COURSE / PROGRAM

•  Introduction to Integrated Computational Materials  Engineering (CerEng 4410) and Advanced Integrated  Computational Materials Engineering (CerEng 6410)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research project is to redesign the Integrated  Computational Materials Engineering (CerEng 4410) and the Advanced  Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (CerEng 6410) courses, also  known as ICME, to achieve the following goals:  

• Create and modify the course materials to make them deliverable in both online and in-person teaching methods  
• Leverage the course content to an undergraduate-level course, as the current objectives and content are more geared toward graduate-level students. 
• Prepare additional/supplemental resources for graduate students to update the course with the state-of-the-art recent findings. 
• Redesign the in-person format of the course to a partially flipped format; By exposing students to the learning materials before the class meeting, the class time can be more dedicated to interactive and hands-on activities. 

Computational materials science is an emerging topic that has recently become a major topic in various engineering professions. ICME is the only course at S&T that provides students with the opportunity to learn about different computational tools for studying materials at different length scales. 

This course was first offered in Fall 2014 as an optional course for graduate and undergraduate students of CEC college. In Fall 2018, it was integrated into the Ceramic Engineering curriculum as a required undergraduate course. Given the evolving nature of computational tools in material science and the fact that it was initially designed for graduate students, the course topic should be redesigned in order to line up with the undergraduate program curriculum and the expected objectives and outcomes of the course. Students’ comments and feedback from previous semesters indicated the complexity of the covered topics and lack of discussion time in class on practical engineering problems which can help students in understanding course materials. On the other hand, the lack of required skills in working with certain engineering tools like excel, and MATLAB is evidence. Therefore, in redesigning the course,  additional materials should be provided to make sure that students have been prepared for the course pre-requisites.

COURSE / PROGRAM

• English 4290, the English & Technical Communication senior capstone

ABSTRACT

Redesign English 4290, the English & Technical Communication senior capstone course, for blended course delivery. The course has been taught by several different instructors over the years and has undergone several redesigns. What the course lacks therefore is the consistency of curriculum and instruction. In 2021-2022, the department’s new unified Bachelor of Science degree in English and Technical Communication will replace the English Bachelor of Arts and the  Technical Communication Bachelor of Science degrees. The senior capstone course should therefore reflect the only program in Missouri that combines the study of English with Technical  Communication theory and practice. Additionally, Multidisciplinary majors in the Arts, Languages,  and Philosophy department will also enroll in English 4290 for their senior capstone course. The redesign of English 4290 should therefore accommodate the career goals and interests/skills of  E&TC as well as ALP students. 

COURSE / PROGRAM

•  Principles of Microeconomics (Econ 1100)

ABSTRACT

Principles of Microeconomics (Econ 1100) is typically taught in a large-lecture­ hall format every semester and the class is one of two required economics courses for all majors at S&T (the other is Principles of Macroeconomics- Econ 1200). Research suggests that the traditional lecture-exclusive 'chalk and talk' is not the best way for students to learn. Students learn better when they are actively engaged with the material to be learned.

Some students find Econ l l 00 too theoretical with less real-life applications while others often miss out on the value of using models to guide decision­ making. These teaching challenges are not specific to S&T alone. Several universities have acknowledged the challenges of teaching a principles course in microeconomics. Fortunately, there is a growing number of success stories on how economics instructors elsewhere have re-designed the course to appeal to technology-minded students without relying too much on the math but at the same time not watering down the core concepts.

The objective of this course re-design is to improve students' experience by re­ designing Econ 1100 for online delivery based on evidence-based strategies that involve active learning, more personalized learning opportunities, case studies, and problem-based modules that can be independently used by students. The re-designed class will also feature several visual tools, and videos, and offer an online enrichment session for students who might want to major or minor in economics. The course re-design is expected to contribute to increasing the quality and diversity of online courses offered at Missouri S&T as well as support student success. The lead faculty in the course re-design is Dr. Mahelet Fikru.

The course re-design includes updating learning objectives to be more focused on applications of economic principles and case studies, as well as emphasizing interactive model building and active learning strategies. The entire course will be divided into 15 weekly modules.

So far Econ 1100 at S&T is offered exclusively as a classroom-based in-person lecture for 3-4 large sections with over 70 students (except Fall 2020-Spring 2021 due to COVID}. The course is offered in both the Fall and Spring semesters and taught by at least three different faculty. This proposed re-design will offer students the additional option to take Econ 1100 online and follow their own pace for completion. Once the course is successfully re-designed, the Canvas shell can easily be shared with other faculty teaching Econ 1100. Since the re-design allows delivering at least one section of Econ 1100 online every semester. it will contribute to increased efficiency of use of classroom space.