Student Engagement in University STEM Course Through Digital Video Project Using SAMR Model

Abstract

Fostering student engagement in a university STEM course is a challenge since typical student nowadays is a digital native. Thus, adoption of technology, particularly one that the students interact in their online milieu is a prerequisite for a successful learning experience. In this context instructor needs to integrate elements such as content creation and social interaction when delivering the course. This becomes imperative in recent times when online teaching and learning becomes the norm. In this study, we present findings from an engineering course which incorporate the elements of content creation and social interaction through video projects collaboratively created by our students. The main highlight of this course is the digital video project which was designed according to the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) model. The objective of this study is to find relationship between the project and students' achievement of course outcome as proxy for students' engagement. The methodology used a quasi-experimental method where the achievement of one target learning outcome of this course as measured with in-house OBE software with the cohort doing the video project is compared with cohort from past semester as control group. The results suggest significant relationship between video project activity and achievement of learning outcome. It is also found that the video project correlates with improved student engagement in the course. The findings from this study provide a framework for instructor in a university-level STEM course to design and integrate technology in their course delivery.