The impact of a peer learning strategy on student academic performance in a fundamental engineering course

Abstract

One of the main reasons that engineering students withdraw from their major programs is the discouraging academic performance in fundamental engineering courses. It not only limits students' access to advanced engineering courses, but also diminishes students' attitudes toward engineering. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the effect of the proposed peer learning strategy on students' learning of Dynamics, a fundamental engineering course. Research questions of this study include: Q1: To what extent does the proposed peer learning strategy improve students' understanding of engineering dynamics? Q2: To what extent does the proposed peer learning strategy change students' attitudes toward engineering? Seventy students who enrolled in the Engineering Dynamics course in the fall 2014 and spring 2015 participated in this study. Students' performance by question type (PQT) were defined and analyzed to identify students' academic needs and to assign peer learning teams. Results suggested that peer learning strategy proposed in this pilot study had positive impact on students learning of dynamics and attitudes toward engineering. Limitations and future studies were discussed at the end of this WIP.