THE INVERTED/INTEGRATIVE/OPEN LAB COURSE: A MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LAB EXAMPLE

Based on the CEAB investigation attribute requirements, the Laval University Mechanical Engineering department has entirely modified its philosophy regarding the lab course. This course is now based on teamwork projects that take place throughout the semester. Different experimental setups are available to accommodate up to 20 teams of three students on a 24h/7d schedule. This paper offers some examples of lab benches and problems designed for this approach. To begin, student teams must describe the apparatus on which they will conduct an investigation and propose a problem they intend to study. Next, teams present theoretical background and a literature review. They determine the physical quantities to be measured and describe the measuring instruments to be used. Then, they plan and prepare a test campaign, including development of their own data acquisition, control and processing programs using LabVIEW. Finally, teams conduct their test campaign, analyze the results (including detailed uncertainty analysis) and report on their findings.