Abstract:
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) empowers educators through the systematic exploration and dissemination of teaching practices and their impact on students’ learning in post-secondary education. At the Technion, we implement SoTL through a four-stage cycle: theory-based design, classroom implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of findings. This talk will present an example of such collaboration in an Electrical Engineering course implementing a Problem-solving before Instruction (PS-I) pedagogy for the first time. PS-I offers a robust framework for enhancing deep learning and problem-solving skills. While traditional engineering courses guide students through Direct Instruction (DI) before problem-solving, PS-I reverses this sequence, requiring students to engage with challenging problems first. This approach encourages active exploration, creative thinking, and resilience, as students draw upon prior knowledge and confront gaps in their understanding.
This study utilized a PS-I intervention during one applied module on transients in second order electrical circuits in an undergraduate Electric Circuits course (n=165). During the intervention, students solved open-ended circuit analysis problems involving differential equations in groups before receiving formal guidance on solution methods. Following the problem-solving activity, students received targeted instruction via a recorded lecture and in-class tutorial lesson aimed at linking theory to the challenges students had encountered. Preliminary results reveal that PS-I led to active in-class engagement, a positive self-reported learning experience, and improved final exam scores on activity-related items.
על המרצה:
אילנה היא פסיכולוגית קוגניטיבית ועמיתת מחקר בפקולטה לחינוך למדע וטכנולוגיה בטכניון. היא השלימה פוסט-דוקטורט בפקולטה לחינוך למדע וטכנולוגיה בטכניון בהנחייתו של פרופ׳ח עדו רול. לפני כן השלימה דוקטורט בחינוך בתוכנית לטכנולוגיות חינוכיות ועיצוב למידה (Educational Technology and Learning Design) באוניברסיטת סיימון פרייזר (SFU) בקנדה. כיום, כעמיתת מחקר, היא עובדת עם המרכז לקידום הלמידה וההוראה בטכניון, ומובילה תהליכי מחקר, מדידה והערכה בתחומי הלמידה וההוראה בחינוך הגבוה למדעים, הנדסה ומתמטיקה.
