2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The Completed Paper presents insights into the use of student weekly self-ratings on the course learning objectives. Quizzes, mid-term examinations, and homework are common ways educators assess students' understanding and abilities with the course content. However, these formative assessments do not reveal students’ perceptions of their learning gaps throughout the semester, hence educators are unable to identify individual students’ thoughts on their critical problem areas. Though some common problems may be revealed in conversations with one’s class, even in smaller courses, as seen in Biological and Agricultural Engineering programs, it can be difficult to access the problems students perceive they are having. By using students’ self-rating of their proficiency with the course learning objectives (as a component of self-reflection), educators can assess students' perceptions of their learning progress and make timely instructional adjustments to improve learning.

The purpose of this study was to examine students' self-rated responses on their achievement of course learning objectives in order to identify specific problems and trends in their perspectives as the semester progressed. The research question was "What do students' weekly self-ratings of their proficiency with the course learning objectives say about the gaps in their learning of course content?".

The course used in this study was a junior level introduction to process engineering at research intensive (R1) university in the Midwest region of the United States. The course was offered in the spring semester of 2021; twenty-eight undergraduate engineering students were enrolled. Each week, students were given an authentic problem assignment. After the submission of each assignment, students rated their proficiency with each course learning objective corresponding to the assigned work just completed. There were five possible ratings of proficiency expected from students, ranging from “I can do this on my own without referring to resources” to “I am very lost”. Frequency of proficiency levels selected for each course learning objective were analyzed to identify specific problems and trends in students’ perceived proficiency with the course content through the semester.

Students rated their proficiency with a number of course learning objectives related to robust problem-solving process, technical presentation of results in texts and tables, and formatting plots for technical presentation multiple times across the semester. While students never selected “I am very lost,” there was a steady increase in the percentage of students perceiving that they could demonstrate these objectives with and without referring to course resources. Students’ self-ratings pinpointed weeks in which increased proficiency was interrupted. For instance, in the four-week unit on conservation of mass, a greater percentage of the students expressed that they needed more practice or needed help from someone to draw process flow diagrams in the second week than in the first.

The self-ratings in this study provided more information to the instructor about students’ perceptions of their learning at different periods in the semester. This diagnostic assessment tool can be utilized by educators to identify specific students with difficulty, also where they have the difficulty and how to offer them formative assistance before critical exam periods.