Teaching Strategies to Improve Learning in Chemical Engineering
Stephen Lombardo, Ph.D.
Departments of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Chemical Engineering
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Abstract: This seminar will cover several teaching strategies that I have developed for improving student learning in chemical engineering courses. These techniques include “estimation problems,” “The Top Ten Chemicals,” and “no equation learning mode.” An important aspect of these methods is that students brainstorm and are active learners. An additional benefit is that because of the participatory nature of these exercises, they help to build a strong rapport between the students and instructor. I have also developed teaching strategies for improving the technical writing of chemical engineering students enrolled in an undergraduate laboratory course. These methods are based upon mapping general elements of good writing into the technical writing of engineering. Examples of each of these techniques will be presented along with their pedagogical value and student feedback.
Biosketch: Stephen J. Lombardo received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and spent his junior year studying abroad in Zurich, Switzerland. After graduating, he worked for two years in the areas of ceramic materials and materials processing. He next received his Ph.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley, also in chemical engineering, followed by post-doctoral work in Berlin, Germany. He then worked for five years in industry in the areas of ceramic materials and ceramic processing before joining the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1997.