Assessment design in a MATLAB programming course for mechanical engineering students

This paper presents nine different types of formative assessment design for a MATLAB programming class. This work is grounded in the Felder–Silverman learning style model, a model that was developed within engineering education and has been validated and widely used within the field. The assessment construction is guided by three of the four Felder–Silverman learning style dimensions: active–reflective, visual–verbal, and sequential–global. In this paper, the assessment design is presented and then recommendations are provided in how to administer these types of assessments. These recommendations are based on quantitative results from a classroom study, student feedback, and classroom observations. These results lead to the recommendation that assessment is more effective if it is active, visual, and sequential. However, perhaps the most important recommendation is to encourage instructors to vary assessment style, in general, as assessing in a variety of formats helps all students

The effect of numerical parameters on eddies in oceanic overflows: A laboratory and numerical study

Overflows in the ocean occur when dense water flows down a continental slope into less dense ambient water. It is important to study idealized and small-scale models, which allow for confidence and control of parameters. The work presented here is a direct qualitative and quantitative comparison between physical laboratory experiments and lab-scale numerical simulations. Physical parameters are varied, including the Coriolis parameter, the inflow density, and the inflow volumetric flow rate. Laboratory experiments are conducted using a rotating square tank and high-resolution camera mounted on the table in the rotating reference frame. Video results are digitized in order to compare directly to numerical simulations. The MIT General Circulation Model (MITgcm), a three-dimensional ocean model, is used for the direct numerical simulations corresponding to the specific laboratory experiments. It was found that the MITgcm was not a good match to laboratory experiments when physical parameters fell within the high eddy activity regime. However, a more extensive resolution study is needed to understand this fully. The MITgcm simulations did provide a good qualitative and quantitative match to laboratory experiments run in a low eddy activity regime. In all cases, the MITgcm simulations had more eddy activity than the laboratory experiments