Longitudinal analysis of instructor actions in an active, blended, and collaborative classroom environment

Austin Zadoks, Nick A. Stites, David Evenhouse, Nimit Patel, Rohit Kandakatla, Edward J. Berger, Jeffrey F. Rhoads, Jennifer DeBoer

Abstract: In recent years, there has been a call for Engineering Education to adopt innovative pedagogical techniques. One such innovation is Purdue University's Freeform environment for teaching undergraduate engineering courses. Freeform aims to enhance student learning with an Active, Blended, and Collaborative (ABC) learning environment. The majority of research into the Freeform environment thus far has focused on student outcomes and the tools Freeform uses rather than instructional practice [1-3]. However, with the growth of Freeform and other ABC environments, the lack of actionable feedback available to instructors about their role and practices is becoming increasingly apparent. Therefore, with the goal of building on the characterization of Freeform and ABC pedagogies in general, this paper presents a one-semester longitudinal analysis of two instructors and comparisons of their actions in this environment. The study concludes that these two instructors retain individuality in their pedagogical choices and adapt their instruction to the material presented while staying within the Freeform ABC ethos throughout the semester.