Evaluating The Outcomes of Electrical Engineering Workshop Classes

P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Buskes, G., Xa ie , M. D. S., Beucha , P., & Balendh an,
S. (2025). E alua ing The Ou comes o Elec ical Enginee ing Wo kshop Classes.
In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d
Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI),
Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631569.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
EVALUATING THE OUTCOMES OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
WORKSHOP CLASSES
G. Buskes a,
1
, M. S. Xa ie b, S. Balendh an c,
P. N. Beucha d
a The Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Melbou ne, Aus alia, 0000-0002-7920-8052
b The Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Melbou ne, Aus alia, 0000-0002-6581-705X
c The Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Melbou ne, Aus alia, 0000-0002-4390-3491
d The Uni e si y o Melbou ne, Melbou ne, Aus alia, 0000-0002-1044-3994
Con e ence Key A eas: Enginee ing skills, p o essional skills, and ans e sal skills;
Cu iculum de elopmen and eme ging cu iculum models in enginee ing
Keywo ds: Enginee ing labo a o ies, e alua ion, lea ning ou comes, wo kshops
ABSTRACT
S uden expe ience su eys in enginee ing educa ion ypically assess he o e all
expe ience o a subjec , co e ing aspec s such as lec u es, u o ials, labo a o ies
and assessmen s. While hey p o ide aluable insigh s in o b oad sa is ac ion, hey
o en lack a ocused e alua ion o how s uden s engage in speci ic en i onmen s
such as labo a o y o wo kshop classes, which a e pi o al in p o iding s uden s wi h
hands-on expe ience, de eloping c i ical skills, and simula ing eal-wo ld enginee ing
en i onmen s. This s udy aims o e alua e s uden lea ning expe iences ac oss h ee
lea ning domains - cogni i e, psychomo o and a ec i e - in a labo a o y-based
en i onmen h ough a ailo ed su ey ins umen , adap ed om exis ing amewo ks.
This su ey was adminis e ed o s uden s ac oss hi een subjec s, spanning an
elec ical enginee ing deg ee p og amme, o e alua e he pe cep ions o hei
lea ning ou comes in hei wo kshop classes. The esul s highligh s eng hs in
ins umen a ion, guided expe imen a ion and eamwo k, while e ealing se e al
a eas o imp o emen , including senso y awa eness and sa e y, al hough he e
we e some signi ican a ia ions ac oss some subjec s. Subjec s wi h mo e in ensi e
eamwo k and open-ended design p ojec s ended o imp o e s uden s’ pe cei ed
lea ning in he cogni i e and a ec i e domains. The s udy has p o ided insigh s in o
how he wo kshop classes can be op imised o be e align wi h p o essional
enginee ing p ac ices and acc edi a ion equi emen s.
1
Co esponding Au ho : G. Buskes, [email protected]
1 INTRODUCTION
Enginee ing labo a o ies a e essen ial componen s o he uni e si y lea ning
expe ience, playing a pi o al ole in enginee ing educa ion by p o iding s uden s wi h
in aluable hands-on expe ience ha connec s heo e ical knowledge wi h p ac ical
applica ion (Feisel & Rosa, 2005). Beyond his p ac ical exposu e, labo a o ies
p omo e he de elopmen o c i ical skills necessa y o u u e enginee s h ough
inqui y-based lea ning and p oblem-sol ing. S uden s lea n o iden i y and de ine
p oblems, o mula e and es hypo heses, conduc expe imen s, collec and in e p e
da a, and d aw conclusions. These p ocesses signi ican ly enhance hei c i ical
hinking and independen easoning abili ies (Johns one & Al-Shuaili, 2001).
Addi ionally, h ough au hen ic, open-ended design wo k g ounded in igo ous
analy ical echniques, labo a o ies s imula e s uden mo i a ion and c ea i i y while
encou aging highe -o de cogni i e skills (P ince & Felde , 2006).
Labo a o y wo k o en in ol es collabo a ion, which helps s uden s de elop
in e pe sonal skills, eamwo k, pee eaching, nego ia ion, and e ec i e
communica ion (T e elyan, 2007; Winbe g & Winbe g, 2021). Adhe ing o sa e y
p ocedu es and cul i a ing a sense o esponsibili y a e also c ucial aspec s ha
s uden s lea n in hese se ings, hence, in his way, labo a o ies simula e au hen ic
enginee ing wo kplace en i onmen s and scena ios (Gus a sson e al., 2009).
Mo eo e , enginee ing labo a o ies acili a e he de elopmen o discipline-speci ic
skills and capabili ies necessa y o he wo k o ce, p epa ing s uden s o hei u u e
ca ee s while also allowing hem o lea n om ailu e - an impo an aspec o
enginee ing p ac ice. These labo a o ies can be ecognised as add essing mul iple
lea ning domains: cogni i e skills a e enhanced h ough imp o ed concep ual
unde s anding and p oblem-sol ing; psychomo o skills a e de eloped h ough
p ac ical and echnical aining; and a ec i e skills a e nu u ed by os e ing
eamwo k, communica ion, and p o essional a i udes (Feisel & Rosa, 2005).
The Facul y o Enginee ing a he Uni e si y o Melbou ne employs a ‘wo kshop’
model as pa o he ime abled eaching and lea ning ac i i ies o mos o i s
subjec s. The wo kshop class model lexibly combines adi ional, mo e p ocedu e-
d i en ‘labo a o y’ class ac i i ies ha u ilise de ices and equipmen o ga he da a
and unde s and speci ic phenomena, wi h ac i e lea ning ac i i ies ha p o ide
inc eased oppo uni ies o p oblem sol ing, discussion, and collabo a ion. This
model allows he demons a o s ha s a hese classes o ansi ion seamlessly
be ween acili a o and eache oles, c ea ing a ela i ely in o mal and collegial
lea ning en i onmen ha encou ages all s uden s o pa icipa e and enhances hei
lea ning expe ience. Fu he mo e, his app oach enables eaching s a o moni o
s uden s in pe son and p o ide immedia e eedback.
Howe e , he e ec i eness o hese wo kshop classes in de eloping skills ac oss he
h ee lea ning domains, bo h wi hin indi idual subjec s and mo e b oadly ac oss a
deg ee p og am, has no been cap u ed by adi ional ‘whole o subjec ’ su eys. To
his end, his pape p esen s he adap ion and de elopmen o a labo a o y su ey
ins umen o p o ide empi ical e idence in o he e ec i eness o he wo kshop
classes as pa o an elec ical enginee ing deg ee p og am in de eloping s uden s’
knowledge and skills ac oss he h ee lea ning domains: cogni i e, psychomo o and
a ec i e. Resul s om he su ey adminis e ed in subjec s ac oss he deg ee
p og am a e p esen ed and used o e alua e s uden s’ pe cei ed lea ning
expe iences ac oss hese h ee domains. Fu he mo e, he esul s ac oss mul iple
subjec s a e used o iden i y pa e ns, gaps, and oppo uni ies o cu iculum and
wo kshop imp o emen ac oss he p og am. A discussion o he bene i s and
limi a ions o he s udy is p esen ed and di ec ions o u u e wo k a e iden i ied.
2 METHODOLODY
Feisel and Rosa (2005) ou lined hi een lea ning objec i es o enginee ing
labo a o ies, spanning he h ee domains o cogni i e, psychomo o and a ec i e:
ins umen a ion, models, expe imen , da a analysis, design, lea n om ailu e,
c ea i i y, psychomo o , sa e y, communica ion, eamwo k, e hics in he labo a o y,
and senso y awa eness. The Measu ing he Lea ning Ou comes o Labo a o y Wo k
(MeLOLW) su ey ins umen (Salim e al., 2013) de eloped a collec ion o
s a emen s o assess s uden s’ pe cep ion o hei expe ience o each o hese
lea ning objec i es and explici ly mapped hem o he cogni i e, psychomo o and
a ec i e domains. This ins umen has since been adap ed and used as a sel -
assessmen ool o enginee ing labo a o ies, o example, by s uden s a he s a
and end o wo elec ical enginee ing labo a o y subjec s (Nikolic e al., 2015) and o
unde s and he ela ionships be ween s uden e alua ion sco es and pe cei ed
lea ning ac oss domains be ween wo uni e si ies (Nikolic e al., 2020).
The su ey ins umen used in his wo k ollows he h ee domains ou lined in Salim
e al. (2013) bu expands he hi een objec i es p oposed by Feisel and Rosa (2005)
o co e expe imen , design and eamwo k in mo e de ail. The upda ed sub-
objec i es a e mo i a ed by a desi e o unde s and he di e ences be ween subjec s
wi h espec o how o en hese subjec s go beyond guided p ocedu es and limi ed
design aspec s in o open-ended design p ac ices which be e emula e p o essional
enginee ing p ac ice. The upda ed lis also allows us o be e cap u e he
de elopmen o p o essional skills, pa icula ly a ound complex enginee ing p oblem
sol ing, sys ema ic enginee ing design p ocesses, sys ema ic managemen o
enginee ing p ojec s, and e ec i e eam membe ship and leade ship, as sugges ed
by acc edi a ion equi emen s in Aus alia (Enginee s Aus alia, 2019). O e all, as
shown in Table 1, he su ey comp ised wen y s a emen s ac oss he h ee domains
and an addi ional i em o assess s uden s’ pe cep ion o hei o e all wo kshop
lea ning expe ience.
The su ey was deployed on pape o s uden s in wo kshop classes in he inal wo
weeks o semes e , depending on he subjec ’s schedule. The inal wo weeks we e
chosen o ensu e ha he s uden s ha e subs an ial subjec ma e expe ise and can
commen on hei wo kshop expe ience o e he en i e semes e . Thi een subjec s
o e ed by he Depa men o Elec ical and Elec onic Enginee ing, spanning
mul iple yea le els, we e su eyed. A membe o he e alua ion eam who was no
associa ed wi h he eaching o assessmen o he subjec , isi ed each wo kshop
class o adminis e he su ey. The pu pose o he s udy was explained o he
pa icipan s and a w i en e sion o his desc ip ion was also o e ed o any
pa icipan s. Subsequen ly, a o al o 768 s uden s comple ed hei su eys in he
wo kshop class oom, aking app oxima ely 5 o 10 minu es o comple e a he s a o
he class. S uden s esponded o each s a emen on a 5-poin Like scale anging
om “1” ep esen ing “S ongly Disag ee” o “5” ep esen ing “S ongly Ag ee”. The
su eys we e anonymous o encou age hones esponses and o p o ec pa icipan
iden i y. The esea ch was conduc ed wi h app o al om he uni e si y’s Human
Resea ch E hics Commi ee applica ion HREC 30767.
3 RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
3.1 S a emen esponses
Table 1 shows a summa y o he mean sco es and s anda d de ia ions o he
wen y s a emen s on he wo kshop ou comes su ey ac oss all subjec s. Su eys
wi h iden ical esponses o all s a emen s (e.g., all esponses as ‘s ongly ag ee’)
we e emo ed om he analysis, lea ing a o al o six-hund ed and nine y-one
su eys. Some su eys had no esponse en e ed o some s a emen s, and hese
we e ea ed as missing alues in he s a is ical analysis ha ollows. Table 1 also
includes he domain each s a emen maps o and i s speci ic measu able objec i e.
Table 1. Ques ion means and s anda d de ia ions o all subjec s (N=691)
S a emen
Desc ip ion
Domain
Objec i e
Mean
SD
1
Apply app op ia e senso s, ins umen a ion, and/o
so wa e ools o make measu emen s o physical
quan i ies
Cogni i e
Ins umen a ion
4.36
0.74
2
Iden i y he s eng hs and limi a ions o heo e ical
models as p edic o s o eal-wo ld beha iou s
Cogni i e
Models
4.15
0.83
3
Read and comp ehend da ashee s, ci cui diag ams,
use -manuals o p e ious li e a u e
Cogni i e
Expe imen (comp ehend)
3.90
1.00
4
Follow a guided/gi en expe imen al o simula ion
app oach, and u ilise app op ia e ools (so wa e,
equipmen and p ocedu es)
Cogni i e
Expe imen (guided)
4.35
0.78
5
De ise and implemen an expe imen al o simula ion
app oach o cha ac e ise an enginee ing ma e ial,
componen , o sys em, and speci y app op ia e ools
equi ed (so wa e, equipmen and p ocedu es)
Cogni i e
Expe imen (open-ended))
4.27
0.75
6
Demons a e he abili y o collec , analyse, and
in e p e da a, and o suppo conclusions
Cogni i e
Da a Analysis
4.23
0.76
7
Design and build (o simula e) a p oduc o sys em
ollowing a guided/gi en p ocedu e
Cogni i e
Design (guided)
4.28
0.80
8
Design and build (o simula e) a p oduc o sys em
wi hin an open-ended p ojec which in ol es
de eloping sys em speci ica ion om equi emen s
and/o mee ing clien equi emen s
Cogni i e
Design (open-ended)
4.01
1.00
9
Tes and debug a p o o ype using app op ia e ools o
sa is y equi emen s
Cogni i e
Design (p o o ype)
4.00
0.95
10
Demons a e compe ence in selec ion, modi ica ion,
and ope a ion o app op ia e enginee ing ools and
esou ces
Psychomo o
Ope a ion o Equipmen
4.02
0.85
11
Use human senses o ga he in o ma ion and o
make sound enginee ing judgmen s in o mula ing
conclusions abou eal-wo ld p oblems
Psychomo o
Senso y Awa eness
3.84
0.95
12
Iden i y unsuccess ul ou comes due o aul y
equipmen , pa s, code, cons uc ion, p ocess, o
design, and hen e-enginee e ec i e solu ions
A ec i e
Lea n om ailu e
3.97
0.95
13
Demons a e app op ia e le els o independen
hough , c ea i i y, and capabili y in eal-wo ld
p oblem sol ing
A ec i e
C ea i i y
3.98
0.87
14
Iden i y heal h, sa e y, and en i onmen al issues
ela ed o echnological p ocesses and ac i i ies, and
deal wi h hem esponsibly
A ec i e
Sa e y
3.56
1.19
15
Communica e e ec i ely abou labo a o y wo k wi h a
speci ic audience, bo h o ally and in w i ing, a le els
anging om execu i e summa ies o comp ehensi e
echnical epo s
A ec i e
Communica ion
3.93
1.02
16
Wo k e ec i ely in eams du ing wo kshop ac i i ies
conduc ed in class
A ec i e
Teamwo k (in-class)
4.31
0.87
17
Con inue o wo k e ec i ely in eams ou side
wo kshops o assessmen asks ela ed o
wo kshops
A ec i e
Teamwo k (ou -o -class)
4.12
0.95

S a emen
Desc ip ion
Domain
Objec i e
Mean
SD
18
Wo k h ough a collabo a ion amewo k which
included s uc u ing indi idual and join
accoun abili y; assigning oles, esponsibili ies, and
asks; moni o ing p og ess; mee ing deadlines; and
in eg a ing indi idual con ibu ions in o a inal g oup
epo
A ec i e
Teamwo k (s uc u ed)
3.99
1.01
19
Beha e wi h highes e hical s anda ds, including
epo ing in o ma ion objec i ely and in e ac ing wi h
in eg i y
A ec i e
E hics
4.14
0.90
20
O e all, I had a e y good lea ning expe ience in he
wo kshops
O e all
4.19
0.86
The s a emen s wi h he highes means we e S1, S4, and S16 co e ing
Ins umen a ion, Expe imen (guided), and Teamwo k (in-class), espec i ely. This
does no come as a su p ise, gi en he collabo a i e na u e o he wo kshop classes
and he ac ha hey ypically use equipmen o alida e heo e ical concep s
h ough expe imen . Howe e , i can be seen ha hese h ee s a emen means a y
conside ably ac oss subjec s, as Table 2 shows. No e ha o ease o eading, each
subjec code in subsequen ables has been e-coded in e ms o i s sequence in he
elec ical enginee ing deg ee p og amme: an ini ial ‘2’ ep esen ing unde g adua e
ounda ional ma e ial, ‘3’ ep esen ing unde g adua e co e undamen als and ‘9’
ep esen ing highe -le el and ad anced mas e s-le el ma e ial.
Table 2. Subjec desc ip ions and means o S1, S4 and S16 o all subjec s
Subjec
Subjec desc ip ion
N
S1
S4
S16
2A
Ci cui s I
164
4.62
4.61
4.26
3A
Ci cui s II
24
4.42
4.50
4.21
3B
Enginee ing elec omagne ics
44
4.52
4.39
4.41
3C
Signals and sys ems
14
4.36
4.36
4.00
3D
Elec onic sys ems design
83
4.40
4.23
4.08
9A
Analog elec onics I
9
4.33
4.33
4.56
9B
Con ol sys ems I
136
4.14
3.99
4.21
9C
Signal p ocessing
59
4.15
4.36
4.41
9D
Communica ion ne wo ks
7
4.14
4.71
4.86
9E
Con ol sys ems II
60
4.42
4.50
4.58
9F
Embedded sys ems
63
4.36
4.32
4.48
9G
AI o obo ics
21
3.81
4.24
4.52
9H
Ha dwa e accele a ed compu ing
5
4.20
4.60
4.60
Subjec 2A is he i s subjec in he deg ee sequence, whe e s uden s lea n in a
guided ashion how o use a po able elec onics de ice (Analog Disco e y 2) o
build and es ci cui s, which likely explains he highes mean o S1 and second
highes mean o S4. On he o he hand, 3B in oduces s uden s o s anda d
elec ical bench op equipmen such as signal gene a o s, powe supplies and
oscilloscopes, which likely e lec s ha i had he second highes mean o S1. 9G,
an ad anced elec i e, has he lowes mean o S1, likely due o he s uden s being
emo ed om he ac ual senso s and ins umen a ion so ha hey may ocus on
implemen ing hei own code o decision making algo i hms o a obo .
Subjec s sco ing high on S16 include 9A, 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G and 9H, which all in ol e
in ensi e g oup wo k in o de o comple e he asks du ing wo kshop classes. The
lowes mean o S16 was 3C, which could be a ibu ed o a p ima ily guided
wo kshop s uc u e and challenges wi h eam collabo a ion and wo kload dis ibu ion
wi hin he s uden coho . In e es ingly, 3D, which is eam-based and in ol es a
open-ended design p ojec in he la e pa o he semes e , also igu es low on he
mean sco e o S16. This low mean may be associa ed wi h wo kshop classes
inishing ea ly o poo eamwo k dynamics and p ojec managemen p ac ices.
The s a emen s wi h he lowes means we e S11 (3.84) and S14 (3.56), co e ing
Senso y Awa eness and Sa e y espec i ely. Howe e , he s anda d de ia ion o S14
on Sa e y was ela i ely high, indica ing ha s uden s’ expe iences o sa e y in he
wo kshop class likely a ied signi ican ly acco ding o subjec . A one-way ANOVA
e ealed ha he e was only one s a emen , S5, wi h no s a is ically signi ican
di e ence in means be ween any subjec s (F(12, 674) = [1.122], p = 0.339). The
compound ph asing o he S5 s a emen , ‘De ise and implemen an expe imen al o
simula ion app oach…’ migh be in e p e ed by s uden s as a disjunc i e (OR)
condi ion be ween ‘de ise’ and ‘implemen ’, a he han a conjunc i e (AND)
condi ion. As all subjec s’ wo kshops implemen some o m o expe imen al o
simula ion app oach, he esponses o indi idual subjec s o his s a emen ha e
likely become indis inguishable.
3.2 Lea ning Domains
Recalling ha each s a emen co esponds o one o he h ee lea ning domains,
Figu e 1 gi es he means o each domain ac oss all subjec s. The o e all domain
means ac oss all subjec s is 4.17 (Cogni i e), 3.93 (Psychomo o ), and 4.00
(A ec i e). In e es ingly, le el ‘2’ and le el ‘3’ subjec s on a e age ou pe o med he
ad anced, le el ‘9’ subjec s ac oss he h ee domains.
Subjec 3A has he highes mean o he Cogni i e domain, which is likely associa ed
o he combina ion o a la ge amoun o echnical con en in he lec u es, guided
wo kshops o undamen al concep s and open-ended wo kshops o a design
p ojec . This is a combina ion ha many s uden s ind unusual, pa icula ly as
p ojec -based lea ning ends o be concen a ed in la e , mo e ad anced subjec s,
a he han co e o ounda ional (con en -hea y) subjec s like 3A.
Fig. 1. Domain means ac oss all subjec s (N=691)
Subjec 9A has he highes means o Psychomo o and A ec i e. We ecall his
subjec is p ojec -based and in ol es p in ed ci cui boa ds, which easonably
explains he Psychomo o mean. In addi ion, s uden s may keep hei ci cui designs
de eloped h oughou he semes e , which could jus i y he la ge A ec i e mean.
No e ha while being in he mid- ange o means o he Cogni i e and Psychomo o
domains, 3C had he equal lowes mean o he A ec i e domain. This may be due
o no only he eamwo k challenges highligh ed be o e, bu also he ma hema ically
in ensi e con en and a lack o angible connec ion o eal-wo ld ele ance making i
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
2A 3A 3B 3C 3D 9A 9B 9C 9D 9E 9F 9G 9H
cogni i e
psychomo o
a ec i e
di icul o he s uden s o emo ionally engage wi h he con en . To imp o e a ec i e
engagemen in his subjec , eal-wo ld examples should be in eg a ed in o he
wo kshops wi h imp o ed oppo uni ies o collabo a ion and hands-on ac i i ies. 9E
inco po a es a la ge simula ion-based p ojec , which is comple ed indi idually and
sepa a ely om wo kshop classes. Hence, a lowe a ec i e sco e could be
expec ed, pa icula ly since his se up nega i ely impac s S14, S17 and S18.
3.3 Compa ing guided e sus open-ended design wo kshops
Subjec s 2A and 3A p o ide an o e iew o undamen al ools o he analysis o
elec ic ci cui s and o m he ounda ion o many subsequen subjec s in he elec ical
enginee ing deg ee. While 2A ollows a con en ional s uc u e wi h guided
wo kshops whe e s uden s wo k h ough a lis o asks wi h limi ed aspec s o
inno a ion, 3A includes an open-ended design p ojec whe e s uden s a e p o ided
wi h a complex enginee ing p oblem and asked o collabo a i ely “ hink as
enginee s” (Xa ie & Wong, 2024). Due o hei close ela ionship in e ms o
echnical con en , bu di e en o ms o wo kshop deli e y and assessmen , hese
subjec s p o ide a use ul poin o compa ison. An independen samples - es was
pe o med ac oss all s a emen s, esul ing in i e s a emen s wi h means ha we e
s a is ically signi ican , as shown in Table 3, along wi h hei e ec sizes (Cohen’s d).
I can be seen ha he in oduc ion o p ojec -based lea ning in 3A has esul ed in
s a is ically signi ican imp o emen s in S8 (due o he open-ended na u e o he
p ojec ), S9 ( equi emen o build a physical p o o ype o he eam’s p oposed
solu ion), S11 (p ojec aims o emula e a eal-wo ld p oblem), S13 (p ojec equi es
an inno a i e solu ion) and S15 (s uden s a e equi ed o p esen esul s bo h o ally
and in w i ing h oughou he semes e ). Howe e , we no e ha he o e all wo kshop
lea ning expe ience o bo h subjec s (S20) did no show any s a is ically signi ican
di e ence. The same obse a ion applies o aspec s o eam collabo a ion (S17) and
p ojec managemen (S18), sugges ing ha s uden s ha e pe cei ed minimum
imp o emen s in hese impo an p o essional skills.
Table 3. S a emen s wi h s a is ically signi ican (p < 0.05) di e ences in means o subjec s
2A and 3A.
Subjec 2A (N=164)
Subjec 3B (N=24)
S a emen
Cohen’s d
Mean
SD
Mean
SD
S8 Design
1.05
3.82
1.09
4.57
0.59
S9 Design
0.94
3.85
0.96
4.38
0.77
S11 Senso y Awa eness
0.93
3.82
0.94
4.17
0.97
S13 C ea i i y
0.91
3.84
0.95
4.33
0.56
S15 Communica ion
1.06
3.77
1.10
4.29
0.69
4 DISCUSSION AND FUTURE WORK
4.1 The alue o pe cep ion
This s udy ocused on s uden s’ pe cep ion o hei lea ning and wo kshop
expe ience ia he wen y s a emen s, hence he alue and limi a ions o he insigh s
mus be in e p e ed in ha con ex . Some o he s a emen s a e concep ually easie
o pe cei e, o example, a s uden p esen a ion deli e ed in wo kshop classes is
clea ly mapped o he S15 s a emen abou communica ion, hence leading o highe
a e age o his s a emen . Howe e , dis inguishing be ween whe he an
expe imen al app oach (S4 and S5) o design p ocedu e (S7 and S8) was guided o
open-ended can ha e mo e a iabili y in pe cep ion since s uden s may s uggle o
accu a ely di e en ia e be ween simple expe imen al/design p ocedu es and mo e
au hen ic, open-ended lea ning expe iences. Addi ionally, in a u u e semes e ,
pe cep ions o a pas subjec can change as hei enginee ing knowledge and skills
de elop and sca old o e ime. This ongoing lea ning p ocess may in luence how
hey e ospec i ely e alua e hei ea lie expe iences.
4.2 Deploymen s a egy
One key conside a ion is ha nume ous subjec s conduc assessmen du ing
wo kshop classes, hus, some s uden s may iew his ( ela i ely sho ) su ey as
aking away ime om hei assessmen p epa a ion. The demons a o s gene ally
announced he su ey o he class and highligh ed ha i s impo ance. Howe e ,
s uden s would some imes immedia ely pu he su ey pape aside, con inue wi h
hei wo k, and hen comple e i in a sho e ime han o he s. Addi ionally, depending
on en olmen , an indi idual s uden comple ed he su ey ins umen se e al imes
( o di e en subjec s), meaning ha amilia i y and luency wi h he ques ions could
change he in e p e a ion. Wi h he longe - e m iew o embedding his su ey
ins umen in he eedback and con inuous imp o emen cycles o eaching and
lea ning, i is aluable o u u e wo k o in es iga e whe he and how his wo kshop
e alua ion p ocess becomes eng ained in o he cul u e o ou p og am.
4.3 Educa ing a holis ic enginee
Acc edi a ion s anda ds a e an impo an guide o he knowledge and skills we aim
o impa h ough ou eaching. As such, ou expansion o his su ey ins umen o
wen y s a emen s, om he hi een in Salim e al. (2013), means i can mo e
p ecisely map on o indi idual elemen s o an acc edi a ion s anda d. Mo eo e , i is
no expec ed ha e e y subjec sco es high on e e y s a emen . Thus, a obus and
eliable measu emen o s uden pe cep ion o wo kshops con as ed alongside
eaching ma e ials and pedagogies is a aluable con ibu ion o p og am-wide
e alua ion a a ious le els o he uni e si y. Fu u e esea ch will also aim o
in es iga e syne gies be ween he lea ning domains whe e he pe cep ion o ce ain
s a emen s end o a y oge he , e.g., he sugges ed syne gy be ween open-ended
design (S8) and senso y awa eness (S11) equi es u he in es iga ion. Mo eo e ,
in es iga ing o he ‘domain’ g oupings may p o ide new insigh s o p og am-wide
e alua ion, o example, au hen ic pe cep ions o e hics (S19), sa e y (S14), and
eading manuals, li e a u e (S3) can be elusi e despi e an educa o ’s bes e o s.
5 CONCLUSION
This pape p esen ed he de elopmen o a su ey ins umen o assess s uden
lea ning in wo kshop classes ac oss he h ee domains o Cogni i e, Psychomo o ,
and A ec i e in an elec ical enginee ing deg ee p og amme. Resul s indica ed ha
he e we e signi ican di e ences be ween subjec s, linked o a ia ions in deli e y
mode, eaching con en , and lea ning ac i i ies and can in o m he e inemen o
wo kshop con en and deli e y s a egies o be e align wi h he in ended lea ning
ou comes ac oss he h ee domains. No ably, he esul s highligh oppo uni ies o
imp o e eamwo k expe iences in subjec s whe e g oupwo k does no ansi ion in o
uly collabo a i e eamwo k expe iences. Ano he key akeaway is he impo ance o
embedding sa e y educa ion and p ac ices consis en ly h oughou he p og amme.
O e all, his su ey amewo k can se e as a aluable ool o enginee ing
educa o s o assess he s uden lea ning expe iences in labo a o ies o wo kshops
ei he in pa icula subjec s o h oughou a whole p og amme.