Next Level Blended Learning for an Excellent Engineering Education

The digitalization of higher education in general and Blended Learning in particular have been focused for a long time. Next to applying new technology, focusing on interdisciplinary competences during studies has always been part of engineering studies. The lecture Communication and Organization Development (KOE) is a constituent part of the Bachelor’s studies of the faculty of mechanical engineering, addressing 1500 freshmen of the RWTH Aachen University. Since decades the lecture KOE is part of frequently used revision along with an agile progression of applied mixed methods and new demands using the previously mentioned teaching development. The number of first semester students is still increasing and freshmen entering the university are partially minors (17 years old) due to the shortened school career. To master these and further challenges successfully, the didactical method mix is based on a cube model developed by Baumgartner and Payr (1996), which combines different levels and perspectives of a student-centred teaching approach. Elements such as the flipped classroom concept (Bretzmann, J. (2013): Flipping 2.0. Practical strategies for flipping your class, Bretzmann Group, LLC) (Bergmann. J., Sams, A. (2012): Flip your classroom. Reach every student in every class every day. International Society for Technology in Education, ASCD) along with the discussion forum, which were introduced during winter term 2013/2014, have become a permanent feature of KOE. Moreover, blended learning elements were increased by attaching a two-stage business simulation called ROBOFLEX to bring the theoretical elements to an immersive, problem-based learning approach. This paper presents the cube model’s current status as part of the method mix of KOE. Additionally, based on last year’s evaluation results, the paper examines student’s reactions towards the tutorial class ROBOFLEX as well as its potential for optimization. Furthermore a general analysis of the evaluation results from winter term 2013/2014 compared with 2014/2015 is performed to identify scope for the further development of KOE.