Assessment of Student Learning in Undergraduate Engineering Courses Using Quizzes In Lieu of Homework
- Conference
- Location
-
Columbus, Ohio
- Publication Date
-
June 24, 2017
- Start Date
-
June 24, 2017
- End Date
-
June 28, 2017
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
-
Educational Research and Methods
- Page Count
-
13
- DOI
-
10.18260/1-2--27640
- Permanent URL
-
https://peer.asee.org/27640
- Download Count
-
626
Paper Authors
James H. Allen III University of Evansville
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN.
Jared Fulcher University of Evansville
Dr. Fulcher is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Evansville. He is faculty adviser of the student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and faculty adviser to the UE SAE Baja Design Team. He is also the faculty adviser of Tau Delta Kappa, the University of Evansville Engineering Honor Society. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kentucky Extended Campus in Paducah, KY. He received both a M.S. and a PhD. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY.
Suresh Immanuel Selvaraj University of Evansville
Dr. Suresh Immanuel Selvaraj is an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Evansville, IN. He holds a PhD degree from Auburn University and a licensed professional engineer. His research interests are in engineering education, pavement design and analysis, pavement management, and pavement instrumentation. At the University of Evansville, he teaches courses such as transportation engineering, soil mechanics, geotechnical engineering, advanced pavement design and management, and surveying.
Abstract
The paper is an Evidence-Based Practice Paper that presents the justification and challenges of a group of instructors in a mechanical and civil engineering program at the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, IN. During a multi-year study in undergraduate engineering courses, the effectiveness of daily homework assignments is investigated and a comparison of an alternative “quiz only” approach is made for undergraduate basic mechanics and pre-engineering classes including statics and dynamics. Results of a course offering a hybrid quiz and homework approach are then explored. Effective teachers continue to search for evidence that the topics they teach are being easily received and clearly processed by their students. In recent years, as student behaviors have changed and access to information has become more mainstream, teachers are faced with new challenges to classical learning techniques. Educators at engineering universities across the United States have employed a variety of different ideas related to homework and quizzes in their attempts to improve student learning. A specific comparison of cohort groups that have progressed through basic engineering classes such as statics and dynamics into upper-level major specific classes such as soil mechanics are also presented. Several cohorts starting as freshmen in statics and progressing through upper-level design classes provide a broad overview of the impact of this teaching pedagogy. Comparisons and correlations for each of these approaches are made to their corresponding in-class exams. Potential improvements as well as current limitations to this study are then revealed.
Allen, J. H., & Fulcher, J., & Selvaraj, S. I. (2017, June), Assessment of Student Learning in Undergraduate Engineering Courses Using Quizzes In Lieu of Homework Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27640
ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2017 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015