Discussion Sessions and Extended Q/A in Engineering Classes

Background

• Target classes

  • ME 222 Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics

  • ME 495 Fracture of Soft Materials

• Challenges

  • ME 222

    • Many students enroll in this class solely because it is a requirement for mechanical engineering students. 

    • Problems can be solved by memorizing equations without a solid understanding of the concepts. 

    • The subject is much more abstract than other mechanical engineering classes.

  • ME 495

    • Students from diverse backgrounds enroll in this class. For example, senior undergraduates, master's students, and PhD students from mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, physics, and material science have been taking this class. 

    • A lot of conceptual understanding is required to deal with real-world problems.

    • The class is newly developed.

Approach: Invite students to think more.

• Discussion session.

  • Prepare open questions.

  • Facilitate the discussion among students (Not steering to a certain answer).

• Extended Q/A

  • Ask students to ask questions. 

  • Elicit discussion topics from the questions.

• Continuity

  • End the class with a question.

  • Pick up the question at the next class.

Implementation

Discussion topics examples.

• The strength does not help predict fractures in many cases. What would be an alternative?

• Rubber is much tougher than glass. How do we apply the Griffith theory to rubbers?

Discussion topics from questions

• Does entropy change when a system does work? → Define athermal reservoir → What would be a real-world example of athermal reservoirs?

• Water goes up through a capillary voluntarily. Is it a perpetual machine? → What is surface energy? How to define it?

Contiunity

• We have studied entropy in a cylinder. What happens if you open the lid? → Define an open system at the next class.

Timeline examples