Blended Learning and Continuous Assessment as Tools to Promote Active Learning in an Electronics Product Design Course

Problem-solving skills, teamwork skills, analytical thinking skills, data acquisition skills, and communicative skills along with theoretical skills of one’s own field are all qualities that are highly valued in modern working life. It is thus important that university students learn these skills during their studies. In order to succeed with this the students need to be seen as active learners instead of expecting them simply to listen and memorize.

This paper introduces a teaching approach using blended learning and continuous assessment that was implemented in a bachelor level university course of electronics product design during autumn 2017. The implementation of the course was realized with blended learning methods that included classroom face-to-face learning, online learning and collaborative learning. The face-to-face learning experiences consisted of learning through lectures, exercises, presentations and various discussions in the classroom. The online learning assignments, which were realized in the Moodle learning environment, included wiki building and forum discussion. Different group work assignments during the course were the main means for collaborative learning. The final grade of the course was determined based on the different assignments and three online exams. The performance of the students was thus continuously assessed throughout the course.

The aim of this teaching approach was to offer students versatile learning experiences and to engage students in the learning process. According to the feedback, many students felt that the learning methods deepened their learning, the versatility of the course made the learning more meaningful and the continuous assessment distributed the workload more evenly.