The characterization of cognitive processes involved in chemical kinetics using a blended processing framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 617-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinsey Bain ◽  
Jon-Marc G. Rodriguez ◽  
Alena Moon ◽  
Marcy H. Towns
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Chemical Kinetics ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Student Integration ◽  
And Mathematics

Chemical kinetics is a highly quantitative content area that involves the use of multiple mathematical representations to model processes and is a context that is under-investigated in the literature. This qualitative study explored undergraduate student integration of chemistry and mathematics during problem solving in the context of chemical kinetics. Using semi-structured interviews, participants were asked to make their reasoning and thinking explicit as they described provided equations and as they worked though chemical kinetics problems. Here we describe the results from our study, which included thirty-six general chemistry students, five physical chemistry students, and three chemical engineering students. Analysis and findings are framed in terms of blended processing, a theory from cognitive science that characterizes human knowledge integration. Themes emerged relating to contexts that were commonly discussed when blending occurred. Variation in the depth and directionality of blending was also observed and characterized. Results provide implications for supporting student problem solving and the modeling of chemical processes.

Productive features of problem solving in chemical kinetics: more than just algorithmic manipulation of variables

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon-Marc G. Rodriguez ◽  
Kinsey Bain ◽  
Nicholas P. Hux ◽  
Marcy H. Towns
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Chemical Kinetics ◽  
Order System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Critical Feature ◽  
Chemistry Students ◽  
Mathematics Knowledge ◽  
And Mathematics

Problem solving is a critical feature of highly quantitative physical science topics, such as chemical kinetics. In order to solve a problem, students must cue into relevant features, ignore irrelevant features, and choose among potential problem-solving approaches. However, what is considered appropriate or productive for problem solving is highly context-dependent. This study is part of a larger project centered on students’ integration of chemistry and mathematics knowledge and skills. The data for this study came from semi-structured interviews with 40 general chemistry students using a think-aloud protocol. Interview prompts involved students working through two chemical kinetics problems, one involving a second-order system and one involving a zero-order system. In both cases, students could solve the problem using the data provided and relevant equations, or by taking a conceptual approach and considering the relationship between quantities. Using the resource-based model of cognition as our theoretical framework, analysis focused on characterizing the productive and unproductive problem-solving routes used by students. Findings emphasize the role of using conceptual reasoning and reflecting on one's work during problem solving, which have implications for instructors as they guide students to think about chemical kinetics and to solve problems across quantitative topics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Language aspects of engineering students' view of entropy

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Haglund ◽  
Staffan Andersson ◽  
Maja Elmgren
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Internal Energy ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Second Law Of Thermodynamics ◽  
Ideal Gas ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Chemical Thermodynamics ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Chemistry Students

Entropy is a central concept in thermodynamics, but has been found to be challenging to students due to its abstract nature and the fact that it is not part of students' everyday language. Interviews with three pairs of engineering students (N= 6) were conducted and video recorded regarding their interpretation and use of the entropy concept, one year after a course on chemical thermodynamics. From a syntax perspective, students were asked to assess whether different sentences involving temperature, internal energy, and entropy make sense. With a focus on semantics, they were asked to rank a set of notions with regards to how closely they are related to entropy, how scientific they are, and how useful they are for explaining what entropy is. From a pragmatics point of view, students were asked to solve two qualitative problems, which involve entropy. The results show that these chemistry students regard internal energy, but not entropy, as a substance-like entity. The students' ranking of how closely related to entropy notions are and how useful they are for explaining entropy was found to be strongly negatively correlated to how scientific the notions were seen to be. For example, disorder was seen as highly unscientific, but very useful for explaining entropy. In the problem-solving tasks, Chemical Engineering students were comfortable relating entropy to enthalpy and Gibbs free energy, the three notions being seen to form a “trinity” in thermodynamics. However, the students had challenges grasping the unchanged entropy in reversible, adiabatic expansion of an ideal gas, in which they did not consider how entropy relates to the second law of thermodynamics. In final reflections on their learning processes, the students saw weak connections between their problem-solving skills and their conceptual understanding of entropy, although acknowledging that both aspects of learning are important.

Assessing the enterprising tendencies of Arab female undergraduate engineering students in the Sultanate of Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
Naveed Yasin ◽  
Zeinab Khansari ◽  
Taimur Sharif
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Boot Camp ◽  
First Year ◽  
Need For Achievement ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Extended Duration ◽  
The Impact

This study assesses the enterprising characteristics of first-year undergraduate Omani female chemical engineering students in Muscat, Oman. Pre and post surveys were conducted with 27 respondents from an entrepreneurship boot camp module mandated by the Oman Ministry of Higher Education. The variables, measured on a 10-point Likert scale, included need for achievement, need for autonomy, creativity, risk-taking, and locus of control. Statistical analysis was performed on the integrated data to measure the impact of student learning using a t-test approach and comparing mean averages. This was followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews that were examined using thematic analysis. The comparison of students’ enterprise tendencies before and after the module indicates minor to moderate improvements in their entrepreneurial abilities and their understanding of entrepreneurial behavior. The most noticeable impact was on students’ risk-taking abilities, followed by their creativity, need for achievement, need for control, and, lastly, their need for autonomy. The findings illustrate that students perceived entrepreneurship positively but were concerned about the scheduling of the module and its integration into their core program of study. Students may have benefited further from a module of extended duration as opposed to the block delivery “boot camp” mode of learning. Due to the limited number of participants and the focus on female students only, the results of the study cannot be generalized. However, the article presents an initial exploration of and offers insights into enterprising characteristics among an empirically underexplored demographic and nonbusiness group.

Non-Destructive Techniques for the Characterization of Structural Materials: Materials Science & Engineering Curriculum for the Education of an Innovative Model

2002 ◽  
Vol 760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Moropoulou ◽  
Eleni Aggelakopoulou ◽  
Nicolas P. Avdelidis ◽  
Maria Koui
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Engineering Curriculum ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Materials Science And Engineering ◽  
Undergraduate Programme ◽  
Non Destructive

ABSTRACTIn this paper, the example of the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Curriculum that exists as a scientific direction in the undergraduate programme of the Chemical Engineering School, in the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), in Greece, is presented. The course content includes several tools, such as theoretical lessons, laboratory modules - nondestructive testing (NDT) and instrumental techniques - semi industrial scale devices, fieldworks and a dissertation thesis. The presented curriculum can be regarded as an innovative educational model for chemical engineering students that choose to become involved in the field of MSE.

scholarly journals IMPLEMENTING A COMMON APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING IN THE SECOND YEAR OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Meunier ◽  
Nicolas Hudon
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Concept Map ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Graduate Studies ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Structured Approach

At the undergraduate level, chemical engineering students must learn how to solve complex problems, but many students fail to apply effective problem-solving techniques taught in fundamental science courses. Because these techniques are not consistently presented and reinforced, instructors and students often interpret poor capabilities in problem solving to misunderstandings of fundamentals or to gaps in mathematical knowledge. In this contribution, a previously proposed concept map aimed at ascribing a common approach to problem solving is further explored in a sequence of two junior-level chemical engineering courses. The difficulties of implementing a common problem-solving approach are discussed, and a hierarchy of problem solving is proposed – based on a combination of learning theories – to structure a problem-solving methodology from junior to senior level as well as toward graduate studies and professional practice. Preliminary results indicate that students benefiting from this structured approach exhibit improved confidence in their problem-solving abilities.  The proposed concept map forms the basis of future stages of the project, including curriculum and teaching innovations.

Predicting Success among First-Year Engineering Students at the Rand Afrikaans University

2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus G. Maree ◽  
Anlia Pretorius ◽  
Riëtte J. Eiselen
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Linear Regression ◽  
Mathematics Anxiety ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Aggregate Score ◽  
Predicting Success ◽  
Study Orientation ◽  
And Mathematics

160 first-year students in the Engineering Faculty at the Rand Afrikaans University completed the Study Orientation Questionnaire in Mathematics and the Senior Aptitude Test Advanced. 100 students who passed and 40 who failed the first year scored significantly differently on three subtests, Calculations, Study attitude in mathematics, and Problem-solving behaviour in mathematics. Step-wise linear regression showed a combination of three fields, namely, Calculations, Study attitude in mathematics, and Mathematics anxiety, contributed significantly ( R2 = 25.8%) towards predicting the first-year aggregate score of first-year engineering students.

scholarly journals TRANSLATING PROBLEM STATEMENTS INTO ACTIONABLE SOLUTION PROCEDURE: DEVELOPING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Meunier ◽  
Nicolas Hudon
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Solution Procedure ◽  
Mathematical Framework ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Traditional Lectures ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Instruction Methodology

Junior-level chemical engineering students often struggle with solving problems in fundamental undergraduate courses. This deficiency is generally attributed, by instructors and students alike, to gaps in mathematical knowledge. However, the difficulty may instead be rooted in an inability to interpret the information from problem statements. In this contribution, a coordinated, multi-faceted instruction methodology is proposed, over a sequence of second-year chemical engineering fundamental courses, to foster the development of problem-solving strategies and to increase the confidence of students in their abilities to decipher problem data, to develop a proper mathematical framework, and to apply a first-principle approach to problem solving. Compared with traditional lectures alone, obstacles to problem solving may be overcome when students are offered additional learning streams in the form of interactive workshops and video-recorded examples. This results in raised confidence levels toward translating problems into actionable solution procedure.

Pengaruh Penerapan Strategi Pemecahan Masalah dalam Pembelajaran Kooperatif Pendekatan Struktural Think Pair Share (TPS) Terhadap Hasil Belajar Matematika Siswa Kelas VIII SMP Negeri 14 Pekanbaru

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atma Murni ◽  
Rini Dian Anggraini ◽  
Sakur
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Learning Outcome ◽  
Structural Approach ◽  
Comparison Research ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Problem Solving Strategy ◽  
Solving Strategy

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh penerapan Strategi Pemecahan Masalah dalam pembelajaran kooperatif pendekatan struktural Think Pair Share (TPS) terhadap hasil belajar matematika siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 14 Pekanbaru. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain penelitian pra eksperimental menggunakan desain penelitian perbandingan kelompok statis. Instrumen pengumpulan data meliputi tes keterampilan mahematika awal dan tes hasil belajar matematika. Data dianalisis menggunakan uji t. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh strategi pemecahan masalah dalam pembelajaran kooperatif pendekatan struktural Think Pair Share (TPS) terhadap hasil belajar matematika siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 14 Pekanbaru.   The aim of this study was to know the influence of Problem Solving Strategy implementation in cooperative learning of structural approach Think Pair Share (TPS) to mathematics learning outcome of VIII class students of SMP Negeri 14 Pekanbaru. This study use pre experimental research design using The static group comparison research design. The instruments of  data collection include early mahematics skills test and mathematics learning outcome test. Data were analyzed using t test. The result of this study showed that there is influence of problem solving strategy in cooperative learning of structural approach Think Pair Share (TPS)  to mathematics learning outcome  of  VIII class students of SMP Negeri 14 Pekanbaru

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document