Keywords: Laboratories, Open-Ended Problems,
Teamwork, Communication, Professional Development
Students to Engineers: Scaffolding from
Cookbook Labs to Open-Ended Problems
Katie Cadwell
Department of Biomedical & Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering & Computer Science
Syracuse University
Why?
• ChemEng lab courses were boring and
students weren’t gaining real-life skills
• Objectives
– Gradually move students from following explicit
instructions to directing experiment choices and
finally working through open-ended problems
– Teach and reinforce team skills
– Develop career-relevant communication skills
– Develop self-efficacy in tackling open problems
– Help students start thinking of themselves as real
engineers and not just students
When?
• Fall 2011 – Taught senior ChemEng lab course (SR Lab) 1st time, using
“cookbook” format provided by previous instructor.
• Spring 2012 – Similarly taught junior ChemEng lab course (JR Lab) 1st
time, 100% cookbook-style. – Visited Dr. Harry Toups at LSU to
observe how he runs the same two labs open-ended.
• Fall 2012 – Adapted method and materials for my own resources and
constraints in SR Lab, completely revamping 4/4 experiments to be
delivered as open-ended, team-based projects with substantial focus on
communication and teamwork skills.
• Spring 2013 – Introduced small amount of experimental design and
increased focus on communication skills in JR Lab.
• Fall 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 – Added a 5th open-ended experiment to
SR Lab, continuing minor changes based on student feedback.
• Spring 2014, 2015, 2016 – Increased focus on teamwork skills in
JR Lab, introduced lecture component of lab in support.
Where?
• Based upon: ChemEng 2-semester lab course
sequence at Louisiana State University:
– large program with substantial lab resources
• 50-60 students per semester, 11 pilot- or lab-scale units for
senior lab, multiple dedicated faculty/staff, assistance from
other faculty
• Adapted for: similar lab sequence at Syracuse
University:
– small program with limited lab resources
• ~30 students per year, 5 lab-scale units for senior lab, one
faculty with additional duties
What?
• Developed activities/materials
– Junior ChemEng lab)
• Revision of cookbook experiments to require (guided) experimental choices
• Lecture/activities on how to write as an engineer, working in teams
• Activities to develop formal presentation skills
– Senior ChemEng lab)
•
•
•
•
2 open-ended problem statements for each existing & new equipment
Early deliverables designed to keep student teams on track over each 6-week project
Activities to reinforce good communication within teams
Activities to develop informal presentation skills, reinforce formal presentation skills
• Theory of change?
– Try something new (big or small) every semester. Explain your
reasoning/motives to students; ask for their cooperation and feedback.
• What has worked really well?
– Students embrace “Learning Curve Consultants,” communications to/from
(fake) clients, recommendations guided by clients’ needs
– Lectures/Activities on team function
– Mandating student reflection of my feedback on written
reports and presentations, as well as team function
Prognosis?
• Impact
– Student comments refer to similarity to internship and first job
activities and expectations
– Senior capstone instructor has noted reduced time needed to teach
communication and teamwork skills, increased quality of
reports/presentations
• This was a scale-down…talk to Dr. Toups @ LSU re: scale-up
• Challenges
– Developing comparable workloads for vastly different experiments
– Developing new open-ended projects for fixed resources
– Some experiments don’t easily lead to a “realistic” design problem
at the end
– Grading load in CEN 311 is crushing
• Advice?
– How to manageably give quality feedback on individual writing
assignments
– Dealing with team conflict
– See “Challenges” above