How To Think About Fluids In and Out of Classrooms: Developing Interactive Strategies for Learning Fluid Mechanics Online

Abstract

In this paper we report on the development of strategies used in an introductory fluid mechanics course that transitioned from a fully in-person mode of delivery to a hybrid setting. We describe two sets of instructional changes we used to support students' learning in the hybrid context: first, Matlab live script documents and second, "scavenger hunt" missions of finding, demonstrating, or building fluid mechanical systems in everyday life. We employ two different instruments to track students' experiences in this course. First, we compare students' performance in a fluid mechanics concept inventory assessment that they take at the end of each semester. In addition, we also adopt a set of items from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) to measure the impacts of these changes on students' motivations and attitudes. We reflect on the implications of this transition process and provide an outline of the future developments of this work.