Student led example problems in a graduate-level advanced transport phenomena course

Abstract

Transport Phenomena is a traditional core graduate-level course in Chemical Engineering. The course utilizes foundations in vector and tensor analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations, as well as an understanding of the physics behind momentum, heat, and mass transfer. Students from a wide variety of global educational backgrounds struggle at some point with understanding the physics and connecting the physics to the mathematical representations of conservation principles. This paper describes an effort to facilitate concept practice and study environments that ensure students truly learn the material. The approach described in this article arose because student learning gains from assigned homework was assessed as minimal with frequent cheating. Thus, student led example problems were developed using pedagogical strategies reported in literature. These were a concerted effort to facilitate purpose-driven study environments that increase understanding of the physics, the mathematical representation of that physics, and the required math skills. Student led example problems serve as a mechanism to flip this traditionally math intensive graduate classroom such that students are actively solving problems, practicing, and discussing the physics in the classroom with the assistance of fellow students and the instructor. Thus, prerecorded lectures by the instructor cover the fundamentals and students are able to watch at their own pace and re-watch as necessary to grasp difficult concepts. Questions are submitted online as the students go through lectures and are compiled for an interactive instructor-led session. Student led example problems occur at a frequency of at least once per week; presenting students are provided structured guidance on example preparation. The audience is fellow students, so the class evaluates the example and the student presenters with a strong emphasis on constructive feedback. The process is open, interactive, and iterative to maximize learning by all participants. This paper will provide a practical roadmap based on this instructor's four-year effort to flip a math-intensive graduate course. Anecdotal and quantitative assessment without a control group is presented. It is hoped that this paper will be thought-provoking and empowering for instructors of graduate core courses currently taught in a purely lecture format.