Principal Investigator: Zeina Baalbaki, Lecturer, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering & Civil Engineering
Project description
The Environmental Engineering (ENVL) Capstone course (ENVE 401), delivered for first time this year, is a part of the new ENVL program launched in 2020. ENVE 401 requires 4th-year students to apply previously acquired skills while working on an open-ended design problem with the final goal of helping students transition from academia to industry. This year, 5 students are registered in the course; however, a growing number will register in the coming academic years (>35 students/cohort). A number of pedagogical practices have been adopted this year, but require evaluation, optimization and scale up for implementation in future years. Practices of focus in the study include project idea generation, team allocation, project management and student evaluation.
Research questions
- Do the current practices promote the practical skills required to prepare ENVL students for transitioning to the Environmental industry? Are alternative practices more effective?
- Are alternative practices required to improve student experience of learning including motivation, innovation and team cohesion? How do impacts differ depending on student demographic and career interests?
- Will integrating peer evaluation as part of the overall individual grade improve students work ethics and learning experience? What is the least biased method for this implementation?