1. Effect of Contextualization of Content and Concepts
on Students' Course Relevance and Value in
Introductory Materials Classes
American Society for Engineering Education Conference
June 27, 2015
Supported by NSF Grant #1226325
Steve Krause1, Cindy Waters2, Joe Stuart3, Eugene Judson1,
Casey Ankeny1, & Bethany Smith1
1Arizona State University, 2North Carolina A & T University, &
3Oregon Institute of Technology

2. “How People Learn” Principles
* 3 Principles > For more effective learning, instructors need to:
1. Elicit students’ prior knowledge
2. Engage students to build deep knowledge in a conceptual
framework
3. Encourage metacognition to build habits of expert learners:
students define learning goals & monitor their progress
*Donovan, et. al (1999). How people learn:
Bridging research and practice. Nat.
Academy Press, Washington, DC.

3. What is Contextualization?
• Contextualization is making classroom items relevant to students
• In terms of How People Learn Principles:
1. Prior knowledge: Activates prior knowledge to promote effective problem solving
2. Conceptual Change: Contextualized engagement motivates students
3. Metacognition: Bridge between familiar and abstract ideas
• Contextualization is part of student-centered instruction

4. Classroom Pedagogy
Instructor-Centered Teaching JTF - Student-Centered Learning

5. Issues and Challenges in Intro Materials Courses
• Relationship between real-world items, structure, and properties
• Identify prior knowledge for better context & misconception correction
• Lots of new terminology
• Lack of contextualized content in MSE texts
• Student attendance & preparedness
• Course withdrawal
Contextualization can help with these issues

6. How Context and JTF Help: Prior Knowledge
• Prior knowledge assessed by Muddiest Points (MPs)
• Student feedback through Muddiest Points: “Relating things to my
daily life helped me to retain information better”.
• YouTube Channel MaterialsConcepts uses context to address MPs

7. How Context and JTF Help: Class Engagement & Conceptual Change
• Modified textbook Slide sets:
• Link real-world content to
concepts
• Development of
contextualized in-class
activities
• Use of videos to
contextualize content
• Development of Concept
Map Homework Preview
Problems

8. How Context and JTF Help: Encouraging Metacognition
• Collection of MPs and Contextualized Instructor Response
• Response helps students correct misconceptions
• Links prior class material to new class material to activate previously
acquired knowledge
• Contextualized MP feedback challenges students to define their own
learning issues to clarify knowledge and understanding

9. Research Question & Methods
• What is the role and impact of contextualization of content with respect to
student attitude, persistence, and achievement?
• Methods
• Student Classroom Motivation Survey for Use of Contextualized Content
• Based on Expectancy Value Theory – Expectancy (E), Value (V), Cost (C)
• Given to all students at beginning and end of course

10. Results: Attitude (Pre)
Category
Average of All
Questions
Expectancy 2.58
Value 3.16
Cost 2.12
• Cost is low for students
• High value for future classes
• Motivation for instructors to
use contextualization is strong

11. Results: Persistence
Student Persistence (2nd wk – final) in JTF Project; 5 classes & 4 institutions
• Fall 2013 - 97% ( 227 / 235 );
• Spring 2014 - 95% ( 311 / 328 )
Student Persistence in Introductory Materials Class (n=35-72)
Dramatic increase in persistence withJTF pedagogy

12. Results: Achievement
Scores Increased by a Full Letter Grade in All Classes with All Participating Faculty

13. JTF Project Pedagogy Collaborating Faculty Data
• Faculty Rated “level of contextualization” of their classes at 9.3 on a
scale from 1 to 10.
• “More of a guide now”
• “More of a coach to encourage and guide”
• “I am a guide and they must take on the learning”
• JTF project assisted in shifting faculty beliefs towards student-
centered learning

14. Summary and Conclusions
• Contextualization of content can activate prior knowledge, engage
and motivate students, and make learning abstract concepts easier.
• Contextualization helps with common issues in intro MSE courses
• Contextualization has high value for students, so motivation for
instructors to use it is high.
• JTF pedagogy including Muddiest Points, contextualization, and
engagement can help to improve student attitude, achievement
and performance.
• Opportunities for faculty development in JTF pedagogy would be
useful to improve student outcomes.
Supported by NSF Grant #1226325

15. Thank you for listening!
bbsmith5@berkeley.edu