A WORKSHOP-BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING NUMERICAL METHODS AND COMPUTING IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

  A workshop-based approach to teaching numerical methods in an active learning classroom is described. The strategy involves hiring student partners to design and document workshops to be used as a lecture vehicle for a class typically taught using blackboard notes. The first implementation of this method in fall 2018 yielded no significant improvements in class performance according to final grade medians and interquartile ranges, but class participation and engagement seems to have markedly improved. User satisfaction data regarding the effectiveness of the modules is generally very positive with strong support for the continued use of the modules in the future. A cohort of students from a senior optimization class, having also used the modules in their course, shows very strong support for the further development of a workshop-based module approach to teaching numerical methods for future cohorts.