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

本系改革项目将通过“多维螺旋课程”的开发和实施，改变化学工程本科学生的教育体验。该倡议的核心论点是，工程课程需要的不仅仅是单个课程的集合，而是一个连贯和连续的学习计划，将学生转变为能够将特定学科的核心概念整合起来的专业人士，以综合、分析和设计具有社会价值的产品或过程。对于从两年制社区大学转学的学生来说，通过传统的顺序模式（强调课程的线性顺序和四年课程的逐渐间隔）获得这一结果尤其困难。因此，这一实施重点是化工转学生，并打算在未来扩大到更广泛的基础上。拟议的项目采用“螺旋课程模式”（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，使学生在每个相互关联的概念中获得更高层次的复杂性和更深层次的知识。螺旋课程侧重于引入更高的认知内容，并沿着学习学科的上升螺旋路径进行进展。在不断增加的复杂程度上对概念的反复复习，以一种结构化的、简单的方式促进了课程的整合。这里提出的新模式使用三个连锁的螺旋路径来提供一个教学上合理的，以学生为中心的课程，允许核心化学工程课程的整合，传统和新技术应用的结合，以及贯穿整个课程的过程和产品设计概念。广泛影响由于社区学院转学是公共和国家支持的机构的重要组成部分，该项目有可能对本科工程教育产生重大的广泛影响。近一半的工程专业学生从转校生开始，相当一部分（40-60%）的少数族裔和女性大学生进入社区大学。改变转学生的学习体验将影响工程专业的招聘和保留，尤其是代表性不足的群体。所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。

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.