Teaching philosophy

Active learning and inductive teaching

I am an avid follower and practitioner of active learning and inductive teaching. To improve my teaching, I attended three National Effective Teaching (NETI) Workshops, and created my own worksohp on active learning and inductive teaching at ISU campus. You will find more information on this Website.

MAT E 453/553: Physical and Mechanical Properties of Polymer

Overview of polymer chemical composition, microstructure, thermal and mechanical properties, rheology, and principles of polymer materials selection. Intensive laboratory experiments include chemical composition studies, microstructure characterization, thermal analsysis, and mechanical testing.

This class is completely re-designed with new lectures and labs in Fall 2016. The focus is on more advanced polymer physics and mechanical properties, with the empahsis of the commercial application. The lab is a completely new set of experiments including synthesis, GPC, ZetaSizer, tensile-elongation, thermal analysis and testing on commercial paints. In addition to the exam and lab report, the class also gives the students opportunity to impove their prensentation skills with the poster and oral presentation session.

MAT E 350: Polymers and Polymer Engineering

This course will teach fundamental concepts and engineering of polymers, their processing methods and industry applications. Examples of industry R&D of polymer products will be discussed, including food packaging, adhesive, fiber plastic and composite materials. The focus is to teach the physical chemistry principles and structure-property relationship that guide the design of polymeric materials for different industry applications.

MSE 580x: Introduction of Project Management for Thesis Research

Tools and skills of Project Management (PM) adapted from industry to improve efficiency in thesis research. Project charter initiation for thesis, timeline and meeting scheduling tools, expectation management, and communication with advisors. Practice of the PM skills using student’s own thesis. Presentation of a project charter. Demonstration of knowledge of related PM skills and the ability of utilizing these skills for thesis research. Sharing thesis ideas and learning experience in the Graduate for Advancing Professional Skills (GAPS) learning community.

Education Publications and Conference Proceedings

A Community of Practice Approach to Integrating Professional Skills Training with Graduate Thesis Research
S. Jiang*, A.M. Gansemer-Topf, N.F. Nigel, G.E. Okudan Kremer, Q. Li, Asee North Midwest Section Annual Conference 2020.

Implementing Professional Skills Training in STEM: A Review of the Literature
A.M. Gansemer-Topf, Q. Li, S. Jiang, G.E. Okudan Kremer, N.F. Nigel, Asee North Midwest Section Annual Conference 2020.

University Implementation of TEACHActive – An Automated Classroom Feedback System and Dashboard
J. Kelley, D. AlZoubi, E. Baran, S.B. Gilbert, A. Karabulut-Ilgu, S. Jiang, Proceedings of the 65th Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (HFES) Annual Meeting 2021.

Designing the TEACHActive Feedback Dashboard: A Human-Centered Approach
D. AlZoubi, J. Kelley, E. Baran, S.B. Gilbert, S. Jiang, A. Karabulut-Ilgu, Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK21) Online 2021.

TEACHActive Feedback Dashboard: Using Automated Classroom Analytics to Visualize Pedagogical Strategies at a Glance
D. AlZoubi, J. Kelley, E. Baran, S.B. Gilbert, A. Karabulut-Ilgu, S. Jiang Proceedings of the CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2021.