Simple ways to facilitate active learning in hands-on electrical engineering technology courses

Abstract

The traditional way engineering and engineering technology courses are taught is based on traditional lecture and laboratory experiments, which are still the most frequent teaching methods used nowadays around the world. On the other hand, active learning methodologies grounded in scientific research in education have been attracting considerable attention over the past years with numerous research studies indicating the efficacy of such learning styles. In this article, the author addresses the main challenges and shares active learning strategies used to encourage active learning and engagement among students in face-to-face Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) courses. The implementation of active learning, cooperative learning and problem-based learning in EET hands-on courses is discussed. The assessment results have indicated that the instructional approaches used have been successful in meeting the teaching goals, which once again serves as evidence for the effectiveness of active learning as research studies have indicated.