Chemical Engineering

YouTube Problems = Student-written, video-inspired

Starting in 2008, Professor Liberatore and his students at the Colorado School of Mines created YouTube Fridays. The first 5 minutes of Friday's class included student-selected YouTube videos relating course topics to the real world. Choosing videos later turned into a class assignment where students write problems that reverse engineer videos. 

With support from the National Science Foundation, we are studying engineering student problem solving skills when solving student-written YouTube problems. Many useful resources from videos to worksheets to publications are compiled below.

Bringing youtube problems to your classroom

Videos made by our team about creating your own YouTube problems are on our YouTube channel.

Videos selected by students for creating youtube problems

Playlists with hundreds of videos are available on our YouTube channel.

publications about youtube problems

YouTube Fridays: Engaging the Net Generation in 5 Minutes a Week

Youtube Fridays is born

In the journal Chemical Engineering Education, we detailed how using videos both engaged students and led to new insights about engineering concepts. 

Fuel cell anion exchange membrane.

YouTube Engineering Estimate problems

In the journal Advances in  Engineering Education, Professors Liberatore, Vestal, and Herring detailed how using YouTube videos  to create engineering estimate problems. 

Student-created homework problems based on YouTube videos by Liberatore, Marr, Herring, and Way

YouTube Problems  Improve Final exam scores

In the journal Chemical Engineering Education, we detailed how YouTube problems used as homework in heat transfer translated to higher final exam scores for the treatment group. 

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YOUTUBE Problems in ASEE proceedings

We have many conference proceedings papers from the ASEE Annual Meetings that compliment our journal papers on YouTube problems.

Comparing Engineering Problem-Solving Ability and Problem Difficulty Between Textbook and Student-Written YouTube Problems in the International Journal of Engineering Education

PRoblem solving and problem difficulty research

In IJEE, our team found similar problem difficulty and problem solving for expert-written textbook and student-written  YouTube problems.  

Impact of YouTube homework problems on students’ learning attitudes in Chemical Engineering Education

YOUTUBE problems and learning attitudes

In CEE, our team found similar problem difficulty and problem solving for expert-written textbook and student-written  YouTube problems.  

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YOUTUBE Problems and multiple cohorts

Problem solving and problem difficulty were compared for control and treatment groups and for two different cohorts of each group. This Journal of Chemical Education paper captures our findings. 

Free educational resources

Create YouTube problems for any class

Designing a youtube problems assignment

Follow this worksheet detailing how to create YouTube problems. In person workshops can also be scheduled by contacting Professor Liberatore.

YouTube problems in K12 education

YOUTUBE PRoblems in K12 education

Examples with rubrics for K12 Science Education from Ms. Stevens and Mrs. Kuhl. Newton's Laws or Balancing a chemical reaction.

YouTube problems in engineering education

YOUTUBE problems in engineering education

Example assignments from Professors Liberatore and Malefyt for Material and Energy Balances, Fluid Mechanics, Separations, and Graduate Fluid Mechanics. Also, a rubric as a Google sheet or rubric as a pdf for grading engineering problems.

Last Updated: 7/5/23