AN INVESTIGATION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS' LECTURE COMPREHENSION IN NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC

Abstract

This study focused on engineering students' lecture comprehension in Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP). Lectures are the main mode of instruction in the engineering departments in NP. However, most students do not take down notes during lectures. This could be linked to the fact that they are supplied with detailed notes before lectures, which is a common practice across the engineering departments. The basis of providing detailed notes is the lecturers' assumption that students are unable to take down important points covered in the lectures. There has not been any attempt to study whether most students across the various engineering departments have difficulty following lectures. This study had two main objectives. The first was to find out how well engineering students were able to summarise the main points of a lecture. This will help to establish whether engineering students have the ability to comprehend their lectures. The second objective was to find out the significance of factors that students identified as having an influence on their lecture comprehension. An understanding of the significance of the factors influencing their lecture comprehension will help lecturers improve their teaching techniques which will help their students comprehend their lectures better and improve the quality of their learning outcomes. In this study, two samples of students were studied. A total of one hundred and eighty-two students and two lecturers participated in the - study. Two instruments were used. One was a written summary of a lecture by the subjects, and the other a student questionnaire survey on factors affecting their lecture comprehension. For data gathering, students' summaries were analysed and categorised according to criteria established by the engineering lecturers who participated in the study. Data from the questionnaire survey were obtained by a frequency count of students' responses. Statgraphics, a computer software programme, was used to compute the frequency count of students' responses. The statistical information is presented in tables. The analysis of the written summaries reveals that only a small percentage of students were able to comprehend their lecture fully. In one sample, only 5% were able to summarise fully all the main points of the three topics taught. 52.5% of this sample could summarise only one topic indicating very limited understanding of their lecture. The students in the second sample fared better. 16.6% were able to summarise all the main points of the lecture. 32.4% were able to summarise three out of the four fundamentals taught and their main points. Data from the questionnaire survey and observation notes on the lectures suggest that certain factors had an influence on the students' lecture comprehension. One significant finding is a link between lecture comprehension and language proficiency. The majority of the subjects in the study, or for that matter, engineering students in NP, had obtained a Grade 6 in the GCE 'O' Level English Examination. Grade 6 is the lowest grade for a credit in this examination. A lack of proficiency in English appeared to have hindered their lecture comprehension. Another significant finding is the link between lecture comprehension and the lecturer's techniques. Some techniques such as explaining clearly key points, signposting the lecture, and giving cues to take down important points, appeared to have facilitated students' lecture comprehension. The findings provide sufficient basis for reviewing current practices in conducting lectures.