Innovative Teaching Practices for New Engineering Disciplines Based on Knowledge Graphs: Evidence from a Web Front-End Fundamentals Course

Abstract

This study addresses the challenges in cultivating interdisciplinary thinking, engineering practice, and innovation abilities in the construction of new engineering disciplines. Taking the "Web Front-End Technology Fundamentals" course as an example, it explores innovative teaching practices based on knowledge graphs. Grounded in constructivism, connectivism, cognitive structure theory, and adaptive learning theory, the research constructs an integrated teaching system of "Knowledge Graph-Problem Graph-Competency Graph," achieving organic integration of knowledge points, real-world problems, and competency elements. On this basis, it proposes a four-layer architecture teaching application model integrating "teaching, learning, evaluation, and management," comprising five core modules: knowledge organization and guidance, learning progress recommendation, engineering problem solving, competency integration and enhancement, and AI-assisted optimization. Teaching practice (based on a one-semester comparative experiment, incorporating multidimensional data such as project completion rates, unified testing, questionnaires, and follow-up surveys) demonstrates that this model effectively promotes knowledge integration and transfer. Specifically, key indicators such as project completion rates and average scores of the experimental class students significantly outperformed those of the control class (e.g., a 14-percentage-point lead in completion rate and 15% higher in average scores), with notable improvements in systematic engineering thinking, digital tool application awareness, and career competitiveness. This indicates that the model not only addresses the issue of knowledge fragmentation but also significantly enhances students' engineering practice abilities, cultivates digital literacy and professional competitiveness, thereby providing an empirically supported and replicable paradigm for the reform of new engineering courses.