Enhance the student learning outcome in green energy engineering using combined lecture and seminar

Abstract

There is an increasing trend in promoting green energy to replace fossil energy in both academia and industry due to the significant impact in environment and economy. Major investments are being made by the federal government and industry in clean energy technologies that will create entirely new industries, expand markets for solar, wind, and other clean energy sources. Therefore, in order to meet the demand in green energy, the training and education of the next generation workforce is critical to success of green energy industry and the nation's economy growth and prosperity. Traditional engineering education seldom covers any content related to green energy engineering. To address this gap, we will investigate the use of combined learning activates such as special topic summer course and regional student seminar to enhance the student awareness in green energy engineering. The learning outcomes include fundamentals of green energy materials, design and manufacturing of green energy devices, and management of green energy systems. Assessment tools used in assessing student learning outcomes include quiz, exam, project, and survey. In conclusion, it is found that student's knowledge in green energy engineering has been significantly increase after the combined lecture and seminar activities.