Incorporating Laboratory Simulations into Non- Laboratory Courses

1 Edward E. Anderson, Texas Tech University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, & Teaching, Learning and Technology Center, Lubbock, TX 794231021, [email protected] Project sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation under CCLI grant 0089410. Abstract  It is well known among engineering educators that it is easier for a student to learn a concept when they can experience it. But, cost of laboratories, safety issues, time constraints, and other factors have reduced experiential components of most engineering curricula, rather than keep it constant or increase it. In the United States, for example, engineering students do not explore or experience the physical world until they have almost completed their programs, and then typically less than 10% of the curriculum is dedicated to these experiences. Integration of computer laboratory simulations into non-laboratory classes offers a means by which this issue may be addressed. How this might be done in an engineering fundamentals course, Introduction to Thermodynamics, is discussed in this paper. Several simulations and their use in lectures, self-study, and assessment of students are presented.