Rossiter, Biggs and Petrulis (2008), Innovative problem-based learning approach using off and online...

Department of Chemical and Process Engineering

Innovative problem-based learning approach using off and online resources in 1st year Chemical Engineering

Dr Diane Rossiter, CPEDr Catherine Biggs, CPEBob Petrulis, CiLASS

Presented at Engineering Education Conference 2008, Loughborough.


Contents

• Why? – Problem-based learning• How? – Off line resources and general

format

Online resources• Was it worth it?

• A student’s perspective• Our perspective

• Lessons learnt and conclusions


CPE1002 - Course Aims

CPE1002 aims to provide an introduction to the principles of chemical engineeringprinciples of chemical engineering through discussion of the chemical industry and the development and application of material balances over a range of equipment and processes.

CPE1002 is a core subject in Year 1.


Why introduce PBL? • First implemented in 2005/2006

• Students not seeing the connection between core technical skills and chemical engineering practice

• Opportunity for change – Associate Prof Paul Lant (PAL) (University of Queensland)


What we tried to teach them• Core Technical skillsCore Technical skills

• Material balances, units, system boundaries etc• Dealing with uncertainty

• Personal SkillsPersonal Skills• Working and communicating in a group• Independent and self directed learning

• Transferable SkillsTransferable Skills• Technical reporting• Presentations• Communication

Added site visits, group

work and more

problems more often.

Nothing technical left out


• Problem-based Tutorials (2 hours per week)Problem-based Tutorials (2 hours per week)• Group assignments with real data, authentic, not always

one neat solution

• Lectures/Keynotes (1 hour per week)Lectures/Keynotes (1 hour per week)• Overview and introduction

• Directed learning

• Homework Sheets and Paper-based QuizHomework Sheets and Paper-based Quiz• Independent study and re-enforcement

(Offline) Learning Support and Resources


2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07

Resources CAB+1 CAB+1 CAB+PAL+1

CAB+DR+2

Students 28 55 66 67Lectures 2 hours 2 hours 1 hour 1 hourTutorials Large

group; 3 hrs,

2 x term

Small group;

3 hrs,

3 x term

PBL;

2 hrs, weekly

PBL;

2 hrs, weekly

Assessment 80% exam

20% ckw

75% exam,

25% cwk

50% exam,

50% cwk

50% exam,

50% cwk

Failure Rate 7 (25%) 9 (16%) 15 (23%) 1 (2%)


Reflection on PBL delivery• Majority of students happy with course delivery judging

by their feedback from end-of module questionnaire.• 2005/06 failure rate2005/06 failure rate dependent on student’s gambling

on exam – not fully engaged in PBL throughout the course

• Excellent overall results for assessment in 2006/072006/07 due to more directed feedback in PBL sessions.

• However, from peer evaluation data evidence of weaker students not fully engaging in group PBL activities and being “carried” by more able students (Pitt, 2000).

• With increasing student numbers a mechanism for self-directed learning rather than providing remedial f-2-f support is needed - currently not sustainable.

CiLASS Project


Development of Online Quizzes (Rossiter and Biggs, 2008)

• Variety of tools available from custom made to

generic quiz tools embedded within VLEs

• Our choice – WebCT Vista Quiz Tool, supported at institutional level with training.

• 9 types of question styles – calculated, MCQ etc

• Used Respondus 3.5 for development work, reasons: ease of use, printing, WORD templates

Respondus 3.5, http://www.respondus.com/products/index.shtmlRespondus 3.5, http://www.respondus.com/products/index.shtml


Key steps: (Rossiter and Biggs, 2008)

Step 1. Brainstorming core concepts and relevant Q’s

Step 4. Type question directly into

Respondus v3.5 e.g calculated

Step 2. Type question into MS

Word e.g. MCQ, T/F

Step 3. & 5 Combine in Respondus & preview

Step 6. Publish in WebCT & do settings

Based on what

students found hard in

the past


Key steps: (Rossiter and Biggs, 2008)

Step 1. Brainstorming core concepts and relevant Q’s

Step 4. Type question directly into

Respondus v3.5 e.g calculated

Step 2. Type question into MS

Word e.g. MCQ, T/F

Step 3. & 5 Combine in Respondus & preview

Step 6. Publish in WebCT & do settings


Online learning resource• A databank of 78 online quiz questions

relating to five core chemical principles topics• unit conversions using the unity brackets approach (26);• mass to mole conversions (8); • calculations and definitions relating to material balances

(13); • material balance calculations without reactions (20); and • material balances with reactions (11).

• Questions types included calculated, multiple choice, short answer, matching pairs, fill-in-the-blanks, true-false.


Implementation into CPE1002• Available to students in self-test mode within WebCT Vista (2008) Published to coincide with relevant key note lectures.

• Feedback from individual questions directed to lecture notes and textbook

• Same databank of questions was also used for WebCT Vista Quiz (worth 10% of course assessment)• In Week 9, this online test was made available with a time limit of

1 hour • The online test was released for 7 days and at the same time the

self-test quizzes were made unavailable. • Out of 70 students, 63 did the online test. • The average score for the online test was 83%. Low marks for

some due to not accessed self-test quizzes earlier and caught out by exactness of CAA responses required.


Contents


format





Was it worth it?

Student focus group*

Student questionnaires

Project leaders’ interview*

*Carried out by Bob Petrulis, CiLASS


Student focus group1

- offline support and resources

1. Eight students – Interviewer R. Petrulis (CiLASS) 3rd March 2008

Do you think the module changed the way you approach learning or problem solving activities?

“In the first semester, we were learning things and I could see why I could see why we were learningwe were learning them because I could see how to apply them. This semester, we’re learning a lot, but I’m not always sure why. I wish we had more practical group assignments throughout the course.”

If you had your choice between the group format and what you’re

getting now, which would you prefer? “Last semester, I really liked visiting the paper mill site. Now we

know about industry.”

“You actually felt like an engineeractually felt like an engineer when you were doing the group assignments. Now I just feel like a studentI just feel like a student, learning a lot of things”


Student questionnaire results2• To what extent has your use of online self-test

quizzes helped you …

Very much/

quite a bit

Some Very little

9. to develop core skills required for IBL actvities…

50% 31.5% 7.4%

2. End of semester 1 Feedback by Year 1 students, 15th Feb 2008, 54 responses out of 69.

1.8% didn’t know, 3.7% didn’t use and 5.6% gave no response

Total of 81.5%

quizzes had helped to

some extent in

developing core skills


Student focus group1 - online support and resources

How about the online quizzes? What worked?

“They were beneficial because of the immediate feedbackimmediate feedback.. With the homework, it took a week or so. The online quizzes also referred you to the book and page for more information. If you just get a grade, that’s meaningless.”

“Because you could access the quiz more than onceaccess the quiz more than once, that made it really helpful for revision.”

A couple of you said you didn’t use the quizzes at all. Could you say why?

“I tried the quizzes a couple times, and they weren’t very hardthey weren’t very hard.. The homeworks were more challenging, and you could talk to the teachers about them. That felt so much more helpful.”

Did everyone else do the quizzes and the homeworks as well? [Yes.] Did you find that one was more useful than the other?

““The homeworks made us work hard, but the quizzes really helped us learn The homeworks made us work hard, but the quizzes really helped us learn how to do the homeworks.”how to do the homeworks.”


Project leaders’ Interview3

3. Interviewer – R. Petrulis (CiLASS), Interviewees – D. Rossiter and C. Biggs, 20 March 2008

BP: There were two responses (at focus group) that I got when I asked about the online quizzes. One was that the students found it helpful for learning the material and for revision. Another, smaller group, said they found them to be too basic.

CB: That was quite interesting.

BP: Those students said they preferred to do the homework.

CB: The point of the quizzes was to help those who needed the basics; The point of the quizzes was to help those who needed the basics; not to challenge those who needed to be challenged, because the not to challenge those who needed to be challenged, because the homework assignments were there to do that.homework assignments were there to do that. I think this shows that we were right to set this up in the first place.

DR: It reinforces that you could describe something in three different ways and it would have meaning to different people. It’s not that the quizzes, assignments and homework cover different things—they don’t. They make They make it accessible to different types of learnersit accessible to different types of learners. I think that was highlighted by what you got in the focus group.


2006/07 2007/08

Resources CAB+DR+2 DR+3Students 67 70Lectures 1 hour 1 hourTutorials PBL;

2 hrs, weekly

PBL ;

2 hrs, weekly

Assessment 50% exam, 50% cwk

50% exam, 50% cwk with online quizzes

Results:

fails1 (2%) 4 (5.7%)

Changes in lead staff,

exam timing, and introduction

of online support


Contents


format





Lessons Learnt

• Requires effort to implement - but is enjoyable.

• Project time offset by saving time on homework and paper-based test marking. Benefits likely to be more obvious in future years.

• Handing control for their learning to students is effective for them and us!


Conclusions• Expert L&T support was vital in realising the desired

outcomes – offline Prof Paul Lant; online Diane Rossiter.

• Majority of students helped develop their core skills by using self-test quizzes.

• Staff also benefited from developing own CAA skills and change of role!

• In their reflective statements for 2nd PBL assignment some students referred that they accessed the they accessed the quizzes repeatedly to help them solve the quizzes repeatedly to help them solve the authentic PBL problems!!authentic PBL problems!!


Acknowledgements

• A/Prof. Paul Lant, University of Queensland, Australia

• CiLASS – Centre of Excellence in Inquiry based learning in Arts and Social Sciences


Typical format of a tutorial

1.1. Feedback on homeworkFeedback on homework – small class, 4 staff using flipcharts located in different corners

2.2. IBL ActivityIBL Activity – working in groups, typically prepare OHP with their proposed solution

3.3. Feedback on IBL ActivityFeedback on IBL Activity – whole class

4.4. Homework/AssignmentHomework/Assignment – study time, queries


Figure 1 WORD file format for multiple choice style question

Title: Mixer Flowsheet2) Using the flowsheet for the mixer provided and assuming steady state conditions with no reaction occurring, determine the overall material balance and select the correct answer from the following options:@ For steady state conditions and no reaction, the overall material balance becomes: total mass flowrate IN = total mass flowrate OUT *a. A + B = P@ Correct.b. A - B = P@ Incorrect, B is an input stream.c. A + P = B@ Incorrect, P is an output stream.d. P + B = A@ Incorrect, B is an input stream.

Mixer

A (kg/h)

B (kg/h)

P (kg/h)

Not possible for

calculated style

questions!


For Calculated Questions

• Need to enter details directly into Respondus databank.

• Example from excess air calculation relating to a chemical reaction taking place

• Screen shot 1 – what students sees• Screen shot 2 – what designer sees• Generates up to 100 alternatives of same

calculation!


Useful features of Calculated Questions

• Generates up to 100 alternatives of same calculation! So facilitates repeated use.

• Answer required to certain decimal places or significant figures – key skill for engineers!

• Can request they include units with answer – another key skill!

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