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Operation and Student Perceptions of a Large-scale, In-person Unit Operations Laboratory Course During the Covid-19 Pandemic

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Conference

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual Conference

Publication Date

July 26, 2021

Start Date

July 26, 2021

End Date

July 19, 2022

Conference Session

Virtual Instruction of Chemical Engineering Courses

Tagged Division

Chemical Engineering

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--37545

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/37545

Download Count

259

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Paper Authors

biography

Andrew Maxson The Ohio State University

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Andrew Maxson is an assistant professor of practice in chemical engineering at The Ohio State University where he teaches Chemical Engineering Unit Operations. He earned his B.S. in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and his M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Ohio State. Having worked as a manufacturing process engineer for ten years, his focus is on optimizing the process of teaching, as well as hands-on, practical engineering concepts relevant to chemical engineers entering industry.

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Abstract

In the fall semester of 2020, many universities moved to fully online learning due to the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Even at universities where some in-person or hybrid instruction was permitted, many Chemical Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory courses moved partly or fully online. At [Name of University], Unit Ops continued in-person throughout Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters.

The Unit Ops course at [Name of University] is one of the largest in the country, with an average enrollment of 185 students every semester, making the logistics associated with lab density and physical distancing especially challenging. Several new strategies were implemented to make in-person lab possible, such as using videoconferencing technology to reduce lab density, scheduling lab experiments based on their physical proximity, strictly enforcing 6-foot distancing, working around student and TA absences due to illness or quarantine, and developing best practices related to requirements for personal protective equipment.

Overall, in-person lab at [Name of University] was successful, with students conducting a total of 1,820 person-hours of experiments in lab under COVID-19-related restrictions. No major problems were encountered related to compliance with COVID-19 policies or precautions, and there was no indication that any students, TAs, or instructors contracted an illness as a result of attending the lab. Results of a survey of student perceptions of the lab experience indicated that students felt safe attending lab in person and preferred it to potential virtual options.

The purposes of this paper are threefold: 1) to provide guidelines and best practices to Unit Operations courses which have not yet returned to in-person instruction, 2) to record experiences and strategies from the COVID-19 pandemic to inform future instructors and administrators in the event of another pandemic or similar event, and 3) to present and discuss student perceptions of the lab experience.

Maxson, A. (2021, July), Operation and Student Perceptions of a Large-scale, In-person Unit Operations Laboratory Course During the Covid-19 Pandemic Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--37545

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