Atlanta, Georgia
June 23, 2013
June 23, 2013
June 26, 2013
2153-5965
Electrical and Computer
14
23.165.1 - 23.165.14
10.18260/1-2--19179
https://strategy.asee.org/19179
690
I am a Ph.D student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. I am a member of NSBE as well as ASEE. My researching interests include improving data locality in compilers and intellectual development of engineering student.
Cordelia M. Brown is an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Engineering Education at Purdue University. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, her M.S. in Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, and her B.S. in Electrical Engineering
at Tuskegee University. Her research interests include assessment of instructional methods, laboratory design, collaborative learning, and retention and recruitment issues in engineering education.
An Examination of the Relationship Between Intellectual Development and Learning Preferences in Electrical and Computer Engineering A major challenge facing the engineering community is the gap between the intellectual development of students and where employers need it to be. Researchers of engineering education have explored multiple ways to close this gap. One frequently used method is identifying and evaluating student’s learning preferences. Though this method has brought insight into this problem, there has been little work done to answer the following: To what extent, do students with particular learning preferences undergo a higher degree of intellectual development through an engineering curriculum? This paper discusses a study that examines the intellectual development levels of electrical and computer engineering students and seeks to determine if there is any correlation between a student’s progress through the levels of William Perry’s model of intellectual development levels with a student’s learning preference defined by Felder and Silverman. The study seeks to capture a profile of students in electrical and computer engineering (ECE) at a large Midwestern university at various classification levels of their college career during the academic year. A profile consists of a student’s background information, their learning preference, and their current level of intellectual development. Profiles are taken of sophomore, junior, and senior students at various points during the school year. Intellectual development is determined using Dr. William Moore’s Learning Environment Preferences (LEP) instrument. Learning preferences are determined by administering Felder and Silverman’s Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS). Along with the LEP and ILS results, background information on courses taken, current year in the ECE program, internships/co‐op experience, and GPA is recorded to complete a profile. Our initial evaluation of students’ responses suggests that sensing/intuitive and sequential/global learning preference dichotomies do have some impact on a student’s intellectual development. We are still gathering more data points to confirm this assertion.
Hill, A., & Brown, C. M. (2013, June), An Examination of the Relationship Between Intellectual Development and Learning Preferences in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Ongoing) Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19179
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