Energiespeicher-Praktikum an der TH Ingolstadt: Reale versus simulierte Experimente

Laboratories offer a good opportunity to deepen the training of students and professionals in energy storage technology. In order to reduce the risk for participants caused by potentially dangerous learning objects (such as lithium-ion cells) and the costs for laboratory equipment, many universities and vocational training institutions conduct simulated instead of traditional hands-on experiments. To ensure consistent quality of such teaching and learning, careful comparison of the learning outcomes with that of traditional practical hands-on exercises is required. A cross-over study at the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt conducted exactly the same experiments hands-on and simulated, with learning objectives, level of supervision, group size and experimental approach strictly consistent in both modes to allow conclusions focused on the learning mode. The study solicited significant differences in the students' learning success. Students with vocational training before studies (German VET) learn better with hands-on experiments. That is due to disadvantages these students face when being trained by simulations. The difference of the learning outcomes of students without vocational training was not significant.