*WINNER* Chemical Engineering Laboratory Curriculum Redesign Through Application of an Inquiry-guided Laboratory Manual

Abstract

The purpose of this contribution is to convey preliminary results involving the curriculum redesign of a chemical engineering laboratory course through the novel application of the Inquiry-guided Laboratory Manual (IGLM). The context of this curriculum redesign involves a heat transfer laboratory course, which is the first of the transfer science course series offered by the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tennessee Tech. The pedagogy of the IGLM is anchored in the innovation-driven learning strategies of the Renaissance Foundry and follows a scaffolding approach for inquiry-guided learning that seeks to provide students with learning experiences related to creativity and problem solving. Specifically, the research question embedded in this research design states: How might the application of the IGLM in a transfer science laboratory course influence student activities related to preparation prior to experimentation? The constructivist framework of this qualitative research design is paired with an inductive approach that applies a thematic analysis with open-coding strategies on data that was gathered from the normal coursework of the laboratory curriculum. The design of this study ensures that the preliminary results and themes will be representative of the data from which they emerge and will be further discussed within the study. Moreover, this contribution addresses the need for continued research-based discussions on the curriculum design of engineering laboratories and data-driven conversation on how to provide holistic learning experiences for engineering students.