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Session 1395

Assessment of Student Cognitive Development in the Energy Systems Laboratory

Brenda Henderson, Christopher Jeruzal, Ahmad Pourmovahed Kettering University, Mechanical Engineering Department

I. Introduction

Kettering University is a fully cooperative school where students alternate between eleven- week work terms and eleven-week academic terms. The core engineering courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department are divided into four threads, one of which is the Energy Systems thread. Students progress through the Energy Systems thread by taking courses in thermodynamics and fluid mechanics at the junior level, and heat transfer and energy systems at the senior level. The Energy Systems Laboratory course is an integrated laboratory experience where students apply fundamental concepts learned in previous courses. There is also an aspect of design incorporated into the laboratory and additional topics in modern computational and experimental techniques are also addressed. All mechanical engineering students are required to take the four of the Energy Systems thread courses. Because the laboratory course is a senior level integrated experience with a broad range of student learning outcomes and multiple instructors are involved during all course offerings, it is necessary to develop an effective and efficient assessment process that can be applied uniformly by all instructors. The assessment process must also improve cognitive learning as well as meet accreditation requirements. This paper addresses an assessment plan that has been implemented for the Energy Systems Laboratory course.

Assessment is often driven by the need to obtain accreditation from organizations such as North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) and Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). However, assessment should be driven by a desire to improve cognitive learning while meeting accreditation requirements. The Energy Systems thread, when considered as a whole, is a complete model of cognit ive learning at all domain levels1. In the thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer courses, students acquire knowledge and comprehension as well as develop an ability to apply and analyze engineering problems. Synthesis and evaluation occurs in the Energy Systems Laboratory. An assessment process should be chosen to be consistent with the cognitive learning domain supported by the course.

An assessment process involves setting common course objectives and student learning outcomes, developing a set of strategies to deliver knowledge to the students, developing a set of evaluation tools to monitor progress toward learning outcomes, and devising a feedback mechanism to improve the process2,3,4,5. Strategies are activities that will enable the accomplishment of course objectives. Student learning outcomes state the knowledge and skills each student must acquire at the end of the course. The assessment tools are the instruments that will be used to measure progress toward student learning objectives. Feedback schemes are used

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society of Engineering Education

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Jeruzal, C., & Henderson, B., & Pourmovahed, A. (2002, June), Assessment Of Student Cognitive Development In Energy Systems Laboratory Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10282