Emergent premises in student experiences of a first-year electrical engineering course

Abstract

This study explores how project-based learning in combination with other pedagogical scaffolding approaches influences students' experiences during their transition into the university. Based on the thematic analysis of interviews with students at the end of the first semester, we show how a project-based course in electronics can create opportunities within three themes: student socialisation, curriculum integration, and peer-learning. In the light of these findings, we discuss how students build relationships with other students, as well as with faculty members and practicing engineers, and how these relationships influence their start at the university. On a more general level, this case study exemplifies how an existing electrical engineering programme can be changed by targeted interventions without the need for programme wide adjustments.

Experiential learning in engineering education: A systematic literature review

“…Studies specific to first-year engineering students comprise (for example) an integrated course in writing (Porter & Fuller, 1998), helping students navigate their first tertiary-level research tasks (Andrews & Patil, 2007), hands-on design for team-work experience (Kalkani et al, 2005), multidisciplinary teamwork with real customers (Heikkinen & Isomöttönen, 2015), and project-based learning (Bolstad et al, 2020).…”

Aktivitetsbasert emneorganisering

“…Ved PBL-basert undervisning gjør studentfokuset og friheten at laeringsutbyttet kan tilpasses behovet og bakgrunnen til den individuelle student, for eksempel i tilfeller hvor studenter kommer fra forskjellige studieprogram. Samtidig observerer vi at den samme friheten og uforutsigbarheten gjør at noen studenter får problemer på grunn av ulikheter i forkunnskaper [5], og at store individuelle forskjeller i oppnådde laeringsmål kan vaere en utfordring i emner som omfatter grunnlagsteori for senere emner. I tillegg er det vanskeligere å introdusere PBL-basert undervisning i store emner på grunn av større marginalkostnad og metoder som kan vaere utfordrende å gjennomføre parallelt for store studentgrupper [1].…”

Sustainability in project-based learning: Project themes and self-perceived competencies

“…At the 5-year integrated master's program Electronic Systems Design and Innovation (Elsys) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, the students participate in courses oriented around PBL in the first and fourth semester [5,6]. In these courses, the students collaborate in groups on a project, the specifics of which are to a large degree defined by the students themselves, within a predefined theme or setting.…”