Emergent premises in student experiences of a first-year electrical engineering course

Abstract

This study explores how project-based learning in combination with other pedagogical scaffolding approaches influences students’ experiences during their transition into the university. Based on the thematic analysis of interviews with students at the end of the first semester, we show how a project-based course in electronics can create opportunities within three themes: student socialisation, curriculum integration, and peer-learning. In the light of these findings, we discuss how students build relationships with other students, as well as with faculty members and practicing engineers, and how these relationships influence their start at the university. On a more general level, this case study exemplifies how an existing electrical engineering programme can be changed by targeted interventions without the need for programme wide adjustments.