2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Face-to-face teaching has been a prevalent model for engineering courses for many years. However, in the Spring of 2020, this model was abruptly disrupted by COVID. This event forced several professors in the academic world to explore hybrid and remote instruction as options for teaching engineering courses. The experience gained from this event led professors to begin exploring the implementation of models like the Flipped Classroom to teach engineering courses. The flipped classroom methodology has shown favorable results in engineering education [1]. The work done by Lo and Hew shows that the flipped classroom methodology has provided a significant positive effect on student achievement. This methodology has also demonstrated that technology-enabled active learning enhances participation and inclusivity [2,3]. In particular, the work done by Bhat et al. shows that students learn better when technology is effectively used [2]. At [School Name], the Department of [Name] took this as an opportunity to explore a different way to teach engineering courses. Some of these courses included Linear Control Analysis I, Digital Systems, and Control Systems. In the Spring of 2021, the Control Systems course for the electrical engineering program was redesigned using a flipped classroom model. This model proved to be a great alternative to the traditional methodology, and it has remained the main model since then. The course is organized into online modules that include summaries of key concepts, instructor-prepared lecture videos, and embedded video quizzes to promote self-paced learning. At the end of each module, students complete a quiz and submit assignments to reinforce their understanding. During class sessions, the instructor briefly reviews the module content before transitioning to problem-solving activities designed to strengthen conceptual application. Most class time is dedicated to working on selected problems that emphasize analysis, modeling, and design of control systems. The instructor implements an active learning methodology by guiding students through problem-solving discussions, encouraging collaboration, and questioning their reasoning to ensure conceptual understanding rather than just repeating a process used to solve problems. The goal of this paper is to disseminate the current model used to teach the course and the preliminary analysis of how this methodology has improved the understanding of the materials. The assessment of this methodology will be based on the Course Learning Outcomes used for the ABET Accreditation. The course has been taught since the Spring of 2016, and data has been collected since then. In addition, the professor teaching the course has been the same, and the assessment methods have been maintained as similar as possible.

References:
[1] C. K. Lo and K. F. Hew, “The impact of flipped classrooms on student achievement in engineering education: A meta-analysis of 10 years of research,” Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 108, no. 4, pp. 523–546, Oct. 2019, doi: 10.1002/jee.20293.
[2] S. Bhat, R. Raju, S. Bhat, and R. D’Souza, “Redefining quality in engineering education through the flipped classroom model,” Procedia Computer Science, vol. 172, pp. 906–914, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2020.05.131.
[3] M. Chiquito, R. Castedo, A. P. Santos, L. M. López, and C. Alarcón, “Flipped classroom in engineering: The influence of gender,” Computer Applications in Engineering Education, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 80–89, Jan. 2020, doi: 10.1002/cae.22176.