(345a) The Python Pivot – Teaching Chemical Engineering Computing in the Wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 caused a major disruption in the education system with the abrupt transition to remote learning. In addition to the quick adaptation of this unfamiliar mode by both students and professors, resources typically used for the course was no longer an option, and course outcomes and deliverables had to be re-imagined.

In this poster presentation, the challenges encountered during this transition and how they were addressed in a junior-level computer simulation course will be discussed. More specifically, the instructor had to rapidly pivot towards teaching Python, because the software used was not available to students remotely. This result in the creation of projects wherein students had to use Python programming to solve three styles of chemical engineering problems that they have been already been exposed to in the curriculum: 1) a multi-step solution, 2) an iterative solution, and 3) an integration. Class time evolved into working periods where groups could interact with their colleagues and instructor within Zoom breakout rooms, and assessments took the form of: 1) a short presentation where groups explained their problem and Python code, 2) a collaborative wiki where each group would describe the Python skills or structures that they needed to solve their problem, and 3) a working Python program that would compute their solution. Student comments regarding the switch to remote learning as well as their experience with this course framework will also be presented.