THE CDIO APPROACH TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION:

1. THE CDIO APPROACH TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION: 4. Engaging Students in Their Learning and Assessing That Learning November 2007

2. SESSION FOUR INTRODUCTION CDIO AS THE CONTEXT THE CDIO SYLLABUS WHY WHAT PRO-GRAM EVALU-ATION INTEGRATED CURRICULUM LEARNING DESIGN-IMPLEMENT EXPERIENCES HOW ASSESSMENT WORKSPACES INTRO TO ENGINEERING HOW WELL FACULTY COMPETENCE IMPLEMENTATION

3. SESSION FOUR OBJECTIVES Recognize the importance of aligning curriculum, teaching, learning, and assessment Give examples of active and experiential learning methods Describe a variety of methods to assess learning

4. RATIONALE FOR ENGAGING LEARNERS “The teacher’s fundamental task is to get students to engage in learning activities that are likely to result in their achieving the desired outcomes. Remember that what the student does is actually more important in determining what is learned than what the teacher does.” -- Thomas J. Shuell (Courtesy of Queen’s University Belfast)

5. CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT

6. ACTIVE LEARNING Engages students directly in thinking and problem solving activities Emphasis on engaging students in manipulating, applying, analyzing, and evaluating ideas Examples: Pair-and-Share Group discussions Debates Concept questions EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Active learning in which students take on roles that simulate professional engineering practice Examples: Design-implement experiences Problem-based learning Simulations Case studies ACTIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

7. USING A VARIETY OF METHODS Design-Implement Projects, Field Work CONCRETE EXPERIENCE Tutorials, Activities, Labs, Simulations Journals, Portfolios, Lab Notes REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION ABSTRACT GENERALIZATION Lectures: Concepts, Models, Laws (Adapted from Kolb, 1984)

8. METHODS THAT ENGAGE LEARNERS Circle the teaching and learning methods used in your course or program. Muddiest-Part- of-the-Lecture Cards Pre-Class Readings & Homework Concept Questions Ticking Learning Objectives Case Studies and Simulations Project-Based Learning Cooperative Learning

9. CONCEPT QUESTIONS • Focus on a single concept • Are not solvable by relying solely on equations • Reveal common difficulties with the concepts • Have several plausible answers based on typical student misunderstandings

10. SAMPLE CONCEPT QUESTION To maximize endurance, an airplane must fly in a manner that • 1. Minimizes drag • 2. Maximizes drag • 3. Maximizes the lift/drag ratio • 4. Maximizes power available • 5. Minimizes power required

11. SAMPLE CONCEPT QUESTION Social negotiationpromotes learning because students • Have opportunities to evaluate their own understandings • Are placed in situations with students they wouldn’t otherwise meet • Learn the principles of workplace negotiations • I have no idea

12. TICKING • Students are asked to prepare solutions to a set of problems. All students work on the same set of problems • At the recitation or class session, students tick on a list the problems they are willing and prepared to present • Students are chosen at random to present the problems on the board - one student per problem • The student must demonstrate an honest effort to prepare the problem, and be able to lead a classroom discussion to a satisfactory solution. Should they fail in this, their ticks are cancelled (for that session) • Ticking at least 75% of the problems is required, or rewarded with bonus points, or similar • Note that the reward is given for the ticks. As the purpose is purely formative, the quality of presentations does not affect the grade

13. COMMENTS ABOUT TICKING WHAT STUDENTS SAY: “I now realize that in every course before this, I have only solved problems to get them done, without thinking really.” “This gave me motivation to prepare for class, because I did not want to stand up and say that I couldn’t do it.” This is the first time I have seen friends, who are generally weaker students, really “get it”. WHAT INSTRUCTORS SAY: “Suddenly, students don’t want to leave! They stay and work after class, discussing alternative solutions. During all my years as a teacher I have never seen anything like this.” “This raised the level of the whole course. The lectures, as well, have become interesting to students, now that they have the basis for understanding them.” (Courtesy of KTH-Royal Institute of Technology)

14. KEY PRINCIPLES • Generating time on task • Generating appropriate learning activities • Providing prompt feedback • Providing feedback that the students pay attention to • Helping the students internalize criteria for quality It’s about improving what the student does. (based on Gibbs, 1999)

15. COOPERATIVE LEARNING (JIGSAW) PROCEDURE • Divide the class into groups of three or four. These are students’ base groups. • Within each group, count out the number of concepts to be learned. • Students move to the group with all the same number, e.g., all the 1’s together. • In this new group, students discuss the assigned concept. They decide how they will teach this concept to their base groups. They can use sketches and examples to clarify the concept. • Students return to their base group and teach their concept to the whole base group. • When all groups have learned all the concepts, check for understanding.

16. CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING • What are some of the ways that I can check to see if you understand the concepts you learned in the Cooperative Learning Jigsaw activity? • What is the role of the instructor with cooperative learning activities?

17. CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING • What are some of the ways that I can check to see if you understand the concepts you learned in the Cooperative Learning Jigsaw activity? • What is the role of the instructor with cooperative learning activities?

18. PROJECT-BASED LEARNING • Student-centered and self-directed • Organized around real-world problems • Focused on authentic skills • Collaborative • With faculty as facilitators

19. BEST PRACTICE CDIO Standard 8 -- Active Learning Teaching and learning based on active and experiential learning methods CDIO Standard 11 -- Learning Assessment Assessment of student learning in personal and interpersonal skills, and product, process, and system building skills, as well as in disciplinary knowledge

20. CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT

21. ASSESSMENT METHODS Circle the assessment methods that you use in your course or program. Performance Assessment Informal Assessment Design Project Assessment Learning Objectives Reflective Journals and Portfolios Peer and Self- Assessment Self-Report Instruments

22. INFORMAL ASSESSMENT • What did you learn so far today? • What did you learn about? • What did you learn how to do? • What do you have more confidence about, or change your opinion about? • Without looking at your notes, write three or four things you learned.

23. NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE Procedure • When everyone has finished writing at least three responses, ask the first person for one response from his/her list. • Record the response so that everyone can see it. (Do not discuss; simply record.) • Go to the next person, ask for a different response. • A person who does not have any different responses to add to the common list simply passes. • Continue around the group until all different ideas have been named (nominal) and listed. • Summarize the responses.

24. PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT Design Considerations • Students prepare and present a performance of a valued activity, e.g., oral presentations and technical briefings, problem-solving, teamwork • It is the process itself that is assessed Procedure Use rubrics that address specific criteria relevant to the process and scales with 3 to 5 levels of mastery CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW

25. DESIGN PROJECT ASSESSMENT Design Considerations • A project whose focus is on the development of a tangible product • The product itself, the process, and quality of reasoning are all assessed Procedure Use rubrics that address specific criteria relevant to the product, process and quality of reasoning and scales with 3 to 5 levels of mastery

26. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT ASSESSMENT • Product Assessment • Built to specification • Time • Team Collaboration • Written Documentation • Reflective Journal Formula Student Project (Courtesy of Chalmers University of Technology)

27. SAMPLE DESIGN PROJECT ASSESSMENT • Product Assessment • Built to specification • Course completion • Time • Number of trials • Team Collaboration • Articulation of robot logic LEGO Robotics (Courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

28. ACTIVITY:MUDDIEST-PART-OF-THE-LECTURE CARD What is still “clear as mud” to you? What teaching, learning, and assessment methods can you introduce or improve in your courses?