We analyse the predictive power of learning strategies for engineering students' performance in mathematics. Learning strategies play an important role in self-regulated learning. Based on a new learning strategy questionnaire that takes into account the specifics of mathematical learning at universities, we investigated what were the strategies…

Knowing how students approach learning in higher education contexts is key to promote learning strategies that are effective in the long run. Previous research has concluded that students often use ineffective learning strategies but believe them to be effective--a phenomenon known as metacognitive illusion. In a bid to broaden the perspective on…

There is a lack of research on how game-based learning apps should be designed for engineering education. This paper addresses two research questions: What do engineering students expect from a learning app? Which educational approach and learning app design can meet these requirements? A survey revealed the particular demands of engineering…

Ed+gineering, an NSF-funded program, adapted hands-on robotics instruction for online delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative multiple case study shares the experiences of participating education students in spring 2021 as they collaborated virtually with engineering students and fifth graders to engineer bioinspired robots…

Within the self-regulated learning literature, motivation is considered to be an essential feature of students' self-regulatory processes. Additionally, task affect (i.e., personal objectives and task value) is thought to influence students' self-regulatory processes; insufficient task affect may lead to failures to self-regulate effectively. In a…

This research explored how engineering apprentices at an Australian TAFE institution perceive their supported acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills. Using a mixed methods approach, 56 apprentices completed questionnaires with nine participating in subsequent interviews. The study identified apprentices' perceived ability levels in reading,…

An increasingly desired outcome of engineering education is the ability to engage in self-regulated learning (SRL). One promising method for the formative assessment of SRL is the reflective diary. There is, however, a paucity of research on the use of reflective diaries in engineering education. To mitigate this gap, we report on a case study…

To stimulate a flexible lifelong learning system students can enter university via lateral entry. Unlike traditional first-year students, lateral entrance students are not well-studied. Therefore this study focuses on comparing first-year students with a specific group of lateral entrants, namely bridging students at the Faculty of Engineering…

Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been implemented in the first year of the Industrial Engineering and Management programme at the University of Minho, Portugal, since 2004/2005. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss teachers' experiences in PBL in this programme and to explore its implications for student learning and for teaching…

Active and collaborative teaching methods increase student learning, and it is broadly accepted that almost any active or collaborative approach will improve learning outcomes as compared to lecture. Yet, large numbers of faculty have not embraced these methods. Thus, the challenge to encourage evidence-based change in teaching is not only how to…

The objective of this study was to evaluate students' self-regulated learning (SRL) skills used in a Web-intensive learning environment. The research question guiding the study was: How did the use of student SRL skills and student engagement in online activities compare between higher- and lower-performing students participating in a…

Self-control has been related to positive student outcomes including academic performance of college students. Because of the critical nature of the first semester academic performance for engineering students in terms of retention and persistence in pursuing an engineering degree, this study investigated the relationship between freshmen…

Cooperative learning may improve students' motivation, understanding of course concepts, and academic performance. This study therefore enhanced a cooperative, group-project learning technique with technology resources to determine whether doing so improved students' deep learning and performance. A sample of 118 engineering students, randomly…

This article presents the findings of an action research study on developing learner autonomy through project work in an English for Specific Purposes class. The study was conducted at a Colombian regional and public university with environmental engineering undergraduates. The instruments for data collection were field notes, semi-structured…

Research on academic self-regulation suggests that students who are successful in academic settings tend to possess and use effective self-regulative learning characteristics such as intrinsic goal orientation and self-efficacy. Social-cognitive theories also emphasize that learning occurs through interactions between learners and the learning…