Growing Experimental Centric Learning: The Role of Setting and Instructional Use in Building Student Outcomes

Abstract

Dr. Yacob Astatke completed both his Doctor of Engineering and B.S.E.E. degrees from Morgan State University (MSU) and his M.S.E.E. from Johns Hopkins University. He has been a full time faculty member in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at MSU since August 1994 and currently serves as the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the School of Engineering. Dr. Astatke is the winner of the 2013 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) "National Outstanding Teaching Award," and the 2012 ASEE Mid-Atlantic Region "Distinguished Teacher" Award. He teaches courses in both analog and digital electronic circuit design and instrumentation, with a focus on wireless communication. He has more than 15 years experience in the development and delivery of synchronous and asynchronous web-based course supplements for electrical engineering courses. Dr. Astatke played a leading role in the development and implementation of the first completely online undergraduate ECE program in the State of Maryland. He has published over 50 papers and presented his research work at regional, national and international conferences. He also runs several exciting summer camps geared towards middle school, high school, and community college students to expose and increase their interest in pursuing Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Dr. Astatke travels to Ethiopia every summer to provide training and guest lectures related to the use of the mobile laboratory technology and pedagogy to enhance the ECE curriculum at five different universities. Prof. Kenneth A Connor, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteKenneth Connor is a professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) where he teaches courses on electromagnetics, electronics and instrumentation, plasma physics, electric power, and general engineering. His research involves plasma physics, electromagnetics, photonics, biomedical sensors, engineering education, diversity in the engineering workforce, and technology enhanced learning. He learned problem solving from his father (ran a gray iron foundry), his mother (a nurse) and grandparents (dairy farmers). He has had the great good fortune to always work with amazing people, most recently professors teaching circuits and electronics from 13 HBCU ECE programs and the faculty, staff and students of the SMART LIGHTING ERC, where he is Education Director. Dr. Dianna Newman, University at Albany-SUNY Dr. Dianna Newman is a research professor in the Evaluation Consortium at the University at Albany/SUNY. Her major areas of study are program evaluation with an emphasis in STEM related programs. She has numerous chapters, articles, and papers on technology-supported teaching and learning as well as systems-change stages pertaining to technology adoption. Growing Experimental Centric Learning: The Role of Setting and Instructional Use in Building Student Outcomes AbstractThe need for experimental centric learning in engineering education has been a major area of d...

Matched Assessment Data Set for Experiment-Centric Pedagogy Implementation in 13 HBCU ECE Programs

“…In-depth analysis identified that satisfaction with use and perceptions of positive outcomes increased as instructor familiarity with the ADBs and experimental pedagogy increased. As noted in previous reports 17,18 , first time student users and novice instructors indicated a need for more introductory materials, videos, and visual aids that would facilitate use.…”

“…Further reviews indicated overlapping or simultaneous use of the ADBs varied by institution. Preliminary correlations of use indicated that higher use was positively related to higher outcomes 17 . Students reported a median independent use of 3-5 times a term; overall, 37% reported at least 6+ times of independent uses per semester.…”

“…The most frequently occurring location or setting of use identified was traditional classrooms (e.g., the focus is on imparting theory, the instructor has an active teaching role), lab settings (e.g., the focus is on practice or use of theory, the role of the student is active), and as part of assigned homework (e.g. as a result of either classroom or lab instruction, students are required to do "out of setting" graded learning exercises); additional settings identified through in-depth analysis included classrooms that emphasized a studio approach to learning; that is, students were actively involved in experimentation in a theory based classroom, and individual project use, generally conducted by upper level students 17 .…”

“…the student alone or with other students work without instructor supervision, the content may be assigned or voluntary). Secondary analysis 17 revealed two types of instructor demonstration; the first exemplified demonstration of the tool and direct theoretical examples; the second used demonstration emphasizing real practice that embedded theory into real-world problem solving. This latter form of instructor demonstration/real world use was related to higher affective outcomes.…”

Initial Impact of an Experiment-centric Teaching Approach in Several STEM Disciplines

“…The mobile boards have also been utilized in other disciplines such as mechanical engineering using two experiments developed and tested in a class. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”