Technological and pedagogical advancements over the last three decades have significantly changed how students are taught in the industrial engineering classroom. However, changes in teaching do not necessarily equate to increased learning. How can we determine if classroom teaching methods and activities increase the engagement of students, which then may increase the amount of learning that is taking place? Research indicates that electrodermal activity (EDA) can predict engagement in a classroom setting. Assuming that students learn both better and more when they are engaged, we can use EDA to determine which classroom methods and activities are most effective. We measured students’ EDA in two different industrial engineering courses. Preliminary results indicate that we can correlate classroom activities and methods with student engagement. This paper describes our first steps for establishing a connection between EDA and classroom pedagogy, methods of data collection, results, and lessons learned. We compare our results to previously published literature and identify similarities and differences. This work provides a foundation for using EDA measurements to inform industrial engineering educators about increasing engagement, and consequently learning, in the classroom.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/leslie_potter/16/
Potter L, Scallon J, Swegle D, Gould T, and Okudan Kremer G. “Establishing a Link between Electrodermal Activity and Classroom Engagement,” IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2019. Proceedings of a meeting held May 18-21, 2019, Orlando, Florida, USA. Posted with permission.