Zhong Baichang, Liu Xiaofan, Li Xinwei
School of Information Technology in Education, South China Normal University, No.55, West of Zhongshan Avenue, Guangzhou 510631, China.
Ministry of Secondary Vocational Education, Guangdong Open University (Guangdong Polytechnic Institute), No.162, Yunquan Road, Guangzhou, 510000, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Jan 9;10(2):e24278. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24278. eCollection 2024 Jan 30.
In K-12 STEM education, engineering design is emphasized, as demonstrated by the bridge-design project. Due to the iterative nature of engineering design, engineering practice is frequently complicated and requires pedagogical guidance. As an emerging pedagogy in STEM education, REP (Reverse Engineering Pedagogy) is showing, but not enough, some benefits in several cases. This paper aims to explore the effects of REP in a bridge-design course. A comparison experiment, REP versus PBL (Project-Based Learning), was conducted by randomly forming two groups of fourth-grade students from a primary school in China. Results indicated that REP was more advantageous than PBL in terms of decreasing students' cognitive load, boosting their scientific knowledge level and engineering design skills. However, REP and PBL have the same effect on the students' learning attitude and engagement. The key findings, possible reasons, and suggestions for practice are also discussed.
在K-12科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育中，工程设计受到重视，桥梁设计项目就是一个例证。由于工程设计具有迭代性，工程实践常常很复杂，需要教学指导。作为STEM教育中一种新兴的教学法，逆向工程教学法（REP）在一些案例中显示出了一定的益处，但还不够充分。本文旨在探讨REP在桥梁设计课程中的效果。通过从中国一所小学随机抽取两组四年级学生进行了一项对比实验，即REP与基于项目的学习（PBL）的对比。结果表明，在降低学生认知负荷、提高他们的科学知识水平和工程设计技能方面，REP比PBL更具优势。然而，REP和PBL对学生的学习态度和参与度的影响相同。文中还讨论了关键研究结果、可能的原因及实践建议。
