Cognitive Domain of Learning: Exploring Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Understanding and Perceptions

Anna Li Coffman; Javeed Kittur

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: June 26, 2024
Conference Session: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM) Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 24
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--48469
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/48469
Download Count: 149

Dr. Kittur is an Assistant Professor in the Gallogly College of Engineering at The University of Oklahoma. He completed his Ph.D. in Engineering Education Systems and Design program from Arizona State University, 2022. He received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Master’s in Power Systems from India in 2011 and 2014, respectively. He has worked with Tata Consultancy Services as an Assistant Systems Engineer from 2011–2012 in India. He has worked as an Assistant Professor (2014–2018) in the department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, KLE Technological University, India. He is a certified IUCEE International Engineering Educator. He was awarded the ’Ing.Paed.IGIP’ title at ICTIEE, 2018. He is serving as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Engineering Education Transformations (JEET).

He is interested in conducting engineering education research, and his interests include student retention in online and in-person engineering courses/programs, data mining and learning analytics in engineering education, broadening student participation in engineering, faculty preparedness in cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning, and faculty experiences in teaching online courses. He has published papers at several engineering education research conferences and journals. Particularly, his work is published in the International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education (ICTIEE), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Computer Applications in Engineering Education (CAEE), International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE), Journal of Engineering Education Transformations (JEET), and IEEE Transactions on Education. He is also serving as a reviewer for a number of conferences and journals focused on engineering education research.

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Abstract

Learning is an integral part of our lives. Each one of us learns the same things differently based on our preferred way of learning. We can learn by building mental models; through feelings, emotions, attitudes; and by physical movements. Based on this, the domains of learning are broadly categorized as cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitudes), and psychomotor (skills). In this research study, the focus is only on the cognitive domain of learning. The cognitive domain predominantly focuses on learning using mental models which requires individuals to think and create new and/or build on existing models. This domain has been categorized into a hierarchy of skills/levels based on the learning processes. These six levels, in order of their hierarchy, are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This research study aims at answering the following research question, ‘How do undergraduate engineering students understand and perceive learning through the cognitive domain of learning?’

A qualitative research design was used, And the interview questions were designed based on the six hierarchy levels of cognitive domain. Five participants were recruited from different engineering disciplines to participate in an online interview (Zoom) of 45-60 minutes. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. NVivo was used to code and organize the qualitative data. First, an open coding approach was used to code the data and then the data was coded in correspondence to each interview question.

When participants were asked general questions about how they perceived mental models, four participants were found to have exceedingly similar learning processes. Additionally, 60% of participants mentioned that the process of taking notes and creating mental models takes time and that these processes used to be, or still are difficult. When asked about creating mental models in relation to the knowledge hierarchical level, all participants said that they would not create mental models for facts or definitions of a concept, and instead will attempt to memorize it. For the understanding hierarchical level, all participants mentioned that they needed to conduct further research to learn about a new concept, predominately in the form of looking up additional examples of how to solve or think about a new concept. When applying their knowledge to new situations or problems, participants said they attempt to find similarities and differences between concepts, test different ideas, and conduct further research as needed. For the analyze hierarchical level, participants’ process was to break down the information into (1) what was given or what is known (2) what additional information is needed and (3) what steps are needed to solve the problem. Then, when synthesizing the information, participants said they connect their information to old mental models to create a larger mental model or wider understanding of a topic. Finally, when asked about their process to evaluate the importance of a concept, four participants had a clear way of determining a concept's importance. While these findings are important, further research is necessary to discover how to maximize students' learning with a focus on the cognitive domain of learning.

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Coffman, A. L., & Kittur, J. (2024, June), Cognitive Domain of Learning: Exploring Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Understanding and Perceptions Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--48469

TY - CPAPER
AB - Learning is an integral part of our lives. Each one of us learns the same things differently based on our preferred way of learning. We can learn by building mental models; through feelings, emotions, attitudes; and by physical movements. Based on this, the domains of learning are broadly categorized as cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitudes), and psychomotor (skills). In this research study, the focus is only on the cognitive domain of learning. The cognitive domain predominantly focuses on learning using mental models which requires individuals to think and create new and/or build on existing models. This domain has been categorized into a hierarchy of skills/levels based on the learning processes. These six levels, in order of their hierarchy, are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This research study aims at answering the following research question, ‘How do undergraduate engineering students understand and perceive learning through the cognitive domain of learning?’

A qualitative research design was used, And the interview questions were designed based on the six hierarchy levels of cognitive domain. Five participants were recruited from different engineering disciplines to participate in an online interview (Zoom) of 45-60 minutes. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. NVivo was used to code and organize the qualitative data. First, an open coding approach was used to code the data and then the data was coded in correspondence to each interview question.

When participants were asked general questions about how they perceived mental models, four participants were found to have exceedingly similar learning processes. Additionally, 60% of participants mentioned that the process of taking notes and creating mental models takes time and that these processes used to be, or still are difficult. When asked about creating mental models in relation to the knowledge hierarchical level, all participants said that they would not create mental models for facts or definitions of a concept, and instead will attempt to memorize it. For the understanding hierarchical level, all participants mentioned that they needed to conduct further research to learn about a new concept, predominately in the form of looking up additional examples of how to solve or think about a new concept. When applying their knowledge to new situations or problems, participants said they attempt to find similarities and differences between concepts, test different ideas, and conduct further research as needed. For the analyze hierarchical level, participants’ process was to break down the information into (1) what was given or what is known (2) what additional information is needed and (3) what steps are needed to solve the problem. Then, when synthesizing the information, participants said they connect their information to old mental models to create a larger mental model or wider understanding of a topic. Finally, when asked about their process to evaluate the importance of a concept, four participants had a clear way of determining a concept&#39;s importance. While these findings are important, further research is necessary to discover how to maximize students&#39; learning with a focus on the cognitive domain of learning.
AU - Anna Li Coffman
AU - Javeed Kittur
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Cognitive Domain of Learning: Exploring Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Understanding and Perceptions
UR - https://peer.asee.org/48469
DO - 10.18260/1-2--48469
ER -

Cognitive Domain of Learning: Exploring Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Understanding and Perceptions

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Anna Li Coffman University of Oklahoma

Javeed Kittur University of Oklahoma orcid.org/0000-0001-6132-7304

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