A Study of Blended Learning in a First-Year Chemistry for Engineers Course

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Grove ◽  
Eline Boghaer
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Problem Solving Strategies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Compare And Contrast

Chemistry for Engineers is an introductory chemistry course taken by most engineering students at Waterloo during their first term. Over the past two years online content was developed to facilitate the implementation of blended learning. The motivation for this was: i) to create time for more valuable instructor–student interactions, allowing the instructor to reinforce challenging concepts, focus on problem-solving strategies and lead experiential learning activities, and, ii) to allow students to explore content at their own pace, thereby accommodating the diversity of students’ high-school chemistry preparation. Our study aims to compare and contrast student experience, satisfaction and performance between a blended learning and traditional lecture model of instruction through data from surveys and grades

scholarly journals STUDENT AND FACULTY EXPERIENCE WITH BLENDED LEARNING IN A FIRST-YEAR CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS COURSE

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eline Boghaert ◽  
Jason Grove ◽  
Marios Ioannidis ◽  
Felicia Pantazi ◽  
Mary Power
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Model ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The University

 Abstract CHE 102, Chemistry for Engineers, is an introductory chemistry course taken by most engineering students at the University of Waterloo during their first term of study. In an effort to create time for more valuable instructor-student interaction and to allow students to explore course content at their own pace, some lecture sections piloted a blended learning model for approximately half the Fall 2016 term. Data from surveys administered throughout the term were combined with course grade data in an effort to compare and contrast student experience, satisfaction and performance between a blended learning and traditional lecture model of instruction. While the results from the Fall 2016 study are inconclusive due to challenges with survey administration and implementing the blended learning model, lessons were learned with respect to the readiness of the students for self-directed learning and the integration of the online and in-class components. We plan on continuing this study during the Fall 2017 term.

scholarly journals Engaged to Succeed: Understanding First-Year Engineering Students’ Course Engagement and Performance Through Analytics

IEEE Access ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 163686-163699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Brozina ◽  
David B. Knight ◽  
Timothy Kinoshita ◽  
Aditya Johri
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Course Engagement ◽  
And Performance

scholarly journals Incorporating Real-Life Open-Ended Design Projects In A First Year Design Course

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard Lye
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Assistive Devices ◽  
First Year ◽  
Charitable Organization ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Chapter ◽  
Design Projects

At Memorial University, for the last several years, instructors of the first-year engineering design course have worked closely with the local chapter of the Tetra Society of North America to provide meaningful open-ended doable design projects that are needed by actual clients. Founded in 1987, The Tetra Society of North America is an independent non-profit charitable organization that recruits skilled technical volunteers to design and fabricate custom assistive devices for people with disabilities. In this paper, several projects that have been assigned to students in the past will be described and example solutions provided by students will also be shown. From the feedback of students, instructors, and clients, this collaboration with the Tetra Society has been very successful in providing real, needed, doable projects, with real clients for first year engineering students.

scholarly journals First Year Students Understanding Of Elementary Concepts In Differential Calculus In A Computer Laboratory Teaching Environment

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Naidoo ◽  
R. Naidoo
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Differential Calculus ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Interactive Learning ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Computer Laboratory ◽  
Elementary Calculus ◽  
Experimental Group

This paper focuses on blended learning in mathematics I module in elementary calculus, at a University of Technology.  A computer laboratory was used to create a learning environment that promoted interactive learning together with traditional teaching. The interactive learning was performed using projects to optimize the discovery and error diagnosis in an elementary differential calculus class consisting of first year engineering students.  A group of 33 engineering students (the experimental group) completed a project in elementary calculus as part of their course requirement for the mathematics I module in the engineering faculty. The project was designed to support the development of the differential calculus frames “limit of a sequence”, “average rate of change” and “instantaneous rate of change”.  Students were clinically interviewed on their tasks in the project. We also compared a control group of students (randomly selected students) in a completely traditional to the experimental group. Both groups were subjected to the Orton’s test on differential calculus.  Analysis of project work indicated that students have developed specific mathematical mental frames in elementary calculus. The control group exhibited more structural and executive errors than the experimental group. The experimental group tended to describe the concepts using deep structures than surface structures.  Statistically the scores on the Orton’s tests indicated a clear difference between the experimental group and the control group. We can suggest blended learning enhances understanding of key concepts in elementary calculus.

scholarly journals Using Incoming Data to Monitor Engagement and Inform Mathematics Support Interventions

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-27
Author(s):  
Ioannis Lignos
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Performance Data ◽  
First Year ◽  
Teaching Activities ◽  
Student Behaviour ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The University ◽  
Academic Year

Students who do not engage enough with their studies could place themselves at risk of underperforming or failing. Such a risk may be higher for students who are assessed in one or more mathematics modules and lack the appropriate background knowledge, or do not engage enough with related teaching activities. It has been shown for students who engage with mathematics support, there is a significant impact on student performance and progression in the relevant modules. Thus, improving the mechanisms of engagement with mathematics support should be a priority for any student success strategy.We discuss the monitoring of attendance and performance data of first-year engineering students, as it becomes available, in order to inform interventions which suit the observed student behaviour best. Specifically, the method described was used with first-year engineering students at the University of East London (UEL) during the 2017-8 academic year. We find that when monitoring processes are applied to an already tailored support package, they can often help maintain engagement levels, understand why some students do not engage, and prompt us to differentiate support further.

scholarly journals Co-creation, contexts, and complexity: a case study concerning blended learning.

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Burnapp ◽  
Rob Farmer ◽  
Sam Vivian Hansen Reese ◽  
Anthony Stepniak
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
First Year ◽  
Lessons Learnt ◽  
Partnership Approach

This case study reports on the value of engaging students as partners in research carried out concerning module redesign, specifically the development of blended learning activities for a first-year module in linguistics. It should be noted that the focus of this report is on the partnership approach to researching, not the material redesign itself. The approach taken involves recognising universities as complex systems and, as such, needing to be researched with the voices of all stakeholders incorporated. The study supplies an exploration of the reasons for choosing this partnership approach; it gives a description of how this partnership was maintained (relating both to ethical issues and to practicalities); it summarises suggested guidance and lessons learnt, to be shared with others to encourage them to consider such partnerships.

scholarly journals Investigating Student Engagement in First-Year Biology Education: A Comparison of Major and Non-Major Perception of Engagement Across Different Active Learning Activities

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Devin Hymers ◽  
Genevieve Newton
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Student Response ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
First Year ◽  
Interdisciplinary Learning ◽  
Class Level ◽  
Response Systems ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Biology Majors

Educational techniques that improve student engagement have repeatedly been shown to improve performance at the class level at many institutions and in multiple disciplines. However, knowledge of engagement in individual activities in large first-year classes, where there may be several sub-populations of students in different programs reflecting varied interests, is limited. In this study, we examined two large, lecture-based, introductory first-year biology classes to determine whether there were any relationships between specific learning activities and student engagement and performance, both at the class level and as broken down by program of study. Surveys were used to quantify the level of student engagement through four activities: (a) student response systems (clickers), (b) in-class discussions and activities, (c) lab and seminar activities, and (d) interdisciplinary learning. Engagement scores were then compared to students’ final grades. Students in all majors who reported higher levels of participation in most activities studied also reported feeling more engaged overall and achieved higher grades than their less-engaged peers; however, students in non-biology majors demonstrated notably weaker relationships between their engagement and performance in biology courses, where such relationships existed at all. In this paper, we discuss the learning activities which are associated with the greatest performance increases in both biology and non-biology majors and suggest how these results may be used to inform instructional techniques to benefit all students, regardless of major, in future course offerings.

scholarly journals Vermengde leer: Innovering in die onderrig van Praktiese Teologie aan voorgraadse studente

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Nell
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Son Of Man ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Practical Theological

Blended learning: Innovation in the teaching of practical theology to undergraduate students. Blended learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in the academic environment. This approach to learning was developed for various reasons, including the problem of information overloading and the need for integration of theory and praxis. Recent research indicates that changes in the brain necessary for success in the learning process are related to numerous factors like practical exercises, emotions and background factors while learning. The purpose of this research was to evaluate through empirical research the innovative use of blended learning by first-year students in practical theology. The results of two empirical surveys indicate a positive experience of a variety of forms of learning by the students. The results are interpreted with the aid of theoretical insights from the fields of pedagogy and practical theology. Four pedagogical strategies are discussed, all of which individually contribute to the learning process. This includes pedagogies of contextualisation, interpretation, formation and performance. In conclusion, a number of recommendations are made about the use of blended learning in practical-theological teaching. It is done by making use of a case study within a theodramatic approach to practical theology. The use of the film Son of Man is examined as example in the light of the envisaged outcomes for practical-theological teaching.

scholarly journals Blended Learning in an Upper Year Engineering Course: The Relationship between Students’ Program Year, Interactions with Online Material, and Academic Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Watson ◽  
Luis F. Marin ◽  
Lisa N. White ◽  
Renato Macciotta ◽  
Lianne M. Lefsrud
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Class Discussion ◽  
Material Research ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

At a comprehensive, public university in Western Canada, a fourth-year course in risk and safety management was recently made a requirement for all engineering students; depending on their program, students may take this course in their second, third, fourth, or fifth year of their program. As a result of increasing class sizes, this course was shifted from traditional to blended instruction. Since blending and opening this course to students with varying years of undergraduate engineering experience, instructors noted a difference in students’ maturity (e.g., a change in quantity and quality of in-class discussion, questions, participation, student-teacher interactions, and problem solving capabilities) and questioned whether this impacted their interactions with online material. Research examining the impact of blended learning in Engineering has primarily focused on large first-year undergraduate courses; research about blended learning in upper-year engineering courses is sparse. Studies investigating courses with students of varying years of experience in the program are virtually non-existent. Therefore, to better understand students’ interactions with online material during blended learning as connected to years in their program, we examined the relationship between levels of interaction and performance of students by year in program. This study analyzed approximately 2000 students’ interactions with online material and performance across five sections of a risk-management course in engineering. We found that students who had completed more years of their program interacted less with online material than students earlier in their undergraduate careers. Academic performance, on the other hand, was higher for students who had interacted more with online material and slightly higher for students who had completed more years in their program. These results suggest that the delivery of instructional materials may need to be tailored to students’ year in their program. Further implications and areas of future study are discussed. 

scholarly journals EXAMINING FOURTH YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE COMPETENCIES: YEAR TWO

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian Seniuk Cicek ◽  
Paul Labossiere ◽  
Sandra Ingram
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Fall Semester ◽  
Engineering Faculty ◽  
The Past ◽  
Exit Survey ◽  
Application Analysis ◽  
The University ◽  
Graduating Students

As the Engineering Faculty at the Universityof Manitoba shifts its curriculum from an input-based toan outcomes-based pedagogy, data from diverse sourcesare being collected. Among them, indirect data are beinggathered from students using a student exit survey. Thesurvey has been developed over the past three years toexplore graduating students’ perceptions of theiraptitudes and their engineering program’s strengths andweaknesses in regards to the 12 CEAB graduateattributes. It is comprised of the 12 attributes, with eachattribute further defined by six indicators. Theseindicators reflect the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy ofEducational Objectives in the Cognitive Domain:knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,synthesis and evaluation. The student exit survey was firstadministered to graduating mechanical engineeringstudents at the end of Fall semester 2012 and then at theend of Fall semester 2013. This paper describes thesecond year of the study, and discusses the datacomparatively with the findings from the first year. Thisstudy offers the Engineering Faculty an understanding oftheir Mechanical Engineering students’ experiences withand perceptions of the CEAB graduate attributes. It willbe used to provide feedback at instructor, program andfaculty levels as the University of Manitoba’s Faculty ofEngineering continues to implement its cycle of programdevelopment and improvement.

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