Goldberg, D. S., & Zou, J., & Sriram, G. (2019, June), Work in Progress: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a 1-credit Chemical Engineering First-Year Seminar   Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33603

\bibitem{asee_peer_33603}
  Goldberg, D. S., \& Zou, J., \& Sriram, G. (2019, June), \emph{Work in Progress: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a 1-credit Chemical Engineering First-Year Seminar }
  Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Tampa, Florida.
  10.18260/1-2--33603

Deborah S. Goldberg, Jinwang Zou, and Ganesh Sriram.  "Work in Progress: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a 1-credit Chemical Engineering First-Year Seminar ".  2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida, 2019, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2019.  https://peer.asee.org/33603 Internet.  24 Apr, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_33603}
  Deborah S. Goldberg, Jinwang Zou, and Ganesh Sriram.
  "Work in Progress: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a 1-credit Chemical Engineering First-Year Seminar ".
  \emph{2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Tampa, Florida, 2019, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2019.
  https://peer.asee.org/33603 Internet.  24 Apr, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_33603
author = "Deborah S. Goldberg, Jinwang Zou, and Ganesh Sriram"
title = "Work in Progress: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a 1-credit Chemical Engineering First-Year Seminar "
booktitle = "2019 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition "
year = "2019"
month = "June"
address = "Tampa, Florida"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/33603}
number = {10.18260/1-2--33603}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Background & Motivation: 

In order to retain and graduate successful chemical engineering students, it is critical for departments to provide students with a clear understanding of the discipline and career options, connect students with resources to enable academic success and assist students with gaining experience outside of the classroom.  This can be difficult to accomplish through the standard curriculum, so these items are often left to advising sessions or supplemental events, resulting in many students not being fully informed on these critical topics.   We have developed, implemented and evaluated a chemical engineering first-year seminar course to address these key areas to improve student retention and success. 

Design & Implementation: 

A 1-credit first-year seminar course was designed to help students answer the following questions: 1) What is chemical engineering? 2) What can I do with a degree in chemical engineering? 3) How can I succeed in such an academically rigorous major? 4) How should I prepare for a career or graduate school in chemical engineering?  The course included guest lectures by practicing chemical engineers to help students understand the breadth of chemical engineering opportunities and a mentoring program which connected freshmen with successful chemical engineering upperclassmen.  Several class sessions focused on skills like time management, and students were required to attend office hours and use other academic resources to promote successful academic habits. Upperclassmen were invited to present on undergraduate research, internship and co-op experiences, after which seminar students crafted mock applications for these opportunities. As a culminating project, students developed a “personal roadmap” delineating their post-graduation goals and how they planned to achieve them. 

The seminar was first offered in Spring 2018, currently offered during Fall 2018 and is co-taught by the director of undergraduate studies and a full-time lecturer.  

Evaluation: 

Freshman enrolled in “Material & Energy Balances” who opted to take the seminar course were compared with those who did not take the seminar through pre and post-surveys containing likert-type questions.  Baseline comparison including high school and college GPA and SAT scores were assessed to account any opt-in bias.   Follow up assessments will be completed at yearly intervals to assess retention, academic performance, participation in engineering activities and eventual career placement.

Data from the initial Spring 2018 cohort (25 seminar students, 22 control students) shows that a larger percentage of students who took the seminar showed gains in likert statements including “I know what chemical engineering is” (88% vs. 41%); “If I am struggling, I know where to turn for help” (64% vs. 23%); and “I know what is required to get a good job after I graduate” (84% vs. 32%).  Overall, students enrolled in the seminar course improved or maintained their confidence in obtaining an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering (80%) versus those only enrolled in material and energy balances (55%).  

This data suggests that the seminar course may lead to improvements in student retention and success in chemical engineering.  Analysis of spring and fall cohort data is ongoing and will be available prior to the conference presentation. 






 

AU  - Deborah S. Goldberg
AU  - Jinwang Zou
AU  - Ganesh Sriram
CY  - Tampa, Florida
DA  - 2019/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work in Progress: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a 1-credit Chemical Engineering First-Year Seminar 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/33603
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--33603
ER  -