IMPROVING LEARNING, PRIORITIZING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, AND ENHANCING IDENTITY FORMATION THROUGH HANDS-ON CLASSROOM DEMONSTRATIONS

This project studies the benefits of implementing tailored hands-on experimental classroom demonstrations to highlight real-world applications of concepts in lecture-based courses. The motivation for this work stems from the limited opportunities undergraduate engineering students have to visualize contemporary applications discussed in core courses as well as to develop engineering-based intuition before the junior year. 

The project utilizes active class demonstrations and pilot-scale experiments on wheels as an alternative to showcasing connections between concepts and applications in lecture-based courses. By these demonstrations, we hope to increase student engagement and identity formation by establishing links to the practice of the profession. Therefore, the main objective of the implementation is to create and utilize these experiments on-wheels in-class to increase engagement, enhance learning, and solidify engineering identity by: (1) offering opportunities for in-class hands-on experimentation with concepts, (2) enhancing the solidification of knowledge and increasing in-class participation, (3) expediting the introduction of students to the practice and application of engineering, and (4) promoting the earlier formation of an engineering identity by facilitating a sense of belonging within the professional community. In addition, the project can impact other engineering/scientific disciplines by implementing a framework to collaboratively develop and integrate hands-on demonstrations to undergraduate courses and contribute to the formation of professional identity in learning spaces.