Grant recipients: Marios Ioannidis, William A. Anderson, Ariel Chan, Jason Grove, and Christine Moresoli
Department of Chemical Engineering
(Project timeline: May 1, 2014 - April 2015)
Project Summary
A fundamental competency in chemical engineering is the complete design of a chemical process plant. Accomplishing this requires the application of knowledge and skills from the entire chemical engineering curriculum. The longitudinal design case (LDC) project will lead students through the complete design of a process plant over the course of their studies (from 1A to 4A terms). The LDC will provide a scaffold to enable the integration of courses, both within and between terms, through the use of related assignment questions embedded in those courses. Students will reflect on their experiences and refine their design in an e-portfolio. This open-ended problem will immerse students in the design experience, provide an authentic context for the application of class material and help students see the relevance of the different parts of the curriculum.
A methanol plant has been selected as the initial design case and technical work completed to provide the foundation for the project. Links to suitable courses and a schedule of appropriate assignment questions have been identified. A plan for project implementation, including the use of e-portfolios has been developed.
Questions Investigated
The goal of the longitudinal design case is to provide an authentic design problem context for student learning. This project is in direct alignment with high-impact educational practices, as outlined by Chickering & Gamson (1987), Reeves et al. (2002), and Kuh et al. (2013). These practices include: i) Sustained investigation; ii) Interactions with faculty and classmates; iii) Frequent, constructive feedback & structured reflection periods; and, iv) The potential to discover relevance of concepts through real-life applications.
Findings/Insights
The project has provided us with a solid technical foundation for the design project including the development of case study materials (including significant technical engineering work summarizing methanol synthesis processes of industrial relevance), identification of linking courses and the development of an overall strategy for implementation including the development of reflection milestones associated with each term. This is described further in a presentation. The use of ePortfolios as a tool for assessment of the LDC was investigated (see a sample set up during this process). In concept, ePortfolios are the correct tool to develop a record and assessment of student work under this project. While significant limitations were identified in the available ePortfolio implementation (including challenges associated with the one-time-only nature of instructor ability to push portfolio templates, logistic issues such as needing community groups to be established rather than being able to use course shells, and needing “snapshots” to be recorded via dropbox submissions), use of portfolios as both a depository of student performance exhibits and for assessment/feedback is identified as the appropriate pedagogy for this project. The current status of the project is that groundwork for implementation is substantially complete, including both technical aspects (i.e., developing the case study material) and pedagogical aspects (i.e., identifying course links, use of ePortfolios, and specific assessment strategies).
Impact
- At the individual level: The project has resulted in a number of interesting discussion with colleagues.
- At the Department or Faculty level: None as yet. We expect that this project may eventually have a substantial impact on the chemical engineering curriculum.
References
Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE bulletin, 3, 7.
Reeves, T. C., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2002). Authentic activities and online learning. In Quality conversations: Research and Development in Higher Education.
Kahu, E. R. (2013). Framing student engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 38(5), 758-773.