An instrument to measure perceived cognitive, affective, and psychomotor (CAP) learning for online laboratory in technology and engineering courses

Abstract

The effectiveness of student learning in an online laboratory environment requires appropriate measurements from the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor (CAP) domains. However, current self-reporting perceived CAP instruments are general and focused on non-technical fields, hence unsuitable for comprehensively measuring and evaluating technology and engineering (TE) online laboratory courses. This work aims to develop and validate a new instrument to measure perceived CAP learning domains in technology and engineering (TE) online laboratory courses. An initial instrument with 22 questions to assess CAP attributes was developed based on adaptation and expert consultation. About 1414 questionnaires were deployed and obtained a response rate of 25%, which meets the requirement of a confidence level of 90% with a 5% error. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) were used to further reduce the items to 13. Items reliability was verified using Cronbach Alpha. The finalized items consist of 5 cognitive, 4 affective, and 4 psychomotor items. For cognitive, the five items relate to students’ perception of self-directed learning, reproducing study guides for future students, organizing their tasks and solving problems, relating lab works with fundamental concepts and theories, and completing all tasks. The four affective items are associated with students’ perception of active involvement in learning, communication of findings, collaboration with team members, and awareness of safety and requirements. The four psychomotor items are linked to students’ perceived attainment in performing the experiment, visualizing the procedure, demonstrating technical skills, and operating the equipment. The tool is verified to self-measure CAP attainment for online laboratories.