A learning-Centered Paradigm for Engineering Graphics and Design: Engineering Technology Students' Skill Gains and Capstone Preparation

This descriptive non-experimental follow-on study investigates the extent to which a learning-centered paradigm in an engineering graphics and design course prepared undergraduate engineering technology (ET) students for senior capstone and how the course impacted vital professional and technical skills. A small 2016 case study (n = 10) showed that the course, which was approximately .5% passive and 95% active learning, produced positive skill gains for ET students (Webster 2017). However, this follow-on study was needed due to the inability of the 2016 case study to identify and/or confirm data trends and fully gauge the students' preparation for senior capstone. Multiple end-of-semester course surveys measured the extent to which 39 additional students from three new cohorts, over three consecutive years, believed they had made progress in a variety of skill development areas because of the course (i.e., indirect assessments). The classroom activities and outcomes survey indicated that, on average, the students believed that the course had moderately to greatly improved their engineering design, problem-solving, communication, and group skills. Additional analysis indicated satisfaction with the industry supplied computer-aided design (CAD) curriculum, positive reactions to project-based learning (a 10-week team design project), and CAD skill (modeling, drawing) gains. Observations from faculty and recent graduates also support the view that the course improved ET students' preparation for capstone. This paper provides a synopsis of the course and curriculum, validation for the learning-centered paradigm, and aids the engineering research community in taking a more nuanced view of active learning.