Abstract: Principles of chemical engineering and separation engineering serve as two core courses for chemical engineering majors, featuring a clearly progressive relationship in their knowledge systems. Distillation and absorption, as key mass transfer unit operations covered in both courses, primarily address binary simple systems in principles of chemical engineering and multicomponent complex systems in separation engineering, respectively. Due to disconnected teaching approaches and insufficient curriculum integration, students often encounter challenges including conceptual confusion, learning difficulties, and significant learning anxiety. To address these issues, this study proposes a systematic comparative teaching model grounded in cognitive assimilation theory. The model utilizes students' prior knowledge of binary systems from principles of chemical engineering as cognitive anchors. During separation engineering instruction, we implement multiple strategies: analogical analysis of key concepts, synchronous comparative explanations during lectures, sequential training through comparative exercises, and construction of knowledge system diagrams. These approaches facilitate meaningful connections between new and existing knowledge, enabling a smooth transition from foundational to advanced learning. Teaching observations and classroom feedback demonstrate that this model effectively reduces learning difficulty, minimizes conceptual confusion, and enhances students' learning initiative. This research provides a practical methodology for bridging curriculum gaps in progressive chemical engineering education.

Key words: Principles of chemical engineering, Separation engineering, Curriculum connection, Comparative teaching, Distillation, Absorption, Cognitive assimilation