Abstract
This case study explores how a learning-centered educational paradigm affects undergraduate engineering technology (ET) students’ engineering design, problem-solving, communication, and group skills. Evidence for the study comes from twenty-three mechanical engineering technology students enrolled in a first-year engineering design and documentation (e.g., technical drawings) course. Part three of the four-part Classroom Activities and Outcomes Survey measured the extent to which the students believed they had made progress in a variety of learning and skill development areas because of the course (i.e., indirect assessment). The end-of-semester survey indicated that the learning-centered paradigm produced positive learning and skill gains in the four general content areas (i.e., factors) of engineering design, problem-solving, communication, and group skills. Additional student feedback from course evaluations provided evidence of positive reactions to the instructor, course, and active learning elements, such as the team project, group discussions, and self-assessments. The results support the general belief that a learning-centered educational paradigm will produce greater learning and skill gains than a teaching-centered paradigm in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. The techniques used and the outcomes from the course have implications for not only future curriculum development but also ABET accreditation, which requires accredited ET programs to demonstrate that their graduates develop 11 competencies. This case study analyzes four of the 11 competencies and provides educators an active learning resource with classroom instructional materials for a first-year engineering design course.
Date of this Version
6-2018
Recommended Citation
Webster, Rustin, "A Learning-centered Educational Paradigm: Case Study on Engineering Technology Students’ Design, Problem-solving, Communication, and Group Skills" (2018). School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications. Paper 22.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/soetfp/22
Comments
This is the publisher PDF of Webster, R. (2018, June), A Learning-centered Educational Paradigm: Case Study on Engineering Technology Students’ Design, Problem-solving, Communication, and Group Skills Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. https://peer.asee.org/29691
© 2018 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference.
The version of record is available at DOI: 10.18260/1-2--29691.