students should devote time and effort to it from the very beginning. For the study we designed an auto-feedback activity to be applied to the students in the experimental group. The aim was to determine whether the students improved by this means their capacity for self-regulation and ultimately their academic performance. The students included in the experimental group obtained higher scores in the end-of-year self-regulation questionnaire (78.5) than those in the control group (66.47). There was a highly significant correlation (r=0.60; p<0.05) between the final grade and the class attendance rate. Although the auto-feedback treatment did not directly influence the final grades in the analysis of overall variance, it did have an indirect effect through the attendance variable; the students in the experimental group attended significantly more classes than those in the control group (82.2% vs. 68.6%; p<0.05). In fact, a comparison of the average final grades showed that the experimental group obtained significantly higher marks (6.97/10) than the control group (3.8/10).


Author(s):  
Hasanul Arifin Zul And Masitowarni Siregar

This thesis is focused on the investigation of the effect of applying animal cartoon pictures on students’ achievement in writing narrative text. This study aims to find whether applying animal cartoon pictures significantly affect the students’ writing achievement or not. The data in this study were obtained by administering a written test. The population was the 2015/2016 first year (grade XI) of SMA Swasta Nusantara Lubuk Pakam and 66 students were taken as the sample by using random sampling. The sample was divided into two groups, experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught by applying animal cartoon pictures while the control group without animal cartoon pictures (x = lecturing). The data were taken the scores from the pre-test and post-test to both experimental and control groups. These data were analyzed by using t-test. The result of computing the t-test obviously showed that t-observed is higher than t-table (5.21 >1,67) with the degree of freedom 64 (df =N-2) at the level significance 0,05 one tail test. It showed that the application of animal cartoon pictures significantly affected the students of SMA Swasta Nusantara Lubuk Pakam achievement in writing narrative text.


Author(s):  
Maruh Sianturi And Berlin Sibarani

This study was aimed at finding out the effect of using Noting, Interacting, Summarizing, and Prioritizing Strategy on Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension. This study was designed with the experimental design. The population of this study was the first year students at academic 2013/2012 of SMA swasta YP St. Paulus Martubung, Medan. There were fourty students taken as the sample of the research. The sample was divided into two groups: the first group (20 students) as the experimental group and the second group (20 students) as the control group. The experimental group was taught by Using Noting, Interacting, Summarizing, and Prioritizing Strategy, while the control group was taught by using conventional method. The instrument for collecting the data was multiple choices which consisted of 40 items. To obtain the reliability of the test, the researcher used Kuder -Richardson (KR-21) formula. The calculation showed that the reliability of the test was 0.75. The data were calculated by using t-test formula. The result of the analysis shows that t-observed (4.98) was higher than t-table (2.025) at the level of significance (α) 0.05 and the degree of freedom (df) 38. Therefore, the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected and alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted. It meant that teaching reading comprehension by using Noting, Interacting, Summarizing, and Prioritizing Strategy significantly affects reading comprehension.


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. A4.2-A4
Author(s):  
Matthew Warren-James ◽  
Julie Hanson ◽  
Belinda Flanagan ◽  
Mary Katsikitis ◽  
Bill Lord

BackgroundWhilst there is evidence to suggest paramedics experience significant stress when working in the ambulance setting little is known about the experiences of first year paramedic students. This research aimed to: (i) identify whether levels of stress, anxiety and depression experienced by first year paramedic students changed after ambulance placement compared to a control group, and (ii) identify the main perceived and actual sources of stress around ambulance placement.MethodsA before-and-after quasi-experimental design was used to compare whether the experience of ambulance placement altered the levels of stress, anxiety and depression in an experimental group that attended an ambulance placement (n = 20) and the control group who did not (n = 10). Online surveys encompassing the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and qualitative questions about sources of stress were concurrently deployed to both the experimental and control groups before and after the ambulance placement. Participants were first year paramedic students working in Queensland Ambulance Service, Australia.ResultsThere was a significant reduction in levels of stress in participants after undertaking their first ambulance placement (Mdn = -4.00) when compared to a control group (Mdn = 0.00), U = 52.5, p = .035, n2 = 0.15. Responses to survey questions suggest anticipation about experiencing death and dying of patients was the most frequently reported stressor of student paramedics before undertaking ambulance placements, however insecurity about knowledge, competence and fear of failure was the most frequently experienced stressor reported after completing ambulance placements.ConclusionsThe findings from this study suggest that the fear of the unknown may be worse than the reality. Anticipatory stress is the foremost problem for first year paramedic students attending their first ambulance placement. Placement pre-briefing should focus on educational interventions to build knowledge and skills competency to reduce stress levels and fear of failure.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Hanik Nuzulimah

This paper attempts to explore whether there is significant difference of achievement in vocabulary between students taught by using pictures and those are not. The subject of this study is the first year students of SLTP Muhammadiyah Simo Susukan, Semarang where the sample contains 50 students that is divided into experimental group (with treatment) and control group (without treatment). The data is gathered from participants’ score obtained from pre test and post test. Using t test as technique of data analysis, result shows that students taught by using pictures perform better than those are not. It means that there is significant difference between the two groups. Keywords: Vocabulary Teaching; Picture


Author(s):  
Vimbai Mbirimi-Hungwe

Abstract Since the turn of the century there has been an increase in the use of translanguaging in multilingual learning contexts. Many researchers have shown how translanguaging enhances multilingual students’ ability to understand academic content. This experimental study provides empirical evidence that translanguaging can enhance reading comprehension. An experimental group and a control group were used to establish whether there was a significant difference between the performances of the two groups after reading an academic text. Using the t-test analysis, the results show a significant difference in the performance of the control group and the experimental group. These findings prompt us to conclude that translanguaging is an effective strategy that enhances reading comprehension.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Chin-Hsiu Tai ◽  
Shian Leou ◽  
Jeng-Fung Hung

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) in teaching the area of triangles to elementary students. The authors adopted a pretest-posttest research design with 2 equivalent groups. The subjects of the experiment comprised fifth-grade students from an elementary school in Pingtung County, divided into an experimental group of 26 students and a control group of 25 students. Both groups attended six 40-min lessons over a month, with the experimental group receiving GSP-aided instruction and the control group receiving traditional lecture instruction. The authors revised the test instrument based on , and the instrument was further reviewed and revised by experts. They conducted a third revision of the contents after performing a pilot test. The difficulty index of the test ranged between 0.18 and 1, and the discrimination index ranged between 0.13 and 0.88. The split-half reliability of the test was 0.8723. The results revealed the following: (a) in learning the area of triangles, the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group; (b) the results of the formative assessments indicated a superior performance in the experimental group compared with the control group in all of the lessons, with the exception of the second lesson; and (c) the male and female students in the experimental group and the control group exhibited no significant differences. Based on these results, the authors suggest that students be offered the opportunity to use concrete teaching aids or computer simulations when learning the area of triangles.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Yea-Ru Tsai ◽  
Yukon Chang

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an on-line Cumulative Sentence Analysis (CSA) instruction on university engineering students' English reading comprehension. Within the framework of CSA instruction, the reading comprehension process can be divided into six steps: identifying finite verbs, finding key words, separating clauses, identifying subjects and main verbs, adding words stepwise, and translating the sentence. The results showed that the experimental group achieved a higher level of reading comprehension performance following the instruction. Inter-group comparison also revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the post-test, while no difference was found between these groups in the pretest. The findings clearly demonstrated that on-line CSA instruction is an efficient and feasible approach to helping engineering students cope with their problems of reading English texts.


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