The Impact of Experiential Learning Methodology on Student Achievement in Mechanical Automotive Engineering Education

摘要

This research work was conducted over a two year period. The independent variable was experiential learning methodology and the dependent variables were students' academic performance, students' attendance and its impact on employability skills/attributes based on students' feedback. 144 undergraduate mechanical engineering students formed the sample and were divided into control and experimental groups. In this work, low-budget working models were developed and used to teach an undergraduate course within a mechanical engineering degree. Two different teaching strategies, one with traditional lecturing methodology for control group and the other with experiential learning methodology for experimental group were adopted. The statistical analysis showed that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group with respect to `class pass percentage' and `grade score'. On comparing the `class attendance', significantly higher class attendance was achieved in the experimental group compared to the control group. Based on the end-of-semester students feedback, it was established that the present experiential learning methodology had provided positive influence on students' employability skills/attributes. This study demonstrates the efficacy of experiential learning methodology in enhancing students' learning outcomes. The significance of providing multisensory approach to teaching through hands-on learning experiences is highlighted in this study.