Learner Satisfaction and Quality of Student-Faculty Interactions in Traditional vs. Blended Classrooms

摘要

The effectiveness of active learning methods to improve learning in STEM higher education has become an area of national interest, in part because of a perceived need to increase retention of students in STEM careers and support their career development in a global economy. Support for designing courses with a variety of activities to increase student engagement is based on evidence of increased test scores and reduced failure rates in active learning classrooms in a variety of disciplines. Even though active learning strategies such as peer instruction have been demonstrated to improve scores on these traditional assessments (tests), it is not clear whether student perceptions of their learning environments are positive. In fact, students often become frustrated with or demonstrate resistance to some active learning course designs. Thus, it is reasonable to question whether active learning approaches encourage or discourage student persistence in STEM.