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STEM Education

2023, Volume 3, Issue 4: 331-349. doi: 10.3934/steme.2023020
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Research article

A ranking comparison of the traditional, online and mixed laboratory mode learning objectives in engineering: Uncovering different priorities

  • 1.
    University of Wollongong
  • 2.
    University of New South Wales
  • 3.
    University of the Sunshine Coast
  • 4.
    Curtin University
  • 5.
    University of Western Australia
  • 6.
    University of Technology Sydney
  • 7.
    Western Sydney University
  • 8.
    University of Tasmania

  • Academic Editor: Med Amine Laribi
  • Received: 13 September 2023 Revised: 29 November 2023 Accepted: 05 December 2023 Published: 28 December 2023

  • The laboratory, an integral component of engineering education, can be conducted via traditional, online or mixed modes. Within these modes is a diverse range of implementation formats, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Empirical evidence investigating laboratory learning is rather scattered, with objectives measurement focused on the innovation in question (e.g., new simulation or experiment). Recently, a clearer picture of the most important laboratory learning objectives has formed. Missing is an understanding of whether academics implementing laboratories across different modes think about learning objectives differently. Using a survey based on the Laboratory Learning Objectives Measurement instrument, academics from a diverse range of engineering disciplines from across the world undertook a ranking exercise. The findings show that those implementing traditional and mixed laboratories align closely in their ranking choices, while those implementing online-only laboratories think about the objectives slightly differently. These findings provide an opportunity for reflection, enabling engineering educators to refine the alignment of their teaching modes, implementations and assessments with their intended learning objectives.

    Citation: Sasha Nikolic, Sarah Grundy, Rezwanul Haque, Sulakshana Lal, Ghulam M. Hassan, Scott Daniel, Marina Belkina, Sarah Lyden, Thomas F. Suesse. A ranking comparison of the traditional, online and mixed laboratory mode learning objectives in engineering: Uncovering different priorities[J]. STEM Education, 2023, 3(4): 331-349. doi: 10.3934/steme.2023020

    Related Papers:

  • The laboratory, an integral component of engineering education, can be conducted via traditional, online or mixed modes. Within these modes is a diverse range of implementation formats, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Empirical evidence investigating laboratory learning is rather scattered, with objectives measurement focused on the innovation in question (e.g., new simulation or experiment). Recently, a clearer picture of the most important laboratory learning objectives has formed. Missing is an understanding of whether academics implementing laboratories across different modes think about learning objectives differently. Using a survey based on the Laboratory Learning Objectives Measurement instrument, academics from a diverse range of engineering disciplines from across the world undertook a ranking exercise. The findings show that those implementing traditional and mixed laboratories align closely in their ranking choices, while those implementing online-only laboratories think about the objectives slightly differently. These findings provide an opportunity for reflection, enabling engineering educators to refine the alignment of their teaching modes, implementations and assessments with their intended learning objectives.


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  • Author's biography Sasha Nikolic received a B.E. degree in telecommunications and a PhD in engineering education from the University of Wollongong, Australia, in 2001 and 2017, respectively. He is a Senior Lecturer of Engineering Education at the University of Wollongong. His interest is developing career-ready graduates involving research in teaching laboratories, artificial intelligence, industry engagement, work-integrated learning, knowledge management, communication, and reflection. Dr Nikolic has been recognised with many awards, including an Australian Award for University Teaching Citation in 2012 and 2019, and a 2023 AAEE Engineering Education Research Design Award. He is a member of the executive committee of AAEE and an Associate Editor for AJEE and EJEE; Sarah Grundy is an education-focused lecturer at the School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales. Sarah predominantly teaches design subjects at all levels (undergraduate to postgraduate). Sarah has over 15 years of experience in Research & Development, Manufacturing, and project management in industry. Sarah's passion is to develop students to be credible engineers and make their impact in whatever industry through authentic learning practices; Dr. Rezwanul Haque is a Senior Lecturer specialising in Manufacturing Technology at the University of the Sunshine Coast. As an inaugural member of the AAEE Academy, he has contributed significantly to the academic community. In 2019, Dr. Haque served as an Academic Lead at the School of Science and Technology, overseeing the launch of two new Engineering programs and reviewing existing ones. His dedication to learning and teaching earned him the prestigious Senior Fellow status at the Higher Education Academy (UK) in the same year. His research focuses on Engineering Education and material characterisation through neutron diffraction; Sulakshana Lal has a PhD in Engineering Education from Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia. Her research focused on comparing the learning and teaching processes of face-to-face and remotely-operated engineering laboratories. With a keen interest in the intersection of technology and education, Sulakshana has published several articles in reputable journals and also presented her work at national and international engineering education conferences. Her expertise lies in understanding the nuances of different laboratories pedagogical settings and harnessing technology to enhance laboratory learning outcomes. Sulakshana is passionate about sharing her knowledge and helping educators and students navigate the evolving landscape of engineering education; Dr. Ghulam M. Hassan is Senior Lecturer in Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at The University of Western Australia (UWA). He received his PhD from UWA. He completed MS and BS from Oklahoma State University, USA and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar, Pakistan, respectively. His research interests are multidisciplinary problems, including engineering education, artificial intelligence, machine learning and optimisation in different fields of engineering and education. He is the recipient of multiple teaching excellence awards and is awarded AAEE Engineering Education Research Design Award 2021 & 2023; Scott Daniel is a Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, and serves as Deputy Editor at the Australasian Journal of Engineering Education and on the Editorial Boards of the European Journal of Engineering Education, the African Journal of Teacher Education and Development, and the Journal of Humanitarian Engineering. Scott uses qualitative methodologies to explore different facets of engineering education, particularly humanitarian engineering. He won the 2019 Australasian Association for Engineering Education Award for Research Design for his work with Andrea Mazzurco on the assessment of socio-technical thinking and co-design expertise in humanitarian engineering; Dr. Marina Belkina is Lecturer and First Year Experience Coordinator at Western Sydney University. She has taught various subjects and courses (Foundation, Diploma, first and second years of Bachelor's Degree, online Associate Degree). She has implemented numerous projects to support learning, including: Creating the YouTube channel Engineering by Steps, Leading the development of HD videos for the first-year engineering courses, Developing iBook for physics, creating 3D lectures and aminations for Engineering Materials, and conducting research focused on exploring student's barriers to Higher Education; Sarah Lyden completed her BSc-BE (Hons) at the University of Tasmania in 2011. From 2012 to 2015 she was a PhD candidate with the School of Engineering and ICT at the University of Tasmania. From March 2015 to February 2018 Sarah was employed as the API Lecturer in the field of power systems and renewable energy. Since 2018, Sarah has been employed as Lecturer in the School of Engineering. Sarah has been a member of the School of Engineering and ICT's STEM education and outreach team; Dr. Thomas F. Suesse completed his MSc (Dipl-Math) degree in mathematics at the Friedrich-Schiller-University (FSU) of Jena, Germany, in 2003. Dr Suesse then worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Documentation (IMSID) and FSU. In 2005 he went to Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), New Zealand, to start his PhD in statistics and his degree was conferred with his thesis titled, 'Analysis and Diagnostics of Categorical Variables with Multiple Outcomes' in 2008. In 2009 Dr Suesse started working as a research fellow at the Centre for Statistical and Survey Methodology (CSSM) at the University of Wollongong. He was appointed as a lecturer at UOW in 2011 and promoted to senior lecturer in 2015. Currently he is at FSU on a research on a research fellowship
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