Peer Review

Thermodynamics - CSU Course Redesign (sent from jseong@cpp.edu)

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jul 27, 2021 by Engineering

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

Flipping a Thermodynamics course.

Thermodynamics is one of the fundamental subjects that most engineering students need to master. However, the topics are abstract and very hard to visualize. Even though students had a chance to preview some of the basics during a prior physics course, it is often the case that students do not take the courses in sequence.

The material consists in the redesign criteria of a Fundamentals of Thermodynamics course addressed to Engineering students. It describes the background, new design and preliminary redesign results application. The course covers thermodynamic properties and processes, equation of state, the first and second laws of Thermodynamics, and entropy. This material creates various supplemental materials including modular video tutorials, recorded in-class lectures, self-assessment quizzes on Blackboard, and the curation of videos that demonstrate thermodynamics concepts.

Type of Material:

ePortfolio

Animations linked

Some videos and recording of lectures.

Recommended Uses:

It can be used as material to prepare classes, (it brings the syllabus), and also to prepare hybrid classes (videos attached). It could be recommended as a basic self-learning or homework tool on fundamentals of thermodynamics engineering courses.

Technical Requirements:

Chrome v 57 and Firefox were used to run the video.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

The major goal of this e-Portfolio is to serve as a guide to implement the redesign in a Thermodynamics course. The user will understand the basis of course redesign oriented to overcome lack of learning in traditional courses. It is addressed to faculty and students of Engineering degrees, by means of an example, the Thermodynamics course.

Target Student Population:

College General Ed

Graduate (teachers).

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Mathematics, physics and chemistry at degree level (first course).

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

This material brings information and some valuable tips on how to redesign a Thermodynamics course when the results obtained by the students are not satisfactory. The material has a link to some videos that were used in class, and that can be used by other teachers as solved exercises.

Redesign course criteria are clear and concise and can be of value for interested readers in any topic. Videos concerning examples cover the core concepts of basic thermodynamics. Examples could be integrated in any basic course on thermodynamics in any School of Engineering worldwide.

Concerns:

- Some educational concepts, as is the case of Flipped Learning, Hybrid Classes, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. A brief description of these terms, or a link to a definition of them should be of interest.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The material could be useful for teachers who are facing the same situation: students with low or not satisfactory marks. Tips, as well as the concepts of Flipped Learning and Hybrid learning can be used by teachers in other subjects rather than Thermodynamics. The videos with solved examples are well sequenced in order to learn the basics of thermodynamics and are coherent with thermodynamics engineering handbooks (printed or e-book). The learning objectives are clearly stated.

Concerns:

Prior knowledge on what are Flipped Learning and Hybrid Classes is needed, and this is not considered in the text.

Self-assessment quizzes are not available in the website. Recorded lectures are of little added value with respect any open lecture videos that can be found in the Internet.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Easy of use. No need of instructions of use, YouTube playlist repository. Thermodynamics calculations are presented in a linear sequence, as in most engineering textbooks, which mean a reinforced coherence.

Concerns:

- The material is not visually appealing.

- Links to the syllabus and to the videos are barely visible.

- The web is not interactive.

Other Issues and Comments:: This video presentations could be recommended for any basic course on Thermodynamics as it covers the core contents of thermodynamics courses worldwide. The material could be used for self-learning or homework, but it must be complemented with assessment activities not available in the website. The quality of contents is correct and learning objectives are adequate for undergraduate engineering courses. Very adequate for mechanical and chemical engineering students.
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