Paper ID #6811A Reflective Writing Assignment to Engage Students in Critical ThinkingDr. Taryn Melkus Bayles, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Page 23.96.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013 A Reflective Writing Assignment to Engage Students in Critical Thinking Our department has adopted the following Program Education Objectives, which we refer toas “the Five C’s”. Within three to five years after graduation our graduates will have demonstratedCompetency in the discipline of chemical engineering; our
Paper ID #7531Promoting Metacognition through Reflection Exercises in a Thermodynam-ics CourseProf. Mariajose Castellanos, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyDr. Joshua A Enszer, University of Maryland Baltimore County Dr. Joshua Enszer is a full-time lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland at Bal- timore County. He has taught core and elective courses across the curriculum, from introduction to en- gineering science and material and energy balances to process control and modeling of chemical and environmental systems. His research interests include technology and learning in various incarnations
. Students completed the assignments in teams of three and submitted one solution per team. However, in addition, each individual student was required to write an abstract for each problem. In the abstracts, students summarized the purpose of the problem, the system under consideration, the known and unknown information and the solution procedure. There were two purposes to assigning the abstracts. First, it was hypothesized that requiring students to write about their problem solutions in a reflective way could foster a more thorough understanding of the processes being modeled, and instill in students a conscious recognition of effective problem‐solving strategies. Second, it was hypothesized that the abstracts would provide an effective tool
exceptional problem solving skills, teamwork,communication skills, and critical thinking ability, it becomes imperative to look for innovativeinstruction approaches to prepare students. Such skills and abilities can be achieved by inductinga coupled approach involving collaborative and problem based learning strategies in curricula.Both cognitive and generic skills will be realized by practicing collaborative learning andproblem based learning3 approaches that involve several self-directing learning demonstrationsin transitioning from problem analysis to reporting-reflection to integration and evaluation. Page 23.322.2Collaborative learning facilitates
capstone design and laboratorycourses. The course runs as a one-semester, stand-alone course (not coupled to a complementarytechnical or laboratory course) with assignments ranging from laboratory reports, design reports,resumes, cover letters, interviews, technical presentations, and project proposals tocommunication with lay audiences. This paper takes a case study approach to examine theevolution of the laboratory report assignment over the course of three semesters. We found thatincorporating additional authenticity into laboratory report writing assignment motivated studentengagement and learning. Midterm and final course evaluations are used as data to reflect on theeffectiveness of three iterations of the assignment:· Fall 2011: Common
will be arranged into groups of three to five, and assigned a topic from a prescribed list. Students will be asked to take the Thermodynamics Concept Inventory during the first and last week of the semester. Year 2 – Video Viewing Students will be asked to watch 3-5 minute videos that span the five topics covered in the Thermodynamics Concept Inventory. These videos will be selected from those generated in Year 1 of the study, and will be available after the video’s topic has been presented in class. After watching the video, students will be asked to perform a short reflection assignment on the concept. Additionally, students will be asked to take the
balanced between active and reflective learning as well as visualand verbal learning. They have a moderate preference for sensing, and a very strong preferencefor global learning. Prior to this course, they indicated that they agreed with Statement A. Afterthis course, they strongly agreed with this same statement. They agreed with Statement B in bothpre-course and post-course evaluation. Finally, they indicated neutrality on Statement C beforethe course but disagreed with it in post-course evaluation. Student X indicated that they believedpre-course that they would earn a “B” in the course but believed that they would earn a “C”post-course (but before the final exam). They earned a “C+” in the course.Case Study 2: Student Y is also well balanced
, exploration, conclusion,and reflection. The four inquiry activities are designed to explore key relationships in batchdistillation involving pressure, heating rate, column internals, and reflux ratios, and to alsoconsider the safety and economic factors in batch distillation design and operation. The tutorialand activities (complete with suggested solutions) will be made available to faculty membersupon request while in the refinement and testing stages during fall 2013.IntroductionAs computers have become more capable of accurately simulating complex physical activity,traditional engineering laboratories have moved away from the laboratory and towards the virtualrealm. Using simulation, an exploratory approach to learning is not hampered by
. Page 23.561.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013 Examining the Innovation-Decision Process: A Preliminary Study of the AIChE Concept WarehouseIntroductionTransportability is a widespread goal of education materials development. If an educationalinnovation is effective in one environment, many developers want to share it with otherinstructors and institutions to have a larger impact and improve education more broadly.Additionally, funding agencies like the National Science Foundation require a “broader impact”component in all grant proposals.One aspect commonly missing when an innovation is shared is a reflective, evidence-baseddescription of the process as the
ofstudent involvement, classroom morale, and, ultimately, the learning that occurred in my classes.In Fall 2012, I had the opportunity to teach two sections of a junior-level heat transfer courseusing different pedagogies: (1) the traditional, lecture-based approach with some active-learningand (2) a modified PBL approach. My modified course alternates mini-lectures and studentproblems in a "leap frog" style. This class meets for 3 hours, once a week. Lectures are very briefand dispersed throughout the class meeting time. Students work problems and conduct briefexperiments in class. Their results are shared and unusual results are discussed. Lecture timehelps summarize these results and propel the class to the next topic. Homework reflects
the MAI was used as a measuring tool in aresearch that examined the effects of teaching metacognitive strategies to 60 students in aphotography class. The results of the MAI exhibited an increase in the total mean score, from 65to 68 out of 100. The MAI was answered before and after assignments with instructions andpractice in reflection, planning and evaluation15.MAI has also been used at the faculty of Odontology in Malmö University in Sweden, for aproject focusing on students’ proficiency to learn in a problem-based curriculum. Students tookpart in different workshops; they watched a tutorial that was followed by discussions and workedin small groups designing cases. After the workshops the MAI-data from students taking part inthe project
,students gave an average rating of 4.4 or above to the following: This course wassuccessful at helping me a) gain factual knowledge b) learn fundamental principles c)learn to apply course material d) learn how to use resources to answer questions and e)acquire an interest in learning more. The statement “overall I rate this course asexcellent” received an average 4.6 on the same scale. Student comments reflect theirsense that the course was well designed “The experiments we did in class were a greatway to see the theory we discussed come true”; “It was a great way to connect what wewere learning to the everyday life of cooking.”. The main criticism for the course wasthat it had no dedicated kitchen-laboratory space
applications are deduced)? 4) How does the student prefer to process information: actively (through engagement in physically activity or discussion), or reflectively (through introspection)? 5) How does the student progress through understanding: sequentially (in continual steps) or globally (in giant jumps, holistically)?The Remote Lab presented in this paper was used in the class of Material Balances (belonging tothe Chemical Engineering Department) during the August-December 2012 semester, at theTecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, specifically in three focus Chemical Engineeringsections with 35, 33 and 32 students in each class, respectively. The survey for the students’perception of their learning style was applied online to
ofthe study director and management immediately.(4) Periodically submit to management and the study director written status reports on each study, noting anyproblems and the corrective actions taken.(5) Determine that no deviations from approved protocols or standard operating procedures were made withoutproper authorization and documentation.(6) Review the final study report to assure that such report accurately describes the methods and standard operatingprocedures, and that the reported results accurately reflect the raw data of the nonclinical laboratory study.(7) Prepare and sign a statement to be included with the final study report which shall specify the dates inspectionswere made and findings reported to management and to the study