An Evaluation of an Experiential Learning Initiative in a First-Year Engineering Materials Course

Abstract

The introduction of experiential learning content into a first-year Engineering Materials (1017ENG) is investigated. The success of 1017ENG is evaluated in the context of an earlier, similar traditional offering of the course (1502ENG). The student experience of course (SEC) evaluation data and student performance in 1017ENG and 1502ENG are compared. Student satisfactions levels are found to be maintained in 1017ENG and the experiential focus results in an overall improvement in student performance. There is no significant difference in the proportions of low-achieving students (those recording a ‘Fail’ grade) or in the proportions of the highest achieving students (those recording a ‘7’). The overall improvement in performance arises from the notable differences in the proportions of middle-range of students for the two courses (i.e. in the proportions of students with ‘4’ and ‘6’ grades).