Asee peer logo

Adaptive Teaching: An Effective Approach for Learner-Centered Classrooms

Download Paper |

Conference

2014 ASEE International Forum

Location

Indianapolis, Indiana

Publication Date

June 14, 2014

Start Date

June 14, 2014

End Date

June 14, 2014

Conference Session

Track 3 - Session 1

Tagged Topic

Student Development

Page Count

9

Page Numbers

20.3.1 - 20.3.9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--17166

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/17166

Download Count

3355

Paper Authors

biography

Rami Jubrail Haddad Georgia Southern University

visit author page

Rami J. Haddad is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Haddad received his B.Sc. degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the Applied Sciences University, Amman, Jordan. He received his M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Akron, Akron, OH. Dr. Haddad is a member in IEEE, OSA, CUR, and ASEE professional organizations. His research interests include various aspects of optical fiber communication/networks, broadband networks, multimedia communications, multimedia bandwidth forecasting, STEM education and engineering pedagogy.

visit author page

biography

Youakim Kalaani Georgia Southern University

visit author page

Youakim Kalaani is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Georgia Southern University. Dr. Kalaani received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Cleveland State University (CSU). He graduated from CSU with M.S. and Doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering with concentration in power systems. Dr. Kalaani is a licensed professional engineer (PE) and an ABET Program Evaluator (PA). He is a member of IEEE and has research interests in distributed power generations, optimization, and engineering education

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Adaptive Teaching: An Effective Approach for Learner-Centered Classrooms ABSTRACTWith the recent focus on student achievement, teachers are striving to improve the quality oftheir instruction methods to achieve a learner-centered environment in their classrooms. Thedifference in the students’ level of achievement in any specific course is mainly due to thedifference in the students’ aptitude for learning “Learning Style”. Unfortunately, the statictraditional teaching style “Chalk-&-Talk” which is still being used in engineering schools doesnot adapt to the changes in the cognitive profile of the student cohorts which reflects negativelyon the students’ achievement and performance, especially in engineering.In this paper, we discuss our approach on how to achieve adaptive teaching which leads to amore efficient learner-centered environment. Based on the Felder and Silverman index oflearning styles, there are four dimensions for the aptitude for learning which are active/reflectivelearners, sensing/intuitive learners, visual/verbal learners, and sequential/global learners. Thedifferent conglomeration of these dimensions for the students in any cohort form a specificcognitive profile. We used the Felder and Silverman index of learning styles survey to determinethe dominant learning styles within a cohort of students. Knowing the students’ cognitive profilehelped us adapt our teaching styles to achieve an optimal learner-centered classroom. We mainlyfocused on activities that would engage the majority of the students, to help facilitate the learningprocess and consequently, improve the students’ achievement. The effectiveness of this approachwas qualitatively and quantitatively verified by assessing the students’ performance usingtraditional teaching activities and activities tailored towards the students’ learning styles.

Haddad, R. J., & Kalaani, Y. (2014, June), Adaptive Teaching: An Effective Approach for Learner-Centered Classrooms Paper presented at 2014 ASEE International Forum, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--17166

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2014 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015