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Assessing the Influence of Lecture/Laboratory Instructor Pairings on Student Perception and Learning Outcomes

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

The Evolving Classroom

Tagged Division

Civil Engineering

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--29830

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/29830

Download Count

632

Paper Authors

biography

Simon Thomas Ghanat P.E. The Citadel

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Dr. Simon Ghanat is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Citadel (Charleston, S.C.). He received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Arizona State University. His research interests are in Engineering Education and Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering. He previously taught at Bucknell University and Arizona State University.

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biography

J. Michael Grayson The Citadel

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Dr. J. Michael Grayson is a former National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at Clemson University where he received the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) with a minor in Environmental Engineering (summa cum laude) followed by the Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) and PhD both with an emphasis in structural engineering. Dr. Grayson has extensive experience in the structural framing and finishing of light-frame commercial and residential buildings, as well as experience in bridge and highway construction and inspection practices with the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT). A native of Okatie, SC, firsthand experience of the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Hugo (1989) continues to have a profound influence on Dr. Grayson’s teaching and research accomplishments and goals. Dr. Grayson continuously strives to improve his teaching in the classroom in order to produce principled civil and environmental engineering leaders that are capable of thinking critically about topics while fostering a lifelong love and capacity for independent learning.

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Monika Bubacz The Citadel

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Dr. Monika Bubacz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Citadel. She received both her B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Poznan University of Technology in Poland, and the Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Science from the University of New Orleans. Before her current appointment she has worked for Mercer University, Center for NanoComposites and Multifunctional Materials in Pittsburg, Kansas and Metal Forming Institute in Poznan, Poland. Her teaching and research interest areas include materials science, polymers and composites for aerospace applications, nanotechnology, and environmental sustainability.

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Kevin Skenes The Citadel

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Kevin Skenes is an assistant professor at The Citadel. His research interests include non-destructive evaluation, photoelasticity, manufacturing processes, and engineering education.

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Abstract

Lecture/laboratory instructor pairings are typically of little significance at many colleges and universities when scheduling courses. Research focused universities usually utilize faculty and/or graduate students to teach lecture courses, while laboratory courses are typically led by graduate students. Teaching focused universities utilize faculty to teach lecture and laboratory courses, but usually give little regard to whether or not the same instructor teaches both courses during the same semester. This can lead to students being subjected to several scenarios that can have a detrimental effect on learning; including, but not limited to, lecture and laboratory instructors that: utilize different terminology than their counterparts; provide inconsistent emphasis on topics between the lecture and the laboratory sections; and present topics in an order that are not consistent between the lecture and the laboratory. University “X” is no different when it comes to the assignment of its lecture and laboratory instructors, as students will often have different instructors in their lecture and laboratory. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of lecture/laboratory instructor pairings on learning outcomes and student perception directly and indirectly. Direct assessment data were collected over a span of three years (2015-2017) and consist of student performance on a quiz on material properties from information presented in both the lecture and the laboratory courses. This quiz is significant in that terminology and presentation of material can vary greatly from instructor-to-instructor. Indirect assessment consists of the administration of a survey to gather students’ perception of the lecture/laboratory instructor pairings. Preliminary results show that both learning outcomes and student perception are influenced by lecture/laboratory instructor pairings.

Ghanat, S. T., & Grayson, J. M., & Bubacz, M., & Skenes, K. (2018, June), Assessing the Influence of Lecture/Laboratory Instructor Pairings on Student Perception and Learning Outcomes Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--29830

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