Problem based learning and students’ motivation: the case of an electronics laboratory course

• Autores: Beto Catz, Nissim Sabag, Aharon Gero
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 34, no. 6, 2018, págs. 1838-1847
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Problem based learning is a student-centered pedagogy that often develops some of the skills required of engineeringgraduates, and an inquiry based laboratory might be an appropriate platform for its implementation. The study describedin this paper focused on an inquiry based electronics laboratory offered to junior electrical engineering students at a leadingcollege in Israel. It is the first course where students are exposed to problem based learning and experience how engineerswork. In light of the course’s unique characteristics, the study examined whether a change in the students’ academicmotivation has occurred as a result of the course. Fourteen electrical engineering students participated in the study whichutilized quantitative and qualitative tools. The study found a decrease (small effect) in the students’ relative autonomyindex, which had been caused mainly by a decrease in their intrinsic motivation and an increase in their external regulation.This change could be explained by the findings, according to which, the students’ need for competence was not met duringthe course. Possible causes for this lack of fulfillment are the difficulties experienced by most students to adjust toindependent learning and to cope with the complexity of the problems studied on the course. Such difficulties are known inthe literature as associated with problem based learning, and the paper offers various ways to overcome them.