Implementation Grant: Transforming the Educational Experience of Transfer Students in Chemical Engineering using a Multi-Dimensional Spiral Curriculum

实施补助金：利用多维螺旋课程改变化学工程转学生的教育体验

• 批准号: 0530444
• 负责人: Vinay Gupta
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of South Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0530444&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Implementation; Grant; Transforming; Educational; Experience

Intellectual MeritThis department level reform project will transform the educational experience of undergraduate students in Chemical Engineering by the development and implementation of a "multidimensional spiral curriculum". The central thesis underlying the proposed initiative is that an engineering curriculum needs to be more than an aggregate of individual courses but rather a coherent and continuous program of study that transforms a student into a professional capable of integrating core concepts in a specific discipline for the synthesis, analysis, and design of a product or process of societal value. For students who transfer from two-year community colleges this outcome is particularly difficult via the predominant, traditional sequential model with its emphasis on a linear sequence of courses and gradual spacing over a four year program. Therefore, this implementation focuses on chemical engineering transfer students with the intention of extending it on a wider basis in future.The proposed project adapts the "spiral curriculum model" (sometimes called incremental learning approach) where a set of interlinked and basic ideas are presented in a repetitive manner exposing the student to higher level of sophistication and greater depth in each of the interlinked concepts. The spiral curriculum focuses on introducing higher cognitive content with progress along the upward spiral path of learning the subject. The iterative revisiting of concepts at increasing levels of complexity promotes curricular integration in a structured, yet simple manner. The novel model proposed here uses three interlocking spiral paths to deliver a pedagogically sound, student-centered curriculum that allows integration of core chemical engineering courses, incorporation of traditional and new technological applications, and threading of process and product design concepts over the complete curriculum.Broad ImpactThe project has the potential for significant broad impact on undergraduate engineering education as community college transfers are an important constituency at public and state-supported institutions. Nearly half of the engineering majors start as transfer students and significant fractions (40-60%) of minority and women college students go through community colleges. Transforming the learning experience for the transfer students will impact the recruitment and retention in engineering, particularly the underrepresented groups. The methodology and tools developed will be broadly applicable and can be generalized, first to non-transfer students and then to other disciplines of engineering.

智力优势这个系级改革项目将通过开发和实施“多维螺旋课程”来改变化学工程本科生的教育体验。 该倡议的中心论点是，工程课程需要的不仅仅是单个课程的集合，而是一个连贯且连续的学习计划，将学生转变为能够将核心概念整合到特定学科中的专业人士，以合成、分析和设计具有社会价值的产品或过程。 对于从两年制社区学院转学的学生来说，通过占主导地位的传统顺序模型（强调线性课程顺序和四年制课程的渐进间隔），取得这一结果尤其困难。 因此，这一实施的重点是化学工程转学生，旨在将来在更广泛的基础上进行扩展。拟议的项目采用“螺旋课程模型”（有时称为增量学习方法），其中以重复的方式呈现一组相互关联的基本思想，使学生接触到每个相互关联的概念的更高水平和更深入的知识。 螺旋课程侧重于引入更高的认知内容，沿着学习该学科的螺旋式上升路径取得进展。 以不断增加的复杂程度迭代地重新审视概念，以结构化而简单的方式促进课程整合。 这里提出的新颖模型使用三个互锁的螺旋路径来提供教学上合理的、以学生为中心的课程，允许整合核心化学工程课程，结合传统和新技术应用，并将工艺和产品设计概念贯穿整个课程。 广泛的影响该项目有可能对本科工程教育产生重大广泛的影响，因为社区大学转学是公共和国家支持的重要组成部分 机构。 近一半的工程专业学生是从转学生开始的，相当一部分（40-60%）的少数族裔和女大学生通过社区学院学习。 改变转学生的学习体验将影响工程领域的招聘和保留，特别是代表性不足的群体。开发的方法和工具将广泛适用并可以推广，首先适用于非转学生，然后适用于其他工程学科。