2001 International Conference on Engineering Education1 A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF AN ENGINEERING PROFESSOR ’ S TEACHING DIFFICULTIES: AN ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH Fei-Ching Chen, Tse-Liang Yeh National Central University Taiwan, R.O.C.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education2 Problem Identification 1.What have been the changes of college students in the past few years? 2.How do the professor’s perception of teaching and teaching goals affect his quality of teaching? 3.How do the professor the students look upon learning?

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education3 Outline  Problem Identification  Data Collection  Accounts of Professor Aliang  Dialogue & Reflections  Self Awareness and Conceptual Growth of Professor Aliang  Knowledge on Teaching Engineering. Courses

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education4 Data Collection 1.Classroom observations and the observer’s journal. 2.Interactive communications through the WWW. 3.Questionnaires. 4.Triangulation of the collected data.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education5 The Accounts of the Professor (1) Prof. Aliang’s Teaching Principles— Teaching The “Workable”(1) 1. All that is learned must be workable. 2. Students must do application problems. 3. Students must start to deal with engineering problems in their work environment.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education6 The Accounts of the Professor(2) Prof. Aliang’s Teaching Principles— Teaching The “Workable”(2) 4. Theoretical description must match reality. 5. The design of course materials goes by the principle of “aim high, shoot low”.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education7 The Accounts of the Professor(3) Overview of Students’ Learning Difficulties 1. They do not know how to take notes. 2. They do not know how to deal with application problems. 3. They only know how to do problems with numbers.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education8 The Accounts of the Professor(4) Overview of Students’ Learning Difficulties 4. They are not used to studying on their own. 5. They do not try different ways of solving problems. 6. They give up a course easily, once they find it difficult to pass.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education9 The Accounts of the Professor(5) Overview of Students Learning Difficulties 7. Three types of problems that frightens them: - different from text book exercises, - involving more than two concepts, and - those with only literal descriptions without formula.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education10 Dialogues and Reflections (1) Lab Manual of Aliang “I think that our professor’s manual contends too many confusing things!! If he can consider using some reference books available in the market and then adding to it complementary information, it will be much easier for us to study. ( student 0304).”

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education11 Dialogues and Reflections (2) Purpose of Exam If you do not try, you will not know what to do when I ask you to examine whether or not your results have served the purpose of the experiment. It is an ‘open-ended’ problem, a really practical one ( by Aliang).”

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education12 Self Awareness and Conceptual Growth of Professor Aliang.  Insistence, Compromise And Transformation In Aliang’s Teaching.  Knowledge On Teaching Undergraduate Engineering Courses.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education13 Insistence, Compromise & Transformation In Aliang’s Teaching. 1. He must go easy on the first step for the students to climb on his ladders. 2. He insists that frustrating experiences are precious learning. 3. Complex theories should come after the students have acquired hands-on experience in the lab.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education14 Insistence, Compromise & Transformation In Aliang’s Teaching. 4. Lab should be designed to establish the student’s sense of achievement. 5. It is necessary to ask experts of teaching methodology for assistance.

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education15 Knowledge on Teaching Engineering. Courses 1. Teaching methods and textbooks need to be better adjusted. 2. Help students relying on their own trials and observations. 3. Be aware that students have starting points different from what the teacher have expected. 4. Unsettled dilemma

2001 International Conference on Engineering Education16 Conclusion 1. The expectation on education as perceived by teachers & students can be disputed forever. 2. Follow-up the effectiveness of the modification of the engineering professor’s teaching performance after his reflection reported in this paper.