Facilitate Improved Student Learning through Bloom’s Taxonomy-Based Assignments in an Undergraduate Fluid Mechanics Course

Arkasama Bandyopadhyay; Haejune Kim; Phapanin Charoenphol

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Mechanical Engineering Division (MECH) Technical Session 12: Prerequisite Skills and Knowledge
Tagged Division: Mechanical Engineering Division (MECH)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 21
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43672
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/43672
Download Count: 207

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Paper Authors

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Arkasama Bandyopadhyay Texas A&M University

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Dr. Arkasama Bandyopadhyay is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU). She previously earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from Oklahoma State University and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests span the areas of distributed energy resources, residential demand response, building energy systems, engineering education, and first-year engineering experiences. Some of Dr. Bandyopadhyay's current projects at TAMU include forecasting of residential electricity demand, occupant-centric building design and control, long-term performance of ground source heat pump systems, and implementation of Bloom's taxonomy-based assessments in undergraduate mechanical engineering courses. In addition to academic research and teaching, she is heavily involved in mentoring graduate students and first-generation undergraduate students in engineering disciplines within and beyond TAMU.

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Haejune Kim Texas A&M University

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Haejune Kim

EDUCATION
Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
Grad: 08/2014

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Grad: 08/2007

Bachelor

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Phapanin Charoenphol Texas A&M University

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Phapanin Charoenphol is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the J. Mike Walker ‘66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. She earned her M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She teaches thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, engineering laboratory, and senior design studio courses. Her research interests include engineering education and targeted drug delivery. In 2022, she was awarded the ASME Best Teacher Award and earned the ACUE Certificate in Effective College Instruction.

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Abstract

This work-in-progress paper examines the effect of modified assignments with Bloom’s Taxonomy-based questions on students’ learning and metacognition. In undergraduate engineering courses, most textbook problems and assignments are designed to evaluate the ability of students to recall facts and basic concepts, and apply these concepts to solve numerical problems. Based on the authors’ instructional experiences, these assignments are typically insufficient to facilitate and gauge students’ learning. Through these assignments, students might develop problem-solving skills, partially through pattern-based recognition, but are often unable to gain a strong grasp over concepts or apply them to contexts beyond the class. A lack of complete understanding of fundamental undergraduate concepts can adversely affect students’ learning in the long term, their knowledge retention, and ability to succeed in their engineering careers. In this study, assignments on several topics in a large undergraduate fluid mechanics course, including homework, in-class activities, and quizzes, were revised to inclusively cover problems at five different Bloom’s Taxonomy cognitive levels: remember, understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate. Preliminary results indicate that regardless of the teaching approach (instructor-centered or student-centered), students generally performed well on problems in the remember and apply cognitive domains in the formative assessments. However, students from the instructor-centered group underperformed on questions at the understanding and the evaluating levels. When students in a different class section participated in the in-class activities and completed homework that included Bloom’s Taxonomy questions in an active learning environment, they showed significant improvement in their understanding and performance in a summative assessment (midterm exams). Overall, our present findings suggest that a minimal revision of assignments with attentive design to include problems addressing various Bloom’s Taxonomy levels in an active learning class could promote students’ learning. Although these teaching innovations do not significantly impact students’ metacognition, most students found that the modified class structure and the revised class assignments were beneficial to their learning process.

Citation
Format

Bandyopadhyay, A., & Kim, H., & Charoenphol, P. (2023, June), Facilitate Improved Student Learning through Bloom’s Taxonomy-Based Assignments in an Undergraduate Fluid Mechanics Course Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43672

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This work-in-progress paper examines the effect of modified assignments with Bloom’s Taxonomy-based questions on students’ learning and metacognition. In undergraduate engineering courses, most textbook problems and assignments are designed to evaluate the ability of students to recall facts and basic concepts, and apply these concepts to solve numerical problems. Based on the authors’ instructional experiences, these assignments are typically insufficient to facilitate and gauge students’ learning. Through these assignments, students might develop problem-solving skills, partially through pattern-based recognition, but are often unable to gain a strong grasp over concepts or apply them to contexts beyond the class. A lack of complete understanding of fundamental undergraduate concepts can adversely affect students’ learning in the long term, their knowledge retention, and ability to succeed in their engineering careers. In this study, assignments on several topics in a large undergraduate fluid mechanics course, including homework, in-class activities, and quizzes, were revised to inclusively cover problems at five different Bloom’s Taxonomy cognitive levels: remember, understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate. Preliminary results indicate that regardless of the teaching approach (instructor-centered or student-centered), students generally performed well on problems in the remember and apply cognitive domains in the formative assessments. However, students from the instructor-centered group underperformed on questions at the understanding and the evaluating levels. When students in a different class section participated in the in-class activities and completed homework that included Bloom’s Taxonomy questions in an active learning environment, they showed significant improvement in their understanding and performance in a summative assessment (midterm exams). Overall, our present findings suggest that a minimal revision of assignments with attentive design to include problems addressing various Bloom’s Taxonomy levels in an active learning class could promote students’ learning. Although these teaching innovations do not significantly impact students’ metacognition, most students found that the modified class structure and the revised class assignments were beneficial to their learning process.


AU  - Arkasama Bandyopadhyay
AU  - Haejune Kim
AU  - Phapanin Charoenphol
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Facilitate Improved Student Learning through Bloom’s Taxonomy-Based Assignments in an Undergraduate Fluid Mechanics Course
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/43672
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--43672
ER  -