The Impact of Instructor Experience on Student Success for a Blended, Undergraduate Engineering Class

• In Event: 16.061 - Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: 16.061-14 - Promising Practices That Address Diverse Learning Styles

Abstract

The growing need for STEM expertise has spawned significant research related to student retention and matriculation with these important disciplines. Recently, this research focus has shifted toward gateway, sophomore-level courses, due to their prominence in the student's technical formation (i.e. it is the level at which the students first enter their discipline). This work seeks to meaningfully add to the growing amount of literature in this research area by investigating how instructor experience in an Active, Blended, and Collaborative (ABC) learning environment impacts student success at the tertiary level. The work demonstrates that instructors educating within this learning environment experience similar learning curves as new K-12 teachers, with maximum effectiveness being achieved after approximately three semesters.

Authors

• Nick A. Stites, Purdue University

• Craig Zywicki

• Edward Berger, University of Virginia

• Charles Krousgrill, Purdue University

• Jeffrey F Rhoads, Purdue University

• Jennifer Deboer, Purdue University