Abstract:

The use of innovative teaching tools is one of the aspects defined in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), which established a change with respect to the teaching and evaluation methodologies commonly used at Spanish Universities. Of these methodologies, one of the most widely used is Flipped Learning (FL), considered a pedagogical approach in which the educator guides students in an interactive learning environment.

The aim of this teaching experience is to combine the use of FL with laboratory practice, to analyse the effect of this methodology in comparison with other common teaching methodologies, such as the combination between theoretical classes and practice based only on data acquisition. The study is intended to analyse students’ skills in a common problem in the subject of turbomachinery.

This experience was conducted at the Industrial Engineering School at the University of Castilla- La Mancha (Albacete, Spain). It was applied during the 2022/2023 academic year in the subject of turbomachinery with a group of 27 students.

The methodology consists of two parts, each one applied in a one-session class. The first is based on FL, where the students have to solve three exercises related to the characteristic curves in centrifugal pumps. The second part is carried out in the fluid mechanics laboratory, where the students have to measure several hydraulic and electrical parameters in a pump, and then plot the characteristic curves of the pump under study using the knowledge acquired in the first activity.

Two surveys using Moodle software were administered to the students, one in each part. The use of both methodologies was positively evaluated by the students. Regarding the FL, approximately 82% of the students considered the activity different to the methodology commonly used in class (passive participation) and 64% highlighted their active participation as a positive factor. Approximately, 41% of the students reported that the main disadvantage of this activity was the lack of time, resulting in a certain level of stress. A majority (68%) encountered some difficulty in carrying out the task. For the second part (laboratory), all the students reported that this type of practical activity is necessary in the subject, and 89% would prefer more time to be devoted to them. In contrast to Activity 1 (FL), approximately only 22% said that the activity had presented a high or very high level of difficulty.

In our opinion, these methodologies notably increased student motivation, with enhanced active participation of students in comparison to a common theoretical class. However, one weak point is the lack of time available to implement these methodologies, because they need to be applied over a short time during the course to ensure the course schedule is completed. In addition, we agree with the idea that the students needed more time to solve the activity, which resulted in greater levels of stress among the students. The large number of students was the main limitation in applying this methodology, which makes it difficult to guarantee the expected results using these methodologies.

Keywords:

University, laboratory, flipped learning, turbomachinery.