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Learning Styles of Engineering Students, Online Learning Objects and Achievement

Malgorzata S. Zywno and M. F. (Frankie) Stewart

Ryerson University

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a research project investigating the effectiveness of an online learning object and identifying behavior patterns of engineering students with different learning styles that may affect their learning. Traditional instruction methods support only a narrow range of student learning styles. Instructional technology has a potential to expand the range of teaching strategies. The authors have been using multimedia in their teaching to enhance active learning and visualization, to provide students with improved formative feedback and review of the learned concepts despite challenges of increased class sizes. The study expanded on the previous research by allowing for direct observations of students’ interactions with the learning object. The results were consistent with the framework developed by Felder and confirmed previous claims that multimedia add support for learners whose needs are not addressed by traditional instruction, while being also effective in addressing preferences of other types of learners.

Introduction

Learning Object Developed for the Study One of the emerging trends in instructional technology is to focus on modular learning objects that can be shared among many users through online repositories. Canadian Co-operative Learning Object Exchange (CLOE)1 is an example of such an initiative. The online interactive Control Systems Tutorial Module developed by the investigators over the past year in collaboration with the in-house Digital Media Projects Office2 was partly sponsored by CLOE. The Module, intended as an additional learning resource tool for undergraduate engineering students, provides an interactive introduction to Control Systems with a mix of text and graphics, interactive animations and streaming video of real-world control systems (e.g. water tank level control, helicopter and inverted pendulum position control), followed by a self-scoring quiz to test the student comprehension of the reviewed concepts3.

Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2005, American Society for Engineering Education

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Stewart, M. F., & Zywno, M. (2005, June), Learning Styles Of Engineering Students, Online Learning Objects And Achievement Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15253