Developing A Software Environment For Visual Learning In Introductory Chemical Engineering Classes

The material and energy balance class is frequently the “gateway” class in chemical engineering. Statistics over the past 23 years at this school show that 35% of the students who enroll in the material/energy balance class either fail, withdraw, or receive a grade lower than a “C”. A large majority of these (66%) never complete their chemical engineering degree. The students who fail to successfully complete the material/energy balance class show a wide variety of academic abilities, as measured by SAT scores or high school GPA. However, the academic abilities of those students who fail to successfully complete the material/energy balance class and those who successfully complete the class are virtually identical. Why, then, do 35% of our students fail to complete the material and energy balance course?