The implementation of a challenge-based curriculum into a bioprocess engineering program

The newly created concentration in bioprocess engineering at East Carolina University was developed with a novel curriculumdesigned to engage the students and improve their mastery of concepts using proven pedagogical approaches. This study presentsthe development of nine instructional modules for three bioprocess engineering courses (three modules per course) and theassessment of the effectiveness of the instructional modules. Each module is initiated by presenting the students with a challengequestion. The students work on the challenge by completing a cycle of exercises that are designed to engage critical thinking andself-assessment, and for making connections among concepts within the course. The module culminates with students presentingtheir ‘answer’ to the challenge through various means, such as a report, poster, video, exam, etc. Of the nine modules, three areintegrated through the different bioprocess engineering courses. This integration provides a theme for the students to makeconnections among the different courses and to transfer concepts to new situations. Our work sought to provide the answers to tworesearch questions: 1) Did the students master the facts, skills, and concepts of bioprocess engineering through the use of themodules? and 2) Did the use of the modules create an effective How People Learn (HPL) learning environment within the threebioprocess engineering courses? The results of the assessment indicate that the modules were effective in developing the students’mastery of the facts, skills, and concepts across all three courses and created a very effective HPL learning environment in two ofthe three courses.