ANNUAL REPORT - The Petroleum Institute

A year of transformation, growth and success
III. Highlights for Academic
Year 2011-2012
Workshops
Overall, a total of nine sessions were organized
during the 2011-12 academic year. These
sessions included guest speakers such as Dr.
Vince Kuo (Colorado School of Mines), who
facilitated a series of workshops focused on
Active Learning in STEM classroom, Dr. Srethi
Nair (Abu Dhabi University), who led a workshop
on Bloom’s Taxonomy and its applications in
the classroom, and Mr. Ali Al Maskari (ADNOC
ATI), who facilitated discussions around the
topic of meeting student needs – Connecting
and Communicating Effectively. Several PI
faculty also contributed workshops on a range
of topics aimed at enhancing the learning and
teaching environment. The net result of these
workshops has been an increase in awareness
of outcomes-based approaches to teaching
and learning and the piloting of a studio
approach to teaching Physics that will be fully
implemented in Fall 2012.
Enhancement of Classroom
Instruction
In addition to organizing seminars and
workshops, CELT also supports the ongoing
enhancement of classroom instruction
through classroom visitation/observation
services, review of course materials,
syllabi and assessments, the promotion of
peer observations, and review of student
evaluations.
CELT Orientation and Support
Services
CELT is also responsible for providing
orientation and support services for new
PI faculty and facilitating teacher training
for graduate student instructors. More
information about these activities can be
found on the CELT website (http://www.pi.ac.
ae/celt/), which also includes links to useful
material related to the teaching of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics.
The Curriculum Enhancement Mini-
Grant Program
CELT promotes engineering education
research through sponsorship of a Curriculum
Enhancement mini-grant program. Three
grants were funded during the 2011-12
academic year. These are shown in Table 1
(below).
These grants encourage collaborations in
engineering education research with partner
institutes (Colorado School of Mines, University
of Maryland, University of Minnesota) and with
local secondary schools. In May, 2012, the
second call for proposals was sent.
Table 1. 2011-12 CELT Mini-Grant Awardees
Project Title
Simulation-based Learning Activities for a Revised Introductory E & M Physics Course
Computer-aided Process Simulation Modules in Chemical Engineering Education
Influence of Mathematics Games and Simulations on Students’ Attitudes and their
Perceptions of their Learning Environment: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
C. Bradley
A. Almansoori, A.
Elkamel, S. Abu Yahya
E. Afari, G. Ward, D.
Munster
IV. Summary
During the 2011-12 academic year, the overall theme of CELT has been “Innovation in Practice.”
The aim of this series of coordinated events is to enhance individual and departmental efforts
with regard to implementing best practices across all disciplines.
93