The use of learning style innovations to improve retention

Polytechnic University is an urban Science and Engineering school with substantial enrolments of non-majority students. Recent efforts at the Polytechnic have focused on increasing enrolment of minority women enrolled in two year college physical science and pre-engineering programs to transfer into four-year engineering B.S. Programs. A new core curriculum required for all entering freshmen in engineering disciplines, and encouraged for minority transfer students, emphasizes hands-on laboratory based learning, engineering and mathematics upfront on a need to know basis, cooperative learning, and the development of oral and written communication skills. Preliminary evaluation of the core for 144 entering students in fall, 1993, demonstrated that while most students prefer the new approach, women and/or black and Hispanic students are significantly more enthusiastic about cooperative learning, hands-on learning, and peer tutoring; and less enthusiastic about traditional lecture-based teaching and learning. These students also show differences in learning style preferences as assessed by the Myers-Briggs Inventory. This paper presents longitudinal follow-up data for the above sample of 144 students entering Polytechnic in fall, 1993, and an additional 196 students entering in fall, 1994. Data includes course performance and grades in the new core and in more "traditional" engineering and science courses, course evaluations and learning style preferences as assessed by the Myers-Briggs.