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Session 2113

Integrating Chemical Engineering as a Vehicle to Enhance High School Science Instruction

Deran Hanesian, Levelle Burr-Alexander, Howard Kimmel, Joseph Kisutcza, Reginald P. T. Tomkins

The Otto H. York Department of Chemical Engineering The Center for Pre-College Programs New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, New Jersey 07102

Abstract

The National Science Education Standards (NSES) support the teaching of engineering and technology principles and design within the traditional science content areas. However, teachers are inadequately prepared to teach these principles of engineering. In addition, most science textbooks lack activities and problems that use engineering principles.

There is an urgent need for in-service training of science teachers that include programs to increase their knowledge of engineering principles and to provide these teachers with the means of introducing engineering principles and design in their classrooms. The relationship between the subjects of chemical engineering and chemistry provides a vehicle to readily enhance currently available curriculum materials, and create connections between the science used in engineering applications in the real world and standards-based science. It can also provide content that fits the instructional classroom needs of high school science teachers.

We have developed an approach to utilize chemical concepts to introduce high school students to the principles of chemical engineering through their teachers. The design of a chemical manufacturing plant forms a viable basis for introducing chemical engineering principles into the high school science classroom. A relevant chemical process, such as the manufacture of Aspirin, is selected. After an overview of the various components of the plant, key components are selected to illustrate relevant scientific concepts in the chemical engineering operations.

Summer institutes, with hands-on workshops, are designed to familiarize the teachers with this approach, along with the appropriate chemical engineering principles and suggested methods for integrating these principles into their classroom instruction. The course is scheduled for eight full days during the first two weeks of July. Teachers are recruited from the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan area through mailings and the Mid-Atlantic region through electronic list serves. In order to be selected, teachers must be teaching high school chemistry, physics, physical science,

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ©2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Tomkins, R., & Burr-Alexander, L., & Kisutcza, J., & Hanesian, D., & Kimmel, H. (2004, June), Integrating Chemical Engineering As A Vehicle To Enhance High School Science Instruction Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13812