Teaching Impact And Evaluation Methodology Assessment In A Fluid Mechanics Course: Student'S Perceptions

Fluid Transport Systems topic is of fundamental importance in most Engineering areas. In this topic basic knowledge must be taught yet students normally resist and do not perform well in theoretical syllabus. In order to reinforce the importance of these issues, and based on teachers' perceptions and experience, a change was made in the assessment process: a Practical Work and different moments and types of assessment were introduced. The objective is to evaluate the influence of these changes in the students' final grades and to obtain students' perceptions regarding these changes, and to know which teaching/learning methodologies are most effective. The students' perceptions were analyzed through a questionnaire developed and validated for that purpose. Fifty students (88% of the enrolled students) carried out this new course format and answered the questionnaire. It is interesting to observe that most students (55.1%) do not perceive this course as essentially theoretical and 37% view it as balanced between theory and practice. One of the main reasons could be the fact that students realize that practical applications proposed during classes are enough to understand the theoretical concepts (75.5%). Globally students preferred several assessment moments (mini tests) to just one. Regarding the Practical Work, it was well accepted by students. The technical and soft skills promoted by the Practical Work as well as students' learning styles were also analyzed through the questionnaires. The majority of students (71.4%) learn through the creation of concepts (abstract conceptualization) and perform things by an active experimentation. The grades obtained in the different moments of assessments were crossed with the final and Practical Work grades. It is worth pointing out that students increased their grades with the Practical Work.