Typically the material and energy balance (MEB) course is taught at a freshman or sophomore level. Success in this early course is generally believed to be a metric for future success within the chemical engineering curriculum. However, the complexities and dynamics of the course stem from not only the difficulty of the subject matter, but also from the problem-solving nature of the course, as well as the fact that it is among the first courses that students take within the major. The focus of this article is one instructor's evolution of the MEB course from a more traditional classroom structure (Course A) to a more student-centric, active one (Course B) over the time span of five years. In the initial Course A, an approach was used similar to the one used when the instructor was a student. This structure entailed the instructor delivering the lectures and working problems on the board while the students took notes, and although the students were also asked to work problems on the board, they were often ill-prepared to do so. In the redesigned Course B, the majority of problem solving during class time was carried out in a group or team environment incorporating group problem solving as well as active learning, scaffolding, and peer-led learning. Since technology can facilitate active learning, interactive lectures where both the instructor and students used tablet PCs were used to reinforce the problem-solving concepts inherent in MEB. This combination of interactive lectures and group problem solving in an active learning environment is demonstrated as effective in the redesigned course.