2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Prioritizing Learning Outcomes for Chemical Engineering Laboratory Courses: Student Perspectives

Presented at Joint Session: Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies Division and Chemical Division

Undergraduate laboratories are an integral component of most engineering programs, playing a pivotal role in integrating hands-on application of theory as well as building other skills for future engineers. Previous work by Feisel and Rosa [1] suggested thirteen learning outcomes that can be covered in engineering laboratory courses; however, two potential barriers make using these outcomes in chemical engineering laboratory courses challenging: (a) Feisel and Rosa’s learning outcomes are not targeted specifically to chemical engineering or to the needs of stakeholders within the chemical engineering curriculum and (b) expecting laboratory instructors to assess thirteen different learning outcomes for student success is unrealistic.

Therefore, a survey was designed to gain an understanding of the outcomes most important to the various lab stakeholders (faculty, non-academic engineers, and students) and the current successes and gaps of chemical engineering laboratory curricula in addressing those outcomes. This paper describes responses received from chemical engineering students. Including the student voice is important in higher education curricular development and can have positive outcomes in terms of student perceptions of courses and their engagement in them [2]. Additionally, students are more intrinsically motivated by course attributes that are tied to their future careers [3]. Thus, incorporating the student perspective into chemical engineering laboratory course design is critical.

Thirty-one students responded to the survey. Survey responses included demographic and background information, which can be used to situate the survey responses in the context of the respondents’ experiences. Additionally, respondents were asked to rank the five most important learning outcomes for laboratory-intensive chemical engineering courses, identify which outcomes respondents are weakest in, and which outcomes the chemical engineering curriculum should do a better job covering. Finally, open-ended questions were included to identify additional important learning outcomes and provide comments. The results provide insight into the prioritization of laboratory learning outcomes and allow the redesign of laboratory courses to better align with the skills and attributes desired from all three stakeholder groups.

Authors

Dr. Chris Barr http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2938-2896 University of Michigan [biography]

Dr. Christopher Barr is the Instructional Laboratory Supervisor in the Chemical Engineering Department at University of Michigan. He obtained his Ph.D. at University of Toledo in 2013 and is a former Fellow in the N.S.F. GK-12 grant "Graduate Teaching Fellows in STEM High School Education: An Environmental Science Learning Community at the Land-Lake Ecosystem Interface". His main responsibilities are supervising and implementing improvements to the undergraduate labs. He also serves as secondary instructor for the CHE labs, the Departmental Safety Coordinator, and lead for the SAFEChE (Process Safety Across the CHE Curriculum) modules as well as the Visual Encyclopedia of Chemical Engineering Equipment. Currently, he serves as a Director for the ASEE ChE Division.
Dr. Sarah A Wilson University of Kentucky [biography]

Sarah Wilson is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kentucky. She completed her bachelor's degree at Rowan University in New Jersey before attending graduate school for her PhD at the University of Massachusetts.
Dr. Janie Brennan Washington University in St. Louis [biography]

Janie Brennan is a Senior Lecturer of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. She earned her BS in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Purdue University in 2010, and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (also from Purdue) in 2015. She teaches several core engineering courses, including thermodynamics, separations, unit operations lab, and zymurgy, and her research has focused on understanding best practices for teaching and learning in these courses.
Dr. Joanne Beckwith Maddock http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1505-6894 Carnegie Mellon University [biography]

Joanne Beckwith Maddock is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Toledo in 2013, her M.S.E. from the University of Michigan in 2017, and her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Michigan in 2021. Her research focus areas include laboratory courses, first year engineering, and engineering in rural communities.
Prof. Tracy L. Carter http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4184-0052 Northeastern University [biography]

Tracy Carter is a faculty member in the Chemical Engineering Department at Northeastern University. She is also a faculty facilitator for the Industry/CCPS Faculty Workshops on process safety. She also has 9 years of R&D experience in industry. She has 15+ years of experience teaching unit operations laboratory and process safety to undergraduate and graduate students. She also has 5+ years mentoring graduate students on technical communications in the NU College of Engineering Communication Lab.
Prof. Samira Azarin Azarin [biography]

Samira Azarin is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. She earned her B.S. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006 and went on to receive a Ph.D. in chem
Amy J. Karlsson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9962-925X University of Maryland [biography]

Amy J. Karlsson is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Maryland - College Park. She received her BS in chemical engineering from Iowa State University and her PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

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