Long-term Impact of a Semester-long Multidisciplinary Service-Learning Assignment in a Fluid Mechanics Course

Orlando M Ayala; Kristie Gutierrez; Isaac Koduah Kumi; Francisco Cima; Stacie I Ringleb; Krishnanand Kaipa; Danielle Marie Rhemer; Pilar Pazos; Jennifer Jill Kidd

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Assessment and Continuous Improvement
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology Division (ETD)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47750

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Paper Authors

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Orlando M Ayala Old Dominion University orcid.org/0000-0003-0604-8606

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Dr. Ayala received his BS in Mechanical Engineering with honors (Cum Laude) from Universidad de Oriente (Venezuela) in 1995, MS in Mechanical Engineering in 2001, and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2005, both from the University of Delaware (USA). Dr. Ayala is currently serving as Associate Professor of the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department, at Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA.

Prior to joining ODU in 2013, Dr. Ayala spent three years as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Delaware where he expanded his knowledge on simulation of multiphase flows while acquiring skills in high-performance parallel computing and scientific computation. Before that, Dr. Ayala held a faculty position at Universidad de Oriente in the Mechanical Engineering Department where he taught and developed graduate and undergraduate courses for a number of subjects such as Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics, Multiphase Flows, Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machinery, as well as Mechanical Engineering Laboratory courses.

In addition, Dr. Ayala has had the opportunity to work for a number of engineering consulting companies, which have given him an important perspective and exposure to the industry. He has been directly involved in at least 20 different engineering projects related to a wide range of industries from the petroleum and natural gas industry to brewing and newspaper industries. Dr. Ayala has provided service to professional organizations such as ASME. Since 2008 he has been a member of the Committee of Spanish Translation of ASME Codes and the ASME Subcommittee on Piping and Pipelines in Spanish. Under both memberships, the following Codes have been translated: ASME B31.3, ASME B31.8S, ASME B31Q, and ASME BPV Sections I.

While maintaining his industrial work active, his research activities have also been very active; Dr. Ayala has published 90 journal and peer-reviewed conference papers. His work has been presented in several international forums in Austria, the USA, Venezuela, Japan, France, Mexico, and Argentina. Dr. Ayala has an average citation per year of all his published work of 44.78.

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Kristie Gutierrez Old Dominion University orcid.org/0000-0002-9339-7574

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Dr. Gutierrez received her B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001, M.Ed. in Secondary Science Education in 2005 from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Ph.D. in Science Education in 2016 from North Ca

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Isaac Koduah Kumi Old Dominion University

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Isaac K. Kumi is a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student at Old Dominion University. He has a B.Sc in Biomedical Engineering and an M.E. in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests are in biomechanics and biomechanical modeling and simulation.

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Francisco Cima

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Francisco Cima is a PhD student of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at Old Dominion University. He obtained his Masters in Business Planning and Regional Development from the Technological Institute of Merida. His areas of research include models of teamwork effectiveness, knowledge management, and engineering education.

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Stacie I Ringleb Old Dominion University

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Stacie Ringleb is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Old Dominion University and a fellow of the American Society of Biomechanics. Dr. Ringleb received a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve Univer

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Krishnanand Kaipa Old Dominion University orcid.org/0000-0002-8095-938X

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Dr. Krishnanand Kaipa is an Assistant Professor and director of the Collaborative Robotics and Adaptive Machines (CRAM) Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Old Dominion University. Dr. Kaipa received his BE (Hons.)

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Danielle Marie Rhemer Old Dominion University

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Pilar Pazos Old Dominion University orcid.org/0000-0003-4348-7798

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Pilar Pazos is a Professor in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA. Her main areas of research interest in Engineering Education include team learning, virtual teams, and team decision-making.

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Jennifer Jill Kidd Old Dominion University orcid.org/0000-0001-9800-1690

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Dr. Jennifer Kidd is a Master Lecturer in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Old Dominion University. Her research interests include engineering education and educational technology.

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Abstract

Seventy-three students who enrolled in a senior-year level fluid mechanics course during spring semesters from 2019-2023 were asked about their perceptions on the impact in their professional preparation of a semester-long multidisciplinary service-learning assignment. This paper aims to evaluate their current perceived impact of the assignment (long-term impact) and whether it might have changed from when they took the course (short-term impact). The project tested their creativity, knowledge of fluid mechanics concepts, and skills to work with people from other disciplines. They were told that they were working for a hypothetical company, “Engineering is for all,” and were assigned to design and develop learning products for children in elementary schools in the local area. The students were required to pick a fluid mechanics topic, develop a relevant hands-on activity, and create a lesson plan that could be used by an elementary school teacher on his/her own. The engineering students were partnered with elementary education students who were enrolled in a science methods course. The students worked in a multidisciplinary team of five, with three engineering students and two education students. There were four main events for this project: 1) a classroom visit to the assigned elementary school where the teams introduced engineering and surveyed the interests of the children they would be teaching, 2) a multidisciplinary teaching/learning session where engineers taught science/engineering to educators and educators taught pedagogy to engineers, 3) a dress rehearsal where the teams practiced their elementary school lesson in front of peers and experts, and 4) the actual final elementary school lesson that the teams taught to the elementary school students. For each of those four main activities, the teams turned in preliminary assignments to instructors for feedback. Those four activities took place during class time and student attendance was mandatory. After four rounds of implementations between Spring 2019 and Spring 2022, a survey was sent to all former students who went through the course and participated in the assignment, with a 50% return rate. The survey included questions about how well they remembered the assignment (some of the students were involved in it 4 years prior to completing this survey), the relevance of the project in terms of their professional preparation, how it impacted their collaboration skills, and whether their involvement affected their interest in participating in engineering outreach activities. To determine how their perceived impact of the project on their professional preparation has changed from when they took the class to now when they are working professionals, we compare their recent responses to the responses in reflections they completed while taking the course. The information gathered in the survey also provides a means to evaluate the effectiveness of the project and identify areas for improvement, which has implications for how similar projects might be designed and enacted in the future.

Citation
Format

Ayala, O. M., & Gutierrez, K., & Kumi, I. K., & Cima, F., & Ringleb, S. I., & Kaipa, K., & Rhemer, D. M., & Pazos, P., & Kidd, J. J. (2024, June), Long-term Impact of a Semester-long Multidisciplinary Service-Learning Assignment in a Fluid Mechanics Course Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47750

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Seventy-three students who enrolled in a senior-year level fluid mechanics course during spring semesters from 2019-2023 were asked about their perceptions on the impact in their professional preparation of a semester-long multidisciplinary service-learning assignment. This paper aims to evaluate their current perceived impact of the assignment (long-term impact) and whether it might have changed from when they took the course (short-term impact). The project tested their creativity, knowledge of fluid mechanics concepts, and skills to work with people from other disciplines. They were told that they were working for a hypothetical company, “Engineering is for all,” and were assigned to design and develop learning products for children in elementary schools in the local area. The students were required to pick a fluid mechanics topic, develop a relevant hands-on activity, and create a lesson plan that could be used by an elementary school teacher on his/her own. The engineering students were partnered with elementary education students who were enrolled in a science methods course. The students worked in a multidisciplinary team of five, with three engineering students and two education students. There were four main events for this project: 1) a classroom visit to the assigned elementary school where the teams introduced engineering and surveyed the interests of the children they would be teaching, 2) a multidisciplinary teaching/learning session where engineers taught science/engineering to educators and educators taught pedagogy to engineers, 3) a dress rehearsal where the teams practiced their elementary school lesson in front of peers and experts, and 4) the actual final elementary school lesson that the teams taught to the elementary school students. For each of those four main activities, the teams turned in preliminary assignments to instructors for feedback. Those four activities took place during class time and student attendance was mandatory. After four rounds of implementations between Spring 2019 and Spring 2022, a survey was sent to all former students who went through the course and participated in the assignment, with a 50% return rate. The survey included questions about how well they remembered the assignment (some of the students were involved in it 4 years prior to completing this survey), the relevance of the project in terms of their professional preparation, how it impacted their collaboration skills, and whether their involvement affected their interest in participating in engineering outreach activities. To determine how their perceived impact of the project on their professional preparation has changed from when they took the class to now when they are working professionals, we compare their recent responses to the responses in reflections they completed while taking the course. The information gathered in the survey also provides a means to evaluate the effectiveness of the project and identify areas for improvement, which has implications for how similar projects might be designed and enacted in the future.
AU  - Orlando M Ayala
AU  - Kristie Gutierrez
AU  - Isaac Koduah Kumi
AU  - Francisco Cima
AU  - Stacie I Ringleb
AU  - Krishnanand Kaipa
AU  - Danielle Marie Rhemer
AU  - Pilar Pazos
AU  - Jennifer Jill Kidd
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Long-term Impact of a Semester-long Multidisciplinary Service-Learning Assignment in a Fluid Mechanics Course
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47750
ER  -