An Assessment Of Active And Project Based Learning In Energy Conservation Education For Nontechnical Students

A 3-credit general education course on “Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection” was developed for mostly non-science/engineering students. The objective of the course is to expose students to energy efficiency in day-to-day life to save both money and energy thereby protecting the environment. This course provides students with the necessary knowledge and information on the main operating principles of household devices/appliances enabling the appropriate selection of energy efficient, cost effective, and environmentally responsible choices. The course relies on active learning components to enhance the cognition of the fundamental concepts of heat transfer, principles of energy conversion, and thermodynamics. The course successfully generated interest in the student population as reflected in the enrollment increasing from 40 students in the first semester to 600 plus students per semester in the third year of offering. In this class, students perform four individual projects (active learning) in lieu of formal homework and one group project with four members in each team. The purpose of these projects is to reinforce the concepts with hands on activities performed outside the classroom. Group projects are selected by the group members from a number of choices: selection of most energy efficient and economical appliances, lighting and appliance energy savings, automobile savings, hot water savings, or dormitory energy conservation. The students learn the subject matter through individual hands on projects and peer-topeer interaction within group projects. The paper presents examples of the projects and discusses the impact of individual and group projects on students’ learning. Students’ feedback on learning effectiveness through projects will also be discussed. The paper will also present the qualitative impact of projects on students’ interest in the subject to promote life long learning in this area.