Videos and Slides of "Teaching and Learning Thermodynamics in a Time of Change"

Recently, professors, educators and students involved or interested in higher education in Thermodynamics convened in the Science Center of the TU Delft to discuss about several relevant topics. Will studying and teaching the science of energy be different in a time of energy transition and of striving for sustainability? Does the thermodynamics-savvy engineer who graduates today or next year still match the expectations of the industry? Five years from now will we still teach in classrooms?

We are planning to organize an event on this topic next year, possibly in another location and we are also thinking about some more innovation in the format. If you are interested, please contact me.

Here are some excerpts from the 2019 Symposium. I hope you find them interesting!

Opening of the Symposium by Prof. Calvin Rans, Best Dutch Teacher of the Year for 2019.

Presentation of W. C. Reynolds and P. Colonna. Thermodynamics: fundamentals and engineering applications. Cambridge University Press, September 2018. - SLIDES

Minilecture by Prof. Piero Colonna, TU Delft - SLIDES

Minilecture by Prof. André Bardow, ETH Zurich - SLIDES

Minilecture by Prof. Joachim Gross, University of Stuttgart - SLIDES

Minilecture by Prof. Gian Paolo Beretta, University of Brescia - SLIDES

Panel Discussion with Dr. Arvind Gangoli Rao (Moderator) and Antonio Scoccimarro (Student).

Some of the questions that were prepared are (some were discussed):

• Is thermodynamics still relevant and why?
• The world is advertised to become ever more “electric: What is the role of classical thermodynamics? 
• Should thermodynamics fundamentals be taught in the same way to mechanical, chemical, electrical, and civil engineers?
• What is the best teaching method for thermodynamics a) at BSc and b) at MSc level? Use of experiments? 
• Should thermodynamics at BSc level be more conceptual or tune in to the “pattern learning” which is more typical of high-school?
• How many compulsory courses / ECTS in thermodynamics or thermodynamics-focused courses should be in a BSc program?
• Is there any specific educational technology that is suited to the teaching of thermodynamics?
• How would you describe your teaching style? What did you change over time? How much does it differ from the teaching you experienced when you were a student?
• What novel teaching methods are you using / did you try? 
• Can classical lectures compete with “YouTube” and the likes? What is the right balance between the classical lecture and new educational technologies like video-snippets, etc.? Or: is a lecturer still needed? 
• What is the best way of evaluating the knowledge of students? Oral examinations? New technologies: web questions which are adaptive in terms of difficulty? How to manage large numbers? Multiple choices? Open theoretical questions?
• How do we best deal with the “attention spanning” issue of modern generations of “permanently connected students”?
• How will the profile of the engineer graduate of the future be? What are going to be the differences with today? We are training the engineer of tomorrow for jobs that do no exist yet?
• Can academic education provided by public schools be compared to that provided by private institutions as it is often done in the media?
• Are there enough incentives for lectures to invest time in improvements or it should left to the individual and his/her passion?