Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

D. Kavitha ¹, D. Anitha ²

Affiliations
1 Dept. of Electrical and Electrical Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering Madurai, IN
2 Dept. of Computer Applications Thiagarajar College of Engineering Madurai, IN

Abstract

Flipped Classroom (FC) or Inverted Classroom is now an important area of focus in educational studies which is supposed to promote critical thinking inside classroom providing time for learner-centered activities such as active and problem-based learning. There is a lack of skills and awareness in implementing FC in Engineering Education. This paper illustrates an effort in implementing FC based teaching - learning process and assessment methodologies using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools to achieve the course outcomes for an elective course 'Soft Computing'. The outcomes are obtained for two different set of students, where one set undergoes FC with ICT tools, second set undergoes traditional classroom. The student outcomes are discussed in terms of their exam and assignment marks and their satisfactory index towards the course. It is obvious from the case study that satisfactory index is high for the students who were taught based on FC where there is proper planning which is implemented using ICT tools.

Keywords

Soft Computing, Active Teaching and Learning Strategies, ICT Tools, Flipped Classroom

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D. Anitha ¹, D. Kavitha ²

Affiliations
1 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Computational Science, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, IN
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, IN

Abstract

Online teaching, an inevitable part of education in 2020, has its own advantages and disadvantages with respect to the perspectives of student and teachers. Every teacher has been in a situation to transform suddenly to the fluctuating needs of education in the COVID 19 crisis. Is this transformation quick and easy for all the teachers? This is an important question that may depend on number of factors including teachers’ teaching experience, economic and social background, and skills in teaching tools, motivation and attitude. This research study looks into the parameter “Teaching experience” and attempts to find whether teaching experience stands as an influencing factor in the transformation process. As learning new is always easier than unlearning, this parameter is critically important in analysing whether the long-time experience affects the rate of transformation to online teaching. The research is conducted as a qualitative research with surveys obtained from students and faculty of the host institution after the first cycle of online teaching (after May 2020). 66 teachers and 215 students from various engineering disciplines participated in the survey. Observations from the survey are analysed in different elements of online learning. This study compares the expectations of students and the preference of teachers in these elements. From the study, it has been inferred that teaching experience has a significant impact on the transformation of teachers to meet the students’ expectations in the perspective of online teaching. The study also enables suitable recommendations for need based training programs.

Keywords

Online Teaching, Teaching Experience, Online Activities, Transformation, Student Expectation.

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S. J. Thiruvengadam ¹, S. Baskar ¹, S. Saravana Perumaal ², C. Jeyamala ³, D. Anitha ³, R. Rajan Prakash ³

Affiliations
1 Professor, Academic Process Team, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, IN
2 Associate Professor, Academic Process Team, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, IN
3 Assistant Professor, Academic Process Team, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, IN

Abstract

The CDIO INITIATIVE is an innovative educational framework that has been followed in many world-class educational institutions in USA, Europe and Asian countries for producing the next generation of engineers. It provides students with an education in the context of Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating (CDIO) real-world systems and products. Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE), Madurai is one among those institutions following the CDIO framework for all undergraduate engineering programmes since the academic year 2018-19. Though there are training programs for selective faculty members, there had been no intensive hands - on training to all the faculty members. It has been felt from the formal meetings and informal discussions that faculty members needed more clarity and training on the CDIO framework. This has led to the conduct of training workshops online by the TCE academic process team for the faculty members of the institution (n=205), in three batches. Two quizzes have been conducted and feedback has been collected at the end of the workshop for each batch. This research paper analyses the outcome of these workshops measured through the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) exhibited in the assessment activities and feedback. It has been observed that the training workshop satisfies the expectations of the participants with a Satisfaction Index of 0.924. Recommendations have been proposed for interpreting the outcomes of such training workshops to enhance faculty competence through such workshops by addressing the necessary gaps in the forthcoming training workshops.

Keywords

CDIO, Faculty Development Programs, Workshops, Assessments, Satisfaction.

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D. Kavitha ¹, D. Anitha ²

Affiliations
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, IN
2 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Computational Science, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, IN

Abstract

Assessment of collaborative activities comprises two important elements: group assessment and individual assessment. This research study explores specific methods for assessing the individual students in online collaborative/cooperative activity and analyzes the efficiency in terms of student learning. An online collaborative activity based on the Student Groups Achievement Division (STAD) method has been planned and implemented for the undergraduate third semester Engineering students (n=71). The activity has been designed in such a way that the students perform the activity through the collaborative features of the Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as group projects and discussions. Group assessment is measured with discussions and group report writing while the individual assessment is measured through quizzes, tests and activity journals. The scores for the quiz and activity journal are taken into account to measure the student learning. These scores are compared against their performance scores in the summative examination. From the observations by comparing the scores, it is found that these strategies measure the individual learning effectively such that they fall in linear with the formal examination marks. Also, feedback is obtained from the students to ensure their satisfaction in individual assessment. Success index for the activity based on students' feedback is calculated using weighted likert scale and found to be 0.811 (Ideal index =1) which is an appreciable score.

Keywords

Online Teaching, Collaborative Activity, Cooperative Activity, Assessment, Outcomes.

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