Why are we here? A Study of Student Perspectives on Attendance in a Combined Lecture and Laboratory Course
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
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Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM) Technical Session 2
- Tagged Division
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Educational Research and Methods Division (ERM)
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/48275
Paper Authors
Kara Bocan University of Pittsburgh
Kara Bocan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Her primary focus is teaching with a secondary focus on engineering education research. She completed her PhD in Electrical Engineering and her BSE in Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering, both at the University of Pittsburgh. She currently teaches courses on introductory programming, data structures and algorithms, software engineering, and simulation and modeling. Her engineering education research interests include instructional scaffolding and gameful learning to increase student engagement and accessibility.
Abstract
This is a Work in Progress paper. The purpose of this study is to collect and analyze student perspectives on a digital systems course with both lecture and laboratory sessions, to gain insight into what motivates students to attend (or not attend) the scheduled class sessions. This Work in Progress paper discusses preliminary results from an end-of-semester survey in which students were asked to report their attendance along with their motivations to attend or not attend lecture and/or laboratory sessions. The survey responses were recorded anonymously, and responses to open-ended questions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Future work will repeat student surveys at several times throughout the semester and survey results will be supplemented with instructor observations. The broader goal of this study is not necessarily to increase attendance. Rather, the goal is to analyze students’ perspectives on the utility of attendance, and to attempt to draw broader conclusions about student motivation in relation to class structure and environment.
Bocan, K. (2024, June), Why are we here? A Study of Student Perspectives on Attendance in a Combined Lecture and Laboratory Course Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/48275
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