Leveraging Vertically Integrated Courses and Problem-Based Learning to Improve Students’ Performance and Skills
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 144, Issue 4
Abstract
Commonly adopted engineering pedagogy tends to be lecture based, and places students in a passive and often secondary role in the classroom. Research in the field of engineering education highlights the ineffectiveness of such strategies and advocates adopting strategies that actively engage learners. Various pedagogical techniques promote student engagement; this paper focuses on two specific techniques: problem-based learning (PBL) and vertical integration. The authors created engaging classroom environments through vertically integrated courses that implemented PBL through shared course projects. Specifically, the authors created a framework for pairing two different student bodies across two disciplines, integrating a graduate civil engineering course (32 students) and an undergraduate construction management course (22 students). Implementation of the Spring 2016 framework improves student performance on course projects and students’ self-reported professional skill level and confidence in said skills, developed in part through participation in the framework. Further, the framework has a positive impact on undergraduate students’ intention to stay in their major and both student bodies report more interest in completing an additional advanced degree after participating in the vertically integrated courses. Finally, students report that the experience teaches professional skills they expect will be required in their own future careers. It is notable that undergraduates recognized more benefits of this implementation, especially that they have more potential for improvement than advanced graduate students. This paper contributes to the engineering education body of knowledge by delivering a proof of concept that PBL through vertical integration of different disciplines across undergraduate and graduate students supports improved performance and encourages professional skill development and confidence. The paper presents the framework itself, as well as evaluative results from framework implementation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research is funded by Grant DUE-1245205 from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This support is gratefully acknowledged. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
References
Abdi, H. 2007. “Bonferroni and Šidák corrections for multiple comparisons.” In Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics, edited by N. Salkind, 103–107. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Allen, D. E., R. S. Donham, and S. A. Bernhardt. 2011. “Problem-based learning.” New Dir. Teach. Learn. 2011 (128): 21–29.
Antaya, C., K. Parrish, E. A. Adams, and A. E. Landis. 2013. “Experiential learning in the civil engineering curriculum: Collaborations between community colleges, research I universities and national laboratories.” In Proc., 120th ASEE Annual Conf. and Exposition. Washington, DC: ASEE.
Barrows, H. S. 1986. “A taxonomy of problem-based learning methods.” Med. Educ. 20 (6): 481–486.
Barrows, H. S., and R. M. Tamblyn. 1980. Problem-based learning: An approach to medical education. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Benning, J. L., and C. R. Shearer. 2016. “Example of a vertically integrated sustainable engineering program.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract. 143 (2): D2516001. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000291.
Bernardi, F., L. Chakhaia, and L. Leopold. 2017. “Sing me a song with social significance’: The (Mis) use of statistical significance testing in European sociological research.” Eur. Sociol. Rev. 33 (1): 1–15.
Blumenfeld, P. C., E. Soloway, R. W. Marx, J. S. Krajcik, M. Guzdial, and A. Palincsar. 1991. “Motivating project-based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning.” Educ. Psychol. 26 (3–4): 369–398.
Boneau, C. A. 1960. “The effects of violations of assumptions underlying the t test.” Psychol. Bull. 57 (1): 49–64.
Capon, N., and D. Kuhn. 2004. “What’s so good about problem-based learning?” Cognit. Instr. 22 (1): 61–79.
Cohen, J. 1992. “A power primer.” Psychol. Bull. 112 (1): 155–159.
Cooper, J. L., and P. Robinson. 2000. “The argument for making large classes seem small.” New Dir. Teach. Learn. 2000 (81): 5–16.
De Winter, J. C. F., and D. Dodou. 2010. “Five-point Likert items: t test versus Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon.” Pract. Assess. Res. Eval. 15 (11): 1–16.
Elzomor, M., C. Mann, K. Parrish, and M. Chester. 2015. “Positioning students to understand urban sustainability strategies through vertical integration: Years 1 through 3.” In Proc., 123rd ASEE Annual Conf., 4. Washington, DC: ASEE.
Felder, R. M. 2012. “Engineering education: A tale of two paradigms.” In Shaking the foundations of geo-engineering education, 9–14. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Forcael, E., V. González, F. Orozco, A. Opazo, Á. Suazo, and P. Aránguiz. 2014. “Application of problem-based learning to teaching the critical path method.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract. 141 (3): 04014016. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000236.
Freeman, S., S. L. Eddy, M. Mcdonough, M. K. Smith, N. Okoroafor, H. Jordt, and M. P. Wenderoth. 2014. “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 111 (23): 8410–8415.
Gelman, A., and J. Carlin. 2014. “Beyond power calculations: Assessing type S (sign) and type M (magnitude) errors.” Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 9 (6): 641–651.
Ghosh, A., K. Parrish, and A. Chasey. 2015. “Implementing a vertically integrated BIM curriculum in an undergraduate construction management program.” Int. J. Constr. Educ. Res. 11 (2): 121–139.
Grigg, N. S., M. E. Criswell, and T. J. Siller. 1996. “Integrated civil engineering curriculum: Implementation and management.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract. 122 (4): 151–155. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(1996)122:4(151).
Kruger, J., and D. Dunning. 1999. “Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.” J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 77 (6): 1121–1134.
Lazerson, M., U. Wagener, and N. Shumanis. 2000. “What makes a revolution? Teaching and learning in higher education, 1980–2000.” Change Mag. Higher Learn. 32 (3): 12–19.
Mann, C., K. Parrish, and M. Chester. 2015. “Positioning students to understand urban sustainability strategies through vertical integration.” In ASEE Annual Conf. and Exposition. Washington, DC: ASEE.
Mason, G. S., T. R. Shuman, and K. E. Cook. 2013. “Comparing the effectiveness of an inverted classroom to a traditional classroom in an upper-division engineering course.” IEEE Trans. Educ. 56 (4): 430–435.
Mathabathe, K. C., and M. Potgieter. 2014. “Metacognitive monitoring and learning gain in foundation chemistry.” Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 15 (1): 94–104.
Meyer, M., and S. Marx. 2014. “Engineering dropouts: A qualitative examination of why undergraduates leave engineering.” J. Eng. Educ. 103 (4): 525–548.
PCAST (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology). 2012. Engage to excel: Producing one million additional college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President.
Postman, N., and C. Weingartner. 1969. Teaching as a subversive activity. New York: Delta.
Prieto, L. 2006. “Active learning in the college classroom: A case study of problem-based learning.” Misc. Comillas Rev. Cienc. Hum. Soc. 64 (124): 173–196.
Rosenthal, D., P. S. Worley, B. Mugford, and P. Stagg. 2004. “Vertical integration of medical education: Riverland experience, South Australia.” Rural Remote Health 4 (1): 228.
Ruxton, G. D., and M. Neuhäuser. 2010. “When should we use one-tailed hypothesis testing?” Methods Ecol. Evol. 1 (2): 114–117.
Sawilowsky, S. S., and R. C. Blair. 1992. “A more realistic look at the robustness and Type II error properties of the t test to departures from population normality.” Psychol. Bull. 111 (2): 352–360.
Shepherd, A., and B. Cosgrif. 1998. “Problem-based learning: A bridge between planning education and planning practice.” J. Plann. Educ. Res. 17 (4): 348–357.
Sheppard, S. D., K. Macatangay, A. Colby, and W. M. Sullivan. 2008. Educating engineers: Designing for the future of the field. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sheskin, D. 2003. Handbook of parametric and nonparametric statistical procedures. 3rd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Smith, P. C., and L. M. Kendall. 1963. “Retranslation of expectations: An approach to the construction of unambiguous anchors for rating scales.” J. Appl. Psych. 47 (2): 149–155.
Spencer, N. H., M. Lay, and L. Kevan De Lopez. 2017. “Normal enough? Tools to aid decision making.” Int. J. Soc. Res. Methodol. 20 (2): 167–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2016.1155379.
Steinemann, A. 2003. “Implementing sustainable development through problem-based learning: Pedagogy and practice.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract. 129 (4): 216–224. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2003)129:4(216).
Tomkinson, B., R. Tomkinson, H. Dobson, and C. Engel. 2008. “Education for sustainable development—An inter-disciplinary pilot module for undergraduate engineers and scientists.” Int. J. Sustainable Eng. 1 (1): 69–76.
Vidic, B., and H. M. Weitlauf. 2002. “Horizontal and vertical integration of academic disciplines in the medical school curriculum.” Clin. Anat. 15 (3): 233–235.
Watkins, J., and E. Mazur. 2013. “Retaining students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors.” J. Coll. Sci. Teach. 42 (5): 36–41.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 144 • Issue 4 • October 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 12, 2017
Accepted: Feb 27, 2018
Published online: Jul 5, 2018
Published in print: Oct 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Dec 5, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.