Active Blended Learning Engineering Students: A Case Study

Abstract

An ongoing technological, economic, and societal change forces a new understanding of engineering and modifies the requirements for higher engineering education. Consequently, an educational approach based on the combination of blended learning and active learning promises great prospects for the enhancement of the knowledge and skills acquisition thanks to the flexibility it opens up. In this research, an attitude to study is first ever analysed from the standpoint of students enrolled in three various degree levels, namely, a Bachelor of Science program, a Master of Science program, and a new EuroTeQ program. The strengths and weaknesses of the blended and active learning combination are evaluated from didactic and methodological sides. It shows a fundamentally different approach to learning from students belonging to various degree programs. Most of the bachelor degree learners volunteered to participate in active learning, although a significant proportion of them was unable to succeed. In contrast, the learning of master students looks more circumspect and selective; they devote less time to study, but spend it more wisely, being more highly responsible for the outcomes than bachelors. The EuroTeQ participants did not push on many active learning activities, but demonstrated quite high motivation in quizzes, labs, and online consultations. As a result, the outcomes of the first academic year satisfied mainly the most strong of the EuroTeQ students.