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Work-in-Progress: Polytechnic Perceptions of the Engineering Classroom Experience

Work-in-Progress: Polytechnic Perceptions of the Engineering Classroom Experience

In this presentation, we examine student perceptions of different delivery modalities used in two sections of a course in machine component design. This is an undergraduate course required for mechanical engineering and engineering technology students. The goal of this study is to investigate how an instructor’s chosen pedagogy relates to a student’s perception of a course, within the context of a polytechnic institution. Students in two sections of the course, taught by two different instructors, were surveyed using both qualitative and quantitative questions to compare between two pedagogical approaches. One approach utilized open-ended problem solving and another focused more on structured lecture and laboratory activities. The results suggest that student perceptions of the polytechnic nature of a class did not significantly differ between the two pedagogical approaches. Students found each class to be representative of a polytechnic nature because hands-on, physical labs were utilized. It did not matter if the lab activities were open-ended or structured. This aligned with the students’ definition of what polytechnic education means: “hands-on”.

Devin Berg

June 26, 2022
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  1. Work-in-Progress: Polytechnic
    Perceptions of the Engineering
    Classroom Experience
    Devin Berg and Anne Schmitz
    Department of Engineering and
    Technology
    ASEE 2022

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  2. Our institution carries a “polytechnic” designation,
    which is marketed as “applied”.
    https://www.uwstout.edu/academics/colleges-schools/labs-classrooms

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  3. Questions to Answer in our Study
    • What perception do students have of what these hands-on courses
    will look like?
    • How do different pedagogical approaches align with this perception?
    Survey: 3 yes/no, 1 Likert scale, and 4 open-ended questions

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  4. Machine Components Course
    • Required undergraduate
    course, junior/senior
    level
    • 2 sections: mechanical
    engineering, engineering
    technology

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  5. The main difference between the two course sections of
    this study was the structure of the class time.
    ME 342
    Lecture Problem Solving
    Lab Experiments Project
    Class time for open-ended problem solving in
    a flipped classroom format
    ET 332
    Lecture Problem Solving
    Lab Experiments Project
    Structured lecture and lab
    time

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  6. Regardless of the pedagogy, most students found
    the format appropriate and a good example of a
    polytechnic course.

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  7. Course project was the most challenging.

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  8. To students, polytechnic education means
    hands-on classroom experiences.
    “It means to work
    with your hands/
    learning something by
    doing it. Not only
    studying theories and
    actually putting them
    into practice.”
    “It means to be able
    to learn with my
    hands rather than a
    book. It means going
    out and trying
    something to see if it
    will work rather than
    sitting behind a desk
    saying it will work.”

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  9. Take Home Message
    • Student perceptions of polytechnic nature of a class did not differ
    with pedagogy
    • Students found class representative of polytechnic because of hands-
    on, physical labs
    • Did not matter if labs were open-ended or structured

    View Slide