Introduction
Here we will highlight example ARDEI questions we have written, some of which were written from scratch and some of which were adapted from context-less textbook problems, to give you some inspiration and example for how you can incorporate ARDEI contexts into your own course. Below is a video explanation of Lauren Simitz walking through the CHEM ENG 212 ARDEI problem she wrote. Further down we linked additional ARDEI example problems written for Fluids (by Ayin Abegunde) and Kinetics (by Alex Prybutok). If you choose to use these problems in future courses directly, please cite those who created the problem. But most importantly we encourage you to go through the process of writing problems for yourself as not only will you learn something in the process about the ARDEI topic the problem is contextualized in, but you will gain practice and become more comfortable with this over time.
Additionally, it is important to note the difference in type of problem you might write for a lower vs upper level course. Students will build skills in analyzing these types of questions over time if all courses incorporate them. So students in lower division courses might be provided and asked to use resources, but students may be asked to find these resources in upper division courses. However, students at all level should be asked to engage with and reflect on this material.
Video Explanation of Example Separations Problem
Access the Separations Homework Example
Other Example Problems
This problem focuses on how SIR (susceptible, infected, recovered) ordinary differential equation models are used to understand the spread of disease. The problem walks through the kinetic equations describing the basic SIR model, and subsequently asks students to interrogate how population dynamics change as a function of changing transmission and recovery rates. Finally, to incorporate the ARDEI component, students are asked to think about these models in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, where disease spread and treatment were not equitably distributed among populations, and factors such as socioeconomic status, race, environmental conditions, access to health care, and underlying health conditions caused differences in disease dynamics, often most negatively impacting marginalized groups.
Fluid Dynamics Homework Example
This problem focuses on how simple fluid dynamics concepts can be used to estimate the speed of a river current. The question is modified to incorporate ARDEI concepts by asking students to estimate the speed of the current of a contaminated river, specifically in Navajo rivers facilitated by uranium mining on Navajo Nation and Lakota Nation lands. Then, students are asked to think about the negative effects of Uranium mining on the Navajo community as well as what safeguards could have been implemented to prevent such impact on communities. This should help students think beyond the financial benefit of chemical engineering projects and consider the social impact of their decisions.
Assessing Your ARDEI-Context Question
Additionally, you will find a ARDEI Harm Prevention Worksheet with questions to ask yourself about the problem you’ve written as a filtering mechanism to prevent harm. Below, is a video walk through of the harm prevention worksheet. Additionally, we have an ARDEI Harm Prevention Worksheet for the Separations example problem you saw before. You will eventually also be using this same worksheet to assess problems written by your fellow colleagues during the in-person workshop.
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