Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

R. Rajan Prakash ¹, S. Charles Raja ¹, D. Kavitha ¹, S. Baskar ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai – 625019, IN

Abstract

Outcome Based Education (OBE) came into practice in India in 2014. Earlier the priority of most of the faculty is just to complete the syllabus and for students to score better grade. One of the biggest challenges for faculty members in implementing OBE is to change the focus of students from scoring marks to learning the content particularly at the beginning of the programme while teaching fundamental courses. In this paper, the authors made an attempt to compare two strategies of teaching and learning; the Broiler Chicken Nourishing (BCN) verses the Desi Chicken Nourishing (DCN) in an Indian perspective. The BCN strategy shows only a short term and narrow goal though productive, it was in DCN strategy there is effective knowledge transfer which promotes more of self learning and self realization. A case study was done on Electric Circuit Analysis for second semester Electrical Engineering students. The analysis shows that DCN is more learner centered and yields fruitful results when compared to BCN. The DCN approach promotes original thinking of the students and develops good interpersonal skill.

Keywords

Outcome Based Education, Millenials, Chicken Feeding, Team Building, Mentoring.

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S. Julius Fusic ¹, D. Kavitha ², N. Anandh ³

Affiliations
1 Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai – 625015, IN
2 Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai – 625015, IN
3 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal –576104, IN

Abstract

Based on recent case studies, the faculties in engineering college are facing more struggle because how to make students to understand the concept clearly. So many faculties are failed to reach the students as facilitator. In some studies, students understand the concept which was taught by faculties, but fail to reproduce or remember the fundamentals during assessment period. In this paper, the improved teaching method for students to understand the concepts and remember the fundamentals through Active learning techniques (ALT).

Here the techniques which explain the student's entertainments like games, puzzles, quiz, peer-to-peer learning and demonstration that are converted into education methods. Also few innovative ideas are implemented and examined on students. The active learning questionnaires, activities of students and experience over the activities are explained with the help of case studies, by taking two batch (2014&2016 – electrical machine course) of students and their performance are compared with and without the activities using active learning techniques. The comparison will be based on Blooms taxonomy assessment pattern results. However, the improvement of student's communications, selfconfidence level, interest towards the course, perspective thinking, team work, knowledge over the concept and course fundamentals are explained through these results.

Keywords

ALT, Peer-to-Peer Learning, Blooms Taxonomy, Electrical Machines.

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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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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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