(163a) Intentional Course Design and Outcomes Assessment - Shifting the Curve In Material and Energy Balances Course

Intentional Course Design and Outcomes Assessment

Shifting the Curve in Material and Energy Balances Courses
Inci Ayranci and Suzanne Kresta

University of Alberta

The common wisdom is that a bi-modal
distribution in process analysis is ?normal?. As class sizes in second year
chemical engineering at the University of Alberta have grown to over 100
students, we have focused on the process analysis course to consciously uncover
and remove barriers to student learning which result in the ?bi-modal
distribution?. Our solutions include visual learning, experiential learning,
industrial best practices and structured problem solving techniques which are now
embedded in the course. The modified teaching approach progresses in three
stages: first, vocabulary building through research on a specific process and
through flowsheet construction; second, structured visual problem solving tools
which are also the back bone of industrial best practice; third, active
learning exercises throughout the course to pull out questions and ensure that
students are well prepared to tackle problems independently. While there is
still see a tail in our distributions, the lower hump in the curve has
disappeared. This is a clear indication that we are reaching and helping
students who previously were lost and bewildered. These teaching methods take
relatively little effort to implement in the classroom, and create a learning
environment based on interaction and critical thinking.

Part of this work was supported the Shirley
and Fraser Russell Teaching Fellowship, which was awarded to Inci Ayranci in
2010. This fellowship provides a graduate student with the opportunity to gain
teaching experience under the mentorship of a faculty member. Inci created
active learning exercises to improve the understanding and the applications of
the concepts to the problems. These exercises were very well received and appreciated
by the students.