Classes That Click: Fast, Rich Feedback to Enhance Student Learning and Satisfaction

Abstract

BACKGROUNDOur goal is to improve student learning in foundation engineering courses.These courses are prerequisite to many higher-level courses and are comprised of critically needed concepts and skills. PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS) We hypothesize that learning is improved by providing rapid feedback to stu dents on their understanding of key concepts and skills. Such feedback also provides students with insight into their strategies for learning. DESIGN/METHODIn two consecutive years, we conducted this study in t\'o'0 sections of a lower-level engineering mechanics course, Statics. One author taught both sections and a crossover design of experiment was used. In a crossover design, one section was randomly chosen to receive feedback with handheld computers (the "treatment" group) while the other received the "control," which was either a feedback sysrem using flashcards (in year 1) or no feedback (year 2). After a certain period, rhe t\'o'0 sections swapped the

On-line Modules for Energy Balance Courses: Effectiveness Study

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“…21,22 The proposition is that these combined activities facilitated more effective transfer of information from short-term to longterm memory, 2,21,22 and allowed students to retrieve and apply the knowledge gained in the final exams. This accounted for the significantly higher final exam averages in the ARS sections.…”

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