Floodopoly: enhancing the learning experience of students in water engineering courses

Valyrakis, M. , Latessa, G., Koursari, E. and Cheng, M. (2020) Floodopoly: enhancing the learning experience of students in water engineering courses. Fluids, 5(1), 21. (doi: 10.3390/fluids5010021)

Abstract

This study focuses on the utilisation of lab-based activities to enhance the learning experience of engineering students studying water engineering and geosciences courses. Specifically, the use of “floodopoly” as a physical model demonstration in improving the students’ understanding of the relevant processes of flooding, infrastructure scour and sediment transport, and improve retention and performance in simulation of these processes in engineering design courses, is discussed. The effectiveness of lab-based demonstration is explored using a survey assessing the weight of various factors that might influence students’ performance and satisfaction. It reveals how lab-centred learning, overall course success is linked with student motivation and the students’ perception of an inclusive teaching environment. It also explores the effectiveness of the implementation of student-centred and inquiry-guided teaching and various methods of assessment. The analysis and discussion are informed by students’ responses to a specifically designed questionnaire, showing an improvement of the satisfaction rates compared to traditional class-based learning modules. For example, more students (85%) reported that they perceived the lab-based environment as an excellent contribution to their learning experience, while less students (about 57%) were as satisfied for a traditional class-based course delivery. Such findings can be used to improve students’ learning experience by introducing physical model demonstrations, similar to those offered herein.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Funding from the University of Glasgow’s, Chancellor's Fund is gratefully acknowledged in generating improved versions of “floodopoly”.
• Keywords: Laboratory demonstration, physical modelling, flood risk assessment, sediment transport, infrastructure scour hazards, outreach, water engineering.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Koursari, Effie and Valyrakis, Dr Manousos

Creator Roles

Valyrakis, M.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing
Koursari, E.: Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Valyrakis, M., Latessa, G., Koursari, E., and Cheng, M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
• Journal Name: Fluids
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2311-5521
• ISSN (Online): 2311-5521
• Published Online: 08 February 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Fluids 5(1): 21
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License