A Qualitative Analysis of Student Learning After the Completion of Maker Education Programs: Influences on the Choice of Engineering Majors

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyze the learning growth of students who previously underwent maker education training and to investigate the factors that influenced their decisions to choose engineering majors. The research focused on tracing the learning trajectory of each student from the completion of the maker program to college admission. Ten college students majoring in engineering disciplines were interviewed. A phenomenographic and qualitative research method was adopted. The research findings confirmed that computational thinking and engineering design skills, emphasized in maker education, had a positive influence on the learning performance of students in subsequent technology-related courses. Furthermore, experiences in maker learning reinforced the determination of students to choose engineering majors. © 2024 Tempus Publications. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Education reform engineering major maker education, qualitative study phenomenographic research

Index Keywords

Curricula Engineering education Students Education programmes qualitative analysis Student learning Education reforms Education training Qualitative study Engineering major Learning trajectories Maker education, qualitative study Phenomenographic research

Author Affiliations

Department of Engineering Science, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

Graduate Institute of Technological and Vocational Education, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Pingtung, Taiwan

Funding & Acknowledgements

No funding information

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A Qualitative Analysis of Student Learning After the Completion of Maker Education Programs: Influences on the Choice of Engineering Majors

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