Open-Ended Experiential Learning Opportunities in the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory: A Qualitative Research Study

Erick S. Vasquez; Kelly Bohrer; Matthew Dewitt; Soubantika Palchoudhury

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Chemical Engineering Division (ChED) Technical Session 9: Student Experiences in Laboratory Courses
Tagged Division: Chemical Engineering Division (ChED)
Page Count: 22
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43790
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/43790
Download Count: 406

Paper Authors

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Erick S. Vasquez University of Dayton orcid.org/0000-0002-4811-6155

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Erick S. Vasquez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Dayton. He received his B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering at UCA in El Salvador. He obtained his M.S. from Clemson University and his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University, both in Chemical Engineering. His laboratory research involves nanotechnology in chemical and biological processes. His educational research interests are community-based learning, open-ended laboratory experiments, teamwork, collaborative and active learning, and Transport Phenomena computational modeling.

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Kelly Bohrer University of Dayton

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Kelly Bohrer is the Executive Director of the ETHOS Center, a community engagement center connecting students, faculty, and staff with NGOâ€™s around the world for technical projects as part of immersions, teaching, and scholarly activity. She also is th

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Matthew Dewitt University of Dayton

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Matthew DeWitt is a Distinguished Research Engineer at the University of Dayton Research Institute. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from The Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. His resea

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Soubantika Palchoudhury

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Abstract

Over the past few years, senior-level chemical engineering students in the Unit Operations laboratory at the University of Dayton have obtained unique experiences performing open-ended experiments emphasizing experiential learning theory (ELT) aspects. During the last six weeks of the semester, students conduct a final project where they define an objective and propose a methodology for a more advanced study than required in the earlier portion of the course. The authors (instructors of the course) provide (1) ideas for experimental topics of interest which are applicable to chemical engineering students, 2) focused research opportunities with faculty members or local entrepreneurs and businesses, and 3) community-based learning experiences with the ETHOS center at the University of Dayton. Once the instructor approves a student-centered experiential learning project, the students define the specific objectives, perform experiments or simulations, and summarize the analysis and findings in a final technical report or memorandum. After submitting the final report, students also provide a written reflection of their work and learning experience. In the most recent academic semester, various open-ended topics were made available to the students, including coffee-processing-related unit operations, environmentally sustainable biodigesters, and kombucha fermentation. This paper highlights open-ended experiential learning final project opportunities (n = 6) in the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations laboratory, provided to 16 teams of 3 - 4 students per team (n = 53). We discuss the instructors' observations and perspectives and a summary of students' written reflections. The authors performed qualitative assessments using coding and thematic analysis on the students' team-written reflections. Four central student themes emerged: cognitive, affective, relational, and pedagogical. The authors also summarize their findings and provide perspectives for open-ended, experiential learning opportunities in Chemical Engineering laboratory-based courses. Overall, the qualitative analysis indicated the teams enjoyed the opportunity to select an open-ended project and the independence, autonomy, and control over the experiment stage. These results confirmed the student-centered approach in experiential learning projects for the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations laboratory previously attained in other STEM-related courses

Citation
Format

Vasquez, E. S., & Bohrer, K., & Dewitt, M., & Palchoudhury, S. (2023, June), Open-Ended Experiential Learning Opportunities in the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory: A Qualitative Research Study Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43790

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Over the past few years, senior-level chemical engineering students in the Unit Operations laboratory at the University of Dayton have obtained unique experiences performing open-ended experiments emphasizing experiential learning theory (ELT) aspects. During the last six weeks of the semester, students conduct a final project where they define an objective and propose a methodology for a more advanced study than required in the earlier portion of the course. The authors (instructors of the course) provide (1) ideas for experimental topics of interest which are applicable to chemical engineering students, 2) focused research opportunities with faculty members or local entrepreneurs and businesses, and 3) community-based learning experiences with the ETHOS center at the University of Dayton. Once the instructor approves a student-centered experiential learning project, the students define the specific objectives, perform experiments or simulations, and summarize the analysis and findings in a final technical report or memorandum. After submitting the final report, students also provide a written reflection of their work and learning experience.
In the most recent academic semester, various open-ended topics were made available to the students, including coffee-processing-related unit operations, environmentally sustainable biodigesters, and kombucha fermentation. This paper highlights open-ended experiential learning final project opportunities (n = 6) in the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations laboratory, provided to 16 teams of 3 - 4 students per team (n = 53). We discuss the instructors&#39; observations and perspectives and a summary of students&#39; written reflections. The authors performed qualitative assessments using coding and thematic analysis on the students&#39; team-written reflections. Four central student themes emerged: cognitive, affective, relational, and pedagogical. The authors also summarize their findings and provide perspectives for open-ended, experiential learning opportunities in Chemical Engineering laboratory-based courses. Overall, the qualitative analysis indicated the teams enjoyed the opportunity to select an open-ended project and the independence, autonomy, and control over the experiment stage. These results confirmed the student-centered approach in experiential learning projects for the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations laboratory previously attained in other STEM-related courses



AU  - Erick S. Vasquez
AU  - Kelly Bohrer
AU  - Matthew Dewitt
AU  - Soubantika Palchoudhury
CY  - Baltimore , Maryland
DA  - 2023/06/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Open-Ended Experiential Learning Opportunities in the Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory: A Qualitative Research Study 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/43790
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--43790
ER  -