An Exploration of matching teaching to the learning preferences of systems engineering graduate students

Abstract

This paper provides an exploratory study on the relationship between learning preferences of systems engineering graduate students and delivery methods of systems engineering coursework. We begin by providing an overview of learning in the systems engineering context, followed by two central research questions that guide the rest of the paper. Our study is focused on measuring learning preferences based on a previously developed survey instrument called VARK. We provide a detailed description of VARK and some insight into the existing database that sheds light on the typical distribution of learning preferences across disciplines. We provide some preliminary results and discuss their implications on systems engineering curriculum development and delivery. Finally, we discuss additional questions that remain to be explored as we strive to understand the learning preferences of systems engineering graduate students. © 2009 by Ricardo Valerdi, Rashmi Jain, Tim Ferris and Joseph Kasser.