2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In this paper, the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) instructional framework was developed, implemented and evaluated for instructing a topic of the mechatronics course to senior students in mechanical engineering major. To do so, a topic (introduction to a robotic manipulation system) of the mechatronics course was selected to be instructed to the students in a regular classroom setting following the TPACK framework. The instructor developed the lesson aligning with the TPACK framework and then instructed the lesson to 9 senior mechanical engineering students in the classroom plus lab setting. An evaluation team consisting of 6 engineering students (3 senior students and 3 graduate students) observed the instructor’s instruction and evaluated the instructional quality as well as the instructional outcomes following an evaluation scheme. Then, the instructor instructed the same lesson to another group of senior mechanical engineering students (9 in number) in the same classroom setting following the traditional (ordinary) instructional approach (preparation of the lesson did not align with the TPACK framework), and the same evaluation team evaluated the instructional quality and instructional outcomes. Then, the independent evaluation results between the TPACK-based instruction and the traditional instruction were compared. The results showed that the instructional quality and instructional outcomes obtained for the TPACK framework were significantly better than that for the traditional instructional approach. Then, the prospects, challenges and burdens that instructors might face for designing and implementing the TPACK framework were investigated and necessary training and institutional support for instructors were determined. The results can be used as a working model of the TPACK framework. The results can inspire and guide instruction design for STEM courses, especially engineering and technology courses following the TPACK framework.