A Model-Driven Multi-Year Assessment of a Software Development Project for Engineering Instruction

Abstract

This paper is a review of a series of evaluation studies that were utilized to inform and evaluate a large scale instructional software development project at-the university of Missouri - Rolla entitled "Taking the Next Step in Engineering Education: Integrating Educational Software and Active Learning." This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), and was carried out over the last four years. The assessment was carried out under the auspices of UMR's Laboratory for Information Technology Evaluation (LITE), and guided by the LITE model for evaluation of learning technologies. The fundamental premise of the model is that evaluation should consist of the triangulation of multiple research methodologies and measurement tools. Five representative evaluation studies, consisting of eight experiments, are presented here. The studies range from initial research consisting of basic experimentation and usability testing; to applied research conducted within the class room; to a large multi-nation cross-cultural applied-dissemination survey conducted during the last semester of the project. The results indicate that the instructional multimedia developed in this project can have a substantial positive impact in enhancing fundamental engineering classes. Further, the research also indicates that the LITE model can be an effective tool for guiding a comprehensive evaluation program.

Meeting Name

2004 ASEE Annual Conference and Expostion (2004: Jun. 20-23, Salt Lake City, UT)

Department(s)

Business and Information Technology

Second Department

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Third Department

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Instructional multimedia; Model-driven assessment; Software components; Engineering education; Information technology; Learning systems; Multimedia systems; Project management; Societies and institutions; Software engineering; Computer aided instruction

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

2153-5965

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2004 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jun 2004

Link to Full Text

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