Technology and Teaching in Engineering Education: A Blended Course for Faculty

Technology and teaching in engineering education: Results from a blended course for faculty about blended and online learning

Introduction. This paper reports results from an explanatory case study of a teaching development course at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. This research method was chosen to “allow the research community to be able to better address questions around key engineering education challenges …” (Case & Light, 2011, p. 186.). Findings indicate a notable range of responses from STEM faculty to the design and use of blended learning but a definite interest in the use of technology for learning. The presentation of this paper will include 1) a description of the context in which the course was offered to faculty, 2) information about how this blended course about blended teaching and learning was created, 3) a synthesis of multiple data sources that captured faculty responses and the outcomes from this course, and 4) time for discussion with conference participants.

Background. During the last decades, an explosion of digital tools to support daily life has been introduced. Online and blended learning is one such tool; it offers the opportunity to support higher education through web-based content delivery and interaction. But the success of online and blended learning delivery is dependent on the knowledge, expertise, policies, and leadership available in the transition to this new way of teaching and learning.

Method: This explanatory case study analyzes the experience of faculty role adjustment in consideration of blended approaches to teaching (Yin, 2014). KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden created a Vision 2027 which indicates that by 2027, this placed -based campus will have an equally viable virtual campus in support of student learning in Science and Engineering. A course about teaching in blended learning environments was offered as part of the teaching development program.

Conclusions. This study provides a thorough description of the facts of the case, multiple explanations for faculty responses using multiple data points, and conclusions based on data collected from multiple sections of a course in blended learning (Mills, Durepos, & Wiebe, 2009). Findings indicate that STEM faculty show a keen interest in using technology for learning but demonstrate only marginal interest in the pedagogical frameworks underlying such use. Interest in creating blended teaching methods increased with discipline-specific examples (as indicated by Martinez-Caro & Campuzano-Bolarin, 2011) and opportunities to work collaboratively.

References

Case, J. M., & Light, G. (2011). Emerging research methodologies in engineering education research. Journal of Engineering Education, 100(1), 186-210.

Davidson-Shivers, G. V. (2009). Frequency and types of instructor interactions in online instruction. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 8(1), 23-40.

Martinez-Caro, E., & Campuzano-Bolarin, F. (2011). Factors affecting students' satisfaction in engineering disciplines: Traditional vs. blended approaches. European Journal of Engineering Education, 36(5), 473–483.

Mills, A. J., Durepos, G., & Wiebe, E. (Eds.). (2009). Encyclopedia of case study research (Vol. 2). Sage Publications.

Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th edition). Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Publications.

Proceedings of the 13th International CDIO Conference in Calgary, Canada, June 18-22 2017