The Development of a Coding Scheme Analyzing Formative Assessment in Undergraduate Engineering Science Courses
- Conference
- Location
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Tampa, Florida
- Publication Date
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June 15, 2019
- Start Date
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June 15, 2019
- End Date
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June 19, 2019
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Educational Research and Methods
- Page Count
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21
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--33379
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/33379
- Download Count
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489
Paper Authors
Aaron W. Johnson University of Michigan
Aaron W. Johnson is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014, after which he served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Tufts University Center for Engineering Education and Outreach. Aaron also obtained a master's degree from MIT in 2010 and a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in 2008, both in aerospace engineering.
Jessica E. S. Swenson University of Michigan
Jessica Swenson is a post doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. She was awarded her doctorate and masters from Tufts University in mechanical engineering and STEM education respectively. Her current research involves examining different types of homework problems in undergraduate engineering science courses, flexible classroom spaces, active learning, responsive teaching, and elementary school engineering teachers.
Max William Blackburn University of Michigan
Max Blackburn is a fifth year undergraduate Electrical Engineering student at the University of Michigan, focusing in Power systems and Energy. He is currently assisting Dr. Cynthia Finelli with research concerning the effects of flexible learning spaces and formative assessment techniques.
Cynthia J. Finelli
University of Michigan
orcid.org/0000-0001-9148-1492
Dr. Cynthia Finelli is Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Associate Professor of Education, and Director and Graduate Chair for Engineering Education Research Programs at University of Michigan (U-M). Dr. Finelli is a fellow in the American Society of Engineering Education, a Deputy Editor of the Journal for Engineering Education, an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Education, and past chair of the Educational Research and Methods Division of ASEE. She founded the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering at U-M in 2003 and served as its Director for 12 years. Prior to joining U-M, Dr. Finelli was the Richard L. Terrell Professor of Excellence in Teaching, founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Kettering University.
Dr. Finelli's current research interests include student resistance to active learning, faculty adoption of evidence-based teaching practices, the use of technology and innovative pedagogies on student learning and success, and the impact of a flexible classroom space on faculty teaching and student learning. She also led a project to develop a taxonomy for the field of engineering education research, and she was part of a team that studied ethical decision-making in engineering students.
Abstract
This research paper addresses responsive teaching, which is a particular form of formative assessment that instructors use to understand and respond to the “disciplinary engagement” of students in real-time during instruction While ideas about what constitutes “disciplinary engagement” are established in science education where responsive teaching has received considerably study, the field of engineering has not yet established a clear idea of what “disciplinary engagement” means—particularly in engineering science courses, which we define as the technical courses at the sophomore or junior level that are non-lab and non-design courses. In this paper we make progress toward an understanding of disciplinary engagement—and therefore responsive teaching—in engineering science courses by focusing on the content that an instructor elicits, notices, and responds to during in-class formative assessment. We first discuss the development and final version of a coding scheme that classifies the content that an instructor elicits, notices, and responds to during question-initiated dialogue. The main focus of this coding scheme is a set of four codes that describe different content being invited by a question or offered as a statement: 1) a number of definition, 2) mathematical reasoning or process, and scientific or engineering reasoning related to either 3) a specific example being discussed in class or 4) the course content outside of a specific example. We conclude the paper by presenting an example of how coded question-initiated dialogue can be analyzed to investigate the type of content being discussed by the instructor and the students. Analyzing two different engineering science courses, we find that one course featured more students and instructor questions addressing science and engineering reasoning, which maps to our expectations of the course based on our observations of them.
Johnson, A. W., & Swenson, J. E. S., & Blackburn, M. W., & Finelli, C. J. (2019, June), The Development of a Coding Scheme Analyzing Formative Assessment in Undergraduate Engineering Science Courses Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33379
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