Motivation: This is a complete paper. There was a sudden shift from traditional learning to online learning in Spring 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19. Although online learning is not a new topic of discussion, universities, faculty, and students were not prepared for this sudden change in learning. According to a recent article in ‘The Chronicle of Higher Education, “even under the best of circumstances, virtual learning requires a different, carefully crafted approach to engagement”. The Design Thinking course under study is a required freshmen level course offered in a Mid-western University. The Design Thinking course is offered in a flipped format where all the content to be learned is given to students beforehand and the in-class session is used for active discussions and hands-on learning related to the content provided at the small group level. The final learning objective of the course is a group project where student groups are expected to come up with functional prototypes to solve a real-world problem following the Design Thinking process. There were eighteen sections of the Design Thinking course offered in Spring 2020, and with the outbreak of COVID-19, a few instructors decided to offer synchronous online classes (where instructors were present online during class time and provided orientation and guidance just like a normal class) and a few others decided to offer asynchronous online classes (where orientation from the instructor was delivered asynchronous and the instructor was online during officially scheduled class time but interactions were more like office hours). Students were required to be present synchronously at the team level during the class time in a synchronous online class. In an asynchronous online class, students could be synchronous at the team level to complete their assignment any time prior to the deadline such that they could work during class time but they were not required to work at that time. Through this complete paper, we are trying to understand student learning, social presence and learner satisfaction with respect to different modes of instruction in a freshmen level Design Thinking course. Background: According to literature, synchronous online learning has advantages such as interaction, a classroom environment, and better course quality whereas asynchronous online learning has advantages such as self-controlled and self-directed learning. The disadvantages of synchronous online learning include the learning process, technology issues, and distraction. Social isolation, lack of interaction, and technology issue are a few disadvantages related to asynchronous online learning. Problem Being Addressed: There is a limited literature base investigating different modes of online instruction in a Design Thinking course. Through this paper, we are trying to understand and share the effectiveness of synchronous and asynchronous modes of instruction in an online Flipped Design Thinking Course. The results of the paper could also help in this time of pandemic by shedding light on the more effective way to teach highly active group-based classrooms for better student learning, social presence, and learner satisfaction. Method/Assessment: An end of semester survey was monitored in Spring 2020 to understand student experiences in synchronous and asynchronous Design Thinking course sections. The survey was sent to 720 students enrolled in the course in Spring 2020 and 324 students responded to the survey. Learning was measured using the survey instrument developed by Walker (2003) and the social presence and learner satisfaction was measured by the survey modified by Richardson and Swan (2003). Likert scale was used to measure survey responses. Anticipated Results: Data would be analyzed and the paper would be completed by draft paper submission. As the course under study is a flipped and active course with a significant component of group work, the anticipated results after analysis could be that one mode of instruction has higher student learning, social presence, and learner satisfaction compared to the other.
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The Effects of Teaching Modality on Collaborative Learning: A Controlled Study
This Research Full Paper presents our findings of studying the effects of teaching modality on collaborative learning by comparing data from two sections of a Database Systems course offered simultaneously, with one offered fully face-to-face in a classroom setting while the other is offered online through a flipped-classroom model. Both sections utilized a collaborative learning approach where students work on group activities for part of the class meeting. Since the two sections were almost identical except for the teaching modality, we are provided with a unique opportunity to study the effect of teaching modalities on collaborative learning. As part of this study, we analyze four crucial data sources: 1) student performance data from the grade book 2) student performance data from the online learning management platform 3) an end-of-semester survey given by the instructor and 4) an end-of-semester survey given by the university. We extract insights on the impact of teaching modalities on collaborative learning in order to identify factors that can enhance collaborative learning. We also study the effect of teaching modalities on students’ performance. We visualize our findings to differentiate between the two modalities, and draw on the strengths of each section to establish recommendations for the instructors for course improvement efforts.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2021499
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10389969
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 2022 ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 9
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract This quantitative study examined student participation in an introductory project-based engineering course offered in fully face-to-face and hybrid course modes (
N = 160). This course attempted to counteract trends of decreased student motivation and high attrition rates among engineering majors. Mixed-design analysis of variance examined differences in motivational constructs including student self-efficacy, effort regulation, and interest in engineering, as well as engineering skills throughout the course and across instructional modes. None of the motivational constructs were associated with significant decreases throughout the course nor with differences across instructional modes. However, students’ engineering skills increased throughout the course with no significant differences across course modalities. Furthermore, interest in engineering and effort regulation were positively associated with course performance. The instructional modality was not significantly associated with course performance. Overall, this study provides an example of a project-based introductory engineering course which may help maintain student motivation and foster student success in engineering.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE56618.2022.9962705
