Challenges,benefits & drawbacks of chemical engineering on-line teaching during Covid-19 pandemic

Distance learning demand has increased and turned into an obligatory educational system during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Within this period, students need exceptional support and assistance to be adjusted to the Online framework environment. The current study investigates distance learning on chemical engineering students' educational performance during this pandemic period. This study addresses many issues related to distance learning, such as the household setting suitability with the internet connections, Online lecture activities, Online classroom experience and assessment tools, and student's perception of the Online graduation projects. A comprehensive survey was organized and structured to observe and evaluate these associated issues to distance learning. The study targeted the third, fourth, and fifth-year students. The responses of the students revealed positive and negative assessments of the Online teaching during this Pandemic. Generally, the participated students did not experience significant technical obstacles to acquiring all the Online activities. Most of the contributed students expressed some difficulties concentrating during the Online sessions with limited student-instructor interactions. Graduation Project students encountered problems in performing technical discussions with their academic advisors, coordinators, and teammates compared to the face-to-face approach.     

An effective blended online teaching and learning strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic

The shift to distance teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a real challenge for both instructors and students. To face these difficulties in teaching undergraduate Chemistry courses at the University of Santo Tomas, a blended learning strategy in the context of teaching and learning of Physical Chemistry 1 and Analytical Chemistry for Chemical Engineering students were employed. Here, we present an online strategy that facilitated the transition from traditional face-to-face learning to full online instruction. This is a five-component blended learning strategy referred to as Discover, Learn, Practice, Collaborate and Assess (DLPCA). In DLPCA, the asynchronous part of the teaching was achieved through broadcast of pre-recorded lecture videos on YouTube to allow students to study and progress with learning at their own pace. The synchronous part of the teaching was conducted using video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom or Google Meet. The DLPCA strategy was presented and discussed to the students prior to its implementation. The analysis of the teaching and learning experience based on three indicators (i) student’s learning experience, (ii) student’s academic performance and (iii) instructor observations showed that DLPCA had a positive impact on students and instructors. The identified challenges were stability of internet connection and instructor’s familiarity with readily available internet-based teaching tools, such as video conferencing software. Instructors must also find means to improve their interaction with students and maintain student interest and engagement during online classes. The survey also indicated that most of the students are satisfied with the DLCPA strategy. Hence, this strategy is considered a manageable and effective alternative that can be adapted to full online instruction to other undergraduate Chemistry lecture courses. Overall, the findings and insights in this study will add valuable resources for further hybrid instruction in the post-COVID-19 time in higher education.     

Off-campus but hands-on: Mail out practicals with synchronous online activities during COVID-19

This paper discusses alternatives to on-campus teaching laboratories, to allow for hands-on learning for remote students. Wholly online practical equivalents have become increasingly popular post-COVID (online simulations or processing experimental data only) which can offer lower overheads and easy scale-up, but often miss hands-on learning outcomes. This paper reviews opportunities for mail-out practicals, where the equipment is delivered to students’ homes, combined with live synchronous learning activities via video streaming or online software. The combination of mail-out experimental kits plus synchronous interactive learning activities creates a host of new opportunities for teaching to remote students. Complimentary online teaching activities could include direct interaction with teaching staff or other students, but it can also be real-time simulations of their experiment. The paper presents a specific case study for a 2nd year undergraduate chemical engineering heat exchanger practical, that facilitated hands-on practical learning with synchronous online activities during COVID-19 campus closure. The paper uses a mixed methods approach in a 2 year study to assess student learning outcomes.     

Trends in chemical engineering education: Process, product and sustainable chemical engineering challenges

Teaching chemical engineering has always been faced with a dilemma: either keep in touch with industry needs or incorporate new scientific concepts into the curriculum. In this paper, a short historical analysis of the evolution of chemical engineering teaching is presented and the recent trends of the two previous facets (industry and science) are briefly reviewed. The process vs product engineering concept is proposed as one of the means to achieve a better alignment between the curriculum and industry needs. A chemical engineering teaching framework, based in part on a product and a process oriented component, which has been in place in our department 5 years ago, is described and discussed. The concept of sustainable chemistry, including process and product considerations, which can be seen as the next frontier in chemical engineering education, is finally analysed from the education point of view.     

Online project-based learning in engineering design: Supporting the acquisition of design skills

In this work, we explore and compare how different online instructional practices can support the acquisition of design skills through the eyes of students in PBL (project-based learning), as well as the impact of such practices on the student performance. Particularly, students quantitatively assessed their perception towards the effectiveness of different online practices at supporting four ways of working in design: identification of a design problem and its constraints, research of potential design solutions, design decision-making, and communication of such decisions in an appropriate format. Student perceptions suggest that effective online PBL in engineering design is underpinned by instructional practices that amalgamate personalised, constructive technical support with immediate formative feedback, and that promote deeper social connections between students and academics. Drawing on the Community of Inquiry framework for online learning, these perceptions appear to be related to the extent to which the social and cognitive presence phenomena is inherent to the specific instructional practice. The combined deployment of such online practices ensures a student performance (71.7%) which is virtually the same as for the previous cohort (72.0%), when design was fully delivered on-campus. Implications for educational practice and transferability with extension to the teaching of different engineering design disciplines and settings are discussed.     

Shaping futures: A dialogue on chemical engineering education

Engineering as a discipline, profession, practice, and area of study continues to add substantial value in an increasingly complex world. With continually evolving complexity around the planet, such as the need for massive energy transition, global health technologies, or sustainable food systems, how might engineering education practices and theory be considered within these rapid and necessary changes? This paper presents an experiment of co-creation through experiential reflection about the state of chemical engineering education. Four chemical engineering professors engaged in a dialogue, facilitated by a researcher in education, through collaborative and actionable research. This dialogue uncovered innovative possibilities, educational themes, experiences, and opportunities for others in the profession to consider. The process of dialogue also encouraged the development of an imaginative future sense-making, known as futuring, through a collective experience. The findings reveal instructive perspectives on the shape of chemical engineering education that should be of value not only to engineers, but also other professionals, practitioners, or those in various science, technology, and math fields.     

Teaching chemical engineering to biotechnology students in the time of COVID-19: Assessment of the adaptation to digitalization

With the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, there was an immediate shutdown of face-to-face classes and a sudden shift to on-line learning. Confinement required finding innovative approaches to teaching and student assessment. This paper aims to share the experience of adapting the course in Biochemical Engineering, part of the Biotechnology program at Francisco de Vitoria University (Madrid, Spain), to remote learning.A sequence of collaborative learning activities, with active student participation, was designed to replace the traditional mid-term exam. Activities were carefully implemented, considering the range of learning styles. Engineering skills, transversal competences and higher-order thinking skills were fostered through these activities.The analysis of the teaching/learning experience was based on teacher observations, academic performance and student surveys. All indicators showed that the adopted methodology had a positive impact of student performance. Student participation, especially among those repeating the course, also improved. Furthermore, students gained a more accurate and positive perception of the link between Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, which may have a favourable impact on the teaching of Bioreactors in the coming academic year.     

Antithrombin as Therapeutic Intervention against Sepsis-Induced Coagulopathy and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation: Lessons Learned from COVID-19-Associated Coagulopathy

Recent research has contributed significantly to our understanding of the pathogenesis of acute disseminated intravascular coagulation. COVID-19 can be considered as a new underlying condition of disseminated intravascular coagulation. In this narrative review, current evidence is presented regarding biomarker differences between sepsis-induced and COVID-19-associated coagulopathies, supporting the importance of acquired antithrombin deficiency in the early differential diagnosis of septic coagulopathy and its potential impact on treatment with endogenous anticoagulants. Establishing new scoring systems for septic coagulopathy in combination with endogenous anticoagulant biomarker activities may allow for the identification of those in the heterogeneous population of sepsis patients who are more likely to benefit from targeted specific treatment interventions.     

Analysis of Immune Escape Variants from Antibody-Based Therapeutics against COVID-19: A Systematic Review

The accelerated SARS-CoV-2 evolution under selective pressure by massive deployment of neutralizing antibody-based therapeutics is a concern with potentially severe implications for public health. We review here reports of documented immune escape after treatment with monoclonal antibodies and COVID-19-convalescent plasma (CCP). While the former is mainly associated with specific single amino acid mutations at residues within the receptor-binding domain (e.g., E484K/Q, Q493R, and S494P), a few cases of immune evasion after CCP were associated with recurrent deletions within the N-terminal domain of the spike protein (e.g., ΔHV69-70, ΔLGVY141-144 and ΔAL243-244). The continuous genomic monitoring of non-responders is needed to better understand immune escape frequencies and the fitness of emerging variants.     

Lab at home: 3D printed and low-cost experiments for thermal engineering and separation processes in COVID-19 time

The SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic has meant that face-to-face teaching activities have had to be replaced by distance learning. Experimental laboratories have been replaced, in most cases, by the utilization of experimental data or by simulations. In this work, we have designed four laboratory experiments to be conducted by students of thermal engineering and separation processes during confinement by COVID-19 at home, to maintain competence acquisition and learning outcomes. A mixed methodology of the educational models of autonomous learning and cooperative learning has been used in obtaining the experimental data and writing the laboratory report. Installations for thermal engineering have been 3D designed and printed and are aimed at studying the heat transmission by conduction and convection in heat exchangers. This work describes in detail the activities carried out and shares the files used in the 3D printing of the installations. The laboratory experiments of separation processes are focused on the removal of a dye (rhodamine B) from an aqueous solution by liquid-liquid extraction and adsorption. A survey made to the undergraduate students has confirmed that the methodology and installations designed have been satisfactory for their expectations on the acquisition of knowledge and skills in both subjects.     

Winds are from Venus, mountains are from Mars: Science fiction in chemical engineering education

In an elective course recently created at Simón Bolívar University, Chemical Engineering students are encouraged to apply their previously acquired knowledge of thermodynamics, transport phenomena and other core subjects to the analysis and solution of problems drawn from science fiction works. We present a brief outline of the course contents, and describe two case studies that illustrate the general approach. The first example deals with the sublimation of carbon dioxide in Mars, and provides the basis for a discussion of the thermodynamics of phase transitions, the differences between water ice and dry ice, and the phenomenon of surface melting. The second example involves the thermal separation of strong winds in Venus, and is used to develop a simplified model of the Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube that helps understand its working principles, limitations and differences with the equivalent but physically impossible action of Maxwell's demon. In both cases, the science fiction narratives are concluded to be unrealistic, either theoretically unsound or based on inaccurate information.     

Student self-assessment: Results from a research study in a level IV elective course in an accredited bachelor of chemical engineering

A summative Mid-term Test in a level IV course of an accredited bachelor degree from a cohort of 32 (8 female, 24 male) students was both self-assessed and assessed by the experienced course tutor, using the idealized solutions and shell-form marking scheme of the lecturer. The assignment required demonstration of discipline-specific, definitions in Pinch Analysis and calculation of temperatures and heat exchanger network (HEN) designs. The grades were analyzed for accuracy, that is, agreement between student self-assessment (S-A) and tutor, marks. In 32 valid responses (100% response rate) the mean mark awarded by the students and tutor was, respectively, 83.1 (stdev = 8.3) and 71.7 (stdev = 8.3) out of a possible 100. Overall student S-A was therefore about 1.16 times that of the tutor's mark (p < 0.025). There was no evidence of student collusion in solutions or “marks sharking”. Granularity in student S-A and tutor grading was, respectively, a ½ and 1. There was no evidence to show any systematic concordance between the tutor's performance ranking and that of the students. An independent Student Experience of Learning & Teaching survey (75% response rate) revealed a mixed reaction: there was 63% broad agreement that S-A was an effective way to learn; but low confidence (50%) that self-marking was correct. The provision of the idealized solutions (and marking scheme) was considered essential (71% broad agreement) for successful student S-A. Significantly, there was good agreement (63%) that S-A stimulated discussion of key concepts out of normal contact hours, indicating good student engagement with their learning and pedagogical effectiveness of S-A.     

Cytokines from Bench to Bedside: A Retrospective Study Identifies a Definite Panel of Biomarkers to Early Assess the Risk of Negative Outcome in COVID-19 Patients

The main aim of this study was to identify the most relevant cytokines which, when assessed in the earliest stages from hospital admission, may help to select COVID-19 patients with worse prognosis. A retrospective observational study was conducted in 415 COVID-19 patients (272 males; mean age 68 ± 14 years) hospitalized between May 2020 and March 2021. Within the first 72 h from hospital admission, patients were tested for a large panel of biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), Mid-regional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM), Interferon-γ, interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-1β, IL-8, IL-10, soluble IL2-receptor-α (sIL2Rα), IP10 and TNFα. Extensive statistical analyses were performed (correlations, t-tests, ranking tests and tree modeling). The mortality rate was 65/415 (15.7%) and a negative outcome (death and/or orotracheal intubation) affected 98/415 (23.6%) of cases. Univariate tests showed the majority of biomarkers increased in severe patients, but ranking tests helped to select the best variables to put on decisional tree modeling which identified IL-6 as the first dichotomic marker with a cut-off of 114 pg/mL. Then, a good synergy was found between IL-10, MR-proADM, sIL2Rα, IP10 and CRP in increasing the predictive value in classifying patients at risk or not for a negative outcome. In conclusion, beside IL-6, a panel of other cytokines representing the degree of immunoparalysis and the anti-inflammatory response (IP10, sIL2Rα and IL-10) showed synergic role when combined to biomarkers of systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction (CRP, MR-proADM) and may also better explain disease pathogenesis and suggests targeted intervention.