Linking Information Literacy Skills to ABET’s Lifelong Learning

Component

One department at a time!

Kimberly Ogden and Paul BlowersUniversity of Arizona

Purpose of workshop

To illustrate how integrating information literacy skills into the engineering curricula can be used as one pedagogical approach to creating lifelong learners.

Workshop objectives:• Highlight successful practices of integrating information

literacy into the engineering curriculum and courses.

• Explain how faculty can receive assistance in designing information literacy-related assignments or activities.

• Explore the best methods for disseminating the contents of the workshop within the College of Engineering.

Workshop Outcomes:

• Definition• Content included in self-study reports• Syllabi makeovers• Advocates

Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning, a skill that involves the continuous seeking, gathering and processing of information, provides the foundation for sustained growth throughout one’s life. It requires a creative outlook and is evidenced by the successful synthesis, management and application of new knowledge gained from the teachings of others, personal experience, and introspection1.

Information literacy, which “is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education,” forms the basis for lifelong learning; it is an intellectual framework for recognizing when information is needed, and understanding, finding, evaluating, and effectively using such information2.

The College of Engineering at the University of Arizona incorporates information literacy into its curriculum to enable students to master content, mature intellectually, and become self-directed learning professionals1.

Johnson, V.R. (2003). Becoming a Technical Professional. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2000) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Chicago: American Library Association.

How ChEE addressed ABET’s lifelong learning requirement in their accreditation self-study report

Information LiteracyLearning Styles

Lifelong Learning Throughout the Curriculum - Freshman

• Introduction to Engineering Course– Google and Wikipedia– Background on interdisciplinary design projects

• Energy• Solar Ovens• Cell phones – dissection

– Stress what plagiarism is– Stress how to site references and when needed– Many professional speakers– College career plan

Lifelong Learning Throughout the Curriculum - Sophomore

Material and Energy Balance Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:1) comfortably use unit conversions while solving problems2) confidently transfer a verbal problem statement into its mathematical

representation3) write and solve mass balances for a process4) use the appropriate gas law while solving mass and energy

balances5) use phase diagrams to solve mass and energy balances6) apply Raoult's law in mass and energy balances7) identify and use formulas for the different energy terms8) use heat capacities correctly in energy balances9) integrate material and energy balance solution techniques to solve

complex problems10) investigate transient behaviors where variables change over time

Lifelong Learning Throughout the Curriculum - Sophomore

Material and Energy Balance Course Objectives

Other metaconcepts the students should be proficient at:1) be able to identify personal difficulties during problem

solving and to take corrective action2) be able to knowledgeably think of everyday examples

where material and energy balances are important3) be able to conceptually link levels of information and

ideas in a problem solving framework4) begin to use the library and electronic resources

effectively to find high quality information

Lifelong Learning Throughout the Curriculum - Junior

Chemical Thermodynamics Course Objectives

Other metaconcepts the students should be proficient at:1) be able to comfortably organize and present group or

individual material to the class2) be able to add equilibrium thermodynamic knowledge to your

existing framework of chemical engineering problem solving techniques

3) be able to identify personal difficulties during problem solving and to take corrective action

4) be able to knowledgeably think of everyday examples where equilibria are important

5) be able to search for and use information from published sources as steps towards developing lifelong learning skills through information literacy

More Specifically - Thermodynamics

(

1) be able to solve thermodynamics problems using both hand and computer programming techniques, building on ChEE 201, 202 and ChEE 3162) be able to derive working equations for the solution of practical problems in thermodynamics starting from basic principles3) be able to compute thermodynamic properties of pure and mixedideal and real gases4) be able to construct phase diagrams for ideal and real mixtures of gases, liquids, and solids5) be able to construct and use a model of phase behavior using limited experimental data for VLE and LSE6) be able to formulate and solve chemical equilibrium calculations that may include multiple reactions

Other metaconcepts the students should be proficient at:1) be able to comfortably organize and present group or individual material to the class2) be able to add equilibrium thermodynamic knowledge to your existing framework of chemical engineering problem solving techniques3) be able to identify personal difficulties during problem solving and to take corrective action4) be able to knowledgeably think of everyday examples where equilibria are important5) be able to search for and use information from published sources

Need to be able to find information about species and how to find reference materials for programming/data manipulation.

Need to be able to find real data for different substances under different conditions. Cannot model data if you don't have any!

Need real data in order to be able to compute fugacities, etc. Need to have resources for finding information for unusual species.

Again, need to be able to find equilibria data for mixtures of species and be able to extract the information from the paper

Need heat capacities, enthalpies and entropies of formation, etc. in order to solve chemical equilibriaproblems.

Listing the IL as an objective shows students that this is a serious component of their success in the course.

1) be able to solve thermodynamics problems using both hand and computer programming techniques, building on ChEE 201, 202 and ChEE 3162) be able to derive working equations for the solution of practical problems in thermodynamics starting from basic principles3) be able to compute thermodynamic properties of pure and mixedideal and real gases4) be able to construct phase diagrams for ideal and real mixtures of gases, liquids, and solids5) be able to construct and use a model of phase behavior using limited experimental data for VLE and LSE6) be able to formulate and solve chemical equilibrium calculations that may include multiple reactions

Other metaconcepts the students should be proficient at:1) be able to comfortably organize and present group or individual material to the class2) be able to add equilibrium thermodynamic knowledge to your existing framework of chemical engineering problem solving techniques3) be able to identify personal difficulties during problem solving and to take corrective action4) be able to knowledgeably think of everyday examples where equilibria are important5) be able to search for and use information from published sources

Need to be able to find information about species and how to find reference materials for programming/data manipulation.

Need to be able to find real data for different substances under different conditions. Cannot model data if you don't have any!

Need real data in order to be able to compute fugacities, etc. Need to have resources for finding information for unusual species.

Again, need to be able to find equilibria data for mixtures of species and be able to extract the information from the paper

Need heat capacities, enthalpies and entropies of formation, etc. in order to solve chemical equilibriaproblems.

Listing the IL as an objective shows students that this is a serious component of their success in the course.

Lifelong Learning Throughout the Curriculum - Senior

Capstone Design Course ObjectivesUpon completion of this course, students should be able to:

10) Read and critique published life cycle assessments for their individual strengths and weaknesses.

11) Search for and use highly specific information in the published literature and to evaluate the relevance of the materials. Be able to effectively use library resources. Specifically, this means students will recognize the need for and methods of participating in life-long learning.

Other metaconcepts the students should be proficient at:1) be able to organize and present highly technical material to an informed audience2) be able to use your existing framework of chemical engineering problem solving

techniques as applied in a design context3) be able to identify personal difficulties for solving complex problems and to take

corrective action4) be able to knowledgeably think of everyday examples where chemical engineering

design can be improved or implemented

Plan of Action

• Advocate for the systematic inclusion of information literacy across the undergraduate engineering curricula in instances where it naturally fits in.

• Identify teachable moments to teach information literacy and develop lifelong learning skills.

Questions