Flipping an Engineering Thermodynamics Course to Improve Student Self-Efficacy

Thermodynamics is well documented as a difficult course in the engineering and technology curricula that require it. The flipped lecture format has been similarly documented to improve student-teacher interaction and student engagement. This work attempts to address whether flipping a difficult, demanding thermodynamics course improves student self-efficacy. Student surveys were conducted in multiple sections of a thermodynamics course over two years to evaluate student perceptions of the flipped course format. Students had positive perceptions about how class time was used in the flipped lecture style which was expected based on previous literature. Nearly all of the respondents agreed that using class time for discussion and problemsolving was very useful. No specific topic was singled out as unsuitable for the flip format; however several comments suggest that highly conceptual topics or topics that may be difficult to understand without examples are not suited for the flip format. Many students commented that the video lectures allowed them to be more prepared when they went to class and more actively engaged with class material. Most students also agree that they are confident in their ability to solve problems and apply their knowledge to new problems introduced in the course and in their ability to solve related problems in their future academic and professional endeavors. A majority of students also agreed that the course helped them to develop their own questions about the material and become more independent learners. These responses strongly support the use of the flipped class format for teaching technical courses and to improve self-efficacy. The methodology of flipping the course, lessons learned and the instructor’s observations are also presented here. Developing flipped course materials is very time-consuming. Our results document the positive benefits of this teaching style for both students and instructors.