Learning to Learn

It is estimated that an engineering student will be technically obsolete from 5–10 years after he graduates if he does not continue to learn after graduation. A new teaching strategy, Self-Paced Instruction, has recently been applied to engineering courses. This technique has the advantage that it teaches a student to learn for himself as well as giving him the technical content of the course. On the basis of our experience to date, this method is a great success as judged by student learning, motivation, and enjoyment. Introduction Due to the probable technical obsolescence of a student who fails to continue studying after graduation, one of the primary responsibilities of modern engineering education is to design the classroom environment to encourage the student to enjoy learning. If this is successfully achieved, psychology indicates that the student will naturally gravitate toward a continuation of his education after his formal studies are completed. Modern learning theory has developed a teaching strategy called PSI (personalized or proctorial system of instruction) in which a positive attitude toward learning as well as specific "learning skills" are developed without sacrificing coverage of course material. PSI was applied at The University of Texas in a senior engineering course.