Self-Directed Learning in a Research Course for Mechanical Engineers

At the University of Twente, students in their third year of the bachelor programme in Mechanical Engineering participate in the course 'Introduction to Technological Research'. The course has a study load of 6.5 ects (182 hours) spread over two quartiles. The course is part of the bachelor completion. In the course students have to engage in literature review on a given topic and write and present a research proposal. During the past years, this course has experienced some major problems with student motivation. Evaluation scores were low and students were leaving the bachelor with a negative image of research practice. A redesign of the course was made based on the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), a theory on intrinsic motivation. The self-determination theory states that intrinsic motivation of human beings can be stimulated by fulfilling three basic needs; competence, relatedness and autonomy. Based on these three pillars, a new design for the course was made where students were stimulated to take responsibility for their research project by make their own choices, cooperate with peers and complete the full research cycle in close cooperation with one of the research groups at mechanical engineering. A validated questionnaire was used to measure student motivation, combined with an extensive course evaluation. The results were positive. The majority of students indicated that they liked the course and their research assignment. Also, the course was valued as relevant to the programme. Students especially appreciated the activities with peers. The overall evaluation score went up from 4 to seven. The next two years were used to further fine-tune the course based on student input and further work out the principle of self-directed learning. Also, reflection on the impact of technological research on society was integrated in the project course. Recommendations are given for other lecturers aiming to stimulate intrinsic motivation in a course or a project.

Proceedings of the 13th International CDIO Conference in Calgary, Canada, June 18-22 2017