Van den Beemt Antoine, Groothuijsen Suzanne, Ozkan Leyla, Hendrix Will
Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
J Comput High Educ. 2022 Aug 12:1-21. doi: 10.1007/s12528-022-09331-4.
In engineering education laboratories serve as experiential learning aimed at engaging students. The past decades saw an increased use of online laboratories, including virtual and remote labs. Remote labs, providing online interfaces to physical labs, allow students to conduct experiments with real-world equipment anywhere and at any time. However, this advantage challenges active student engagement. Little evidence is available on effective pedagogies for student engagement in remote labs. This paper aims to identify how a remote lab assignment based on active learning pedagogy in higher engineering education supports student engagement, with the overarching aim to promote students' transfer skills from theory to practice. Our research question, "What impact does an active learning pedagogy have on students' engagement with a remote lab?", was answered with a case study of two courses on systems and control in higher engineering education. Data included digital traces, course evaluations, interviews, and observations. Students reported how remote labs, to be used anywhere at any time, require self-regulation and scheduling of experiments. However, accompanying open-ended lab assignments encouraged students to engage with the lab and the theoretical content of the course by creating a 'need-to-know.' Our results furthermore suggest the need for a structured arrangement of open-ended lab assignment, lab preparation, teamwork supporting peer learning and discussion, progress meetings focused on feedback and formative assessment, and reports focused on reflection. Engagement can be strengthened by support for students before and during the experiments, clear signposting about the experiment and lab set-up, and pre-structuring of lab activities.
在工程教育中，实验室是旨在吸引学生参与的体验式学习场所。在过去几十年里，在线实验室的使用越来越多，包括虚拟实验室和远程实验室。远程实验室为物理实验室提供在线接口，使学生能够在任何地点、任何时间使用真实设备进行实验。然而，这一优势对学生的积极参与构成了挑战。目前几乎没有证据表明存在有效的教学方法能促进学生参与远程实验室学习。本文旨在确定高等工程教育中基于主动学习教学法的远程实验室作业如何支持学生参与，总体目标是促进学生将理论技能转化为实践技能。我们的研究问题是“主动学习教学法对学生参与远程实验室学习有何影响？”，通过对高等工程教育中两门系统与控制课程的案例研究来回答这个问题。数据包括数字痕迹、课程评估、访谈和观察结果。学生报告称，远程实验室可随时随地使用，但这需要自我管理和安排实验时间。然而，附带的开放式实验室作业通过营造“需要了解”的氛围，鼓励学生参与实验室学习和课程的理论内容。我们的研究结果还表明，需要对开放式实验室作业、实验准备、支持同伴学习和讨论的团队合作、专注于反馈和形成性评估的进度会议以及专注于反思的报告进行结构化安排。在实验前和实验过程中为学生提供支持、明确说明实验和实验室设置以及对实验活动进行预先结构化安排，都可以增强学生的参与度。
