Process simulation has become a ubiquitous and indispensable tool in chemical engineering and an important but often underutilised part of the chemical engineering curriculum. The work presented here describes a methodology for teaching process simulation that utilises video-enhanced and discovery/inquiry-based learning. The approach was evaluated for first year students drawing together quantitative results from an online survey and qualitative data from a series of semi-structured interviews with students. A thematic analysis of the interviews revealed several key themes that underpinned the learning process and resulted in a model for process simulation pedagogy being proposed. The analysis also allowed progressive mapping of different learning modalities with the development different levels of cognition. The progression of the students through different levels of the Dreyfus and Dreyfus five-stage model of skill acquisition could also be demonstrated. These interconnected findings have led to new insights and informed teaching elsewhere in the course.
