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An Analysis of Factors Affecting Student Performance in a Statics Course
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Hu, Yufeng |
| Copyright Year | 2017 |
| Abstract | At Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the historical passing rate of students in Statics has been low. It is a required course for students across several majors in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Improving the teaching and learning effectiveness of Statics may have a significant impact on student success and retention by virtue of the large number of students affected. Traditionally Statics has been taught through face-to-face lectures. Since Spring 2014, a redesigned Statics using hybrid flipped course format has been offered parallel to the traditional format. This study is purposed to analyze the correlations between student performance in Statics and several potential factors, and to evaluate how significantly the redesigned Statics has impacted student learning. Student performance was measured by final exam grade, overall course grade, and score in a Statics concept assessment test. These performance measurements were compared between the traditional and redesigned Statics classes. Additionally, the correlations between several factors, such as student overall GPA and performance in a critical prerequisite course, were statistically analyzed using data from multiple semesters. Preliminary conclusions are drawn based upon the analysis. The university where this study was carried out is a Moderately Selective institution as classified by the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange. The lessons learned could be applicable to other institutions with similar student demographics. Introduction Statics is a sophomore-level course covering topics including equilibrium of force systems; analysis of trusses, frames and machines; centroid; and moment of inertia of areas, etc. It serves as a prerequisite for several subsequent courses including dynamics, and mechanics of materials. Statics poses special challenge to engineering students because it is often the first engineering science course they take. Moreover, students who have trouble with Statics often perform poorly in subsequent courses. One of the goals of Statics is to have students learn to solve problems independently, which is a practice-intensive and time-consuming effort for which the traditional face-to-face lecture can provide guidance yet relatively little direct assistance. Students are not able to pause to reflect and understand what is being explained and they may often miss important points in a traditional lecture setting, which is an instructor-centered, relatively passive method of learning. While lecturing still remains an effective and important way of conveying knowledge, it is critical to get students engaged in active learning through activities such as solving problems, working with each other, asking questions and getting feedback. To enhance student learning in Statics, researchers at various institutions have explored other methods for teaching Statics, such as developing concept map and quantifying students’ conceptual understanding[1, 2], developing on-line homework or learning modules[3, 4], peer-ledteam-learning[5], project-based learning[6], emporium-based course delivery[7]. Among them, the flipped classroom method[8, 9, 10] has gained popularity. In a flipped classroom, the class time is devoted to guided instruction where students work through problems with the instructor present to provide assistance and answer questions. Lectures are delivered through on-line videos which students are required to watch and learn outside the class time. In College of Engineering and Applied Science at WMU, Statics is required for students majoring in aerospace engineering, civil engineering, construction engineering, industrial & entrepreneurial engineering, and mechanical engineering. It is a 3-credit-hour course that has been taught in traditional lecturing before 2013. Statics has been traditionally a difficult course in the college as measured by passing rate (the percentage of students getting a C or better). The passing rates and the average course GPA (grade point average) in Statics from Fall 2010 to Fall 2013 ranged from 28% to 78%, mostly below 60%. The low passing rate of Statics negatively impacts the 2nd-to-3rd-year retention rate of the college. Therefore, an effort to redesign Statics took place in 2013 with a pilot redesigned course implemented in spring semester of 2014. The team that engineered the redesign included two faculty members who teach Statics regularly and an Associate dean of Undergraduate Programs and Assessment. Beginning Spring 2014, students are given the options of enrolling in two redesigned Statics sections or a traditional section. The redesigned course took a hybrid flipped course format, which includes traditional face-to-face lecturing, a weekly recitation session during which students solve problems under the guidance of teaching assistants (TAs) and instructors, and online web-based instruction. Typically, during the lecture session, the instructor goes through the topics covered in the week and solves some relatively simple examples. Before the recitation sessions, students are asked to read the relevant textbook sections and watch the related on-line videos to prepare for the recitation session. In the recitation sessions, students solve a set of pre-assigned problems which are due at the end of the recitation sessions. In the recitation sessions, besides problems solving, students often have quizzes, mid-term exams, or the instructor may spend time demonstrating more difficult examples. More details of the course redesign can be found in the authors’ previous paper[11]. This paper describes a study addressing two research questions: 1. Does the redesigned hybrid flipped format have a significant impact on student performance in Statics? 2. Are the prerequisite courses and overall GPA good predictors for student performance in Statics? Based on the collected data, preliminary conclusions were drawn to answer the two research questions. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://peer.asee.org/an-analysis-of-factors-affecting-student-performance-in-a-statics-course.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
