Online Teaching of a Lab Course Amid a Pandemic — A Challenge and an Opportunity

Authors

  • Jie Gao University of Oklahoma
  • Steven P. Crossley
  • Matthias U. Nollert
  • Lance L. Lobban
  • Dimitrios V. Papavassiliou

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18260/2-1-370.660-124795

Abstract

This paper reports an innovative, hybrid teaching model for a junior level lab course. This model leverages in-person lab operation by adding a student-led online learning mode. Both course outcomes and student outcomes were evaluated. Student feedback was collected, and its analysis showed both positive and negative impacts in this hybrid model. This work is not only valuable for developing online lab courses but also in terms of long-term development of distance learning.

Author Biographies

Jie Gao, University of Oklahoma

Jie Gao is an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. She earned her PhD from East China University of Science & Technology and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Before joining OU she served as a lead scientist at General Electric (GE). She currently teaches Unit Operations Lab, Senior Design Laboratory, and undergraduate research. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)®.

Steven P. Crossley

Steven Crossley is an Associate Professor, Teigen Presidential Professor, and Sam A. Wilson Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining OU in 2011, he carried out research at Phillips 66. His group works in the area of heterogeneous catalysis. At the undergraduate level, he teaches unit operations lab, and at the graduate level he teaches advanced kinetics and reaction engineering as well as refining principles.

Matthias U. Nollert

Matthias U. Nollert, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.  He earned his PhD from Cornell University. He has taught the Unit Operations course for the past twenty years and developed the pre-pandemic course described in this paper. His research pursuits focus on the role of fluid mechanics in a number of biomedical engineering applications.

 

Lance L. Lobban

Lance Lobban, PhD, is the Francis W. Winn Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests focus on applications of reaction engineering and catalysis for biomass conversion and polymer recycling. He has taught engineering courses at levels ranging from freshman to PhD including both of OU’s undergraduate ChE laboratory courses. He earned his PhD from the University of Houston and has been an ASEE member for over 30 years.

 

Dimitrios V. Papavassiliou

Dimitrios Papavassiliou is the C.M. Sliepcevich Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He holds a MS and a PhD degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his research contributions are in the areas of turbulent transport, transport in porous media, nanofluidics, and hemodynamics. In addition to Unit Operations Lab, he has taught Chemical Engineering Design and Economics, and Heat and Mass Transport. He is a Fellow of the AIChE.

 

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Published

2021-02-05

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Manuscripts