Providing engineering undergraduate students opportunities to connect real‐world applications with a theory is key to preparing them for the workforce; however, this task often requires a balancing act between meeting course objectives in content‐heavy core engineering undergraduate courses and providing experiences that connect real‐world applications with theory. This study seeks to address this problem through the integration of online discussion prompts to promote a connection to real‐world practical applications. The study included undergraduate students enrolled in three engineering core courses. The hypothesis was that participation in online discussions (using prompts) would lead to (a) an increase in student empowerment towards self‐regulated learning and (b) enhanced student engagement and perception of participating in online discussions. Students participated in eight online discussions and were evaluated using pre‐ and post‐assessments. Findings show students across disciplines liked online discussions because they allowed enough time to develop thoughts and promote critical thinking through extending class topics, which increased the control of their own learning. In addition, students were more active in the course activities and offered useful feedback and reflection, which enhanced student engagement. Such feedback included ideas to improve the online discussion, for example, the need for clearer instructions and instructor feedback, better scheduling of due dates, and more engaging discussion prompt. In summary, integrating online discussions into core engineering courses, without sacrificing class content, can indeed have positive implications for self‐regulated learning and higher student engagement.

中文翻译：

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在核心工程本科课程中使用在线讨论连接理论和实践

为工程本科生提供将实际应用与理论联系起来的机会是他们为就业做好准备的关键；然而，这项任务通常需要在满足内容丰富的核心工程本科课程的课程目标和提供将实际应用与理论联系起来的经验之间取得平衡。本研究旨在通过整合在线讨论提示来促进与现实世界实际应用的联系来解决这个问题。该研究包括选修了三门工程核心课程的本科生。假设是参与在线讨论（使用提示）将导致（a）增加学生对自我调节学习的授权和（b）增强学生参与和参与在线讨论的感知。学生参加了八次在线讨论，并使用前评估和后评估进行评估。调查结果显示，跨学科的学生喜欢在线讨论，因为他们有足够的时间通过扩展课堂主题来发展思想和促进批判性思维，这增加了对自己学习的控制。此外，学生在课程活动中更加积极，并提供了有用的反馈和反思，从而提高了学生的参与度。此类反馈包括改进在线讨论的想法，例如，需要更清晰的说明和教师反馈、更好地安排截止日期以及更吸引人的讨论提示。总之，在不牺牲课堂内容的情况下将在线讨论整合到核心工程课程中，确实可以对自我调节学习和提高学生参与度产生积极影响。