Concept Group Exercises for Continuous Improvement of Students Learning Abilities

Continuous learning improvement is highly desired to develop thorough understanding of the subject matter, which can be achieved by practicing active/collaborative learning strategies. For the undergraduate Fluid Mechanics class, in addition to practicing active learning, concept-based group exercises were developed and routinely conducted in a class after every four lectures to examine students’ understanding of the subject matter. For instance, after lecturing on momentum balance and Navier-stokes equations, student groups were asked a specific flow problem that would demonstrate the concepts of setting up general momentum balance and Navier-Stokes equations with appropriate selection of velocity vectors and finding their solution by using discretized algebraic equivalent equations and computational fluid dynamics software. These concept exercises were categorized as “basic, moderate and advanced” based on the complexities involved. Moderate and advanced group exercises were designed to develop critical thinking abilities. The posttest scores significantly improved after the administration of concept group exercises. The answers obtained from the groups were discussed in the class and those groups with incorrect answers were helped by the instructor and other student groups. The successful outcome of this effort was that the entire class reasonably attained the same level of understanding of the subject matter.