NSF TUES: Transforming Undergraduate Environmental Engineering Laboratories for Sustainable Engineering Using the Case Studies in the Sciences Instructional Method

Many college laboratories follow a “cookbook” approach to instruction that has remained the same for decades. This NSF TUES Grant # DUE-1140109 is conducting educational research to evaluate the use of case study based laboratory modules that enhance the learning experience in a junior level Environmental Engineering Laboratory course. The work investigates the use of the case studies in a lab course to introduce sustainability and environmental engineering laboratory concepts to 21 st century learners using a modified-flipped classroom method. A total of four case studies have been developed and implemented into the course since the grant award. Before class, the students are given a case story related to the class experiment and asked to research the topic. The in-person lab class starts with a discussion of the case and the student’s research finding. Students then conduct the lab exercise. Pre and post survey data indicated increased self-efficacy for ABET criteria skills and learning gains. Feedback from the student interviews suggested they felt the case studies methods used in the course were more engaging compared to their traditional laboratory classes they had taken during their education. The students particularly enjoyed the real world approaches and seeing how they could expect to apply course lab skills to their real jobs after graduation. This poster will summarize the cases, present preand postsurvey data related to student learning preferences and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) learning objective criteria, and will be used as a tool to help recruit other laboratory professors who are interested in using this method.