Instrumentation laboratory at a foreign study center with concurrent instruction

Abstract

In 2006, Grove City College (GCC) launched an International Study Center (ISC) in Nantes, France that utilizes concurrent instruction as well as a French University Partnership to allow mechanical engineering and liberal arts students to study abroad in a partial immersion semester program. The focus of this paper is to present the challenges and evolution of a junior-level instrumentation laboratory course that is taught both at the US main campus and at the ISC. The course is team taught by one U.S. faculty member state side and another U.S. faculty member at the ISC. Students perform experiments that were shipped to the ISC and set-up to mimic experiments given at the main campus. GCC online course management and VPN (virtual private network) course folders are used to manage student assignments and quizzes. Course content is also shared via pre-recorded lectures (U.S. to France), live lectures using web conferencing (U.S. to France), and onsite lectures (in France). Experiments are monitored by an onsite faculty member at the ISC.