PROBLEM BASED LEARNING IN ELECTRONICS LABORATORIES: STUDENTS' ACADEMIC MOTIVATION

Problem based learning (PBL) is a learner-centered pedagogy in which students perform research combining theory and practice in order to find a solution to a given problem. A possible platform for the implementation of PBL is the inquiry based laboratory. The study described here dealt with an inquiry based electronics laboratory offered at a leading Israeli college. This course is designed for junior electrical engineering students, and is the first course where students are exposed to PBL and experience how engineers work. In view of the course's unique characteristics, the research examined whether a change in the students' academic motivation has occurred as a result of the course. Fourteen electrical engineering students took part in the study which used quantitative tools as well as qualitative ones. The study reveals a decrease (small effect) in the motivational factors characterized by relatively high perceived autonomy (intrinsic motivation and identified regulation) alongside an increase (small effect) in the factors characterized by relatively high perceived control (external regulation and introjected regulation). These changes might be explained by the findings, according to which, the students' need for competence was not fulfilled during the course.