Student performance and acceptance of instructional technology: Comparing technology-enhanced and traditional instruction for a course in statics

Journal of Engineering Education, Apr 2003 by Rutz, Eugene, Eckart, Roy, Wade, James E, Maltbie, Cathy, Et al

ABSTRACT

The College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati has evaluated the use of instructional technologies to improve the learning process for students in fundamental engineering science courses. The goal of this effort was to both retain more students in engineering programs and improve student performance through appropriate use of technology. Four modes of instruction were used to teach an engineering fundamentals course in statics. A traditional instructor-led course, a Web-assisted course, a streaming media course, and an interactive video course were all presented using a common syllabus, homework, tests, and grading regimen. Evaluations of final course grades indicate that use of instructional technology improved student performance when compared with traditional teaching methods. Student satisfaction with technology varied considerably with the Web-assisted format having the highest student approval rating of the technologies. The results indicate that time on task and interest in content can be improved through the appropriate use of technology.

I. INTRODUCTION

It has long been recognized that individuals display a variety of learning styles and preferences for receiving and processing information. Educational research has also indicated that the traditional methods used to teach students are not congruent with many students' preferred method for receiving information [7]. In particular, we have seen that undergraduate engineering education has failed to provide instruction in a manner that is consistent with prevalent learning styles of undergraduates [5]. One indication of this is the significant rate of attrition engineering colleges experience in the first two years of study. One explanation is that these students are simply not suited to engineering. Another possibility exists that suggests our traditional educational paradigm has failed significant numbers of students [2, 11]. The implications of this learning discontinuity are that students do not perform as well as possible and that students leave engineering to study other areas. If colleges of engineering arc to increase the number of well-prepared practicing engineers, especially given flat enrollments, the learning paradigm must shift.

Many academic institutions are utilizing instructional technologies as one means for delivering materials that accommodate a variety of learning styles. Much has been written on the ability of technology to improve visualization and exploration, and while some question the efficacy of technology, results from educational research suggest that improvements in student performance can be achieved with appropriate use of technology [9,10].

The University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering received a grant from the GE Fund to evaluate the relationship between student learning styles, use of instructional technology, student performance, and student acceptance of instructional technology. The goal of this project is to determine how to use these instructional technologies to optimize the learning process for students with different learning styles and personality types. The College hopes to both retain more students in engineering programs and improve student performance through appropriate use of technology. There was not an a priori expectation that certain technologies would accommodate certain learning styles and no attempt was (purposefully) made to design one course to more fully meet the need of any group of learners. The project sought to expand the body of knowledge on learning style and student performance by including the use of instructional technologies as a major variable. Through this project, we have begun to evaluate student learning styles and personality types, measure student satisfaction with technology, and correlate student performance with technology and learning style [8, 4].

This paper presents results on one aspect of the overall project, the use of instructional technologies to teach an engineering fundamentals course in statics. Descriptions of the technologies are provided, results of student performance and satisfaction are presented, and implications for improving engineering education are discussed.

As the project continues we will provide results on other elements of the study including learning style and personality type measurements, and correlations between performance and learning style.

II. MODES OF INSTRUCTION

As a means to study the efficacy of instructional technologies, five sections of Engineering Mechanics I were created, each with a separate instructor. Except for the Interactive Video Receiving (see discussion below) the same faculty member taught the same section (same instructional technology) during both years of the study. Instructors selected the instructional format they wished to use. The traditional Instructor-led class using overheads and a chalkboard for presentation of materials served as a control group. The other sections used these instructional technologies: