Revisiting Undergraduate Student Engagement Through Hands-On Laboratory Activities

Active learning is a key component of effective engineering education.Within Mechanical Engineering curricula, many courses provide rich platforms to engage students through active learning strategies to promote effective retention of theoretical concepts.Hands-on laboratory activities are one example.At Western Michigan University (WMU), the course Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines is offered every fall semester as a (2-3) laboratory elective to upper-level undergraduate students.The laboratory activities, which comprise at least 25% of the overall course grade, require students to conduct experiments, work in teams to analyze and display data, and prepare laboratory reports.The course is structured such that the internal combustion engine is used as a platform for students to revisit core engineering topics within the field of thermal-fluid sciences from an application perspective, expanding this foundational knowledge through more advanced concepts.Pedagogical challenges include engaging a student population with diverse academic preparation, limited availability of specialized laboratory equipment, and assessing individual student contribution in team-oriented laboratory activities.This paper describes efforts to strengthen the engagement of undergraduate students in hands-on laboratory activities in connection to an upper-level mechanical engineering course, with the main objectives of increasing critical thinking, knowledge retention, and strengthen the students' ability to connect theory and application.Strategies to manage the pedagogical challenges previously outlined, as well as post-pandemic adjustments, are described.Feedback from a postassessment survey indicates that the modifications incorporated into the course assisted students with both preparing for the laboratory activities and developing the laboratory reports.Responses also suggest that the changes motivated the students to think more critically about the technical content, promoted accountability and more effective time management.