scholarly journals Implication of Active Learning Techniques in Learning Thermodynamics Energy Conversion using BLOSSOMS Thermodynamics Energy Conversion Video towards Engineering Undergraduates Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Wan Akmal Izzati Wan Mohd Zawawi ◽  
Khairiyah Mohd Yusof ◽  
Nur Fazirah Jumari ◽  
Nor Azlinda Azmi ◽  
Tengku Nur Zulaikha Tengku Malim Busu
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Individual Learning ◽  
Learning Gain ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Learning Technique ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Engineering Undergraduates

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.

STUDENT CONCERNS FOR ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE ACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS DURING COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Memarian ◽  
S. Zuluaga ◽  
M. Stickel
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Student Response ◽  
First Year ◽  
Positive Feeling ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Neutral Tone

This paper shares a summary of the self-reported concerns of 134 first-year engineering students around engagement in online active learning environments during COVID-19. The students had volunteered to participate in remote weekly problem-solving workshops for four weeks that utilized Active Learning techniques. In this paper, we specifically analyze samples from the students who participated in only one workshop and responded to the following question: What concerns do you have that might limit your ability to engage in online active learning environments? Twenty of the participants reported no concerns. The tone of each student's response and personal feelings reported were also analyzed. Then, a thematic analysis of each student response was made, with the transcription and coding agreement being performed by two coders. As expected, most of the students expressed their concerns in a negative or neutral tone, and only a few expressed an affinity for current educational settings. Word mining of feeling terms shows that more students had verbalized being disengaged, followed by distracted and uncomfortable and none communicated a positive feeling. Our thematic analysis showed that learning socially (72/114, or 63%) is the most pressing concern for the students, followed by more personal regulating factors such as attitude and motivation (44%), quality of physical and virtual study environment (40%), as well as the guidance received from the course administrators (24%). Findings suggest the need for developing a global understanding of what active learning in an online environment entails in the context of engineering education, and to develop and adjust tools and practices to help students learn in this new context.

scholarly journals Exploiting Past Users’ Interests and Predictions in an Active Learning Method for Dealing with Cold Start in Recommender Systems

Informatics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Pozo ◽  
Raja Chiky ◽  
Farid Meziane ◽  
Elisabeth Métais
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Recommender Systems ◽  
Cold Start ◽  
Learning Method ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Learning Technique ◽  
Active Learning Method ◽  
Public Dataset

This paper focuses on the new users cold-start issue in the context of recommender systems. New users who do not receive pertinent recommendations may abandon the system. In order to cope with this issue, we use active learning techniques. These methods engage the new users to interact with the system by presenting them with a questionnaire that aims to understand their preferences to the related items. In this paper, we propose an active learning technique that exploits past users’ interests and past users’ predictions in order to identify the best questions to ask. Our technique achieves a better performance in terms of precision (RMSE), which leads to learn the users’ preferences in less questions. The experimentations were carried out in a small and public dataset to prove the applicability for handling cold start issues.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM WORK ATTRIBUTE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS: TRENDS ACROSS 4 YEARS OF ASSESSMENT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Grocutt ◽  
A. Barron ◽  
M. Khakhar ◽  
T.A. O'Neill ◽  
W.D. Rosehart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Program Accreditation ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
Teamwork Skills ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University

The Engineers Canada Accreditation Board outlines 12 Canadian Engineering Graduate Attributes required for program accreditation. One of these attributes is Individual and Team Work. Since 2016, at the University of Calgary, there has been a voluntary, undergraduate-wide survey administered to the Schulich School of Engineering students every spring via an online platform. The purpose of the survey is to assess students’ perceived development of teamwork skills during their program, and identify avenues to improve program offerings. After four consecutive years of this survey, with sample sizes ranging from 683-973 students, there are three main trends that can be identified: students perceive teamwork skills as highly important for their future careers, there are noticeable differences between male and female students regarding teamwork experiences, and students value teamwork skills training and opportunities for peer feedback. Implications of these findings are that there are gendered teamwork experiences among undergraduate engineering students and more research is needed to understand interventions that can mitigate this.

Improving Students’ Learning and Performance Using Mock Tests in Engineering Classes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Robiul Hossan ◽  
Nazmul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Peer Discussion ◽  
Learning Technique ◽  
Long Term Retention ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Abstract Class performance and classroom environment have a direct impact on students’ learning and long-term retention of key engineering concepts. In addition, class performance is critical for preserving students’ interest and continuous engagement. However, engineering classes are widely rated as boring and monotonous by students due to one-way lectures and lack of application of active learning techniques. In this study, we employed mock tests as an active learning technique to empower students on their own learning through identification of conceptual weakness, reinforcement of understanding and hence, to improve their overall learning and class performance in two different engineering classes at two different universities. Mock tests were conducted on the exam materials before the occurrence of the actual exams. The mock test key with grading rubric was provided to the students. Students were required to grade their mock test based on the rubric. The impact of this technique is evaluated using questionnaires where students were asked to provide their feedback on the enhancement of their understanding of the material, understanding of grading criteria, improvement on their study habits, and identifying conceptual weakness about a topic. The assessment and student feedback shows that the use of the mock test improves the understanding of basic concepts and topics through perspective transformation. It also shows that it improves the average grade of the class, motivates students to study hard, promotes peer discussion, reduces exam related stresses, and strengthens fellowship among students. Thus, mock tests can be used in other disciplines and classes with similar positive effect.

scholarly journals Supporting Active Learning Through Team Based Problem Solving and Simulation in an Integrated Biomedical Engineering Course

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Negar M. Harandi ◽  
Carol P. Jaeger ◽  
Philip D. Loewen
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Biomedical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
University Of British Columbia ◽  
Vector Calculus ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Course Outcomes ◽  
The University

In this paper the planning, implementation, and analysis of active learning techniques introduced into a new integrated course designed for second-year Biomedical Engineering students at the University of British Columbia are presented. The course included foundation material on circuit analysis, electromagnetics, and vector calculus. The course was delivered using a blended learning format, incorporating video content, traditional lecture time, and team based in-class problem solving. In general the problem solving activities were well received, but several adjustments were necessary during the term to optimize the effectiveness of the team-based activities. Student feedback and course outcomes are presented and discussed in the paper.  

Active learning strategies to develop research competences in engineering education

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Luciana Rieg ◽  
Rui M.M. Lima ◽  
Diana Mesquita ◽  
Fernando Cezar Leandro Scramim ◽  
Octavio Mattasoglio Neto
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Scientific Methodology ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Action Research Approach ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Research Competences

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to implement and evaluate active learning strategies to support engineering students in the development of research competences, contributing to the growing need for a closer relationship between research and teaching.Design/methodology/approachThis study was developed using an action research approach. The data were collected through observations, questionnaire and focus group in order to evaluate the active learning strategies used in the context of the study, based on students' perceptions.FindingsThe results show that the implementation of active learning strategies, such as research-based learning and think-pair-share enhance the development of research competences, namely critical thinking and written communication. Additionally, this approach enables students to develop further their capstone projects, using the standards demanded in research process.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was based mainly on teacher's observation and the participants are undergraduate engineering students enrolled in the course “Scientific Methodology” during 1 academic year.Practical implicationsTwo levels of implications can be identified in this study: (1) for teachers' practice, who can adapt the step-by-step descriptions of the implemented approaches and (2) for research, contributing to the discussion about how to explore the teaching-research relationship in undergraduate courses.Originality/valueThe course of “Scientific Methodology” is part of the curricular structure of most undergraduate engineering programs offered by Brazilian Higher Education Institutions, and this study is a contribution for the improvement of knowledge on how this course may be conducted in an effective and engaging way.

scholarly journals Developing and Validating an Individual Sustainability Instrument with Engineering Students to Motivate Intentional Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Barrella ◽  
Elisabeth Spratto ◽  
Eric Pappas ◽  
Robert Nagel
Keyword(s):  
Professional Growth ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Survey Instrument ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Ideal Self ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Real Self

This paper describes three studies that were conducted sequentially for purposes of validating the Individual Sustainability survey for use with undergraduate engineering students. During the first study, researchers administered the original 50-item Individual Sustainability survey to an undergraduate engineering class at a mid-sized University, using real and ideal self. Following exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the survey instrument was reduced to 36 items, and reframed to compare real self to ideal professional engineer. The new version was administered to three cohorts of engineering students at the same institution, and factor structures were analyzed again. In order to provide more stable parameter estimates, a third study with 34 items was run with engineering students in similar courses at four different institutions. The methods and results of all three studies are described, to justify the survey’s evolution. This is followed by a discussion of the final survey instrument and approaches for administering the survey to undergraduate engineering students, or adapting survey administration for other student populations. The instrument, in its current form, is an effective way to identify dissonance between one’s real and ideal conceptualizations of self, and help individual students identify opportunities for personal change and professional growth toward sustainability values and behaviors.

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