Virtualized Active Learning for Undergraduate Engineering Disciplines (VALUED):A Pilot in a Large Enrollment STEM Classroom

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Salehi ◽  
Ronald F. DeMara
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Large Enrollment

Wikipedia as a Tool for Active Learning. Experience Gained within the Framework of the Wikifabricación Project

2013 ◽  
Vol 759 ◽  
pp. 73-82
Author(s):  
J.V. Abellán-Nebot ◽  
G.M. Bruscas ◽  
J. Serrano ◽  
F. Romero
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Innovation Project ◽  
Second Year

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.

scholarly journals Rethinking the Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (03) ◽  
pp. 42-45
Author(s):  
John Kosowatz
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Assistant Professor ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Entrepreneurial Skills ◽  
Technical Students ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
Critical Components

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.

Flipped classroom modules for large enrollment general chemistry courses: a low barrier approach to increase active learning and improve student grades

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack F. Eichler ◽  
Junelyn Peeples
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Student Response ◽  
Collaborative Group ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Introductory Science ◽  
Large Enrollment

In the face of mounting evidence revealing active learning approaches result in improved student learning outcomes compared to traditional passive lecturing, there is a growing need to change the way instructors teach large introductory science courses. However, a large proportion of STEM faculty continues to use traditional instructor-centered lectures in their classrooms. In an effort to create a low barrier approach for the implementation of active learning pedagogies in introductory science courses, flipped classroom modules for large enrollment general chemistry course sequence have been created. Herein is described how student response systems (clickers) and problem-based case studies have been used to increase student engagement, and how flipped classroom modules have integrated these case studies as collaborative group problem solving activities in 250–500 seat lecture halls. Preliminary evaluation efforts found the flipped classroom modules provided convenient access to learning materials that increased the use of active learning in lecture and resulted in a significant improvement in the course grade point average (GPA) compared to a non-flipped class. These results suggest this approach to implementing a flipped classroom can act as a model for integrating active learning into large enrollment introductory chemistry courses that yields successful outcomes.

scholarly journals Increasing the Use of Student-Centered Pedagogies from Moderate to High Improves Student Learning and Attitudes about Biology

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. ar3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgianne L. Connell ◽  
Deborah A. Donovan ◽  
Timothy G. Chambers
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Cooperative Groups ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Demographics ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Item Response Theory Analysis ◽  
Large Enrollment

Student-centered strategies are being incorporated into undergraduate classrooms in response to a call for reform. We tested whether teaching in an extensively student-centered manner (many active-learning pedagogies, consistent formative assessment, cooperative groups; the Extensive section) was more effective than teaching in a moderately student-centered manner (fewer active-learning pedagogies, less formative assessment, without groups; the Moderate section) in a large-enrollment course. One instructor taught both sections of Biology 101 during the same quarter, covering the same material. Students in the Extensive section had significantly higher mean scores on course exams. They also scored significantly higher on a content postassessment when accounting for preassessment score and student demographics. Item response theory analysis supported these results. Students in the Extensive section had greater changes in postinstruction abilities compared with students in the Moderate section. Finally, students in the Extensive section exhibited a statistically greater expert shift in their views about biology and learning biology. We suggest our results are explained by the greater number of active-learning pedagogies experienced by students in cooperative groups, the consistent use of formative assessment, and the frequent use of explicit metacognition in the Extensive section.

scholarly journals Development and Evaluation of a Large-Enrollment, Active-Learning Physics Curriculum

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Price ◽  
Fred Goldberg ◽  
Stephen J. Robinson ◽  
Danielle Harlow ◽  
Michael McKean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Large Enrollment ◽  
Physics Curriculum

scholarly journals Implementation of a Learning Assistant Program Improves Student Performance on Higher-Order Assessments

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. ar62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Sellami ◽  
Shanna Shaked ◽  
Frank A. Laski ◽  
Kevin M. Eagan ◽  
Erin R. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Large Enrollment ◽  
Curricular Transformation ◽  
Positive Effect

Learning assistant (LA) programs have been implemented at a range of institutions, usually as part of a comprehensive curricular transformation accompanied by a pedagogical switch to active learning. While this shift in pedagogy has led to increased student learning gains, the positive effect of LAs has not yet been distinguished from that of active learning. To determine the effect that LAs would have beyond a student-centered instructional modality that integrated active learning, we introduced an LA program into a large-enrollment introductory molecular biology course that had already undergone a pedagogical transformation to a highly structured, flipped (HSF) format. We used questions from a concept test (CT) and exams to compare student performance in LA-supported HSF courses with student performance in courses without LAs. Students in the LA-supported course did perform better on exam questions common to both HSF course modalities but not on the CT. In particular, LA-supported students’ scores were higher on common exam questions requiring higher-order cognitive skills, which LAs were trained to foster. Additionally, underrepresented minority (URM) students particularly benefited from LA implementation. These findings suggest that LAs may provide additional learning benefits to students beyond the use of active learning, especially for URM students.

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