Enhancing Student-Centered, Project- Based Learning through a Blended Learning Model Jamie Rogers Associate Professor - Institute of Engineering Co-Coordinator of Experiential Learning

Value of Blended Learning Allows face-to-face interaction to be more student- centered Online content is available 24/7 so students can learn at their own pace in an environment of their choice Provides instructor the freedom to work one-on-one with students Enables students and instructor to focus on gaps/weaknesses in their understanding Frees up classroom time for project-based, hands-on experiences I define blended learning as a learning strategy combining online learning outside of class with face-to-face interaction during class.

Introduction to Engineering Course Required course taken primarily by freshman Engineering Physics majors Breadth of content is substantial –Engineering Analysis tools (Microsoft Excel, Matlab, Mathcad) –Engineering Design Process –Engineering Ethics –Engineering Economics –Safety –Engineering disciplines and career opportunities Course includes 2 team projects, a group presentation and group activities/projects using microcontrollers

Blended Learning Model in EGR 101 Goal of model is to maximize number of face-to- face interactions that avoid standard lecture and instead involve experiential learning opportunities such as: –Hands-on projects –Individual or group problem solving with faculty assistance –Student presentation and/or discussion Still need to provide necessary fundamental content to facilitate successful face-to-face interactions.

Model Strategies Video with necessary background content for experiential activity is recorded using Tegrity or Camtasia Video is uploaded to YouTube and linked within Canvas LMS Quizzes are given within Canvas to assure students watch video before class Instructions/Guidelines for the experiential activity are provided in PDF format within Canvas Class time is dedicated to completing assigned experiential activity Student TAs are employed to increase opportunity for interaction

Before/After Blended Learning Before Blended LearningAfter Blended Learning 89% (39 of 44) of class sessions employed a lecture format 18% (8 of 44) of class sessions employed a lecture format Students first practice using software tools was on homework Students complete examples in class with instructor or TA immediately available Students had to attend office hours to receive help on homework (could also ) Students can still attend office hours but can also connect with instructor online using Blackboard Collaborate Hands-on activities were limited to 2 projects Addition of microcontroller activities which were made feasible because of blended learning End of course surveys requested more hands-on projects and time to work on them End of course surveys praise hands- on activities and projects

Canvas LMS Canvas Learning Management System is the foundational tool in providing model Course is setup just like an online course ( Each Week is separated with each day having a content page. All videos and instructions are given within the content page. Quizzes and/or assignments related to that day are listed directly below. Course controls can be used to force students through content in order (I use these for online only but not for blended courses). Quizzes are automatically graded within Canvas and scores posted in the Gradebook. Homework is assigned within Canvas. All software based homework is uploaded to Canvas for grading. A video introducing the instructor and describing how Canvas will be used throughout the semester is the first item students see.

Asynchronous Online Content Videos are recorded using Tegrity Tegrity recordings are uploaded to YouTube with the click of a button YouTube videos are provided as links within the course content page on Canvas

Synchronous Online Interaction Blackboard Collaborate Module within Canvas can be used for Online “Office Hours” Application Sharing Great for helping with software like Excel Voice or Video chat Text chat

To Quiz or Not To Quiz Model is most effective if students complete content before class How do I know if my students are actually coming to class prepared? –Course Analytics –Quizzes –Pre-class assignment –Discussion board –Other motivation I have found quizzes to be the most effective method (supported by survey results)

Student Attitudinal Survey Survey focused on 2 main areas where model is used: Microcontroller Activities & Software Tools Surveys asked if video content was helpful and considered if/how students were motivated to watch it before class –Quizzes were given for the Microcontroller Activities –For the software tools, students completed examples in class and were allowed to leave when done so leaving early was motivation to be prepared. A scale of (4) Strongly Agree, (3) Agree, (2) Disagree, (1) Strongly Disagree was used. 20 of 51 students completed survey.

Student Attitudinal Survey QuestionAverage Response The videos on Canvas were helpful in preparing for the microcontroller activities I consistently (75% or more of the time) watched the video before coming to class to work on the microcontroller activities. 18 Yes, 2 No The quizzes for the Arduino Activities were directly related to the videos 3.70 In order to ensure a 100% on the microcontroller quiz, I needed to watch the video 14 Yes, 6 No The videos on Canvas were helpful in learning software tools like Excel, Matlab and Mathcad I consistently (75% or more of the time) watched the video before coming to class to work on software tools. 15 Yes, 5 No Being able to complete the examples quickly in class and leaving early motivated me to watch the software videos. 4 Yes, 16 No

Conclusions Model works well in project-based course like Introduction to Engineering Both instructor and students enjoy class interactions facilitated by blended model Questions –Can this be done in courses where scientific concepts and problem solving is the focus (vast majority of STEM courses)? –To what extant? –What other strategies are necessary?

An Interesting Graph!! Brain activity of an MIT student during a typical week Notice similarity between Class and TV Video may not be most effective tool for blended learning Graph from Swenson, N.C., and R.W. Picard, with Ming-Zher Poh. “A Wearable Sensor for Unobtrusive, Long-Term Assessment of Electrodermal Activity.” Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions On 57.5 (2010) : Copyright © 2010, IEEE

Future Work Blended Learning / Flipped Classroom in an engineering problem solving course Use best practices used and presented by Dr. Eric Mazur at Harvard and Dr. Steve Yalisove at the University of Michigan –Use of textbook reading and collaborative notation instead of video (nb.mit.edu) –Facilitated problem solving and projects during class time –Lecture only when students are motivated to learn a concept

Discussion What experiential learning activity would you like to spend class time on? Is blended learning a model that would work to provide more class time for it? –What content can be learned outside of class? –How is this content best learned? Video Textbook Reading Online discussion Interactive textbook reading (nb.mit.edu) –What technology is available currently on your campus to support blended learning? –What extra technology might you need? Where can you find funding for it?