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Intentional Learning in Core Engineering and Engineering Technology Education

Abstract

We report a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) case study on the intentional learning in the upper level core electrical engineering sequence in which the same instructor and the same group of students in two similar level technical courses, one with a more traditional instruction delivery and assessment and one with more elements of intentional learning, are compared. Besides regular course assessments and student feedback, we also conduct small group analyses and present results that compare the various aspects of the teaching and learning experience such as teaching effectiveness and student experience.

From the study, we can comfortably draw the conclusion that the students are more receptive to the teaching methods that incorporate intentional learning elements. Even with a deficiency in implementing such intentional learning methods as compared to the more traditional passive teaching that an instructor is more familiar with, student perception of learning still scored higher for the teaching method that implements more intentional learning elements. There is also an interesting correlation between students’ classroom activeness to the final grades when more intentional learning elements are involved in teaching. Such correlation tends to disappear in the more traditional passive teaching.

Introduction

Intentional learning refers to cognitive processes in which the students take ownership of their own learning: the students set their own learning objectives, monitor their own progress toward their learning goals, pay attention to and look out for the conditions and environment in which they learn best, and actively make connections and add meaning to their learning.1,2 It is well recognized that the most successful and accomplished learners are intentional learners and the benefit is life-long rather than short-lived during the college years. Intentional learning, however, does not come naturally for students. In addition, in many professional areas, especially in engineering and engineering technology education, intentional learning is foreign to instructors. Traditionally, engineering and engineering technology education is a passive process for the student, with the knowledge and skills “being taught” and “transferred” from generation to generation. Apprentices rarely have a global picture of their learning objectives and they passively rely on masters and teachers to monitor their progress. They tend to learn in the same learning settings and environment where generations before them always learned. They also depend on masters and teachers to make the connections and add meaning to their learning, and often the masters’ connections are so lofty that only after many years of practice may the students make the link and understand the meaning. It is therefore a great challenge for engineering and engineering technology faculty to help their students to be more intentional learners, which will benefit them in their life-long professional careers. In this paper, we present a case study in the upper level core electrical engineering sequence where the same instructor and the same group of students in two similar level technical courses, one with more traditional instruction delivery and assessment3-5 and one with more elements of intentional learning, are

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Yang, B., & Martin, A., & Adams, R., & Zhang, J., & Burbank, K. (2009, June), Intentional Learning In Core Engineering And Engineering Technology Education Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5675