2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This “Innovation in Engineering Teaching Practices” research analyzes pedagogical elements of two community-based experiential undergraduate courses. Generative processing presents a constructivist perspective of active learning through building new knowledge structures and making meaningful inferences based on new information (Fiorella & Mayer 2016; Wittrock, 1974). Eight evidence-based practices of generative learning are the lens for this analysis of two innovative undergraduate STEM courses. Both courses are immersed in a semester-long community-based project, which creates environments uniquely suited to generative learning instructional practices.

Science Leadership (SL) partners groups of undergraduate students with K-12 public school classrooms to collaboratively complete inquiry-based research, culminating in an on-campus presentation. Successful outcomes of this course are based on the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices for the K-12 students (SEPs; NGSS, 2013), and knowledge, skills (e.g., contextual 21st century skills; P21, 2009), and abilities (KSAs) for the undergraduates. A recent longitudinal follow-up with former undergraduates in SL showed lasting effects in all KSA areas as they reflected on their experience mentoring K-12 students.

Engineering Design II (EDII) forms multi-major groups of undergraduates to design solutions for a variety of local businesses, organizations, and schools. Upon partnering groups with their clients, EDII students lead meetings throughout the semester from the initial briefing to design reviews, culminating in a prototyped solution for the client. Successful outcomes for this course include teamwork dimensions focused on KSAs.

These two experiential courses apply integrated and applied STEM processes in unique ways. Both are rooted in contextual generative learning, particularly learning by teaching and enacting, considered the most high-leverage generative processes (Fiorella & Mayer, 2016). Rather than present another targeted study, we have chosen to analyze the combination of generative processes that occur in innovative project-based courses as intentional pedagogical practices. Through presenting perspectives from two different course experiences, we hope to shed light on the elements of course design and instructional practices that lead to deep generative learning.