Student-constructed concept maps for active learning in a foundational undergraduate engineering course

Author(s):  
Ning Fang
2013 ◽  
Vol 759 ◽  
pp. 73-82
Author(s):  
J.V. Abellán-Nebot ◽  
G.M. Bruscas ◽  
J. Serrano ◽  
F. Romero

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, is one of the most visited websites on the Internet and it is a tool which students often use in their assignments, although they do not usually understand the basics underlying it. To overcome this limitation and promote the active learning approach in our courses, last year an educational innovation project was carried out that was aimed mainly at improving students skills in technical writing as well as their ability to review the technical contents of the Wikipedias. Additionally, it sought to explore new opportunities that these tools can offer both teachers and students. This paper describes the experiment carried out in a second-year undergraduate engineering course, the results of which show that introducing activities such as edition and revision within Wikipedia is an interesting way to enhance transversal competencies as well as others related to the main contents of the course.


Author(s):  
Josh Gordesky ◽  
Andrew Cohen ◽  
Oliver Huebler ◽  
Olivia Jardine ◽  
Raphaela Brandner

Online concept maps and digital, adaptive learning flashcards are introduced as two active learning resources that increase the social presence in online courses. These resources apply the spacing effect, which improves learning when the study sessions are appropriately spread out instead of cramming the information into one long session. Also, retrieval practice, which occurs when the learner is required to visualize the response instead of passively reviewing the answer, is used with these resources as well. Strategies for using online concept maps and digital, adaptive learning flashcards are discussed to provide online instructors with ideas on how they can use these tools to build rapport in the online classroom that leads to meaningful learning experiences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (03) ◽  
pp. 42-45
Author(s):  
John Kosowatz

This article discusses that to better engage students, professors are integrating active learning methods into their biomedical classes. The goal is for students to develop entrepreneurial skills to aid students in thinking outside the box, using their developing technical skills to develop innovative solutions. Engineering programs are bringing the entrepreneurial mindset to younger students, often based on the definition used by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network. Sponsored by the Kern Family Foundation, KEEN is a collaboration of 31 U.S. universities with the goal of supporting entrepreneurial skills in undergraduate engineering and technical students. KEEN says the entrepreneurial mindset has three critical components: curiosity, connections, and creating value. At Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, mechanical engineering assistant professor Laurel Kuxhaus is working with a KEEN grant to integrate active learning into sophomore-level studies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Bonner ◽  
Vittorio Marone ◽  
Timothy Yuen ◽  
Robin Nelson ◽  
JoAnn Browning

Author(s):  
Nancy Nelson ◽  
Robert Brennan

Engineering remains one of the most traditional and didactic disciplines in higher education.  There is low adoption of research-based instructional practices with many educators believing adherence to tried-and-true methods in undergraduate engineering programs outweigh the benefits any change to more active learning could bring. Surveys of student engagement consistently rank the effectiveness of the undergraduate engineering experience lowest among the disciplines, with classroom observations confirming that engineering educators score significantly lower in delivery, teaching, lesson elements, and diversity. This quantitative study sets out to determine in which, if any, specific areas engineering educators score differently than their colleagues in other disciplines. Using Draeger and his team’s model of academic rigour as a framework, this study examines institutional data collected during three years of mandatory teaching observations of new full-time and randomly selected part time educators.  The analysis shows that four key areas differentiate the teaching practices of engineering educators from their colleagues in other disciplines: (1) welcoming students, (2) explaining the lesson’s agenda, (3) the organization, pace, and planning of classes, and (4) the way material is presented to students.  It is proposed that the undergraduate engineering experience can be improved by making changes to lesson structure, and enhanced by including opportunities for meaningful active learning.


Author(s):  
Wan Akmal Izzati Wan Mohd Zawawi ◽  
Khairiyah Mohd Yusof ◽  
Nur Fazirah Jumari ◽  
Nor Azlinda Azmi ◽  
Tengku Nur Zulaikha Tengku Malim Busu

Utilization of BLOSSOMS Thermodynamics Energy Conversion video to properly incorporate active learning techniques had been shown to increase the students’ performance in learning introductory Thermodynamics topics. In this study, the effectiveness of using BLOSSOMS Thermodynamics Energy Conver-sion video towards students’ learning in a classroom when adopted by lecturers who is not trained in active learning is investigated. Two groups of undergraduate engineering students from a control class and a treatment class were involved in this study. The students from the treatment class were taught by a lecturer using the BLOSSOMS Thermodynamics Energy Conversion video, while the students from control class underwent conventional lecture style. The students were given pre and post inventory tests and their results were analysed using SPSS. It was found that BLOSSOMS Thermodynamics Energy Conversion video without the proper implementation of active learning technique does not have a significant ef-fect on the individual learning gain of the inventory test among students. The uti-lization of the video could be more effective if the instructor is well-trained in ac-tive learning techniques.


Author(s):  
Jessica R. Driscoll ◽  
Steven Hoffenson ◽  
Nicole Pitterson

Abstract Design is a concept that means different things to different people. Even in the engineering design research community, there is little agreement on a consistent definition of design. This study looks into how engineering students understand product design, using a concept mapping exercise to elicit the key concepts and relationships present in their mental models. An analysis of concept maps from 130 third-year undergraduate engineering students shows how these students think about design, the common themes and relationships that are seen across the population, and variations across different groups of students. By understanding how students in the midst of ABET-accredited programs conceptualize design, conclusions can be drawn regarding the effectiveness of existing curricula in instilling a complete understanding of holistic product design. This can lead to recommendations regarding future engineering design learning objectives, teaching materials, and activities.


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