Challenge-Based Instruction to Blend Physical and Virtual Labs Experiences

Newly designed lab experience can increase students' skills for experimentation and increase their potential for engineering problem solving. Many traditional labs replicate classic experiments which provide a historical foundation for how theories were developed, and model experimental methods students need to replicate in future labs. Now, browser-based technologies and modeling tools are ubiquitous and fast enough to provide students with a richer learning experience which demand higher cognitive skills associated with model-based reasoning. Problem-based learning offers an efficient method for organizing a series of learning experiences that use blend physical and virtual labs to support students' inquiry. This presentation discusses the design and rationale our project is using to organize students' lab-based learning activities around challenges anchored in authentic engineering problem solving tasks. The presentation will focus specifically on how a new virtual window tunnel is used to prepare students for their physical lab experiences and support their inquiry post-lab.