ERIC Number: EJ1127857
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0144-3410
EISSN: N/A
Instructional Improvement and Student Engagement in Post-Secondary Engineering Courses: The Complexity Underlying Small Effect Sizes
Hilpert, Jonathan C.; Husman, Jenefer
Educational Psychology, v37 n2 p157-172 2017
The current study leveraged a professional development programme for engineering faculty at a large research university to examine the impact of instructional improvement on student engagement. Professors who participated in the professional development were observed three times and rated using an existing observation protocol. Students in courses with instructors who participated and did not participate in the professional development were surveyed about their classroom engagement. The responses were used to conduct quasi-experimental comparisons. Results indicated that students in courses with professors who participated in the professional development self-reported 3% more behavioural and 2% more cognitive engagement than students with professors who did not participate. Within professional development group, follow-up comparisons showed that students in courses with the highest rated instructors self-reported 7% more cognitive engagement than students with lower ranked professors. Thematic coding of the qualitative data suggests that the highest rated instructors may have achieved these gains through the use of three domain general instructional strategies: activating prior knowledge, facilitating classroom interaction and promoting reflection. Findings are contextualised within extant literature reporting similar effect sizes, and implications for future engagement research from a classroom systems perspective are discussed.
Descriptors: Instructional Improvement, Engineering Education, College Faculty, Qualitative Research, Achievement Gains, Faculty Development, Research Universities, Observation, Quasiexperimental Design, Comparative Analysis, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Surveys, Effect Size, Student Attitudes, Learner Engagement, Statistical Analysis, Prior Learning, Reflection
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: REC0960551; REC0546856