Repairing Misconceptions and Inadequate Preparation in Upper-Level Undergraduate Engineering: The KACIE Model and Pen-Based Computing

Engineering educators frequently discover that students coming into upper-level courses lack the foundational knowledge necessary for course success, and frequently entertain misconceptions common to entry-level engineering students. This chapter reports on an NSF-funded initiative that approaches this difficulty with a comprehensive portfolio of research-based strategies for students to acquire, manipulate, express, and revise conceptual systems around engineering. These strategies referred to as protocols, entail a labor-intensive, methodical, and stepwise approach to working with upper-level students with less course preparation than they should have. The overall approach is referred to as “Knowledge and Curriculum Integration Ecosystem (KACIE)” protocol, formerly known as “Tailored Instruction and Engineered Delivery Using Protocols (TIDE UP)”. One aspect of the strategy portfolio involves the use of pen-based computing. The chapter reviews statistically significant results from this approach as a prelude to ongoing research to assess the efficacy of the digital ink component of the project (Hamilton et al. Inspiring students through digital ink: impact of pen and touch technology on education. Springer, 2019).