Session T2C 978-1-61284-469-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE October 12 - 15, 2011, Rapid City, SD 41 st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference T2C-1 Work in Progress: Data-Rich Learning Environments for Engineering Education V. William DeLuca, Aaron Clark, Jeremy Ernst and Nasim Lari North Carolina State University, aaron_clark@ncsu.edu, william_deluca@ncsu.edu, jeremy_ernst@ncsu.edu, nlari@ncsu.edu Abstract - Green Research for Incorporating Data in the Classroom (GRID C ) is a National Science Foundation project designed to improve instructional practices in the curricula areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project uses data collected from renewable energy technologies at the NC Solar House, and enables students in engineering and education to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate downloadable data. Students and instructors create data- driven and conceptual models to explain information obtained from the project’s website using a variety of methods involved in technical data presentation. This paper explains the GRID C project and how students in engineering and pre-service technology, engineering and design teacher education develop higher-order thinking skills. Preliminary research has been conducted on the effective use of these materials in college level environmental engineering classes and technical animation courses in engineering graphics. This research provides a base for continued research and development on using data-rich learning environments to further develop higher-order thinking skills for students across the country. Index Terms - Data-driven models, Renewable energy, STEM education, Critical thinking. INTRODUCTION The purpose of the Green Research for Incorporating Data in the Classroom (GRID C ) project is to develop curriculum to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts using data collected from renewable energy technologies at the NC Solar House located on the campus of North Carolina State University (NC State). The intent of this project is to enhance instruction and improve learning, while addressing a highly relevant social issue: renewable energy. Researchers have shown that curricula based on performance data of renewable energy technologies provide students with valuable knowledge and skills that can be used for professional growth and decision-making. Data-driven decision-making is a critical skill used in engineering and education [1]-[2]. As technological and social systems become more complex, the aptitude for data-driven decision- making becomes even more critical. Research on technological problem solving, critical thinking, novice/expert performance, and metacognition reveals that students must understand factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge, apply their knowledge to learn by doing, and then reflect on the process that led to the solution [3]-[4]. The GRID C project developed instructional units grounded in these concepts, while incorporating the use of renewable energy data collected through GRID C resources in the units. The concepts learned in this project by both engineering and pre-service technology, engineering, and design teacher education students are paramount for fundamental understandings of data and conceptual technical presentation development. THE DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM The GRID C data acquisition system gathers renewable energy data from the house and other units (e.g., garage and research annex) on the grounds of the NC Solar House. The NC Solar House was first opened to the public in 1981, and is today, one of the most visible and visited solar buildings in the United States. The monitoring system records meteorological data (i.e., irradiance, ambient and module temperature, wind speed and direction, module temperature, relative humidity, rain gauge, barometric pressure), photovoltaic data (i.e., AC/DC power, current, voltage, and energy, panel temperature), hot water data (i.e., flow rate, in/out temperate, energy), and hydrogen fuel cell data (i.e., in/out power, current and voltage, energy). The Solar House was established for research purposes for NC State’s College of Engineering in the 1980’s, and has since become an educational/community outreach mechanism and an important partner with the Technology, Engineering, and Design Teacher Education Program at NC State. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT To develop students’ higher order thinking skills in the context of a data-rich learning environment, units were developed using the data acquired through the GRID C data acquisition system. In developing these units, the researchers considered that students must understand factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge, apply their knowledge to learn by doing, and then reflect on the process that led to the solution [3]-[4]. Factual and conceptual knowledge includes an understanding of the systems, subsystems and components of the technology under study. This knowledge forms the