Female and Minority Students Benefit from Use of Multimedia Case Studies

Students need to acquire professional skills before entering the workforce in order to achieve career success and this is particularly important for female students and minorities. This article draws upon engineering education literature and student learning theories to understand the interconnected relationships among student characteristics (gender and race), instructional methodologies and gains in Higher-Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS) and the achievement of learning outcomes using the 4-P model of student learning. The model was tested for students enrolled in an undergraduate introduction to engineering course at a southeastern U.S. university and a historically black college and university(HBCU) for five semesters, where students participated in experimental (multi-media case studies) and control (round table discussions) sections. Both female and minority students achieved better learning outcomes, particularly in grade performance, after working on multimedia case studies. All students perceived improvement in HOCS and learning outcomes in a multimedia case study learning environment. These results support the use of multimedia case studies in classrooms to increase students’ engagement in learning and exposure to real-world experiences, thereby building their professional skills. The widespread adoption and implementation of multimedia case studies is also likely to encourage more female and minority students to pursue careers in engineering.