We All Take Learners Into Account In Our Teaching Decisions: Wait, Do We?

Abstract

Creating a learner-centered environment within an instructional setting is a goal which engineering faculty are encouraged to achieve. However, little has been studied of how engineering educators actually incorporate learner issues into their teaching. In this paper we report on this issue by describing how three engineering educators talked about learners in the context of talking about teaching decisions. In particular we characterize the range of dimensions mentioned by the educators, the source of their information, and the way they used the information. We focus on learner characterizations in three specific areas related to: interacting with students, student ratings and in the context of active learning. We situate this work in notions of theories of learner-centeredness and the current body of scholarship providing characterizations of engineering students and their learning. The findings remind us of the complexity of on-the-ground teaching activity.