Teaching STEM Early-college Students: A New Methodology to Teach Energy Complex Systems

Teaching thermodynamics and heat transfer disciplines seem difficult for our students. Statistics show that a large number of students fail or drop out or even transfer from STEM-related disciplines to other non-engineering fields, due to the misunderstandings and difficulties encountered during taking fundamental courses such as thermodynamics. In this article, our aim is to share my experience developing a methodology for early-college students, that addresses particular educational challenges, using visualization-based methods and interviews with knowledgeable personal and experts in the area, to give the students the opportunity to understand the ins and outs of a specific application, without too much math and theory. Once the student has reached a certain level of confidence in their knowledge, we move on to other stages where more theoretical concepts are introduced. Our methodology is based on three tasks: (1) field visits; (2) literature; (3) computer applications; (4) mathematics and science. In this work, we used the existing campus facilities to introduce students to the systems used to heat the campus. Our aim is to expose the early college students to the installation of the power plant, without focusing on theoretical aspects, thermodynamic cycles, and properties of fluids, but focusing on understanding the functionality of systems, as it comes from the drivers who take care of the power plant. This information accompanies the visits, where visualization is the main explanatory tool, as these installations are generally noisy and it is very difficult to hear the explanation of the various maintenance personnel. In this article, I will expand on my experience with mentoring STEM early college students to achieve a higher level of understanding of power plants. The aim is to contribute to the preparation of a STEM pipeline in the field of engineering and advanced manufacturing. The pipeline for research and higher education begins specifically at an early age, where students are encouraged to peruse STEM-related programs. Our programs are mainly oriented toward high school, and early college students and continue through the completion of a college degree in STEM areas. In this paper, we discuss the project design program from a student's perspective and experience gained in engineering, integration, written, and oral communication. The methodology used to improve the students' understanding of complex problems is also described.