Expanding chemical engineering laboratory course design for next-generation engineers

Jacqueline Mohalley-Snedeker; Benjamin Galfond

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Labs and Demonstrations in Chemical Engineering Education
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41484
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41484
Download Count: 205

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Paper Authors

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Jacqueline Mohalley-Snedeker Georgia Institute of Technology

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Jacqueline Mohalley Snedeker is the director of the Technical Communications Program in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular (ChBE) at Georgia Tech. One key aspect of the program is its integration of communication instruction into the core ChBE curriculum. Rather than simply teaching a stand-alone communications course, Ms. Snedeker collaborates with other ChBE faculty to incorporate instruction on written, oral, and visual communication, as well as critical thinking, into required courses. She teaches 190+ students per year and assesses over 150 reports and posters and 120 presentations each semester. She also provides instruction on technical communication in courses such as CETL 2000 CBE, which is required for undergraduate course assistants. Ms. Snedeker also assists students with graduate school essays, fellowship applications, and resumés and cover letters.

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Benjamin Galfond Georgia Institute of Technology

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Benjamin Galfond has been at the Georgia Institute of Technology since 2016. He is an Academic Professional in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, where his duties include managing and teaching senior-level laboratory courses.

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Abstract

Undergraduate laboratory course design has traditionally focused on an experiment and report pairing that can seem resistant to meaningful evolution. The expansion of tasks and assessments beyond this paradigm allows students to focus on process, not just product. This process includes better preparation to safely perform the experiment, requires more advanced understanding of the experimental concepts and results, and introduces students to professional tasks and skills (such as communication skills and teamwork) crucial to post-graduate success. This paper will describe and attempt to quantify pedagogical techniques to broaden lab courses to better prepare students for post-graduation success.

Safety Analysis: While pre-lab meetings and video introductions are not uncommon, a more active engagement in the form of a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) requires students to not only describe what steps to undertake to meet their objectives, but also to hypothesize on the means and the results of their actions. By completing a JHA, students are not only familiarized with a professional task that is ubiquitous in industry, but also begin developing a mindset that safety must always be an imperative consideration. While JHA effectiveness in industry has been documented, the short-term efficacy of this assignment can be measured with year-to-year comparisons of pre-lab grades and direct observation of student preparedness.

Multi-modal Communication and Teamwork: A report is the most common work product, though this can evolve past an assessment of technical understanding and become an instructional tool to develop the professional communication skills prized in both industry and academia. To this end, the senior lab class under consideration is co-taught by a technical instructor and an instructor trained in English and rhetoric; communications instruction is embedded within the curriculum. As students receive instruction and grading explicitly on their writing and communication skills, it will be possible to quantitatively examine improvements across four consecutive assignments. Replacing some reports with research posters introduces students to a new mode of communication, presenting new constraints and options to further diversify how data may be analyzed and conveyed to different types of audiences, which aligns with ABET Student Outcome 3: an ability to communicate with a range of audiences. In addition to communication skills, students are also encouraged to develop their teamwork and leadership skills by (1) including a leadership role as part of the course both through lectures and in-class activities on leadership styles and (2) requiring students to write reflective leadership summaries

Presentations Informed by Feedback: With thoughtful sequencing, more can be gleaned by having students reflect upon their graded work and deliver either individual or group presentations. This structure not only encourages student reflection upon any errors or inadequacies in the written report that would otherwise have far less instructional value, but also allows the development of both critical thinking and professional communication techniques crucial to career success.

By moving beyond the traditional format of instructional lab courses, instructors use deliberative course design to foster student growth into complete workforce-ready engineers.

Citation
Format

Mohalley-Snedeker, J., & Galfond, B. (2022, August), Expanding chemical engineering laboratory course design for next-generation engineers Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41484

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Undergraduate laboratory course design has traditionally focused on an experiment and report pairing that can seem resistant to meaningful evolution. The expansion of tasks and assessments
beyond this paradigm allows students to focus on process, not just product. This process includes better preparation to safely perform the experiment, requires more advanced understanding of the
experimental concepts and results, and introduces students to professional tasks and skills (such as communication skills and teamwork) crucial to post-graduate success. This paper will
describe and attempt to quantify pedagogical techniques to broaden lab courses to better prepare students for post-graduation success.

Safety Analysis: While pre-lab meetings and video introductions are not uncommon, a more active engagement in the form of a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) requires students to not only describe what steps to undertake to meet their objectives, but also to hypothesize on the means and the results of their actions. By completing a JHA, students are not only familiarized with a professional task that is ubiquitous in industry, but also begin developing a mindset that safety must always be an imperative consideration. While JHA effectiveness in industry has been documented, the short-term efficacy of this assignment can be measured with year-to-year comparisons of pre-lab
grades and direct observation of student preparedness.

Multi-modal Communication and Teamwork: A report is the most common work product, though this can evolve past an assessment of technical understanding and become an instructional tool to develop the professional communication skills prized in both industry and academia. To this end, the senior lab class under consideration is co-taught by a technical instructor and an instructor trained in English and rhetoric; communications instruction is embedded within the curriculum. As students receive instruction and grading explicitly on their writing and communication skills, it will be possible to quantitatively examine improvements across four consecutive assignments. Replacing some reports with research posters introduces students to a new mode of communication, presenting new constraints and options to further diversify how data may be analyzed and conveyed to different types of audiences, which aligns with ABET Student Outcome 3: an ability to communicate with a range of audiences. In addition to communication skills, students are also encouraged to develop their teamwork and leadership skills by (1) including a leadership role as part of the course both through lectures and in-class activities on leadership styles and (2) requiring students to write reflective leadership summaries

Presentations Informed by Feedback: With thoughtful sequencing, more can be gleaned by having students reflect upon their graded work and deliver either individual or group presentations. This structure not only encourages student reflection upon any errors or inadequacies in the written report that would otherwise have far less instructional value, but also allows the development of both critical thinking and professional communication techniques crucial to career success.

By moving beyond the traditional format of instructional lab courses, instructors use deliberative course design to foster student growth into complete workforce-ready engineers.

AU  - Jacqueline Mohalley-Snedeker
AU  - Benjamin Galfond
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Expanding chemical engineering laboratory course design for next-generation engineers
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/41484
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--41484
ER  -