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Brett Cohen, Mary Stewart and Jim Petrie

Environment and Sustainability in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum: Experiences in the Application of WebCT. Brett Cohen, Mary Stewart and Jim Petrie Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW 2006. Environment/Sustainability in the Current Chem Eng Curriculum. Year.

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Brett Cohen, Mary Stewart and Jim Petrie

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  1. Environment and Sustainability in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum: Experiences in the Application of WebCT Brett Cohen, Mary Stewart and Jim Petrie Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW 2006

  2. Environment/Sustainability in the Current Chem Eng Curriculum Year Course 1st Year None 2nd Year CHNG 2501 – Introduction to Sustainability CHNG 2502 – Clean Products and Processes 3rd Year CHNG 3501 – Waste Management and Treatment Technologies 4th Year CHNG 4504 – Environmental Decision Making Notes: CHNG 2501 is the only core course, the remainder are electives. Students registered in 2003: CHNG 2501 – 50; CHNG 3501 – 9

  3. CHNG 3501 – Waste Management and Treatment Technologies: Course Content • An operational paradigm for the process industries: • Why waste is inevitable • A regulatory framework • Properties of gaseous, liquid and solid wastes • Hazard rating of process wastes • Physical treatment technologies • Chemical treatment technologies • Biological treatment technologies • Waste containment practices

  4. CHNG 2501 – Introduction to Sustainability: Course Content • Framing tools for Sustainable Development • Industrial Ecology • The Natural Step • Precautionary Principle, etc • Assessment tools to support the frameworks • Life Cycle Assessment • Environmental Impact Assessment • Social Impact Assessment, etc • Focus placed on the potential for engineering decision making to support and contribute to the drive to sustainable development

  5. Course Structure • Two 1 hour lectures and one 2 hour tutorial weekly for 1 semester • 4 credit course • Assessment • Individual and group assignments • Class tutorials • Online discussion/debate through Web CT – compulsory contribution • CHNG 3501: Site visits to various waste treatment plants

  6. Application of WebCT Posting of Course Material Online Discussion Open ended questions: CHNG 2501: “Develop a strategy for the sustainable management of the Murray Darling Catchment based on an understanding of stakeholder values” CHNG 3501: “Which of the 2 waste hierarchies discussed in lectures is preferred in terms of supporting selection of waste management options towards sustainable outcomes?” Assignments/ Tutorials Lecture Notes Varying degrees of engagement; many students contributed more due to it being a requirement than out of genuine interest Useful tool, students made significant use of this facility Web Supported Web Enhanced

  7. Process: CHNG 3501Open Ended Discussion • Open ended discussion • Topic posted at the beginning of the semester, aim was to evolve engagement with topic as their understanding of the general subject matter evolved • Limited lecturer intervention • Summary presented during final lecture • Contribution formed part of an overall “class participation” mark for the course – no grading on contribution given

  8. Process: CHNG 2501Two Part Assignment • Part 1: Web-based group discussions • Small groups (8 to 9) given stakeholder description (farmers, community, government, academia, NGOs) and required to develop understanding of values of stakeholder group and interaction with the Murray Darling system • Progress monitored with lecturer contribution (6 weeks) • Group assessment: quality and technical content • Synthesised group contribution posted to class discussion board • Part 2: Individual technical report • Individual assessment: “Given stakeholder perspectives developed, propose a sustainable development management strategy for the Murray Darling system”

  9. Student Comments/Experience: Small Class • Posting of lecture notes useful • Small class facilitated informative and stimulating face to face discussion – benefits which were lost in online discussion • Web based learning not suitable for the course in its current form • WebCT would be more useful if standardised across the curriculum • At present lecturers post material on WebCT, ChemEng site, fusion, public server, email, students have to access numerous resources regularly

  10. Student Comments/Experience: Large Class • Web-based access to lecture notes was useful • Most students accessed lecture material prior to class and brought printouts to lectures • Expectation placed on lecturer to post notes timeously • Random allocation of students to discussion board groups made students interact differently in class • Most work on the discussion boards occurred after 18:00 and from the students’ homes • Discussion groups enhanced information synthesis and delivered high quality review documents • Potential tool for developing literature review and information synthesis skills

  11. Observations: WebCT Teaching Experience • Overall • Useful support tool for distributing material and communication • Improves efficiency of course management • Small Class • Limited success with online discussion groups • Large Class • Online discussion groups worked well • Assignment took significant time and effort from the students which was not anticipated by lecturer

  12. Summary: WebCT Teaching Experience • Discussion based learning • Small classes: discussion is better in class • Large classes: web-based discussions are valuable • Potential for web-based discussions as a tool to aid discussion in larger groups where groups are difficult to manage • General: • Current courses not suitable as standalone online courses – restructuring required • Standardisation across the department/university will help make students engage with WebCT more readily

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