Pedagogy Pit Stop: Five Faculty Solutions for Engineering’s Toughest Teaching Challenges
by Dr. Nikitha Sambamurthy
Why I Designed This Session
As Editorial Director for zyBooks, I work with engineering faculty daily. In conversations, I kept hearing familiar refrains: “Students don’t read,” “grading takes forever,” “I want to give better feedback but…” But when I asked what they’d tried, I discovered sophisticated solutions I’d never heard about—strategies buried in individual classrooms rather than shared systematically.
Learning from Practitioner Expertise
At the recent ASEE conference, I led a “Pedagogy Pit Stop” session where faculty could assess their teaching challenges and share what actually works. What emerged were proven approaches that faculty have developed and refined within real resource constraints.
Here’s what they taught me about five critical challenges, the solutions that work Monday morning, and how to prioritize when facing multiple issues.
Challenge 1: Student Motivation & Engagement
The Problem
Students don’t complete pre-class readings, forcing faculty to spend lecture time on review instead of active learning.
What Faculty Taught Me
The 5% Rule That Actually Works Multiple faculty independently discovered that allocating 5% of the course grade to preparation activities creates real motivation. As one circuits professor explained: “3% percent students think is negligible, but 5% is enough to impact whether they get an A-minus versus an A-plus.” (See this research.)
A programming instructor confirmed this threshold from a different angle: “I experimented with different percentages before settling on 5%. Below that, students calculated it wasn’t worth the effort.”
Implementation Strategies That Work Faculty shared specific approaches: reading worksheets with comprehension questions treated as homework, presentation requirements tied to preparation, and trackable activities through learning management systems. The key insight: systematic point allocation matters more than inspirational appeals.
The Extension Challenge and Platform Solutions When preparation activities happen weekly, illness and conflicts become significant factors. Faculty using digital platforms reported providing extensions through system settings, while those using paper-based approaches struggled with administrative tracking. One materials science professor noted: “The platform handles the extension logistics, so I can focus on whether the request is legitimate rather than updating spreadsheets.”
Research Connection: These approaches align with established research on motivation and immediate feedback, but faculty developed them through practical necessity rather than academic study. (See “Challenge 3,” below.)
Challenge 2: Information Overload & Scaffolding Learning
The Problem
Students get overwhelmed when too much information is presented at once, and courses often jump to complex problems without building foundational skills systematically.
Proven Faculty Solutions
The 20/40 Split for Information Management A first-year engineering director teaching three-hour sessions discovered an effective cognitive load pattern: 20 minutes of concept introduction followed by 40 minutes of application and simulation work. “I tried longer concept blocks, but students checked out. Now I alternate: concept, application, concept, application throughout the session.”
West Point Board Notes Method A faculty member shared a structured approach adapted from West Point: organizing content into six sections on a single page, creating systematic progression from basic concepts to applications. “It prevents me from information dumping while ensuring comprehensive coverage. Students can see the progression visually.”
Progressive Complexity with Confidence Building A thermodynamics professor described breaking complex problems into levels: “Start with straightforward applications, introduce complications like multiple variables, then culminate in exam-level problems. Students need success at each level before advancing—otherwise they shut down.”
Exit Tickets for Real-Time Assessment Faculty collect anonymous feedback every 2-3 weeks asking students to identify unclear concepts and key learning points. A structural engineering professor explained: “I can’t address every response, but I identify trends and pick alarming individual issues. It’s like having a teaching assistant in every student’s head.”
Research Connection: These strategies reflect cognitive load theory and scaffolding research, demonstrating how practical classroom experience often leads to evidence-based approaches.
Challenge 3: Feedback Timing vs. Quality
The Problem
Faculty face constant tension between providing fast feedback and meaningful feedback, often sacrificing personal time or comment quality.
Faculty Reality and Solutions
The 24-Hour Aspiration vs. Reality A controls systems professor described the dilemma: “I try to return graded work within 24 hours, but it doesn’t always succeed. That’s my goal.” A materials professor explained the trade-off more bluntly: “I want students to get information back quickly, which can mean my comments suffer because I prioritize speed over detailed analysis.”
Strategic Feedback Allocation Rather than trying to provide detailed feedback on everything, faculty focus their expertise where it matters most. An electromagnetics professor explained: “I provide immediate automated feedback on calculations and detailed human feedback on design decisions. Students need different types of help at different stages.”
Peer Review as Intermediate Step Several faculty described implementing peer review before instructor evaluation. A design professor noted: “Students work in teams, peer-review each other’s work, then I grade. They catch basic errors, I focus on conceptual issues. Everyone learns more and I spend time on high-value feedback.”
When Technology Helps vs. Creates Problems Faculty expressed nuanced views on automated feedback. A circuits professor explained: “Auto-grading works for problem-solving with clear right answers. For design work, bad automated feedback frustrates students more than delayed human feedback.”
Research Connection: Studies on immediate feedback effectiveness support faculty intuitions about when speed helps versus when quality matters more.(Read the research here.)
Challenge 4: Grading Burden & Resource Constraints
The Problem
Time spent grading limits what faculty can assign, reducing practice opportunities for students, while budget pressures reduce grader support.
Practical Resource Management
Strategic Auto-Grading Implementation Faculty reported success using LMS quiz capabilities and specialized platforms for appropriate assessment types. A fluid mechanics professor explained: “I use auto-grading for concept checks and formula application, manual grading for design problems. Students get practice on fundamentals without drowning me in basic calculations.”
Budget Realities and Adaptation Several participants described institutional pressures. A heat transfer professor noted: “Every year they threaten budget cuts. I’ve had to find ways to maintain assignment frequency without relying on graders.” Faculty adapt by changing assignment types rather than reducing practice opportunities.
Peer Learning as Resource Multiplier Rather than individual homework review, faculty implemented structured peer work. An engineering mechanics professor described: “Students work problems in skill-level groups during class, then present solutions. I can help multiple students simultaneously and they learn from explaining to peers.” (Read related research here.)
Self-Assessment: Identify Your Priority Challenges
Use the same diagnostic tool I provided at the Pedagogy Pit Stop session. Rate each item 1-3 (1=not an issue, 2=unsure, 3=yes, this is an issue), then total each section to identify priority areas.
Student Motivation & Engagement
- Students rarely complete pre-class readings, limiting active learning opportunities
- I want more class time for discussion/problem-solving, but students don’t know basics beforehand
- I spend lectures on review because students haven’t done necessary pre-work
Information Management & Scaffolding
- Students often get overwhelmed by too much information at once
- My course jumps into complex problems too quickly
- Students struggle to self-pace from basic to advanced concepts
Feedback & Assessment
- I don’t have time to give regular, low-stakes assessments
- Students often don’t know if they’re understanding material correctly
- I’d like to provide more feedback, but it’s not manageable time-wise
Resource & Time Management
- I spend a lot of time grading homework and quizzes
- I’d like to assign more practice, but grading takes too much time
- Managing and updating assignments creates significant overhead
Higher section totals indicate priority challenge areas. Start with your highest-scoring section for maximum impact.
Implementation Roadmap by Challenge
| Priority Challenge | Week 1: Try This | Month 1: If Successful | Resources Required | Time Investment |
| Student Motivation | Assign 5% grade to one prep activity | Develop systematic reading tracking | LMS or tracking platform | 3 hours setup, 15 min/week |
| Information Overload | Try 20min/40min concept/application split | Create visual problem progressions | Prep time for restructuring | 4-5 hours restructuring existing content |
| Feedback Quality | Identify 2 high-value feedback moments | Implement peer review process | Clear rubrics and guidelines | 2 hours developing rubrics |
| Resource Management | Use LMS auto-grading for one assignment type | Explore platforms for appropriate content | LMS with quiz function or specialized platform | 1-2 hours learning system |
Prioritization Strategy
Start with Student Motivation if: You’re spending lecture time on review instead of active learning. This has the highest immediate impact on class time effectiveness.
Start with Information Management if: Students seem confused or overwhelmed regularly. Cognitive load issues affect everything else.
Start with Resource Management if: You’re avoiding assignments due to grading burden. This directly limits learning opportunities.
Address Feedback last: Quality feedback systems work best when motivation and information flow are already functional.
What This Taught Me About Issues Teaching Engineering Courses
Faculty have developed remarkably sophisticated solutions within real constraints that I hadn’t fully appreciated. The systematic peer discussion revealed patterns across institutions and disciplines that individual conversations miss.
Most importantly, I learned that effective solutions work within existing resource limitations rather than requiring additional investment. Faculty aren’t waiting for perfect conditions—they’re solving problems with available resources, then refining based on what works.
That practical wisdom, shared systematically, advances engineering education more than any single technology or research study. The biggest opportunity isn’t new tools, but better ways to capture and disseminate the innovative teaching practices faculty have already developed.
For engineering educators facing these challenges: start with one high-impact change, implement systematically, then build on success. Your colleagues have proven these approaches work—now it’s about adapting them to your specific context and constraints.
Dr. Nikitha Sambamurthy serves as Editorial Director for zyBooks’ engineering catalog at Wiley. The Pedagogy Pit Stop session took place at the 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition in Montreal, where engineering faculty gathered to share practical teaching strategies. Contact: nikitha.sambamurthy@zybooks.com
