2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Detecting Dimensions of Significant Learning in Syllabi Using a Course Change Typology

Presented at Pedagogy and Instructional Practices

This research paper addresses the need for an instrument to detect the changes in the use of research-based approaches over time. Change occurs within three broad dimensions – what is being taught, how it is being taught, and the learning environment. This work focuses on the “what” instructors are teaching to provide context for the “how” and “environment” changes. The “what” has been operationalized in terms of significant learning of technical and professional skills as per ABET student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to characterize the extent to which significant learning of technical and professional skills are represented in syllabi from core engineering courses. Different types of course syllabi were examined (i.e., Lecture, Lecture/Lab, Capstone) from Fall 2019 through Spring 2022 from one engineering department’s core courses at a large Midwest R1 institution. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the sensitivity of a typology to differences between course types and over time. Application of the Course Change Typology was useful in uncovering details about the typology dimensions of Significant Learning – Technical and Significant Learning – Professional utilized within different types of courses and changes over time.

Authors

Dorian Bobbett University of Nebraska - Lincoln [biography]

Dorian is a 4th-year chemical engineering undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has been involved in Engineering Education Research for 2 years under the supervision of Dr. Grace Panther and Dr. Heidi Diefes-Dux on projects related to faculty development, adaptability, and educational research methods. She will be pursuing a PhD in Engineering Education Research at the University of Michigan beginning in the Fall of 2023.
Grace Panther University of Nebraska - Lincoln [biography]

Dr. Grace Panther is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln where she conducts discipline-based education research. Her research interests include faculty change, 3D spatial visualization, gender inclusive teamwork, and studying authentic engineering practice. Dr. Panther has experience conducting workshops at engineering education conferences both nationally and internationally, has been a guest editor for a special issue of European Journal of Engineering Education on inclusive learning environments, and serves on the Australasian Journal of Engineering Education advisory committee.
Prof. Heidi A. Diefes-Dux http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3635-1825 University of Nebraska - Lincoln [biography]

Heidi A. Diefes-Dux is a Professor in Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL). She received her B.S. and M.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Food Process Engineering from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University. She was an inaugural faculty member of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Her current role in the College of Engineering at UNL is to lead the disciplinary-based education research initiative, growing the research enterprise and the engineering education research graduate program. Her research focuses on the development, implementation, and assessment of modeling and design activities with authentic engineering contexts; the design and implementation of learning objective-based grading for transparent and fair assessment; and the integration of reflection to develop self-directed learners.

Download paper (950 KB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session