Et Students' Perceptions Of The Most Important Means Of Learning

This paper concerns engineering technology students’ perceptions of what is most important to their learning. Day and evening, baccalaureate and associate degree technology students were asked to rate the following, according to how important they have been to their learning in their technical subjects: reading the textbook; consulting with other students out-ofclass; listening to lectures concerning concepts and relationships; listening to lectures on how to solve problems; working on homework problems; working out new problems during the class session; going over problems in class that the student has previously attempted and worked on, such as homework problems; asking questions of the instructor during class; consultation sessions with the instructor to clarify what seems unclear; using the library resources; doing laboratory exercises; studying for an exam; reviewing returned and corrected exams; and reviewing returned and corrected lab reports. Most important to the students, on average, was listening to lectures that explain how to solve problems. Next in importance were in-class reviews of problems that students had previously attempted, and doing homework problems. Following in importance were studying for an exam, and in-class practice in solving problems. Other highly important activities were reviewing returned and corrected exams, and listening to lectures concerning concepts and relationships. The paper goes over the various results that were found, and suggests possible explanations.