Biography
Byron Hempel is an instructor in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Arizona, teaching classes focusing on the Food-Energy-Water Nexus and the Grand Challenges faced by Environmental Engineers in the 21st Century. He received his PhD in Environmental Engineering with a focus in Engineering Education. His PhD work, under Dr. Paul Blowers, focused on improving the classroom environment in higher education by working in active learning environments.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Environmental Engineering
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
- TEACHING AND INSTRUCTION OF FACULTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
- M.S. Environmental Engineering
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
- Methods for Environmental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon and Methoxyphenol Analysis
- B.S. Chemistry
- University of Kentuck, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Work Experience
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (2019 - Ongoing)
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (2017 - 2019)
- University of Kentuckty (2011 - 2014)
Licensure & Certification
- Certificate of College Teaching, University of Arizona (2018)
- Engineer in Training (EiT), NCEES (2018)
Interests
Research
Engineering Education: How to improve the classroom environment in higher education from both the perspectives of the learner and instructor.
Teaching
Grade levels: freshman - graduate studentsContent: General engineering to specific environmental engineering topicsStyle: lab and lecture. Project based teaching in some classes
Courses
No activities entered.
Scholarly Contributions
Journals/Publications
- Hempel, B. R., Blowers, P., & Hidalgo, L. V. (2022). Affective Drivers that Influence the Implementation of An Instructor’s Teaching Practices in a Large Introductory General Chemistry Course. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 19.
- Hempel, B., Hidalgo, L., & Blowers, P. (2024). Affective drivers that influence the implementation of an instructor’s teaching practices in a large introductory general chemistry course. Cogent Education, 11(1). doi:10.1080/2331186X.2024.2372999More infoWith the call for reformed teaching practices in STEM education, there is a need to spread effective teaching practices to classrooms. Affective drivers can lead an instructor to improve their teaching practices, but they are infrequently addressed or recognized. This case study followed one instructor through her General Chemistry course over a summer and fall semester to gain a detailed understanding of the affective drivers that impacted her teaching practices. Semi-structured interviews, based on classroom observations and field notes, revealed that the instructor had self- and student-focused factors that influenced her affective drivers. The self-focused factors included feeling basic emotional needs, feeling intrinsically motivated towards self-improvement, and feeling self-efficacy regarding instruction and chemistry. The student-focused factors included feeling like a supportive faculty to students, feeling empathy towards students, and having expectations for students’ personal successes. Considering the difficulty of long-term change in faculty, the affective drivers are rich sources of motivation. Understanding these affective drivers, particularly if they are common to other instructors, could allow for targeted instructor self-reflection and guidance. The authors suggest that approaching self-reflection through an affective lens will allow for more effective support to change and adopt effective teaching practices.
- Hempel, B. R., Blowers, P., & Kiehlbaugh, K. M. (2020). Scalable and Practical Teaching Practices Faculty Can Deploy to Increase Retention: A Faculty Cookbook for Increasing Student Success. Education for Chemical Engineers, 33, 45-65. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2020.07.004
- Kiehlbaugh, K. M., Hempel, B. R., & Blowers, P. (2020). Scalable and Practical Teaching Practices Faculty Can Deploy to Increase Retention: A Faculty Cookbook for Increasing Student Success. Education for Chemical Engineers, 33, 45-65.
- Hempel, B. R., & Blowers, P. (2019). Small Changes, Big Impacts: Teaching Strategies that Work. Real Teaching. Real Learning. Real Classrooms, 1(5), 1-3.
- Hempel, B. R., & Blowers, P. (2019). Small Changes, Big Impacts: Teaching Strategies that Work. Reat Teaching. Real Learning. Real Classrooms, 1(5), 1-3.
- Kiehlbaugh, K. M., Hempel, B. R., & Blowers, P. (2019). Student Evaluation of Teaching in an Engineering Class and Comparison of Results Based on Instructor Gender. Chemical Engineering Education, 53(2), 91-99.
Proceedings Publications
- Blowers, P., Kiehlbaugh, K. M., & Hempel, B. R. (2019, June). Scalable and Practical Interventions Faculty Can Deploy to Increase Student Success. In 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
- Jurkiewicz, J., Hempel, B., Redman, M., Murzi, H., Dominguez, C., & Ford, A. (2021). Give Them Grace: An Autoethnographic Study on Instructors’ Adaptation to Online Technology in Education as a Result of COVID-19. In ASEE.
Presentations
- Hempel, B. R., & Blowers, P. (2019, Fall). Small teaching, large effects: teaching strategies that work. FLC Workshop. University of Arizona: Academic Affairs.
- Hempel, B. R., & Blowers, P. (2019, October). Use of Responseware to Create Highly Engaged Classrooms,. University of Arizona IT Summit. Tucson, AZ.
Other Teaching Materials
- Hempel, B. R., & Winet, K. K. (2023. IA699 CIRTL Teaching as Research (TAR) 1-credit seminar: curriculum development, course building in learning management system (D2L), and pilot course (co-taught with B. Hempel). UCATT.
