Computers chem. Engng Vol. 20, Suppl., pp.

SI341-SI346, 1996

Pergamon

S0098-1354(96)00230-X

Copyright 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0098-1354/96 $15.00+0.00

The Place of the Computer in Chemical Engineering Education H. O. Kassim and R. G.Cadbury, Division of Chemical Engineering, South Bank University, Borough Road, LONDON SE1 0AA
ABSTRACT The rapid pace of technological development in computers makes for special problems in treating the subject in the best way on a chemical engineering degree programme. The computer's strengths and weaknesses in an educational context are considered in general terms, as are the broad objectives of chemical engineering education to a degree level. Four areas of computer application likely to feature in a degree programme are identified as: process modelling; programming; computer-based control of processes, and computerinteractive mathematics tuition. Each of these is reviewed. A reflection on teaching simulation at undergraduate level using a commercial package is presented. The paper discusses the difficulties which fresher students experience with mathematics. Finally, some methods of assessing computer-acquired skills are discussed.

INTRODUCTION
The core teaching of an engineering discipline in a university is concerned with branches of mathematics and sciences, and how these may be usefully applied. For many branches of engineering the industry to which the discipline is applied is now mature, and practices change only slowly. But in one field change is endless: that of the computer. In all branches of engineering the importance of the computer is growing, and its applications constantly change. Whereas a technology for manufacture of a chemical, or for transportation, may have a useful life of more than a hundred years, computer technologies mostly become obsolete in fifteen years, often less. Besides its industrial importance the computer is, perhaps, useful as an educational tool. As university teaching can involve teaching both about computers and teaching with computers, this paper seeks first to clarify what places the computer occupies in engineering teaching. It then examines some of these in greater depth. Although the paper is written from the particular standpoint of teaching chemical engineering, it is meant to be generally relevant to a range of degrees in applied science and technology where computers and IT feature but are not the central focus of the course.
COMPUTERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TEACHING The following are the main places of the computer in engineering teaching. (a) Basic IT skills: the desktop computer and peripherals, word processing, spreadsheets, databases. (b) Computers as tools in design, modelling, simulation and management. (c) Programming of computers and programming languages. (d) Control of industrial processes using computers. (e) Computer-assisted learning.

Basic IT skills are now part of almost every undergraduate curriculum. IT presents relatively few problems at undergraduate level, and topic (a) is not considered further. The paper considers topics (b), (c), (d) and (el).
QUES770NS TO BE ASKED This paper seeks to ask the following. What can students learn by study of, or with, the computer? What knowledge and skills should they acquire? Because of the short currency of specific computer technologies, the enquiry will stress transferability. How should we facilitate this learning? How should we assess this learning? STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES' OF COMPUTERS Engineering degrees must satisfy above all the requirements of their accrediting professional bodies. The Engineering Council stresses the value of the computer in engineering education, particularly by using it to model real-life situations (Engineering Council 1990). The Institution of Chemical Engineers provides a list of "enabling technologies" of which most are expected to be taught, and includes process control, IT, modelling and programming among these (IChemE 1989).

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The above express simply the basic requirements for teaching about computers. A proper course design must consider how the computer is brought in. Educationalists have responded to the introduction of the computer in education with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Most writers are alive to the dangers of an over-simplifying, reductionist approach. Powerful as it is, the computer is far from being a model of the whole of our intellectual processes. The computer can at most only model those parts that involve discretisation of information together with a limited set of logical operations with that information. Excessive reliance on the computer in teaching can over-emphasise the rational, deterministic aspects of subjects, and inhibit some thinking and learning processes (Beynon 1993). Papert (1993) by contrast sets forth a vast range of possibilities for computer-based education, and his enthusiasm is supported by reference to educational philosophers, in particular Piaget. Papert's view of the open-ended possibilities of computers in education is hard to reconcile with the strict requirements of a professionally accredited syllabus, and indeed seems out of keeping with the modern demands for a school curriculum governed by nationally agreed standards. Learning is a process involving the student, the material to be learnt, and the student's teachers. The interactions that the student makes with material and teachers are many and varied, and education can only succeed by careful attention to these many interactions and their outcomes. When a computer is used as a tool in education, in what way does the student interact with it? The answers to this question can guide us towards using the computer where it is genuinely useful, and discarding it where it is not, Some examples of the computer as a learning tool are considered in the particular sections of this paper discussing modelling and programming. These are admittedly special cases, where some function of the computer is the object of the learning, so the computer has (perhaps!) more "right" to be part of the learning process.
PURPOSES OF HIGHER EDUCATION To define the place of the computer in a degree or other higher education programme, it is worth revisiting the general idea of university teaching, its purposes and key features. The classification of university teaching's purposes by Atkins (1993) under the following four main headings is undoubtedly helpful. 1. General educational experience. 2. Preparation for creation, dissemination or application of knowledge. 3. Vocational preparation. 4. General preparation for the world of work,

Importantly, this allows the vocational requirements to be balanced against the broader need for undergraduates to learn what knowledge is, how to acquire it and how to use it. Even those who are able to take up their intended vocation after graduation will benefit if they have a broad understanding of people and ideas, as they are likely to be flexible as to the work they do, and have better prospects for advancement into senior roles. A brief discussion of how students study in universities is also necessary. Faced with increasing numbers of students, alternative strategies involving either control or independence need to be recognised (Gibbs 1992). While the computer may initially be seen as a means of control in teaching large numbers, for example through multiple choice and other objective testing, it may also feature in independence strategies. Provided that the software is appropriate, and a genuine interaction between student and program exists and is educationally valid, the computer is useful in supporting self-directed learning. The ability to undertake study on one's own is a crucial feature of adapting to university education by young people (Wankowski 1991). Strategies for promoting self-directed study are important in ensuring student success. The place of the computer must be considered carefully: it should support and reinforce the student's independence. But it should not blind the student to the importance, when necessary, of reading, listening, observing, discussing with peers and seeking help from teachers. MATHEMATICS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Mathematics is a logical tool for gaining an insight into engineering problems. Years of research into process simulation have provided us with experiences of mathematics as an essential tool in chemical engineering. A typical mathematics route for solving engineering and industrial problems is illustrated in Figure 1. Mathematics as an applied science is important in any Chemical engineering curriculum. Any learning outcome of engineering mathematics should include recognition and understanding of the relevant nmthematics concepts, development of manipulative skills for solving these, and recognition and selection of strategies for 2

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mathematical modelling of engineering problems, as figure 1 illustrates. Mathematics is a also useful tool in the understanding of computer applications.

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MA THEMA TICS BACKGROUND OF FRESHER STUDENTS

Over the past ten years there have been substantial changes in the pre-university mathematics background of fresh engineering students (Engineering Council, March 1995). Increasing numbers of students enter engineering courses with relatively weaker background and lower qualification in mathematics in comparison with ten years ago. Many new students perceive mathematics to be difficult and the prerogative of clever people (Hubbard, 1991). Research into mathematics teaching and learning has shown that such fear of mathematics is often built up by non-understanding at school which has resulted in a hostile attitude towards the subject (Dean, P.G., 1982). This alienation needs to be resolved before any learning can occur. From the onset, the challenge is to devise a means of bridging this gap between pre-university and university engineering mathematics. The varying and poor mathematics background of new students makes for a special case in remedial mathematics teaching for new undergraduates. Remedial teaching alone is expensive. Moreover, a student group with widely variant ability increases the burden of routine teaching of basic mathematics. Computer-interactive mathematics tuition serves the dual purpose of motivating and increasing students'confidence in mathematics on the one hand, and also increasing the potential contact time between tutor and student.

SIMULATIONAND MODELLING
Where an industrial process or activity can be modelled, the computer may well be a useful tool in assisting the computation and storage of the model's data. Much of engineering, and some of management science, is concerned with development and usage of models, and always has been. What the computer has brought to modelling therefore is an engine, providing faster computation or more of it, and a high-capacity and flexible memory. Some mathematical models, previously impractical because of the extensive calculation required, have now become very useful (Borcherds 1987). Industry-standard software is readily available for teaching. The last few years have seen the introduction of desktop PC-based computing and user-friendly interfaces, so the introduction of students to high quality industry-standard software can begin as early as the first year. We have successfully put students in all years on a process flowsheeting and modelling package called HYSIMTM The more mathematically complex computational fluid dynamics (CFD) packages are introduced to final year students once they have had an opportunity to appreciate the complexity of fluid flow. Experience with HYSIMTM and CFD may look good on a graduate's CV, but what has he or she really learned? Here there is a difficulty. On the one hand it is now possible to become quite proficient at the use of a computer 3

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modelling package while understanding very little of what goes on inside; this indeed is a reflection of good software design. On the other hand, to make graduates fully conversant with all that goes on in the software would demand far more time than is available. Undergraduate engineering teaching must strike a balance, taking students deeper into the software than is needed to be a proficient user, but being selective. The selection must be towards teaching generic aspects of applied science and mathematics that are likely to underlie the programming both of the package in question and its competitors and successors. Thus for example our chemical engineering syllabus has recently changed to include increased coverage of chemical thermodynamics, as this underlies the whole structure of the HYSIM TM modelling package. Assessment of students' learning on software packages is best done through coursework, with certain precautions to ensure that the students are actually doing the work themselves. Practical steps we use include attendance registers at computer practicals, and a viva examination as a component of project assessment. Meanwhile the underlying science and mathematics can well be assessed by written examinations. PROGRAMMING By programming is meant the writing of computer software in high-level language, for example TurboPascal. There is disagreement on the usefulness of teaching programming, and indeed Edwards has advocated excluding it from the chemical engineering curriculum (Edwards 1991). Consider first the difficulties of teaching programming It is slow, tedious work, and the smallest mistake in the program code such as a missing comma can cause major yet undetectable problems. Success for the student will produce a very simple algorithm, long since provided in user-friendly form in hundreds of different software packages. At the end it is hard to devise assessment that will really measure student learning. And are there any benefits? First ofalt, good programmers can program so that faults are rapidly screened out. Good teaching and good texts emphasise the importance of a structured approach to programming and testing, which speeds debugging (Foley 1991). This discipline is of value in training engineers because it can inculcate a logical, painstaking approach. It prepares the student for working in design teams, because what is good structure for one person will be understandable to another. The important learning outcome is not familiarity with programming in TurboPascal or any other language. It is this disciplined, logical approach. In conclusion, programming is worthy of its place in the curriculum because of the discipline it can develop in the student. When supported by good teaching material, a limited study of programming is time well spent. INDUSTRIAL PROCESS CONTROL USING COMPUTERS The provision of control for industrial processes is primarily the concern of a specialist engineer, the control systems engineer. An engineer designing for example a chemical process should specify the control requirements to the control systems engineer, who will then see to the detailed implementation. A simple prescription... Industrial experience, spent working at the interface between process and control, has provided us with first hand experience of cases where costs over-ran - in one case by millions of pounds - because the complexity and cost of the desired computer-based control system were not appreciated early on. Might the education of those who specify controls, such as chemical engineers, be improved to prevent this state of affairs? The problem remains a very serious one. Until computer technology matures it will remain a rogue element in any design package, and control system costs will continue to overrun as they have done for thirty years or more. However there is only a limited amount that can be done at undergraduate level. The main problem is one of attitude among working engineers. Engineers are expected by temperament to be conservative, and to prefer the tried and tested solution to the new and unproven. With computers this caution often vanishes, the engineer overwhelmed by excitement with the potential. It is not hard to convey to undergraduates the excitement that computers bring to our work. The power and sophistication of a package likeHYSIMTM does that for us. Instilling a cautious, reflective approach is however more difficult. We try, especially in final year project work, to show students just how difficult and timeconsuming it is to develop a design from basic data. Programming also has a place here, as it can show the student how much care must be taken to program a computer to do a task, if someone else has not already written the software.

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COMPUTER-INTERACTIVE MATHEMATICS TUITION The computer is a useful tool in assisting self-tuition of mathematics at student's own pace. Complemented with remedial mathematics teaching, it provides motivation and confidence in manipulative skills for the different mathematics concept especially for fresher students. Software for learning entry-level mathematics is becoming increasingly available. The materials in such software are self-paced and are generally designed for independent study. These are particularly useful in tackling the resourcing problems currently faced by many universities in the teaching of basic mathematics. Hubbard (1991) has proposed presenting the subjects in a variety of modes to broaden students' experience. Many of these self-tuition packages are divided into modules, each module covers a specific mathematics topic. The presentation allows for testing of each topic with different data. Their flexibility allows students to move freely within a module. Experience with teaching fresher students has provided us with the mathematics teaching model illustrated in figure 2 with the Computer-Interactive Mathematics Learning (CIML) integrated as a non time-tabled activity for individual learning. The CIML could be supported by locally produced documents such as reading guides, self-assessment questions with solutions, and questionnaire for student's evaluation of the module.

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Figure 2: An integrated CIML in a teaching model

Any assessment of the CIML could only be a formative learning process which is used to establish students understanding of the mathematics concept. The computer is a learning aid in this respect. The assessment is also informative to the tutor as to the learning achieved by the student, and is used as a means of feedback which will inform and assist students of their learning progress. CONCLUSION University teaching should encourage all students to grasp something of the nature of knowledge and learning. By doing this, the computer can be better seen in context, as a machine which processes information quickly and stores large amounts in a flexible manner. The student should thus see that knowledge and learning, for

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whatever vocation, encompass much more than discretisation, processing and storage of information. He or she will recognise models as representations of real life situations, and be alive to their underlying assumptions and limitations. The curriculum must stress observation, reading, critical analysis and discussion as balances against developing too rationalistic an approach. The particular requirements of a chemical engineering degree mean that the computer will feature in several parts of the course, especially modelling, programming and systems control. Modelling can be successfully taught by sitting students down in front of industry-standard packages. To support this and deepen their understanding, certain modules in applied science and mathematics must cover key elements of the theory on which the model is based. While the value of teaching programming in an engineering degree may fairly be questioned, we conclude that it does have a place. If taught in the right way it helps to inculcate a logical, disciplined approach to design in general. In teaching students about computer-based control systems, we must somehow instil a little caution into them, so perhaps they will not repeat all the mistakes of the present generation of engineers. The relatively weak mathematics background of fresher students is discussed. Finally, computer-interactive mathematics tuition has been identified as a possible solution to the particular problem of bridging the gap between preuniversity and university engineering mathematics.

REFERENCES

Atkins MJ, Beattie J, and Dockrell WB, (1993), Assessment Issues in Higher Education, Department of Employment. Beynon J, (1993), 'Technological Literacy: Where Do We All Go From Here?', in Beynon J, and Mackay H, Computers into Classrooms: More Questions than Answers, Falmer Press. Borcherds PH, (1987), 'Computational Physics for Undergraduates', in Trends" in Computer Assisted Education, Blackweli Scientific Publications. Dean, P. G. (1982). Teaching and Learning Mathematics, Woburn Press, London. Edwards DW, (1991), 'Computers - Tools for Engineers', Conference of IChemE Education Subject Group. Foley RW, (1991), 'Introduction to Programming Principles using TurboPascar, Chapman & Hall. Gibbs G, (1992), 'Teaching More Students, 1, Problems and Course Design Strategies', PCFC. Hubbard, R. (1991), 53 Interesting Ways to Teach Mathematics, Technical and Educational Services ltd, U.K. Institution of Chemical Engineers, (1989), 'First Degree (7ourses'. Papert S, (1993), 'The Children's Machine', Harvester Wheatsheaf. The Engineering Council, (1990), 'Standards and Routes to Registration', 2nd Edition. The Engineering Council (March 1995), The (;hanging Mathematical Background o f Undergraduate Students - A review o f the issues Wankowski J, (1991), 'Success and Failure at University', in Raaheim K, Wankowski J, and Radford J, Helping Students to Learn, SRHE and Open University Press.