Conference Session

ChE: Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth Williamson; Milo Koretsky, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

to identify success at higher cognitive levels. ‚ Improve the quality of course learning objectives to foster higher level cognitive abilities required for success in the engineering profession.Kolb’s Learning Cycle. Kolb11,12 developed a system of selecting classroom activities basedupon his research related to adult learning. As schematically shown in Figure 1, there are four“quadrants” of ways that people learn: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstractconceptualization, and active experimentation. Two of these stages, concrete experience andabstract conceptualization, operate in the realm of knowing (how they perceive) while the othertwo, reflective observation and active experimentation, involve

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in Student Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Christensen, Texas A&M University; Lale Yurttas, Texas A&M University; Janie Stratton Haney, Texas A&M University; Mahmoud El-Halwagi, Texas A&M University; Jeffrey Froyd, Texas A&M University; Charles Glover, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

community based services and non-profit organizations, asking for service-learning opportunities. Proposals were discussed and selected according to pre-established project specification criteria. 2. Project promotion: Student teams assigned project with general outline and guidelines. Project requires planning, attention to detail, extra research for understanding of sustainable technologies for a creative solution, and transfer of learned concepts. 3. Designing and Project Completion: Field experts, professors and upperclassman mentors are available for guidance, support and collaborative learning. 4. Project Reflection: Written reports and oral presentations graded by professors and

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in Student Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Peterson, Lamar University; David Cocke, Lamar University; Jewel Gomes, Lamar University; Hector Casillas, Lamar University; Morgan Reed, Lamar University; Jerry O'Connor, San Antonio College

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

may enhance creativity. Texts from antiquity have survived and been translated which provide wonderfulexamples that are germane to modern circumstances. The successful Socratic methods areidealized in Plato’s works as a humbling succession in prodding the mind to reflect via directquestioning inquiry. The outcome to be expected is that mental gymnastics provide the exercisethat generates good habits of critical thinking. These were espoused at Plato’s Academy whereAristotle, it’s most famous student, developed logic, categorized the early fields of study thatform the basis of many of today’s disciplines, and evolved more practical uses of learning withinthe peripatetic school. These are many of the bricks of the foundation of Western

Conference Session

ChE: Bioengineering, nanotechnology, and systems engineering in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Milo Koretsky, Oregon State University; Danielle Amatore, Oregon State University; Shoichi Kimura, Oregon State University; Alexandre Yokochi, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

departments in the College of Engineering.13This program requires students to take four courses in nanoscale engineering, two of which arelaboratory courses. They are also expected to attend a seminar series. This program iscomprehensive, hands-on, and reflects the interdisciplinary nature of nanoscale engineering. Page 12.517.3However, this program does have its limitations. It does not offer a single ChE course so thespecific background ChEs can contribute to high volume manufacturing on the nanoscale isabsent. Most courses are graduate level, only available to advanced undergraduates.Additionally, the content focuses heavily on semiconductor

Conference Session

ChE: Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ronald Terry, Brigham Young University; W. Vincent Wilding, Brigham Young University; Randy Lewis, Brigham Young University; Danny Olsen, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

learning, but do not measurelearning itself. The most common indirect assessment tools are surveys which solicit input fromstudents, alumni, employers, graduate schools, or other constituencies. These surveys provideparticular insight into the questions of how and why learning takes place through questions aboutsuch topics as student engagement and the effectiveness of specific class activities. Angelo andCross discuss the essential insight gained as students engage in self reflection in these surveys.2Because of the focus on the how and why of learning, indirect measures are essential in ourefforts to improve the educational environment. They can help us evaluate the effectiveness oflectures, reading assignments, homework, or any other

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in Student Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Golter, Washington State University; Bernard Van Wie, Washginton State University; Gary Brown, Washington State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

semester course evaluations have droppedsomewhat from roughly 70% to 50%. This is reflected in our numbers as well with 8 out of 16 studentsfrom the full CHAPL implementation responding, and 10 out of 13 students from the modified sectionresponding. The evaluation consists of a series of multiple choice questions concerning the overallquality of the instruction, homework and tests, followed by two open ended questions asking forsuggestions and an overall opinion. There were only four responses to each open ended question fromthe modified implementation section. In previous years we have used the open ended responses as afeedback mechanism. However, with the low response rate in this semester, these responses were notused.Class Make-up: As a

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Bullard, North Carolina State University; Richard Felder, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

resource. Problem sets were assigned weekly. Most of the assigned problems were taken from theend of the textbook chapters, frequently with added open-ended parts calling for reflection on themeaning of calculated results or speculation about possible explanations for differences betweenthe calculated results and results that might be measured. Most assignments included oneproblem from the text workbook to be completed individually. Every three or four assignmentsthe teams were asked to assess their performance as a team. The assignments can be seen at. One assignment has to do with information literacy. Early in the course, librarians visitduring a problem session to introduce students to important discipline-specific resources

Conference Session

ChE: Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daina Briedis, Michigan State University; Mark Urban-Lurain, Michigan State University; Robert Ofoli, Michigan State University; Dennis Miller, Michigan State University; Jon Sticklen, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

engineers is their problem-solving ability. Indeed, ABETcriteria5,6 reflect this since at least five of the eleven outcomes relate directly to problem-solving skills. Many engineering curricula have focused strongly on providing students athrough grounding in the basics of a given discipline as delivered through lecture. Asteady slide ruled by “content tyranny” to increased reliance on “lecturing about” moreand more technical material is a common symptom of the huge amounts of information inthe engineering disciplines. Yet with so much content to master, we as faculty frequentlyforget that effective problem solving is predicated on integrated understanding oftechnical material.Froyd and Ohland7 emphasize the need for integrated engineering

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in undergraduate and graduate programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lale Yurttas, Texas A&M University; Zachry Kraus, Texas A&M University; Jeffrey Froyd, Texas A&M University; Jean Layne, Texas A&M University; Mahmoud El-Halwagi, Texas A&M University; Charles Glover, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

noted. At the conclusion of the session, each student completed apencil and paper instrument requesting additional feedback on the ICC. Information from thesesessions was compiled into a report and feedback was considered during the CoM ICC revisionprocess. Figure 2. Process Flow Chart: Pallet and Animation ToolThe students who participated in the usability study were able to identify several thingsoverlooked by the development team. Overlooked elements were the result of being too close tothe process to notice problematic elements and also reflected the difference in viewing thematerial from the perspective of an expert attempting to teach and a novice attempting to learn.Students spotted inconsistencies in the way to which

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in Student Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Danial Hohne, University of Michigan; Leeann Fu, University of Michigan; Barry Barkel, University of Michigan; Peter Woolf, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

. Individualgrades were then assigned based on an average contribution score from each group member. Thegrades reflect a normal distribution for a senior level engineering course.We assessed the peer review process that was used to assign grades to the wiki articles. Weperformed an analysis of variation to see if the peer reviewing produced different results than ifwe had assigned grades randomly for each of the articles, and to see if there was agreement onwhich of the articles were of higher and lower quality. Our goal was to determine how stronglythe article quality influenced the scores the article authors received. We realize that somestudent reviewers tended to be more lenient and some harsher, so we needed to control for thisreviewer to reviewer

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in Student Learning

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brent Young, University of Auckland; Robert Kirkpatrick, University of Auckland; William Svrcek, University of Calgary

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

upgradesin the LPG production system and LPG specification problems resulted.Junior chemical engineers were assigned the troubleshooting of this problem and decided as afirst step to develop a simple computer process simulation of this unit. A four component systemwas considered adequate with propane, iso-butane, normal butane and water. The bottomsstream was butane rich with primarily propane in the overheads. With cooling water on theoverheads of the depropanizer the overheads pressure had been design to provide an acceptabledelta T vs the cooling water temperature. The bottom temperature of the column was at a highertemperature reflecting the higher butane content. Initial results from the simulation showed whatappeared to be satisfactory

Conference Session

ChE: Assessment

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Shaeiwitz, West Virginia University; Daina Briedis, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

when assigning final grades. Graded assignments and final grades differ fromassessment because assessment is similar to a distributed parameter model while assignmentsand final grades are similar to a lumped parameter model. Program assessment is focused onproviding demonstration of student knowledge or skill directly linked to a specific programoutcome.4 Grades depend on a faculty member’s expectations for a course, course objectives,and the particular grading policy. Grades are often norm-based and reflect a student’s standingrelative to others within a class or on a test. Assessment is based on a student’s absoluteperformance on a specific measurable aspect of an outcome For example, on an exam, the average might be 80%, but it is

Conference Session

ChE: Innovations in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Raymond, Bucknell University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

book How People Learn1, the authors arrive at several important findings including: o Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp new concepts and information presented in the classroom, or they may learn them for purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom. This finding requires that teachers be prepared to draw out their students' existing understandings and help to shape them into an understanding that reflects the concepts and knowledge in the particular discipline of study. o To develop competence in an area of learning, students must have both a deep foundation

Conference Session

ChE: Bioengineering, nanotechnology, and systems engineering in the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Marlin, McMaster University; Andrew Hrymak, McMaster University; John MacGregor, McMaster University; Vladimir Mahalec, McMaster University; Prashant Mhaskar, McMaster University; Christopher Swartz, McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

Chemical Engineering

system(ABET17). Therefore, we do not perform a formal evaluation of learning outcomes using theABET categories a-k. However, we have prepared a summary in Appendix A giving our viewsof how the PSE program contributes to the key ABET learning goals.3.0 Teaching and Learning MethodsPSE material is presented using a range of teaching and learning methods that reflect the needsof the courses and the preferences of the instructors. Since the material is concentrated in the lasttwo years of the undergraduate program, many courses include projects that integrate the priorknowledge with PSE technology. Some of the instructors use Problem-based learning to involvestudents in problem definition and open-ended problem solving7. In addition, two of