Flipping a Course in Engineering Technology

Wei Zhan

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Conference: 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Tampa, Florida
Publication Date: June 15, 2019
Start Date: June 15, 2019
End Date: June 19, 2019
Conference Session: ET Pedagogy II
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--32851
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/32851
Download Count: 335

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Paper Authors

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Wei Zhan Texas A&M University orcid.org/0000-0002-9956-1910

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Dr. Wei Zhan is an Associate Professor of Electronics Engineering Technology at Texas A&M University. Dr. Zhan earned his D.Sc. in Systems Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 1991. From 1991 to 1995, he worked at University of California, San Diego and Wayne State University. From 1995 to 2006, he worked in the automotive industry as a system engineer. In 2006 he joined the Electronics Engineering Technology faculty at Texas A&M. His research activities include control system theory and applications to industry, system engineering, robust design, modeling, simulation, quality control, and optimization.

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Abstract

As more technologies are used in high educational institutions, many universities are exploring the flipped classroom methodology. The College of Engineering at ___ University is investing heavily in new technologies in education. A new engineering building was recently completed with classrooms equipped with new technologies that are designed for active learning. The engineering technology programs are taking steps to develop courses that use the flipped classroom approach. While there are many successful implementations of the flipped classroom approach, there are also failed attempts. To successfully implement the flipped classroom approach, each course must be carefully revised to convert to this new pedagogy. This paper discusses the work-in-progress effort of flipping a course in an engineering technology program. It is expected that the target course will be flipped over the period of two years. Each semester, a small portion of the course material will be flipped. Feedback from students is collected throughout the two year period. Evaluations of effectiveness of the flipped classroom will be carried out. Based on the feedback and evaluations, appropriate changes will be made. In the Fall semester of 2018, three lectures were flipped. Videos and other online materials were made for these lectures. Lectures notes, homework assignments, and laboratory materials were developed to support the flipped classroom effort. Virtual help sessions on eCampus using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra were created to help students learn the material. Based on the results in the two year period, it will be determined how much of the lectures will be flipped. Challenges and lessons learned during the first semester are discussed, these include: What if students do not spend time prepare for the flipped class? What if it takes longer time to cover the materials using the flipped classroom approach? Is there an impact on the faculty teaching load or the actual time they spend in teaching the course? While many of these questions have been answered in the literature, it is important to realize that each university, college, program, and course is different from others. This paper will provide another case study for flipped classroom that other educators can benefit from. Both positive experience and lessons learned from this effort will be included in the presentation.

Citation
Format

Zhan, W. (2019, June), Flipping a Course in Engineering Technology Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32851

TY - CPAPER
AB - As more technologies are used in high educational institutions, many universities are exploring the flipped classroom methodology. The College of Engineering at ___ University is investing heavily in new technologies in education. A new engineering building was recently completed with classrooms equipped with new technologies that are designed for active learning. The engineering technology programs are taking steps to develop courses that use the flipped classroom approach. While there are many successful implementations of the flipped classroom approach, there are also failed attempts. To successfully implement the flipped classroom approach, each course must be carefully revised to convert to this new pedagogy. This paper discusses the work-in-progress effort of flipping a course in an engineering technology program. It is expected that the target course will be flipped over the period of two years. Each semester, a small portion of the course material will be flipped. Feedback from students is collected throughout the two year period. Evaluations of effectiveness of the flipped classroom will be carried out. Based on the feedback and evaluations, appropriate changes will be made. In the Fall semester of 2018, three lectures were flipped. Videos and other online materials were made for these lectures. Lectures notes, homework assignments, and laboratory materials were developed to support the flipped classroom effort. Virtual help sessions on eCampus using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra were created to help students learn the material. Based on the results in the two year period, it will be determined how much of the lectures will be flipped. Challenges and lessons learned during the first semester are discussed, these include: What if students do not spend time prepare for the flipped class? What if it takes longer time to cover the materials using the flipped classroom approach? Is there an impact on the faculty teaching load or the actual time they spend in teaching the course? While many of these questions have been answered in the literature, it is important to realize that each university, college, program, and course is different from others. This paper will provide another case study for flipped classroom that other educators can benefit from. Both positive experience and lessons learned from this effort will be included in the presentation.
AU - Wei Zhan
CY - Tampa, Florida
DA - 2019/06/15
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Flipping a Course in Engineering Technology
UR - https://peer.asee.org/32851
DO - 10.18260/1-2--32851
ER -