Education (like Life) is an Experiment

1. Reflections on the implementation of CDIO: Key Learning for Implementing Large-Scale Curriculum Innovation Education (like Life) is an Experiment It needs a Purpose, then a Design to attain that Purpose CDIO an Experiment in Engineering Education

2. For those For those who like “The Big Read”

3. Over 110 institutions worldwide and still growing!

4. Asia Region Singapore Polytechnic (Regional Centre) Nanyang Polytechnic Kanazawa Institute of Technology Kanazawa Technical College Rajamangala University Thanyaburi Chulalongkorn University Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City Duy Tan University Thu Dau Mot University Mongolia University of Science and Technology School of Engineering at Taylor's University College Shantou University (Regional Centre) Tsinghua University Beijing Jiaotong University Dalian Neusoft Institute of Information Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology Suzhou Industrial Park Institute of Vocational Technology College of Light Industry, Hebei United University Yanshan University

5. Why is it called CDIO? Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate is the context of Engineering Education It’s what engineers do We believe that every graduating engineer should be able to: Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate complex value-added engineering products, processes, and systems in a modern, team-based environment (Crawley et al 2007)

6. Two BIG Questions for Engineering (any) Education WHATknowledge, skills and attitudes should students possess as they graduate from university? (PURPOSE) HOWcan we do better at ensuring that students learn these skills? (PEDAGOGIC DESIGN)

7. CDIO OVERVIEW The activities within the CDIO Initiative are based on two key documents What : CDIO Syllabus • DisciplinaryKnowledge • Personal Skills • Interpersonal Skills • CDIO Skills How : 12 Standards • Curriculum • Teaching & Learning Methods • Workspace • Faculty Competence • Assessment

8. CDIO Standards Standard 1 Standard 2 Standard 3 Standard 4 Standard 5 Standard 6 Standard 7 Standard 8 Standard 9 Standard 10 Standard 11 Standard 12 Adopt CDIO as a context CDIO Syllabus Outcomes Integrated Curriculum Introduction to Engineering Design-Build Experiences CDIO Workspaces Integrated Learning Experiences Active Learning Enhancement of Staff CDIO Skills Enhancement of Staff Teaching Skills CDIO Skills Assessment CDIO Program Evaluation Curriculum Workspace/Labs Teaching & Learning Methods Enhancement of Faculty Competence Assessment Methods

9. After several years of implementation - what did we learn that was critical to success?

10. 1: The need for a Catalyst The push for change typically involves a ‘catalyst’ (Timperley, 2008) that challenges existing arrangements. The catalyst for change in this context was a growing disquiet generally in many countries that existing engineering education programmes were not meeting the demands of the modern workplace, attrition rates in engineering courses are particularly high, and an increasing number of student complaints that the content was dry and boring, especially in the first year of study.

11. 2: A Positive Perception (belief) for some initial buy-in Perception is Everything, and Beliefs are no more than perceptions that have been around a long time • Education has been as Sallis and Hingley (1991) asserted “…a creature of fashion” (p.9) and many in the profession have long complained of ‘initiative fatigue’. • Without teachers believing that there is real value in terms of gains in student learning and attainment from a new initiative, significant buy-in is unlikely. As Fullan (2007) argued: …changes in beliefs and understanding (first principles) are the foundation of achieving lasting reform. (p.33)

12. What Shaped a Positive Perception at SP? • As CDIO is a framework conceived by engineers for engineering education, it had greater initial face validity • The standards are guiding heuristics, not prescriptive ‘rules’ • CDIO was not over-hyped, e.g., “best thing since sliced bread” – but as a framework for possible improvements in the existing curriculum arrangements. • Voluntary, but supported by Senior Management

13. 3: Getting The Outcomes RIGHT …it is a major mistake to take any published list of basic skills or competencies and accept it for use on another campus without revision. Not only will the specific items on such a list vary from institution to institution but the definition of each item will vary as well. The final list of competencies, their definitions, and how they should be assessed must evolve on each campus. Faculty ownership in the process is an essential element for success. (Diamond,1988, p.53)

14. What we did to achieve the “Right Outcomes” To produce a customized CDIO syllabus for SP a working group of representatives from the various engineering schools was established to systematically work through the CDIO Skills, with a remit to: • Identify which skills were most appropriate in the SP context • Decide a viable proficiency level • Write specific learning objectives that are measurable.

15. 4: Clarity of key outcome components A central component of the CDIO framework is integration of knowledge and skills to provide more authentic holistic learning experiences. Of key importance was the integration of key thinking skills (e.g. critical thinking, creative thinking and metacognition) into the subject content curriculum. However, as Wagner’s (2010) documented • In schools, critical thinking has long been a buzz phrase. Educators pay lip service to its importance, but few can tell me what they mean by the phrase or how they teach and test it... (p.16) • For the most part, teachers haven’t been trained to teach students how to think. (xxiv)

16. The Challenge of Defining & Integrating Thinking Skills • Yes - theaccurate conceptualization of internal cognitive processes is inherently problematic and invariably unreliable, especially across subject domains. • However, without some valid practical frame on what these elusive but desirable skills are, and how they work in terms of the wider context of internal mental activity, there is little chance of the effective teaching and assessment of them.

17. A Model of Thinking (Sale 2015) Inference & Interpretation Comparison & Contrast Meta-cognition Analysis Evaluation Generating Possibilities

18. Example Managing Pollution (some selected outcomes infusing types of thinking into subject content knowledge) • Compare and contrast pollution in a range of contexts • Analyse the basis of pollutants • Make inferences and interpretations concerning the causes of pollution in different situations • Generate possibilities in terms of managing/reducing pollutants • Evaluate pollution policies.

19. 5: Creating Authentic Learning Experiences & Learning Spaces Visual Effects Studio Cyber Wargame Centre Aerospace Lab

20. 6: Meaningful & Useful Evaluation • The evaluation was conducted over a 3-year period (2006-9), encompassing the student cohorts over the full term of their study at SP. A major aspect of the evaluation focused on the student learning experience • For this reason, while the evaluation used a range of methods to obtain a wide profile of data, much emphasis was placed on a longitudinal ethnographic profile of the student’s experience. To achieve this, volunteer students were recruited as “co-participants” (Lincoln, 1990, p.78) to assist the researchers. They were specifically required to: • Talk to classmates and capture their experiences of the new teaching methods • Record their perceptions and ‘findings’ on a designated blog • Meet with the researchers at least once a semester for group sharing.

21. 7: High Leverage early Visible Benefits • A strategic aspect that proved particularly important in effective implementation was the early involvement of faculty in a manageable part of the change activity. For example, in reviewing courses and modules, they were able to experience tangible results in terms of clearer and more meaningful documents from which to plan student learning. As the old saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” or as Bate, Bevan & Robert (2005) illustrated in more technical terms: …people cannot want it until they have tried it. The concrete experience of participating in a movement is crucial, meanings and value being formed after the experience not before it. (p.31)

22. 8: On Human Conduct • A central consideration throughout focused on maintaining good relationships with all stakeholders, especially in being transparent in all aspects of the communication processes and ensuring that action taken is realistic and practical both in terms of school reference norms and for SP generally. • As Hargreaves and Fullan (1998) summarized: “Structures are only as good as the relationships and know-how of the people who occupy them. Emotional management is ultimately about attending to these relationships properly. Managing emotionally and rationally in today’s turbulent times is rocket science”.(p.129)

23. Summary Frame Technical expertise is necessary, so is an understanding of how human behavior typically plays out at organizational level. Hence, there is a need for ongoing careful management of existing and desired social realities in the institutional context. Stakeholders must see purpose and relevance and feel competent to meet clear and agreed goals, and this needs to be consistently transparent and collaborative within realistic time-frames. Trying to do ‘everything yesterday’, typically means ‘doing more tomorrow’.