Supplemental Videos for Heat Transfer: How Long? How Many? What Type?

Heat Transfer I is the final mandatory lecture course in the thermofluids course sequence in the Mechanical Engineering (ME) program at the California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA). The course is mathematically rigorous and builds upon content introduced earlier in the curriculum. However, despite strong student motivation to succeed and satisfaction in the quality of teaching, course success rate has been historically low. The majority of mechanical engineering students at Cal State LA come from socioeconomically disadvantaged families and are often the first in their families to attend college. Many hold part-time or full-time jobs to support their education and family. Their complex lives result in suboptimal learning environments and learning habits beyond the classroom. These multitudes of challenges often mean long degree completion times, long gaps between courses in a course sequence, and as a consequence, weaker academic preparation, in a negative cyclical manner. In addition to the aforementioned challenges, the ME program has seen a quadruple increase in enrollment in recent years, resulting in larger class sizes and reduced contact between faculty and students. To accommodate students' hectic schedules and existing learning habits, a series of short supplemental YouTube videos were introduced in Heat Transfer I and made available on the course website. These videos focused on solving homework problems to supplement existing electronic homework solutions and were made available in the Fall 2018 Semester. In addition, longer review videos were posted prior to the monthly tests and the final exam. This paper discusses the results of students' testing performance in comparison to previous cohorts. It also explores the effectiveness of different types of video solutions, ones focused more on problem-solving versus ones focused more on conceptual questions. The authors' experience in using support videos to improve students' testing performance and the observed limitations of these videos are also shared.