Abstract
Humanizing engineering education is a research-based way to help students understand the origin of concepts and the people who contributed to the field’s development. This case study explores an experimental intervention to improve engineering undergraduate student knowledge and interest in fluid mechanics. The intervention incorporates the historical context and stories behind the development of Bernoulli’s equation and the Manning formula into classroom instruction. Student self-reported interest levels and performance on a standardized multiple-choice exam were analyzed in the experimental sections of fluid mechanics courses. Using the same standardized, multiple-choice final exam, no statistical difference was seen between the exam grades in the control and experimental groups in either fluid mechanic topic, though more students from the experimental group scored correctly for all problems than from the control group. Significant differences in student interest, however, were observed. The survey results indicated students who had experienced the humanizing instructional approach reported being more interested in these topics when compared to the control group. These results suggest incorporating a humanizing approach in engineering lectures can be as effective as other instructional approaches and has the additional benefit of increasing student interest.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Journal of Civil Engineering Education
Volume 150 • Issue 1 • January 2024
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Mar 27, 2023
Accepted: Jul 17, 2023
Published online: Sep 23, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 23, 2024
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