Collaborative Research: Screencasts for Enhancing Chemical Engineering Education

Information

  • NSF Award
  • 1322366
Owner
  • Award Id
    1322366
  • Award Effective Date
    9/15/2013 - 12 years ago
  • Award Expiration Date
    8/31/2015 - 10 years ago
  • Award Amount
    $ 53,282.00
  • Award Instrument
    Standard Grant

Collaborative Research: Screencasts for Enhancing Chemical Engineering Education

The goal of this TUES Type 2 project is to transform undergraduate chemical engineering education by completing a library of short, validated screencast videos. Each screencast is less than 10 minutes and includes narration. Screencasts provide a personalized method of learning that empowers students, giving them control over the rate and timing of information delivery. Previous research shows that screencasts help minimize cognitive overload, increase student confidence, and allow students to take control of their learning. The project objectives are to: 1) prepare screencasts for chemical engineering courses and make them available online, 2) engage experts in validating screencasts for quality and accuracy, 3) assess screencast effectiveness, evaluate faculty and student usage, and employ assessment findings to improve screencasts, and 4) expand usage by supporting faculty adoption of screencasts and increase ease of student use. <br/><br/>This project team at the University of Colorado at Boulder is creating more than 800 new screencasts to add to an existing library of more than 750 screencasts for twelve undergraduate engineering courses. Topics have a chemical engineering emphasis, but topics and courses that reach across engineering disciplines are included. The short screencasts are organized according to concept maps and textbook tables of contents. In collaboration with Lafayette College, evaluation of the screencasts is conducted to inform improvements and provide valuable information on the impact of screencasts on student learning and screencast usage and adoption. <br/><br/>The broader impacts of this project lie in the potential to reach a large number of engineering students and faculty. The existing screencasts, which are available online, have been played or downloaded more than 1.25 million times in 2012. Additionally, more than 430 faculty have registered for the www.LearnChemE.com website. The screencasts also are a resource for learners that benefit from the closed captioning options, such as hearing-impaired or English as a Second Language students. Moreover, dyslexic students can use screencasts to supplement textbooks since the information in the screencasts is presented verbally and thus can be easier for them to understand.

  • Program Officer
    Olga Pierrakos
  • Min Amd Letter Date
    9/12/2013 - 12 years ago
  • Max Amd Letter Date
    6/5/2015 - 10 years ago
  • ARRA Amount

Institutions

  • Name
    Lafayette College
  • City
    Easton
  • State
    PA
  • Country
    United States
  • Address
    High Street
  • Postal Code
    180421768
  • Phone Number
    6103305029

Investigators

  • First Name
    James
  • Last Name
    Ferri
  • Email Address
    ferrij@lafayette.edu
  • Start Date
    9/12/2013 12:00:00 AM
  • First Name
    Lauren
  • Last Name
    Sefcik
  • Email Address
    andersol@lafayette.edu
  • Start Date
    6/5/2015 12:00:00 AM
  • First Name
    Michael
  • Last Name
    Senra
  • Email Address
    senram@lafayette.edu
  • Start Date
    9/12/2013 12:00:00 AM
  • First Name
    Christopher
  • Last Name
    Anderson
  • Email Address
    anderscr@lafayette.edu
  • Start Date
    9/12/2013 12:00:00 AM
  • First Name
    Joshua
  • Last Name
    Levinson
  • Email Address
    levinsoj@lafayette.edu
  • Start Date
    9/12/2013 12:00:00 AM
  • End Date
    07/19/2014

Program Element

  • Text
    S-STEM:SCHLR SCI TECH ENG&MATH
  • Code
    1536
  • Text
    TUES-Type 2 Project
  • Code
    7511

Program Reference

  • Text
    UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
  • Code
    9178
  • Text
    SCIENCE, MATH, ENG & TECH EDUCATION