This paper describes a laboratory experiment that was designed to increase student engagement and enhance student development in a materials laboratory. The laboratory module described is part of a broader effort to enhance the mechanical engineering laboratory curriculum to incorporate modern pedagogical methods and to improve student outcomes using backward design.The new laboratory modules encourage students to work in small groups, develop team skills, and learn about basic measurement methods. The first module is a simple cantilever beam mounted with a strain gage. Students develop an understanding of the correlation between bending stress and strain. While doing so, they also determine a calibration factor for the beam in order to use the beam as a load cell to measure the weight of an object. For the second module, students are provided an instrumented beam with a known calibration factor and are asked to determine the amount of lift produced by a small quadcopter.To assess the effectiveness of the laboratory experiment, a student survey was designed and the experiments were observed by an education expert. The results indicate the new laboratory modules have been successful in increasing student engagement and meeting learning objectives.

This paper describes a laboratory experiment that was designed to facilitate education in material science, instrumentation and controls, and thermal sciences. The laboratory module is part of a broader effort to enhance mechanical engineering laboratory curriculum to incorporate modern pedagogical methods and to improve a defined set of student outcomes.The laboratory experiment focuses on a low-cost toaster oven that has been modified to allow students to control temperature and fan operation through either LabVIEW or Arduino systems. The oven experiment has been designed to facilitate long-term testing in the material science laboratory, sensing and control of the temperature in the oven during the mechanical systems laboratory, and precise heating of specimens during the senior level thermal systems laboratory.To assess the effectiveness of the laboratory experiment a student survey was administered and results indicate the new laboratory experiment has been successful in improving student engagement.

Vancouver. He has 15 years of experience in engineering materials and manufacturing. His research area includes materials processing, structural integrity improvement, and hybrid composite manufacturing. He has been very active in pedagogical research and undergraduate research projects, and his research interests include manufacturing laboratory pedagogy and writing pedagogy.

I am a teacher educator with a special interest in teacher induction and retention.