A Project Based, Spiral Curriculum For Chemical Engineering

We developed a project-based, spiral curriculum for the chemical engineering sophomore year. The spiral curriculum is a complete restructuring of the traditional curriculum, and emphasizes repetition and integration of topics with increasing complexity throughout the year. It is designed to increase motivation for learning and retention of basic skills and concepts. The new curriculum features multimedia instructional modules, peer-assisted cooperative learning structures, a "just-in-time" learning paradigm, and industrially relevant projects that introduce design concepts early in the year. Our goal is to address problems with the traditional academic structure that include poor retention, segmented learning, and the need to deliver a cost-effective education to a student audience of diverse backgrounds and learning styles.