Date: Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Time: 9:30-10:30AM
Location: Health Science Technology Building (HST), Forum Room 101
This event features Luke Landherr, as the Denson Distinguished Lecture, who will talk about "Using the abstract nature of core STEM concepts for effective learning", as part of the Lehigh University Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering's Fall 2024 Colloquium Seminar Series.
Abstract
One of the major obstacles to effective learning in STEM is the abstract nature of many core STEM concepts. Whiletraditional approaches include examples of real-world applications, demonstrations, and/or hands-on experimentation, the depthand complexity of these concepts can cause such efforts to be unsuccessful. Further exacerbating the problem, some theoreticalconcepts do not have obvious visual representations that could make the concepts less abstract and so more comprehensible to students. The benefits of broadening visual instruction in education are not just restricted to learners with particular inclinations toward visuallearning. Studies have shown that combining text with images improves students’ retention of information, and multimediapresentations of concepts allow for better transfer of the gained knowledge towards solving problems. In short, increasing thevisual content of STEM instruction promotes students’ conceptual understanding. Recently, the use of comics and animation as learning tools has grown dramatically, with a broad set of artists, book series, andvideos all dedicated to integrating visualization into educational approaches. This seminar will focus on the range of techniquesbeing used; the potential of comics and animation in improving student enthusiasm, confidence, and understanding; the impactofthese techniques observed thus far; and the means by which other educators can attempt visualization techniques on their own.
About the Speaker
Luke Landherr is a COE Distinguished Faculty, teaching professor and the associate chair for undergraduate studies ofChemical Engineering at Northeastern University. They conduct engineering education research into novel visual teachingtechniques for undergraduate and K-12 STEM education. Their comics to teach complex science and engineering concepts havebeen adopted by colleges and high schools throughout the U.S., U.K., Belgium, and Denmark, and they helped to write and createthe Crash Course: Engineering video series. They are currently a regular contributor to the Chemical Engineering Education journalproducing the Drawn To Engineering comic, and have received multiple AIChE and ASEE awards for their work.
History of Costel 'Cos' Denson
Dr. Costel ’Cos' Denson (1934-2018), was the first African-American student to graduate from Lehigh. He earned his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the university in 1956 and his master’s degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1960. He earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Utah in 1965.
After a long and successful career at General Electric, Denson joined the faculty at the University of Delaware, serving as professor of chemical engineering, interim dean of engineering, and vice provost for research. He also was a visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Naples, and Lehigh University. Denson served on numerous environmental advisory boards including the U.S. Department of Defense: Scientific Advisory Board, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He served as a member of many professional societies, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Society of Rheology. He served on the executive committee of the Society of Plastics Engineers and was a member of a National Science Foundation panel judging proposals in the area of math, sciences and technology education.
Dr. Denson launched two companies based on technology he developed. He served as the managing member of Costech Technologies, LLC, and a company that advised on environmental research programs. His many honors include Honorary Doctoral Degree in 2015 from Lehigh University, the Thomas H. Chilton Award of the Wilmington section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the International Award for Research of the Society of plastics Engineers. In 2017 Lehigh University created in his honor “The Dr. Costel Denson ‘56 Alumni Award” to be awarded annually to a Lehigh alumnus who has demonstrated leadership by proactively seeking to identify and implement pathways to increase diversity in the American workplace and in our educational institutions.
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