A Social Realist Case Study of Knowledge and Pedagogy in the First Two Years of Electrical Engineering Education
type: CreativeWork
description: Sound understanding in electrical engineering requires developing a complex set of linked abstract knowledge about invisible phenomena which are difficult to teach and learn. Often students do not gain abstract knowledge but rote-learn isolated facts instead; and rather than develop the capability to reason using abstract knowledge, they rely on knowing how to use mathematical formulae and procedure. Our modern society however is so dependent upon the abstract knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, that this is unsatisfactory. This research involved a case study of undergraduate students' abstract knowledge development in the electrical engineering programme at the University of Auckland. To capture a full perspective of teaching and learning around knowledge of electric circuits I engaged with social realist theories about knowledge, structure, identity and agency; and then immersed myself within four courses in the first two years of electrical engineering. By observing lectures, laboratories and tutorials, and interviewing students, teachers and lecturers, I developed an understanding of the structures of electrical engineering education and their impact on the type of knowledge taught, their interaction with student agency and therefore what students learn. I developed a quiz and a set of fundamental circuit concept tutorials to develop students' knowledge and investigate their agency. The tutorials engaged students with dynamic visualisations of electric circuits and students began to develop abstract knowledge. Most students however were unwilling to engage with the unassessed tutorials, even when presented with immediate evidence of their misunderstandings. This aspect of student agency was linked to an identity which had proven success in passing assessments through reliance on knowing how to use formulae and fragments of knowledge. Informed by these findings, I conceptualised and developed a novel educational technology tool called G…
abstract: Sound understanding in electrical engineering requires developing a complex set of linked abstract knowledge about invisible phenomena which are difficult to teach and learn. Often students do not gain abstract knowledge but rote-learn isolated facts instead; and rather than develop the capability to reason using abstract knowledge, they rely on knowing how to use mathematical formulae and procedure. Our modern society however is so dependent upon the abstract knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, that this is unsatisfactory. This research involved a case study of undergraduate students' abstract knowledge development in the electrical engineering programme at the University of Auckland. To capture a full perspective of teaching and learning around knowledge of electric circuits I engaged with social realist theories about knowledge, structure, identity and agency; and then immersed myself within four courses in the first two years of electrical engineering. By observing lectures, laboratories and tutorials, and interviewing students, teachers and lecturers, I developed an understanding of the structures of electrical engineering education and their impact on the type of knowledge taught, their interaction with student agency and therefore what students learn. I developed a quiz and a set of fundamental circuit concept tutorials to develop students' knowledge and investigate their agency. The tutorials engaged students with dynamic visualisations of electric circuits and students began to develop abstract knowledge. Most students however were unwilling to engage with the unassessed tutorials, even when presented with immediate evidence of their misunderstandings. This aspect of student agency was linked to an identity which had proven success in passing assessments through reliance on knowing how to use formulae and fragments of knowledge. Informed by these findings, I conceptualised and developed a novel educational technology tool called G…
author: Collis, William
license: https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm
date published: 2019
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:02:40Z
provider: University of Auckland
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: ResearchSpace@Auckland

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2292/45633