2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Analyzing student perceptions of various pedagogical strategies in a first-year engineering technology classroom

When teaching engineering technology, the instructor has a host of pedagogical techniques to consider when designing a course. How should the instructor deliver content? Which methods will make the course engaging and which will enable the students to learn the most? This exploratory study begins to look at this question within the context of the First-Year Engineering Technology (FYET) program at Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW). PFW is unique from many universities in that it is historically a commuter campus that largely serves non-traditional students. It is within this context that our study looks at these different pedagogical strategies.

The course under investigation is Introduction to Engineering Technology, where students learn concepts, such as using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Unit Conversions, Calculation, and Engineering Equations. Each of these concepts was practiced by solving and doing in-class activities (ICAs). The way the class was structured for the ICAs was varied with different iterations of readings, work time, review, and lecture. The work time in class to complete ICAs was also varied using different methods such as group study, answers on the board, and tutorials. Additionally, the pedagogical strategies used in the interventions ranged from a group work environment with a flipped classroom to productive failure where students tried solving problems before any instruction. Students were asked on a survey at the end of the semester to rank which way to solve the ICAs was their “favorite” and which way they felt helped them to understand the material the best. Additionally, they were asked how they received the course content for the ICAs. Only students over the age of 18 were considered and only students within Construction Management (CM), Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET), and Industrial Engineering Technology (IET) were considered as the course was designed for these specific majors.

The study looked at survey data collected at the end of the semester which asked students to evaluate and rank which of the pedagogical designs they liked best and which they learned the best with. The survey results of student perceptions were then analyzed to better understand the relationship between when students feel they learn best and when they most like the instructional methods. The results illustrated that students associate their enjoyment with learning. Additionally, the results showed that students preferred to be shown how to solve the activities and wanted the lecture content given with a chance to work after. The results of the study have implications for practices in engineering technology classrooms.