Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) Página 530 de 957
Conclusions
Table 2: Means and Standard Deviations for Significant Within-Group Differences
Several differences were noted both within and between the groups, suggesting that these
two pedagogies had differential facilitative effects on students. Consideration must be
given when interpreting the findings to the degree to which the students in each course
were familiar with the particular style of pedagogy. Students in the PBL course reported
that they had not had a course structured in this way before. In fact, in a follow-up a year
and a half later with these students, they shared that this course was really the first of
three taught by this instructor and that it was the most structured of the three with the
third being a senior design course which approximates the PjBL course in this study.
Students in the PjBL course, on the other hand, reported that most of their courses are of
this nature, perhaps not using problems quite as open or ill-defined as the problems in this
course.
Within-group differences. Interestingly, there was only one area, peer learning, with
reported increases from pre to post-semester for students in both courses. Such an
increase is consistent with expectations. Consistent with the design of PBL environments’
reliance on the collaborative construction of knowledge, each instructor made deliberate
use of teams. These instructors created problems for students to work through that
necessitated collaborative problem-solving resulting in social construction of knowledge.
Students in the PBL course reported the only other increases in characteristics associated
with self-regulation (intrinsic goal orientation, effort regulation, elaboration, and
organization). Because this was their first experience with the PBL environment, this may
have offered an opportunity for them to engage in? behaviours that are consistent with
deeper learning. Perhaps the openness of the course design that allowed students to set
work goals and timelines resulted in greater efforts for students to regulate and modulate
their own. Increased intrinsic goal orientation is significant in that these students reported
an appreciation for the challenges this course provided them, offering them opportunities
to embrace their curiosity and to persist toward learning rather than simply for a grade.
Because the students in the PjBL course reported that they have many learning
opportunities similar to their PjBL course in this study, significant changes in behaviours
and attitudes aligned with self-regulation might be more difficult to find. It should be
noted that, while not necessarily statistically significant, students in the PjBL course
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011