The project entitled - Self-Assessment Study of the Use of Evidence-based Instructional Practices in Engineering - will conduct a self-study to determine what fraction of courses and instructors use evidence-based instructional practices, how frequently such practices are used and how the practices are distributed across the undergraduate engineering courses at Pennsylvania State University. The research consists of two phases: 1) a focus on the use of evidence-based practices in courses taught by the faculty in the student's home department, and 2) a focus on large enrollment courses such as Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics. The research design incorporates a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods.
The study will lay the foundation for future efforts to implement evidence-based practices more widely within undergraduate engineering programs. The project proposes to begin a cooperation between the College of Engineering and the College of Science to impact large enrollment courses offered in both Colleges. The project will engage administrative leaders to understand their awareness of evidence-based practices, how they are supporting the use of such practices, and what they see as barriers to wider use of such practices.
