(502h) Hands-On Chemical Engineering Demonstrations for Effective K-12 Outreach

Figure 1: Screenshot of Our Outreach Teaching Module Database.
" src="https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/aiche-proceedings/conferences/..." v:shapes="Text_x0020_Box_x0020_2" height="593" class="documentimage">Hands-On Chemical
Engineering Demonstrations for Effective K-12 Outreach

Hands on
experiments and real-world demonstrations are among the most memorable experiences
that science and engineering students will encounter in their education. An
effective demonstration can help cement fundamental principles in science and
engineering courses and aid students, including those with a variety of
learning styles, in securing foundational insights into concepts they might not
otherwise find from a traditional lecture. 
While such experiences are demonstrably important to student learning, in
the field of chemical engineering there remains a need for additional resources
and consolidation of teaching modules.

In order to
address this need, our department has created an online, searchable database of
over 30 hands-on teaching modules (Figure 1).  Each module has a detailed list of materials
required, a procedure, a description of the module's career connections,
intended learning outcomes, and the theory governing the experiment.  Additionally, assessment questions are provided
to help instructors develop a lesson plan, and test the students' retention and
understanding of the concepts presented.

Our modules
highlight a wide variety of core chemical engineering concepts, and most are
able to be addressed through the lenses of multiple chemical engineering
courses.  For example, we use an
exploding can demonstration to illustrate concepts of flow through an orifice,
buoyancy, flame speed, and combustion.  A
ping-pong ball positioning demonstration is used to illustrate both drag
forces, and process control of an integrating system.  Kinetics, thermodynamics and nanotechnology are
demonstrated through our magnetic ferrofluid
module.  Furthermore, many of the
developed modules have been designed to build upon one another.  For example, biochemical engineering, data acquisition,
and process and product design may be illustrated through the use of our algae photobioreactor
module, in which a homemade spectrophotometer module monitors cellular growth,
culminating in a biodiesel module to produce a useful product.

This
resource of teaching modules and our method of collecting, presenting, and
assessing them have been successfully used for over two years in both our
extensive K-12 outreach program and in various undergraduate courses.  Student and instructor feedback has indicated
that this online collection is an effective and engaging tool in meeting the
educational mission of our chemical engineering department as well as community
high schools. It is our goal that this module database can be used by other
departments and expanded upon, providing benefits to students outside our
direct sphere of influence. By creating such an easily accessible database, we
hope to add to the body of online chemical engineering teaching material and provide
educators from across the country with teaching modules which may be used to
supplement their lectures and conduct outreach within their communities.