Student-Centered Classrooms in Engineering Education: Concept and Evaluation of a Learning Office for Software Development and Applied Mathematics

This Research to Practice Full Paper depicts and evaluates a school pilot project introducing student-centered classrooms for applied mathematics and software development at a higher technical secondary school. These student-centered classrooms are an alternative organizational form: If students choose to participate in the pilot project, they have non-traditional class schedules. Students can choose freely which subject they want to work on each day and visit the respective room, called “learning office”. Self-explanatory learning material is available in each learning office and students work independently on exercises and projects at their own pace and level, allowing them to specialize according to their personal interests. Teachers accompany pupils as coaches who help them plan and structure.The evaluation showed that students choosing the student-centered form need time, about half a year, to adapt to the change of system and thus perform worse in their first attempt at exams. However, after passing the first year, there is no notable difference in software development and only a weakly significant difference in applied mathematics. The average grades and passing rate of the two approaches show no notable differences. By cooperating significantly more frequently they develop social skills and show significantly higher motivation for attending school.