Instituting and Assessing the Effectiveness of Focused e-learning Modules in Engineering Education

This study examines the development, utilization, and assessment of e-learning modules designed to assist students in mastering core concepts in a hybrid undergraduate engineering economic analysis class. The online learning aids focused upon key conceptual material that students had historically experienced difficulty learning within this course. The modules consisted of a short audio/video "micro-lecture" (ML) recording about a particular topic accompanied by downloadable reference documents containing the associated ML PowerPoint (R) slides and example problems. Automated assessment exercises were created for students to practice their grasp of the concepts. The online assessments and reference materials were hosted within the course learning management system, while the ML videos were accessed through a separate distance learning platform. Detailed records of students' use of the MLs, online assessment scores, exam performance, prior academic performance, and demographic variables were gathered. This data was compared to results for students in two previously taught sections who served as controls for the study. Although preliminary data indicates that the focused modules have been helpful to some students, data results overall were inconclusive in demonstrating improved learning outcomes across the board for students in the targeted course. Recommendations for improvements to data collection across multiple selections, methodology design, and e-learning tool implementation are provided for future studies.