Traditional classroom settings, while familiar, often fail to captivate students, especially when teaching broad engineering concepts to introductory level engineering undergraduates. To address this challenge, the authors developed an innovative learning experience set in a staged pizzeria, complete with red-and-white checkered tablecloths, bistro lighting, swanky background music, and fresh cooked pizza for the students. This immersive environment transforms a standard lesson into an engaging, hands-on exploration of energy and power concepts, tying course material to a relatable and memorable context. Students collaborate to estimate the power demand of pizzeria equipment, calculate the energy required from a generator, and compete to estimate fuel consumption, connecting theoretical engineering principles to practical applications— all while enjoying freshly baked pizza. This unique educational setting builds on the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering’s (CME) reputation for using creative, interactive lessons to maintain student interest, scaffold student learning in memorable events, and improving conceptual understanding. By integrating problem-solving activities into a collaborative and dynamic environment, such as escape rooms and live demonstrations with chainsaws and blowtorches, the program aims to foster active engagement and holistic comprehension of course objectives. The "Boodler's Pizza Shop" lesson represents the latest effort to tie multiple learning objectives together through an experience that appeals to both logic and emotion. This paper details a study that evaluates whether these efforts translate into measurable improvements in student learning outcomes. Key metrics include individual performance on homework, timed assessments, and student surveys. The investigators seek to understand whether enhanced knowledge retention is worth the costs in terms of additional resources (Facilities, supplies, faculty time) and potential curriculum tradeoffs. This research aims to assess the broader impact of active and collaborative learning experiences in unique settings. By exploring the intersection of setting, activity, pedagogy, and student motivation, this work contributes to the development of innovative teaching strategies that enhance both student engagement and performance. The findings will help refine future course and lesson designs, ensuring that such efforts provide meaningful value across diverse learner populations.
The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025