Engineering School Modular Program for Fluid Mechanics
June 2000 — August 2003
The study of fluid dynamics plays a central role in many branches of engineering and science. Partly because of this ubiquity,
fluid mechanics courses are offered in almost every engineering department, which results in redundancy and hinders the kind of interdisciplinary
interaction that should occur. Given this challenge, a group of faculty across the School of Engineering developed a new Web-based teaching program for
first-year graduate students.
The modules provide dynamic delivery that is rich in content and tailored to the students’ interests, preparation, skill
levels, and learning styles. By replacing the redundant courses on fluid mechanics in multiple departments with these innovative modules, educational
interactions among faculty, students, alumni, and industries are enhanced.
Investigators:
Prof. Chiang C. Mei, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Additional Information:
http://icampus.mit.edu/projects/Fluids.shtml
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Active Learning in Mechanical Engineering
June 2000 — November 2002
Faculty in Mechanical Engineering transformed the introductory course, Mechanics and Materials, away from the traditional
large lecture format and towards a Scientific Discovery model where students participate actively. The course discarded passive lectures in favor of a
new instructional format where students performed small-group, in-class experiments with desktop equipment, to explore phenomena before they were formally
covered in lecture. The faculty also created Web-based learning modules for courses in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer.
They also developed a mechatronics toolkit for use with laptops, to be used in the classroom/laboratory to run experiments
and at home to interface with household appliances, power tools, toys, and workout equipment. The kit included a range of sensors, a data acquisition
system, a motion controller, motors, and an easy-to-use software package, allowing users to monitor and control almost anything they desired.
Investigators:
Prof. Mary Boyce, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Prof. Sanjay Sarma, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Additional Information:
http://icampus.mit.edu/projects/ActiveLearningME.shtml
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