SUPPORTING ENGINEERING STUDENTS ON ACADEMIC PROBATION BY IMPROVING THEIR LEARNING SKILLS

Abstract

This paper presents the experience of creating a student task force to support undergraduate engineering students on academic probation by strengthening their learning skills. The program described in the paper was designed based on the work of Professor Saundra Yancy McGuire, expert in the field of supporting student learning for over forty years. One of Professor McGuire’s main statement is the need to develop metacognitive skills among our student population [1]. Metacognition as a construct is frequently associated with John Flavell (1979) who defined it as “the ability to: think about one’s own thinking; be consciously aware of oneself as a problem solver; monitor, plan, and control one’s mental processing; and, accurately judge one’s level of learning” [2]. McGill’s ELATE (Enhancing Learning and Teaching in Engineering) initiative designed and implemented a program where students on academic probation meet in small groups on a weekly basis to receive support on the learning skills they struggle the most. Weekly meetings were conducted by engineering Graduate Students Instructors (GSIs) who received an intensive training on metacognition, growth mindset and learning skills. This project having completed the training phase with GSIs and Peer Tutors, we present in this paper survey data that describe challenges and benefits on initiating a project of this nature.