10th International Aerosol Conference September 2 - September 7, 2018 America's Center Convention Complex St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Abstract View
Incorporating Engineering Context into General Chemistry Laboratory for a more Contextually Relevant and Engaging Experience for Engineering Students
CHANG YU WU, Kent Crippen, Lorelie Imperial, Corey Payne, Korolev Maria, Philip Brucat, University of Florida
Abstract Number: 169 Working Group: Aerosol Education
Abstract The laboratory environment can offer valuable first-person, hands-on experiences that complement and extend the process of learning from other parts of a course. To this end, we are developing a unique laboratory curriculum for general chemistry for undergraduate engineers that more deeply engage students in authentic science and engineering practice. Our project involves a series of Design Challenges, which are problem-based laboratory activities based upon the NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering. These Design Challenges situate chemistry concepts and skills in an authentic engineering context with supports for the engineering design process. For engineering majors, contextualizing the learning of chemistry in such a way is theorized to strengthen the connection between the domain knowledge of chemistry and its application in everyday work, which enhances interest, efficacy, learning as well as retention. The user-centered design process enables us to keep our focus on the involvement of our target audience in all stages of development.
We will present our design framework, how results from usability testing are used to illustrate our iterative evidence-based development process. We will then present results of an initial pilot study from across one semester of student use (covering Grand Challenges topics of Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure, Providing Universal Access to Clean Water, Making Solar Energy Economical, and Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods). For usability, data sources include video-recorded observations, field notes, student artifacts. For the pilot study, the assessed outcomes include chemistry content knowledge, self-efficacy, metacognition, and motivational variables. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses are used to address the research questions. The preliminary results showed positive changes in participant satisfaction, feeling like an engineer and for learning how to collaborate. Plans for additional re-design of the model and further study will be discussed.