Building Interest and Engagement in Engineering Students through Interactive Lecture Demonstrations

Abstract

Building student interest is a challenge every teacher encounters, and competing demands from society can make engagement difficult to sustain. In this study, I describe how I developed my higher education teaching by combining traditional lectures with active learning strategies to create a more engaging learning environment. This approach is grounded in the principles of active learning, aiming to engage students cognitively and encourage meaningful connections between theoretical concepts and practical applications. I introduced Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) into the lectures of a first-cycle course for Fire Safety Engineering students at Lund University.

This study investigates how the introduction of ILDs affects student motivation and engagement within a university-level course on Building Materials. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. A student survey was used to examine motivation and engagement. In addition, a quantitative statistical analysis was also carried out, in which exam questions were categorised according to the intended learning outcomes (ILO), allowing assessment of student performance in relation to the ILOs.

The introduction of ILDs led to higher engagement, more lively interactions during breaks, and a noticeably more dynamic dialogue during and between lectures. While the quantitative data indicated enhanced motivation and engagement, the statistical analysis of learning outcomes was less conclusive, suggesting that the impact of ILDs on exam performance may be subtle or influenced by other factors. These findings indicate that incorporating ILDs into traditional lectures can effectively promote engagement and active learning in STEM education.