No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Assessment of team-based projects in project-led education
European Journal of Engineering Education
Abstract
This paper describes the procedures used to assess the extent that a team of students, and the individual students in it, has mastered the competencies set for a student team-based open-ended project. The paper addresses questions such as: why examine team-based project work? What and when to examine? What are the essential regulations and boundary conditions? Who examines whom? The discussion is based mainly on practices followed in the University of Twente (the Netherlands) and elsewhere.
... As a consequence, coaching activities are central for providing good learning environments and enabling students' intuitive knowledge [2]. Assessment concerns the balance between being a judgmental course lecturer, on the one hand, and being the facilitating coach on the other hand, a situation that has been seen as conflicting and unsuitable [9]. To keep objectivity in assessment measures, constructive alignment matches activities, assessment and objectives through the facilitation of the lecturer [10]. ...
... The course administration has to pre-plan and define an assessment scheme that includes the assessment task's relative weight for each task. Combining a dualistic role, project coaches take an active part in the assessment process, which contradicts what earlier research has put forward [9]. To avoid tendencies of dysfunction in a counterproductive coach-student relationship, overall student efficacy could possibly be enhanced if it were possible to detect the two roles that are combined in one individual: facilitating coach and course lecturer (responsible for assessment). ...
... One key for being able to move on to assessment is active involvement by the coach so that a value judgment of students is based on the learning objectives that the course aims for students to fulfil. The separation of roles is important as it leaves the coach free to encourage the dynamic development of the student project team processes [9]. Given the internal proximity of the project group, the influences that are derived from this important setting come as no surprise for achieving success in the project work. ...
This paper investigates how elements of the learning environment influence student innovation. In detail, the paper addresses students' perceived efficacy and their motivation to work in two parallel engineering design projects. Rather than rediscovering evaluation, student perceptions determine a project's overall efficiency by individual reflection on the effort made. Based on previous research on student efficacy [1], this study takes a student-centric point of view where the self-efficacy is grounded in students' intrinsic motivation for work. The paper's principal idea is to investigate how different elements of interaction cause students' beliefs to shift individually and in groups. A qualitative approach has been used where the results have been collected through structured questionnaires with project participants. Results show that the internal proximity and joint motivation to work have positive influence together with lecturer/coach presence, informative clarity and valuable input. Reported differences clearly separated the teams with several useful features of course analysis to consider for future work.
... The examination that focuses on student teams differs from an examination that focuses on individual students. In general, a student team is responsible for the performance and defense of the project as a whole, while the individual student has to demonstrate mastery of the desired competencies of the project as a whole (Powell, 2004). Powell claims that the essence of project examination is to test whether the student team and its individual students have mastered the learning objectives of the project and the project-supporting courses to a satisfactory level. ...
... Powell claims that the essence of project examination is to test whether the student team and its individual students have mastered the learning objectives of the project and the project-supporting courses to a satisfactory level. Among other things, Powell (2004) recommends having a team of examiners examine each project, since the problem usually is complex and open-ended, to reduce the subjectivity of individual examiners. Kolmos & Holgaard (2007) give an example of a standardized way of working concerning team-based examination with individual grading. ...
... I.e. that it is ok to lack knowledge in some areas, similar to written exams where the approved level can be 60% of the total points. In accordance with the reasoning by Powell (2004), it is important to test whether the individual student masters the learning objectives to a satisfactory level. In that perspective, the new design of the examination process seems to improve preconditions testing if students obtained the learning outcomes. ...
Many engineering courses include assignments where students work together in projects. The approach promotes students, among other things, to be educated and skilled in project management and managing system thinking within complex engineering environments. However, a problem with project-based learning is to accomplish a fair and valid assessment of individuals in a team setting. For example, in many project-based courses, students are only graded pass or fail, or graded collectively as a group. This paper presents results from a new course design based on CDIO-principles, with the aim to increase our understanding of individual assessment and grading in a project-based course. A preliminary conclusion is that it is possible to introduce individual assessment in a project team, assessing the learning outcomes and obtain a high level of student satisfaction. The course development process described in this study has implied a lot of struggling for the teachers involved. Hence, some general aspects of introducing CDIO-principles in a project-based course are also discussed.
... As a consequence, coaching activities are central for providing good learning environments and enabling students' intuitive knowledge [2]. Assessment concerns the balance between being a judgmental course lecturer, on the one hand, and being the facilitating coach on the other, a situation that has been seen as conflicting and unsuitable [10]. To keep objectivity in assessment measures, constructive alignment matches activities, assessment and objectives through the facilitation of the lecturer [11]. ...
... The course administration has to pre-plan and define an assessment scheme that includes the assessment task's relative weight for each task. Combining a dualistic role, project coaches take an active part in the assessment process, which contradicts what earlier research has put forward [10]. ...
... One key for being able to move on to assessment is active involvement by the coach, so that a value judgment of students is based on the learning objectives that the course aims for students to fulfil. The separation of roles is important as it leaves the coach free to encourage the dynamic development of the student project team processes [10]. ...
This article investigates student efficacy and motivation to work in relation to three distinct elements of interaction. Rather than rediscovering evaluation, student perceptions determine a project's overall efficiency by individual reflection on the effort made, and form circles of influence and impact on interacting elements. Based on previous research on student efficacy, this study takes a student-centric point of view, where the self-efficacy is grounded in stud ents' intr insic mo tiva tio n for work [1]. The article's principal ide a is to inve stiga te how differe nt elements of interaction cause students' beliefs to shift individually and in groups. A qualitative approach has been used, where the results have been collected through structured questionnaires, with respondents from an extensive engineering design project course. Results show that the internal proximity and joint motivation to work have positive influence together with lecturer/coach presence, informative clarity and valuable input. Reported differences clearly separated the teams with several useful features of course analysis to consider for future work.
... Engaging the students in teamwork on a regular basis allows them to take part in discussions, which encourage critical thought and reflection. The understanding of ideas and concepts would be continuously challenged in such teaching environment (Powell 2004). Furthermore, through reflective discussions, the team actively would validate information and would come to a deeper understanding of various topics. ...
... Teamwork also teaches to value cooperation above competition, and encourages greater respect for the varied experience and background of team members (Powell 2004). It helps development of important skills to manage oneself and the people around besides enhancing the effective communication skills. ...
... It has been recognized by many (Powell 2004, Acar 2004) that good performance has to be both encouraged and rewarded. Therefore, in order to motivate the individual participation in the development of the practical session, this should be assessed and reflected in the technical report mark. ...
... initiative, particularly, Problem-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning and Project-Led Education (Peter C. Powell, 2004; M. J. Prince & Felder, 2006). These methods constitute new methods of learning which implementation has been increasing (Peter C. Powell, 2004). ...
... initiative, particularly, Problem-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning and Project-Led Education (Peter C. Powell, 2004; M. J. Prince & Felder, 2006). These methods constitute new methods of learning which implementation has been increasing (Peter C. Powell, 2004). These methods belong to the concept of "Inductive learning" which is an instructional method focused on the student (learner-centered) and based on a constructivist approach, that is, based on the principle that students construct their version of reality instead of absorbing the reality presented by teachers in traditional teaching approaches (M. ...
... The inclusion of interdisciplinary programs within education programs was first recorded at McMaster University -Medical School in Canada, in the early 70's according to authors Felder (2003) and Powell (2004). Since then other initiatives based on new learning methods have already been performed by many engineering schools. ...
... Project-based learning can be considered an example of experiential learning. When applying this methodology, students get involved in the solution of a large and open-ended project during a semester [3]. A project can vary in complexity and duration and can involve an approach to any specialization. ...
... It also is an open-ended situation, but students need to formulate their problem, which is commonly multidisciplinary. This aspect gives a special motivation and meaning to the knowledge they acquire in their courses [3]. Motivation and participation in problem-solving have a positive impact on knowledge retention [6]. ...
... It was really important to develop a reasonable approach that would provide a possibility to evaluate both subject-specific and generic competences. It should be noted that generic (or the so-called soft) competences such as working in teams and running meetings are more difficult to assess in a formal examination (Powell 2004). Therefore, the role of instructors who can observe a team which works on the project becomes very significant. ...
... So, we have taken into account the process of project design, the project results and its presentation (Kloppenborg and Baucus 2004;Powell 2004;Cestone, Levine, and Lane 2008). In practice, a similar approach is used at different universities (Urbanic 2011;Chowdhury 2013;Peeters, Londers, and Van der Hoeven 2014). ...
The analysis of the current state of the Ukrainian system of engineering education indicates the prevalence of traditional teaching–learning approaches in contrast to the modern needs of the labour market. Many universities across the world use the problem/project-based learning (PBL) which is an effective approach for the development of design and management skills of engineering students. The paper describes a detailed structure of a PBL course in project management and practical experience related to its implementation in an engineering degree programme at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy. Also, the results of surveys carried out in order to study the students’ generic competences’ development and perception of the PBL process are presented. The results show that students understand the diversity of PBL aspects and the influence of the PBL approach on their professional characteristics such as teamwork, ability of self-directed learning, communication and problem-solving skills.
... Project-based learning can be considered an example of experiential learning. When applying this methodology, students get involved in the solution of a large and open-ended project during a semester [3]. A project can vary in complexity and duration and can involve an approach to any specialization. ...
... It also is an open-ended situation, but students need to formulate their problem, which is commonly multidisciplinary. This aspect gives a special motivation and meaning to the knowledge they acquire in their courses [3]. Motivation and participation in problem-solving have a positive impact on knowledge retention [6]. ...
... Deep learning occurs when meaning is negotiated in a social context (Frank and Barzilai 2004, Hellström et al. 2009). Teamwork encourages discussions, critical thought and reflection and leads to deeper learning (Powell 2004). Furthermore, teamwork instils cooperation, encourages respect and enhances communication and people management skills (Powell 2004, Hellström et al. 2009). ...
... Teamwork encourages discussions, critical thought and reflection and leads to deeper learning (Powell 2004). Furthermore, teamwork instils cooperation, encourages respect and enhances communication and people management skills (Powell 2004, Hellström et al. 2009). The Civil Engineering course at the Bendigo campus of La Trobe University has a long history. ...
Worldwide, large quantities of solid waste are generated by construction and demolition (C&D) activities and the car industry. At the same time, the availability of landfill space is diminishing, and most industrialised nations are actively promoting recycling procedures to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Governments have also set up regulatory bodies to provide standards and protocols for these procedures. Environmental benefits and reduced concrete production costs are some of the advantages of using recycled materials. Given these worldwide trends, it is essential to consider recycling some of the solid waste from the construction industry and used tires from the car industry to supplement natural aggregates in the production of concrete for the construction industry. This papers discusses the on-going research at La Trobe University on the use of recycled aggregates such as crushed concrete, crushed brick and rubber chips in the production of concrete. The effects of partial or total replacement of normal-weight aggregates with recycled aggregates on the strength of concrete were investigated. Different types and proportions of aggregate replacements were studied to establish which protocols provided the best options. It was found that concrete mixes produced with recycled aggregates produced acceptable concrete with reduced production costs.
... The teacher gathers the students, and his/her role is to facilitate the execution of the project and the contents to be covered. The teacher suggests strategies for students to progress in their work and focuses on the students' team (Powell, 2004). ...
Background: Interdisciplinary pedagogical practices can enhance dialogues, including knowledge and possibilities to produce some impact on society and the labour world. Objectives: In general, students need practical activities involving their professional training area, and interdisciplinary pedagogical practices are described from a theoretical and practical perspective. Design: This research is based on studying documents produced by the students during ten semesters while studying physics in a civil engineering course. It is educational research of a qualitative nature with descriptive data. Setting and Participants: It presents the results of interdisciplinary pedagogical practices developed by students of the second and third semesters of the civil engineering course from 2015 to 2019 at the University of the State of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT). Data collection and analysis: The documents analysed were final reports, banners, photos, bulletin boards, teacher’s diaries, course plans, videos, and electronic mail. Among more than one hundred reports and banners, 24 reports were selected for this analysis. Results: When analysing the documents, it was possible to perceive that the students were involved in interdisciplinary pedagogical practices. Conclusions: After this analysis, we concluded that it is essential to bring together professors who teach classes in an undergraduate engineering course to involve students in interdisciplinary actions and reflect on this practice.
... Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.8, n.3, p.17992-18010 mar., 2022. los estudiantes; iv) que incentive la autonomía y v) realismo, en cuanto al enfoque de problemas relacionados con la realidad del estudiante.La metodología ABP debe facilitar que el estudiante sea protagonista en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y pueda relacionar el contenido de varios cursos en un solo proyecto(Powell, 2007). La metodología de aprendizaje basada en proyectos (ABP), permite que el alumnado adquiera competencias genéricas de forma integrada con las específicas del ámbito del proyecto propuesto y se posiciona como una metodología idónea para facilitar el acercamiento del alumnado al mundo profesional para el que se está preparando y conseguir un aprendizaje significativo especialmente adecuado en el ámbito de las Ingenierías por sus reconocidos buenos resultados(Felder, 2012).En el caso de la Universidad de León, el objetivo de la propuesta de Intervención didáctica dirigida a la asignatura de Expresión Gráfica II, trata de comprobar que las técnicas de Diseño Asistido por ordenador (DAO) aplicadas a los conocimientos derivados del dibujo técnico son indispensables en los estudios de Grado de Ingeniería y que el paradigma propugnado por el EEES, no debería realizarse de forma abrupta (Fraile-Fernández, Martínez-García, Ugidos-Carrera, & Barros-Ruíz, 2018). ...
El ABP es un método pedagógico que favorece el aprendizaje significativo, y en el que los alumnos trabajan autónomamente en la realización de un proyecto que plantea la resolución de problemas, reales y motivadores, abordando temáticas del currículo educativo. Una de sus características es la ausencia del marco tradicional de aprendizaje en el aula. El proyecto debe suponer un reto que conduzca al estudiante a involucrarse activamente en la construcción de su propio conocimiento, con una actividad lo suficientemente atractiva para captar su atención y esfuerzo, sin dejar de lado el aspecto colaborativo. Los Motores Gráficos para la realización de videojuegos (Unity3D) proporcionan la posibilidad de crear juegos de ordenador, paseos virtuales o aplicaciones 3D, sin coste, con una curva de aprendizaje simple. La capacidad de aplicar acciones mediante programación orientada a objetos, unido a la posibilidad de simular comportamientos siguiendo las leyes de la física (motores de físicas), proporcionan características idóneas a este software para ser usado en el ABP. En el presente artículo se describen, analizan y, en su caso, se evalúan, tres entornos donde profesores del Área de Expresión Gráfica de la ULE, ya están aplicando el ABP, usando como herramienta de trabajo un motor gráfico (Unity3D). Cronológicamente, y debido también a las características de la propia tarea, se inició este proceso con la tutorización de trabajos fin de grado o máster (TFG y TFM). El profesor actúa como orientador y es el estudiante el que elige la temática dentro de sus preferencias o expectativas profesionales. Posteriormente, se ha aplicado la metodología en el ámbito de la asignatura de Expresión Gráfica II. El alumno propone un proyecto de su interés, relacionado con la especialidad de sus estudios y, en el que, además de trabajar competencias propias de la asignatura, comienza a adquirir otras transversales de otras materias. Por último, la tercera experiencia, que está en fase de diseño y autorización, corresponde al nivel de Educación Secundaria en los denominados estudios de Bachiller de Investigación/Excelencia. Los estudiantes adquirirán habilidades en ingeniería, colaborando en un proyecto conjunto con sus pares y realizando otro trabajo individual de su preferencia.
... It is possible to confirm that most engineering academic staff does not have adequate resources available to implement team learning considering theoretical concepts and the methodology of teamwork is, often, included without adequate preparation to unlock the greatest improvements by the students (Powell, 2004). ...
Universities around the world are adopting innovative methodologies in applied science education. The conception takes into account that the students are the center of knowledge acquirement and are becoming a mandatory guide for the engineering courses. One innovation methodology is project-based learning (PBL) in which, the students learn the technical concepts through one multidisciplinary project which they conceive, design, implement, and operate one prototype. On the other hand, there is a methodology that stimulates the students to develop transversal skills through a teamwork conception called team-based learning (TBL). In this paper, a comparison between both methodologies is presented considering the assessment outcomes from each methodology, applied to a group of students from an industrial engineering course. The results obtained from the students' assessment under both methodologies application are treated statistically and the results are compared and discussed. Finally, the conclusion is shown as well as suggestions for further works are presented. The justification for this paper is based on the rare comparison of the performance results between the two innovative learning methodologies.
... However, such outcomes represent less than half of the student outcomes criteria set by accreditation bodies. Recent research has focused on developing systematic and valid tools that can be used to assess less tangible outcomes such as, effective communication, ethical and professional responsibility, teamwork, and independent learning (Chan, Zhao, and Luk 2017;Huang-Saad, Morton, and Libarkin 2018;Nikolic, Stirling, and Ros 2018;Powell 2004). ...
Curriculum-based exit exams play a crucial role in program assessment and measuring student achievement of program learning outcomes (PLOs). This study aims to examine the validity of using an internal exit exam as a direct assessment tool to evaluate student learning and attainment of PLOs. The validation entails evaluating and correlating students’ performance in the exit exam to that in corresponding coursework and their perception regarding attainment of the PLOs. Results highlighted inferior student performance in the exit exam compared to corresponding coursework, with a moderate degree of correlation at the program level. The survey response analysis indicated that students tended to overestimate their attainment level of PLOs and their preparation for the exit exam was not sufficient. Findings of this study would assist in the continuous improvement of prospective engineering programs and provide a framework for a proper analysis capable of examining the validity of curriculum-based assessment tools.
... In this context, PBL models have been used as a privileged instrument of the new teaching paradigms. This type of learning consists of a methodology that emphasizes teamwork and the resolution of interdisciplinary problems, the active role of students in the learning process, along with the development of not only technical skills, but also of soft skills [14]. The change from traditional approaches to PBL is not free of challenges and issues that should be considered. ...
In a context of higher volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), engineering education must promote active learning approaches, where the responsibility of learning is focused on students, enhancing their competencies and ability to be competitive in the market. But, such educational strategies encompass many issues, questions and challenges, both for teachers and students. This article presents and discusses the main changes that have been introduced in a course that promotes entrepreneurship in the field of software engineering. The changes were introduced to address two main aims: (1) to provide opportunities for students to experiment new skills, that prepare them to better behave in a VUCA context, and (2) to make the course more efficiently managed. External elements and personal issues complement the intrinsic motivation related to the course on entrepreneurship.
... In the Western education system, the term project-led education (PLE) is also often used. It is aimed at the formation of teamwork skills, the skills of studying and solving large-scale and complex tasks in the face of the need to search for reliable information [3]. In addition to teaching students the skills of teamwork, the basis of PLE is used along with training work on fairly serious open projects. ...
The work is devoted to the problem of organizing university infrastructure, which allows students to be involved in projects related to instrumental observations of irregular natural phenomena. The purpose of the work is to study factors that simplify the process of organizing and conducting regular measuring experiments, allowing students and teachers of higher Education institutions to study and research rare natural phenomena. At the beginning of the work, an overview of literature is given, which describes the experience of using the project approach as part of the educational process and additional education. The main part of the paper describes an example of creating an educational measuring polygon the GASU. The method of design interfaces is proposed as a technology that allows you to simplify the process of creating a polygon and maintaining it in working order. The final part of the work is devoted to a detailed analysis of an example of a scientific study of an irregular natural phenomenon, the data on which were recorded as a result of the measurement experiments. The discussion section of the work concludes that the project approach and the method of project interfaces make the process of introducing instrumental observations into the educational process effective and beneficial for students.
... By conducting PBL, real-life challenges are solved when students are working in groups to solve authentic (not simulated), profession-related open-ended problems (Thomas, 2000;Edström & Kolmos, 2014;De Graaff & Kolmos, 2003;Powell, 2004). ...
The atmospheric CO 2 is now at the highest level seen (400 ppm) and the construction sector is responsible for 36 % of all greenhouse gases. One way to reduce this negative impact is to use more sustainable and environmentally friendly materials such as timber in the construction. To direct the sector towards this goal, the Erasmus+ project HiTimber (“Sustainable High-Rise Buildings Designed and Constructed in Timber”) was initiated in 2017. With the objective of developing an international and trans-disciplinary course in design, construction and management of sustainable high-rise timber buildings, project-based learning (PBL) was applied. The aim of the paper is to examine the effects of the PBL by examples and results from the HiTimber workshops. The presented results are the approbation of scientifically-practical results, derived from surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019 where 29 teachers and 45 students evaluated the PBL-based workshops. In general, all teachers and 85 % of students were satisfied with the PBL approach; the students were more engaged, motivated and successful in their studies. However, the transition from traditional teaching to PBL has its challenges and requires time, effort and strong commitment from both students and teachers to be effective.
... Students can be evolved as good team players by proper assessment and feedback of project-based learning (Chua, 2014). Qualitative feedback can be provided to develop students' skills in leadership, planning tasks, and achieving goals as a team (Powell, 2004). 5) Assessment can also be used for making engineering students realise their professional, moral and ethical responsibilities in the engineering profession. ...
'Assessment' and 'feedback' are inherently embedded in a course curriculum of engineering education settings. These components are indispensable for the teaching-learning processes. It is observed that engineering faculty members do not require any 'teacher-training' to join the engineering institutions across the globe. Hence, they may not have adequate experience in assessing students' performances and providing feedback to students. Only a few research studies have been carried out on assessment and feedback from the engineering education context. Therefore, this paper attempts to critically analyse the literature pertaining to learning through different types and methods of assessment practices in the engineering education settings. Further, it examines the significance of qualitative feedback in assessment and the principles of good feedback practice. It highlights the implications of assessing student performance and providing feedback from the engineering education perspective. Finally, the paper offers some recommendations on assessment and feedback practices in the engineering education settings.
... Groups with more elements If it were possible to form a list of companies available to carry out the work Tutor A working space for the groups that are carrying out the project As the project focused on the IIEM program, I think that more KPI could be studied in order to be easier understood and implemented in the project Having a meeting place; meetings with the teachers themselves in those days/hours of PBL to put the doubts A meeting room seems to be well valued by the teams. This is also reported by other studies and authors [36], and seems fundamental for the exchange of ideas and communicate more effectively, among others. Need for a tutor, that follows the progress of the team' project is also reported, which is already implemented under the PBL class. ...
The Integrated Master in Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) program has been implementing Project-Based Learning (PBL) for more than 15 years in the first year, first semester. The IEM program is currently attracting students from different programs, using transfer mechanisms, who normally already have passed some of the courses on their original program. Additionally, this program also attracts a number of students already working in some companies. These students are a bit older and their profile is also distinct from that of their fellow colleagues, which enter the university using a regular national ingress process. Thus, distinct situations are identified that demand a different learning approach. The teachers have come-up with one such distinct approach and called it “non-PBL”, since the PBL model is structured in a way that students must have a specific profile, namely, to be first-year IEM student and enrolled a similar set of curricular units. With this in mind, this paper presents these situations, and describes the solution found to address this diversity. The solution must promote similar competences on both PBL and “non-PBL” students. A heavier workload is imposed on the teachers, given that the number of “non-PBL” teams formed can be as much as the number of PBL teams. Nevertheless, the results demonstrate that the “non-PBL” students successfully conclude the first year and that they value the solution proposed, in spite of the difficulties raised with this process.
... Nesta linha de desenvolvimento dos cursos de ensino superior, o curso de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (MIEGI) da Universidade do Minho, implementou a partir de 2005, um modelo de aprendizagem baseada em projetos (PBL), inspirada na abordagem PLEE -"Project Led Engineering Education" (Powell, 2004;Powell & Weenk, 2003). Esta foi uma aposta alicerçada no objetivo de criar contextos de aprendizagem que contribuíssem para aumentar a motivação dos estudantes, o desenvolvimento de competências técnicas sólidas e simultaneamente um leque de competências transversais necessárias para o desempenho da profissão de Engenharia e Gestão Industrial. ...
Active learning strategies have gained relevance in the context of Higher Education Institutions. This growing relevance is due to the fact that there is evidence that these strategies, in addition to being more appealing, are also more effective, resulting in deeper learning. In the context of active learning, one of the most used approaches in Engineering Education is the Problem and Project-Based Learning (PBL). Although there are many publications about PBL in Engineering Education, it is not common to find work that systematically describes the process of implementing these experiences. In addition, there are not many examples of PBL in interaction with companies, neither in Engineering Education in general, nor in Engineering Education in Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM). Thus, this article intends to describe in a systematic way a PBL approach in interaction with companies, which has been applied since 2005, in the Integrated Master in Industrial Engineering and Management (MIEGI) of the University of Minho, Portugal. This description, although it has some chronological references, will be fundamentally focused on the project that runs from September 2017 till the end of January 2018. In this way, it is intended to serve as a reference for other teachers who wish to implement projects inspired in this model. Abstract As estratégias de aprendizagem ativa têm vindo a ganhar relevância no contexto das Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES). Esta relevância crescente deve-se ao facto de existirem evidências de que estas estratégias, para além de serem mais apelativas, também são mais efetivas resultando em aprendizagens mais profundas. No contexto da aprendizagem ativa, umas das abordagens mais utilizadas na Educação em Engenharia é aquela baseada em problemas e projetos (PBL-Problem and Project-Based Learning). Embora existam muitas publicações sobre PBL na educação em engenharia, não é comum encontrar trabalhos que descrevam de forma sistemática o processo de implementação dessas experiências. Além disso, não existem muitos exemplos de PBL em interação com empresas, nem na Educação em Engenharia em geral, nem na Educação em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial. Sendo assim, este artigo pretende descrever de forma sistemática uma abordagem de PBL em interação com empresas, que vem sendo aplicada desde 2005, no Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (MIEGI) da Universidade do Minho, em Portugal. Esta descrição, embora tenha algumas referências cronológicas, será fundamentalmente centrada no projeto a decorrer desde setembro de 2017 e que terminará em finais de janeiro de 2018. Desta forma, pretende-se que venha a servir de referência para outros professores que pretendam implementar projetos inspirados neste modelo.
... So, mechanisms must be established that ensure fairness on individual student assessment. Although many strategies and approaches have been devised (Powell, 2004) in our case we use four dimensions of assessment: ...
Interdisciplinary projects (IP) carried out by teams of students have been recognized as an important approach for learning in several fields and at several levels of education. In higher education, it can be an important drive for student learning motivation and an advantage for students when entering the working marketplace. The experience acquired while developing IP gives students technical and transversal competences highly relevant for employment but above all give students confidence and a competitive advantage. This paper aims at describing and discussing an experience in carrying out interdisciplinary projects in the context of a System Engineering Master (SEM) programme. First we explore the SEM programme philosophy and organization focussed on IP-based learning and then, for a particular IP course unit of the SEM, the dimensions of project design and specification, project interdisciplinarity, teaching team organization, support to students, project evaluation and individual students' assessment. The authors argue that the IP learning model adopted in the case here reported is a good example of an IP-based learning at a master degree level.
... Another important issue in this process is the peer review where one team assess and grade the work of another team (POWELL, 2004). Such example was implemented in Industrial Engineering and management program through the use of PBL, which can be seen in Alves et al, (n.d.) where one team assessed and graded a preliminary report from another team. ...
A aprendizagem baseada em projetos (PBL) é uma metodologia de aprendizagem ativa que coloca o aluno no centro da aprendizagem, forçando o professor a assumir um papel de facilitador e coadjuvante. Esta nova postura docente não é menos importante, porque exige muitas mudanças que devem ser promovidas por estes, em particular, relacionadas à coordenação e à organização do projeto de aprendizagem. Uma tarefa importante neste planejamento está relacionada ao método de avaliação, que deve estimular o comportamento discente que promova sua motivação à aprendizagem. Esta foi a preocupação em um programa de graduação em Administração de uma instituição privada na cidade de Campos dos Goytacazes, no Brasil. Esta metodologia exigiu mudanças substanciais nos métodos de ensino/aprendizagem, assim como abordagens de avaliação focadas na presente pesquisa. Este artigo apresenta uma visão geral dos conceitos PBL e da metodologia de avaliação adotada para esse curso específico. Além disso, discute os resultados do novo método de avaliação. Esta foi uma experiência inovadora que confirmou os resultados positivos da experiência PBL dos alunos e também a importância da avaliação por pares nesta metodologia de aprendizagem.
... Powell & Weenk, 2003) which aims to solve interdisciplinary problems based on a real situation where learning is student centered (P. C. Powell, 2004). Throughout the project students are able to develop technical and soft skills with great impact on their learning effectiveness. ...
Project and team management play a major role in the student team’s project performance. This is more evident when projects last a long time and the teams are large. In this work, a student team accepted to use SCRUM as their project management methodology during their Project Based Learning (PjBL) experience. This PjBL experience took place on the 7th semester of the Integrated Master in Industrial Engineering and Management degree. The team had a short period of time to train the technique and apply it throughout the entire semester. Although not very enthusiastic in the beginning of the project, the team gradually became aware of the advantages of SCRUM features, recognizing the feeling of having the project under control and gaining management effectiveness throughout the semester. In the end, the team performed well above the average, being one of the two teams with the highest score of the class.
... Overall, we believe that this course is helping students to develop basic skills in biomedical product design and development. Thus far, assessment of learning outcomes has relied on both formal and informal methods (Powell 2004). Weekly engagement by faculty and student instructors with individual teams provides informal, real-time indications of how well students are mastering project management and core design tasks. ...
... Project-based Learning (PBL) is considered to be an active learning student-centred methodology that improves the motivation to learn [2,3,4,5], and can be successfully applied on long-term team-based projects. The Project Supporting Courses (PSCs) are ought to back up the required needs for technical expertise, but the learning pathways, leading to a given solution, are dictated by the teams of students themselves. ...
The present study, conducted at the end of a PBL edition at the University of Minho, reports on the results of a questionnaire issued to the lecturers of the Project Supporting Courses of a semester-wide interdisciplinary PBL approach. The questionnaire was intended to gather the perceptions on a number of relevant aspects, such as on the validity and acceptance of the PBL methodology, dynamics of team-based learning and its impact on development of transversal competences, the assessment methodology in place, the learning process and development of technical competences, the impact of choosing a project theme and leave it open, and, additionally, to acquire other relevant perspectives on the running of the project. This study aims to close the loop regarding a continuous and ongoing improvement process of the PBL approach. The results show that the lecturers acknowledge PBL as a valid learning methodology on the IEM field; that the chosen theme was contemporary and stimulating; provided an excelling experience on the development of communication competences, among others. They also point out the excessive size of the teams and call the attention to the specialization problem inside the teams. The assessment mechanism in place seems to require further attention.
... According to Grunefeld et al. [6], the team success on accomplishing what is ought to be developed, relies on a relentless and paced activity by the respective tutor, which assures that the project progress is kept within safe limits, by registering the decisions and progress made. Powell [7] reports that the tutor is a facilitator whose mission should consist in enabling a fluid process of project management. He adds that the tutor should not participate in the development of solutions, but rather to suggest strategies, aiding the team on generating ideas and identifying worthy key-points for directing the efforts, and that the natural progress of the work triggers its development. ...
Teamwork tutors are one of the characteristic elements of the Project-Based Learning (PBL) methodology. PBL is considered to be an active learning methodology that involves the students in their own learning, by promoting the development of a large interdisciplinary project. The project runs typically over one full semester, or longer, and it is supported by a number of Project Supporting Courses (PSC) that teach and also applies its own contents aligned with project objectives. A set of activities, tasks and milestones are planned for each team so that the project objectives are accrued, with the aid of a tutor that follows the normal development and reports on its progress.
This paper discusses the role of the tutor from both sides: students’ and teachers’ tutors, and students in their first year of the Integrated Master in Industrial Engineering and Management program at the University of Minho. A total of thirteen tutors (four teachers and nine third year students) tutored six teams of students. Two on-line questionnaires were used to collect: 1) the perspectives of the tutored students with a total of 38 questions; 2) the perspectives of the tutors with a total of 22 questions. It was interesting to note that almost all students that answered to the questionnaire enjoyed having an older student tutoring them. The students’ tutors also enjoyed and they all had a good tutorship experience, being a special opportunity to help the first year colleagues.
... As Powell notes [3], there are a number of substantial challenges to this line of thinking. In particular, it is tricky being facilitator and judge at the same time. ...
Classroom assessment is a challenge in engineering design given the open-ended nature of student projects, the reliance on multiple assessors, and difficulties around the judgement of “quality”. In this paper, we attempt to place the more general work on classroom assessment in the context of engineering design education. Examples are provided from the author’s experience teaching a mechanical and manufacturing engineering capstone design course and recommendations are made based on this experience.
... Based on their feedback as well as the initiative of the Industrial Engineering faculty members, all courses have been designed with a final project element where students perform on-site visits and recommend solutions for observed problems. Having a project-based curriculum is relatively uncommon but not unprecedented (Milgrom 2001;Powell 2004). The mandatory internship component of the curriculum has also benefitted the students and enthusiastically received by the board members, further contributing to developing employment-ready graduates. ...
This paper reports on the development of an engineering curriculum for a new industrial engineering programme at a medium-sized private university in the northeast United States. A systems engineering process has been followed to design and develop the new curriculum. Considering the programme curriculum as a system, first the stakeholders have been identified, and some preliminary analysis on their needs and requirements has been conducted. Following that, the phases of conceptual design, preliminary design, and detailed design have been pursued during which different levels of validation, assessment, and evaluation processes have been utilised. In addition, a curriculum assessment and continuous improvement process have been developed to assess the curriculum and the courses frequently. The resulting curriculum is flexible, allowing the pursuit of accelerated graduate programmes, a second major, various minor options, and study-abroad; relevant, tailored to the needs of industry partners in the vicinity; and practical, providing hands-on education, resulting in employment-ready graduates.
... O curso de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Mecânica funcionou, pela primeira vez, no ano letivo de 2006/2007, então dirigido pelo Prof. A.C. Caetano Monteiro, em que um dos focos era a inclusão de unidades curriculares denominadas integradoras, as quais assentam nos princípios associados à aprendizagem por projetos [11]. De entre os objetivos principais destas unidades curriculares destacam-se os seguintes: ...
O presente guia serve de referência ao planeamento, desenvolvimento, concretização e avaliação das atividades previstas no âmbito da unidade curricular Integradora II, a qual é oferecida no 2º semestre do 1º ano do plano de estudos do curso de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Mecânica da Universidade do Minho.
... O curso de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Mecânica funcionou, pela primeira vez, no ano letivo de 2006/2007, então dirigido pelo Prof. Caetano Monteiro, e em que um dos focos era a inclusão de unidades curriculares denominadas integradoras, as quais assentam nos princípios associados à aprendizagem por projetos [11]. De entre os objetivos principais destas unidades curriculares destacam-se os seguintes: ...
... Researchers agree teamwork is a complex learning outcome 3 . While studied in other domains 20,21 , there is no current standard of practice for teamwork assessment methods in an interdisciplinary engineering setting 17,22 . Faculty looking to assess interdisciplinary teamwork may consider utilizing surveys, questionnaires, scenario-based assessments, assessments of student artifacts or criterion referenced assessments 17,23 . ...
In 2009, a group of seventeen students majoring in electrical, computer, or systems engineering became the first class of Leaders in Engineering Program (LEP) students at East Central State University1. The LEP is an undergraduate curriculum focused on developing knowledge and skills that address both component-level design (electrical or computer engineering) and system level integration. The current situation for majors in electrical and computer engineering at East Central State University is that the curriculum is focused on developing strong technical skills to design and analyze electrical or computer engineering components. For systems majors, the curriculum is focused on developing rigorous skills for approaching a problem from a systems perspective and for modeling the performance of systems under conditions of uncertainty. The objective of the LEP is to develop systems engineering graduates with the ability to work on technology-oriented projects and electrical/computer engineering graduates with the ability to integrate their domainspecific designs into larger systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe the research plan for determining how well the LEP is able to accomplish its objectives for graduates. The initial group of seventeen students is in their senior year during the 2011-12 academic year and all are completing capstone design projects. Five of the seventeen students decided to drop out of the LEP at various times during the last two years. Statistical baseline data to be gathered includes the types of jobs each student pursues after graduation, the type and number of internships each student completes during their summers, and their overall academic success. Interviews with faculty advisors of LEP capstone projects will provide information on the performance of LEP students relative to their non-LEP peers on real world projects. Finally, a performance activity will be used to directly observe if and how LEP students approach systems integration problems differently from their peers.
... In fact, project-based learning (PBL) by itself is known to be one of the basic settings for suitable university course teaching [8][9][10][11]. Project-led education is a successful way of improving the motivation and progression rate of students through a given academic programme and is being adopted in many European countries [12]. In order to accomplish their future engineering missions efficiently in professional situations, emerging engineers need to rely not only on a whole body of scientific and technical knowledge, but also on a wide set of individual and group skills [13]. ...
This paper proposes an active learning-based design approach to senior graduation project courses for computing curricula. The proposed approach focuses mainly on course requirements including increasing the interaction between instructor and project team members; providing better and fair student/team performance assessment; encouraging students to practise life-cycle driven development; preparing students for role-based team-working; motivating students to communicate with experts from industry and supporting cooperation between students. It is observed that implementation of the proposed approach increases the student course satisfaction level while higher quality student projects are achieved.
... Many also provide opportunities to work in an interdisciplinary environment. As a result, these courses often lead to increased student motivation [1,2], satisfaction [3], and creativity [4], a greater sense of community [3], and higher program retention rates [3]. ...
This paper explores the impact of the rubric rating scale on the evaluation of projects from a first year engineering design course.Asmall experiment was conducted in which twenty-one experienced graders scored five technical posters using one of four rating scales. All rating scales tested produced excellent results in terms of inter-rater reliability and validity. However, there were significant differences in the performance of each of the scales. Based on the experiment's results and past experience, we conclude that increasing the opportunities for raters to deduct points results in greater point deductions and lower overall scores. Increasing the granularity of the scale can reduce this effect. Rating scales that use letter grades are less reliable than other types of scale. Assigning weights to individual criteria can lead to problems with validity if the weights are improperly balanced. Thus, heavily weighted rubrics should be avoided if viable alternatives exist. Placing more responsibility for the final score on the grader instead of the rubric seems to increase the validity at the cost of rater satisfaction. Finally, rater discomfort can lead to intentional misuse of a rating scale. This, in turn, increases the need to perform outlier detection on the final scores. Based on these findings, we recommend rating scale rubrics that use simple 3 or 4-point ordinal rating scales (augmented checks) for individual criteria and that assign numerical scores to groups of criteria.
... The main difference between those two learning approaches is essentially related to the scale of learning activities. In PBL there is some emphasis on team-based discussion of smaller-scale problems, which are handled within a week or a few weeks, rather than larger-scale PLE projects over a complete semester (Powell 2004). ...
Social network-based engineering education (SNEE) is designed and implemented as a model of Education 3.0 paradigm. SNEE represents a new learning methodology, which is based on the concept of social networks and represents an extended model of project-led education. The concept of social networks was applied in the real-life experiment, considering two different dimensions: (1) to organize the education process as a social network-based process; and (2) to analyze the students’ interactions in the context of evaluation of the students learning performance. The objective of this paper is to present a new model for students evaluation based on their behavior during the course and its validation in comparison with the traditional model of students’ evaluation. The validation of the new evaluation model is made through an analysis of the correlation between social network analysis measures (degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, eigenvector centrality, and average tie strength) and the grades obtained by students (grades for quality of work, grades for volume of work, grades for diversity of work, and final grades) in a social network-based engineering education. The main finding is that the obtained correlation results can be used to make the process of the students’ performance evaluation based on students interactions (behavior) analysis, to make the evaluation partially automatic, increasing the objectivity and productivity of teachers and allowing a more scalable process of evaluation. The results also contribute to the behavioural theory of learning performance evaluation. More specific findings related to the correlation analysis are: (1) the more different interactions a student had (degree centrality) and the more frequently the student was between the interaction paths of other students (betweenness centrality), the better was the quality of the work; (2) all five social network measures had a positive and strong correlation with the grade for volume of work and with the final grades; and (3) a student with high average tie strength had a higher grade for diversity of work than those with low ties.
... Either based on technology, like the Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) project in MIT (Dori, 2008) or on projects/problem, the objective is the same, engage students deeply in their learning process. At the School of Engineering of University of Minho, some projects based on Project Led Education (PLE) (Powell & Weenk, 2003;Powell, 2004;Lima et al., 2007) have been developed for students of the 1 st and 4 th year of the Industrial Management and Engineering (IME) Integrated Master degree (Lima et al., 2009a;Lima et al., 2009b). The 5 th and last year implies for the students an individual project, normally, in a company (Alves et al., 2009b) so, these students do not have any PLE project. ...
This paper presents a hands-on simulation approach developed in a Curricular Unit of the 5th year of the Industrial Management and Engineering (IME) Integrated Master degree of University of Minho. The students, working in teams, were invited to prepare a potential training session to instruct operators in a work environment about cell operating modes (specific thematic in the Curricular Unit contents, defined by the teacher). The teams had freedom to prepare this session as they desired and to use all kind of concepts, tools, techniques they already know or acquire. All teams decided to use a torches kit, available by the teacher, with a product to assembly (the torch), in a different cell operating mode. With the hands-on simulation, the students learn how to prepare a training session, learn new concepts, and apply concepts and tools learned in previous classes. Student's opinions and results of this hands-on simulation are presented.
... Ilustração da organização do processo PLE no MIEGI.O tutor PLE(Powell, 2004) é um docente facilitador do desenvolvimento de competências técnicas e transversais, centrado no grupo de alunos. Nos processos PLE do MIEGI, aqui descritos, o tutor é um docente cujo papel consiste em facilitar o desenvolvimento de competências transversais e de monitorizar o desenvolvimento do projecto. ...
... Tutors recognize that it easier to confront students when there is formal evidence that something in the team is not going well than when based on their own intuition. According to Powell (2004), the tutors' role should not be to supply answers but instead to give clues for the group itself to find the most appropriate solution to the problems it faces. However, besides giving technical support on the project, the tutor will also have to play a double function by guiding students in the process of self-reflection, providing inputs and ideas for the development of project skills. ...
This paper aims to give an overview of an ongoing and broader piece of research on the impact assessment of the Project-Led Education. For this, the CIPP Evaluation Model was used as a framework for evaluating the impact of the programme. This evaluation model stresses the importance of linking evaluation with decision-making.
The context of the case study reported in this paper takes place at the University of Minho, Portugal, with Engineering students who participated in PLE experiences. Data were collected through qualitative and quantitative research methods, according to the four aspects of evaluation in CIPP: context, input, process and product. The context evaluation involved collecting and analysing needs assessment data to determine goals, priorities and objectives. Input evaluation focused on the assessment of the projects’ objectives and work plan. Process evaluation was aimed at providing information on how well the project was being implemented. Finally, the product evaluation focused on assessing the impact of PLE on students’ learning process and changes in faculty teaching.
The issues discussed in this paper suggest that it is important to develop a process of systematic data collection, while designing and implementing PLE experiences. In this way, improvements and decision-making may be more effective.
Examination is an organized process of gathering, examining, and interpreting the information to determine the extent to which trainees are achieving and understanding instructional objectives. Exit exam is an exam that is given at the end of the course completion may be before or after graduation. In this paper, the role, strategies, challenges, benefits and types of exit examinations (EEs) for undergraduate students(engineering and technology programs) will be thoroughly discussed from the related works to see the feasibility in the Ethiopian context. As far as my knowledge is concerned, there is no such work in the history of the Ethiopian context till date. The findings of those works revealed that the exit exam is very crucial in achieving institutional level, program level and course level objectives of the institutions around the globe. The global experiences from German, India, Arab Emirates and the USA showed that there are different strategies to implement EEs for different programs in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In Ethiopia EE as a licensure exam for medical students and law, undergraduate students are provided. But EEs in Engineering and technology institutions are not common throughout the globe. Formally Universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) apply EEs to all undergraduate Engineering students. There are two types of exit exam strategies namely internal and external to the institutions and given to the student either online or through paper and pencil methods. EEs are administered by various organizations. But for developing countries like Ethiopia internal EEs are recommended initially.
The work is devoted to the analysis of time series and the problem of processing signals obtained as a result of the design approach implementation during the organization of instrumental observations of irregular natural phenomena at the student interdisciplinary testing ground. The objective of the work is to study the methods of processing noisy signals obtained as a result of monitoring the infrasonic environment, which make it possible to automate the search for fragments of the time series generated by irregular natural phenomena. At the beginning of the work, a brief explanation of the essence of the measuring scientific experiment carried out within the framework of the project approach used in the additional education of students and schoolchildren shall be given. The following is a review of publications describing various approaches to the analysis of nonstationary time series obtained in the process of instrumental observations. As the main method of time series analysis, it is proposed to use the algorithm for calculating the fractal dimension of the time series, proposed by T. Higuchi [1]. During studying of the time series of infrasonic signals, a number of regularities were discovered that contribute to the development of an original procedure for processing and transforming the signal under study, which makes it possible to determine the time intervals of fragments of the time series corresponding to the signals of the desired natural phenomena. The essence of the proposed approach lies in the preliminary preparation of the time series by processing the data with a simple normalized difference filter, previously smoothed by performing the coenvolution (convolution) operation with a Gaussian kernel; determining the step of segmenting the normalized time series, calculating fractal dimensions and averaged amplitudes for each of the segments of the time series and obtaining on their basis vectors of changes in dimensions and amplitudes with their subsequent element-wise multiplication. It is shown that the maximum values of the components of the resulting vector are indicators of timestamps for the location of the desired signals.
Introduction. The article is devoted to the problem of developing a project approach applied to engineering education. The purpose of the research is to identify special features of project interfaces method as a mechanism of developing a project approach to the educational process and children’s technical creativity. Materials and Methods. The authors applied a system-synergetic approach. The methodological base of the research includes the following methods: phenomenological description, interpretation, comparison, and comparative analysis of research works by Russian and Foreign scholars on the project approach to education. The authors also used the results of studying schoolchildren and students’ creative products. Results. The authors argue that project interface method presented in this paper is a development of the project approach to the educational process and children's technical creativity. The authors analyze and summarize the conditions enhancing efficiency of project teams, which work on complex projects, by using decomposition and encapsulation procedures within the framework of the project interfaces method. Relying on the results of the comparative analysis and summarizing the findings of examining students and schoolchildren’s creative products, the authors conclude about the role of natural encapsulation in aligning complexity levels of educational projects and the competence of project teams. The authors also show how to develop the project approach through artificial “strengthening” of encapsulation and unification in the functional parts of educational projects. The authors conclude that the efficiency of using the project interfaces method is determined by types of educational projects, mentors’ competence, and the number of members within project teams. Possible limitations, determined by requirements for mentors and project managers are also considered. The authors present an analysis of the methodological experiment on the practical application of the project interfaces method in blitz projects carried out at Gorno-Altai State University. Conclusions. In conclusion, the authors summarize the special features of the project interfaces method as a mechanism for the development of the project approach in the educational process and children's technical creativity.
This study was intended to verify the relationships among team functional competence diversity, empathy, and competence acquisition and placed more focus on team learning rather than on individual lecturing. Although functional competence diversity involved heterogeneous experts to brainstorm the development of innovative curricula, the teamwork process incurred conflicts. With the purpose of overcoming these difficulties, cultivating greater empathy in the participants helped them become more thoughtful and reduced conflicts during teamwork. We adopt purposive sampling in this study. Three hundred questionnaires were sent out, and 108 valid responses were obtained. Initially, we proved that the more participants with heterogeneous competencies there are in functional competence diversity teams, the easier it will be for them to acquire heterogeneous competencies. Second, we also found that the more teachers engage in functional competence diversity teams, the greater empathy they must have in order to reach an agreement efficiently. Third, the greater the empathy participants have, the easier it will be for them to acquire heterogeneous competencies. Finally, we verified that empathy has a mediating effect between functional competence diversity and competence acquisition in interdisciplinary teams. This study suggests that when team members have greater empathy competence, it reduces arguments, helps polish interpersonal skills, and facilitates tight cooperation that leads to the acquisition of heterogeneous knowledge and the development of systematic curricula.
The counterpart to the open access to information facilitated by the Internet is the problem of the over-saturation of data and sources. A collaborative model of hypermedia is proposed as a pedagogical approach to the teaching of urban planning in which students organize and construct information from the possibilities provided by hypertext language. The methodology is structured in three phases: organization when searching for information; presentation of information using hypermedia; and assessment of the work. The results show that organization of information in the form of websites obtained the highest scores, although collaborative assessment should be restricted to subjective aspects of communication, while objective aspects should be assessed by the teacher and by groups of experts.
Higher education institutions have been responding to challenges that have led to a transformation of educational practices, particularly towards the implementation of active learning strategies, in order to create meaningful teaching and learning experiences, with increasingly more autonomous, cooperative and motivated students. In the particular case of Engineering, graduates should be able to develop their professional activities, dealing with a wide range of different types of problems that require the proficiency of technical and transversal competences.
This paper discusses details of the curricular reform effort to design an integrated learning experience in curriculum threads through mini-project in Electronics and Communication undergraduate. Traditionally, capstone projects because of their integrative nature are expected to provide an opportunity for the student to synthesize and demonstrate the learning that has happened across the program. Often it becomes difficult to choose problems for capstone projects that call for the application of the knowledge and skills acquired in all the curriculum threads. Mini-projects vertically integrated with each of the curriculum threads of the program are carried out by the students in the prefinal year and provide an opportunity to integrate knowledge and skills acquired in a set of courses belonging to the curriculum thread to solve complex engineering problems. Introduction of mini-projects also provides sufficient resolution to directly assess student learning outcomes in each of the curriculum thread. As these projects are carried out in teams, students are able to develop and demonstrate several professional competencies that are critical for engineering practice. The paper demonstrates that the theme-based mini-projects provide an integrated learning experience in a curriculum thread and help to develop curriculum design and modifications.
As a result of the demands of the Bologna process, teaching and learning in higher education have been challenged and changed from a traditional transmissionoriented perspective to an interaction oriented perspective, one in which the students are at the center of the learning process (Murray & McDonald, 1997).
For some years engineering has been in trouble. Fewer students have applied in general and the consequences have been merging and closing down of universities and departments. However, an initiative known as EPS (European Project Semester) was started in 1995 by this author. Students come together to work on multidisciplinary projects in international teams. This has shown to be an effective way to attract students and to give them international experience and develop their enhanced technical skills. Students of both gender from engineering, business and technology feel attracted to participate in this international semester. Many engineering schools have been inspired to provide the same set-up at their own institution. Several universities in Europe i.e. in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Germany, France, Finland, Belgium, Portugal and two universities in Spain are now offering this international semester course at their universities. Future competition will be fierce and we need engineers in our companies. Industry must find or invent responsible ways to increase production without environmental consequences. This ought to inspire our students to consider a career in engineering. Obviously, the present engineering education needs some adjustment in order to satisfy industry's requirements and the wishes of future students. The required skills base has changed. A continuous intake of engineering students is needed in our societies to create new developments and to have somebody to take over where others finish. We must persuade people to choose engineering. In that regard a big credit should be given to The Smallpeice Trust, Warwickshire, England. The Trust has for years done a tremendous work trying to attract young people into engineering.
During the last few years of teaching the subject of Graphic Engineering, traditional teaching methods have been used based on lectures and solving any problems as they arose. In the opinion of the authors, this gave a rather compartmentalised overview of engineering design. Students were assessed solely by a final exam, the final mark only being slightly influenced by the exercises set throughout the course. Being aware of this deficiency and motivated by the large number of graduates absorbed by the industrial engineering sector, two different experiences were developed built around project-based learning (PBL). It was intended to introduce a consolidated method that would bring students closer to an environment that simulated the actual working conditions in the field of engineering design. This paper describes the evolution of the methodology proposed by the authors and the results achieved. The aim of the authors is not simply to establish a methodology that will serve as an integrative component between the different degrees but as a methodology that will forge cross-links between degree subjects and enable students to develop their work more fully and endow their vocational training with a wider scope.
This paper aims to give an overview of an ongoing and broader piece of research on the impact assessment of the Project-Led Education. For this, the CIPP Evaluation Model was used as a framework for evaluating the impact of the programme. This evaluation model stresses the importance of linking evaluation with decision-making.
The context of the case study reported in this paper takes place at the University of Minho, Portugal, with Engineering students who participated in PLE experiences. Data were collected through qualitative and quantitative research methods, according to the four aspects of evaluation in CIPP: context, input, process and product. The context evaluation involved collecting and analysing needs assessment data to determine goals, priorities and objectives. Input evaluation focused on the assessment of the projects’ objectives and work plan. Process evaluation was aimed at providing information on how well the project was being implemented. Finally, the product evaluation focused on assessing the impact of PLE on students’ learning process and changes in faculty teaching.
The issues discussed in this paper suggest that it is important to develop a process of systematic data collection, while designing and implementing PLE experiences. In this way, improvements and decision-making may be more effective.
Desde o ano letivo de 2004/2005 tem vindo a aplicar-se no Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial (MIEGI) da Universidade do Minho uma metodologia de aprendizagem baseada em Projetos Interdisciplinares (PBL – Project-Based Learning). Entre outras competências, este tipo de projetos enfatiza o trabalho em equipa e neste processo, diferentes objetivos e visões entre os elementos da equipa, geram conflitos de difícil resolução. Neste contexto, cada equipa depara-se também com o processo de avaliação efetuada entre os seus próprios elementos, Avaliação Peer ou Avaliação por Pares. Neste trabalho pretende-se analisar de que forma esta avaliação pode afetar a performance e motivação de cada elemento e da equipa como um todo, e se será uma fonte geradora de conflitos internos, ou pelo contrário, uma forma de resolver esses mesmos conflitos, no contexto de processos PBL. No presente artigo apresenta-se um breve testemunho dos autores acerca da sua experiência com a avaliação peer em projetos interdisciplinares e um estudo de natureza qualitativa acerca deste tipo de avaliação que englobou todos os anos do curso do MIEGI. Após a análise de resultados apresenta-se uma reflexão crítica sobre a experiência de um grupo, do qual os três primeiros autores fizeram parte, que utilizou a avaliação peer e sobre o estudo realizado.
Assessment in the form of a large project and field- and laboratory work was shown to be successful when applied to a course in snow engineering for university students with various backgrounds. The course was interdisciplinary, with teachers representing three different engineering disciplines. The project work was assessed by a report, a short oral presentation and an optional presentation such as a home page, a poster or a physical model. The students experienced that they had learned more with this assessment strategy than from courses with a final written exam. Peer evaluation of the relative contributions to the project work was applied and was appreciated by the students. The experiences of practical engineering tasks during the project work were also appreciated.
Faculty Evaluation Orientatiemap, werken in projectgroepen (Background working file: working in project groups)
- Danish Evaluation Institute De Jong
- G J J Kootstra
DANISH EVALUATION INSTITUTE, 2002, Faculty Evaluation (Copenhagen, Denmark). ISBN 8779580947. DE JONG, G. J. J. and KOOTSTRA, F. J. M. D. M., 1998, Orientatiemap, werken in projectgroepen (Background working file: working in project groups) (University of Twente, Enschede: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering).
A proposal for formative evaluation in a project led education environment Teaching and learning in higher education: new trends and innovations, University of Aveiro, Portugal What have they learned? Assessment of student learning in higher education. Assessment of group projects
- J M Oliveira
- D Seabra
- L Pereira
- M Mendonç A
- I Camarneiro
- J Cowan
OLIVEIRA, J. M., SEABRA, D., PEREIRA, L., MENDONÇ A, M., CAMARNEIRO, I. and COWAN, J., 2003, A proposal for formative evaluation in a project led education environment. Teaching and learning in higher education: new trends and innovations, University of Aveiro, Portugal, 13–17 April. PBL web sites, University of Delaware, http://www.udel.edu/pbl/cte, University of Maastricht, http:// www.unimaas.nl/pbl/, McMaster University, Hamilton, http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/pbl/ pbl.htm, College of Education of San Diego State University, http://edweb.sdsu.edu/clrit/ learningtree/pbl/html POWELL, P. C., 1999, What have they learned? Assessment of student learning in higher education. Assessment of group projects. Proceedings of a SEFI Working Group Seminar on Curriculum Development, Delft, 22–23 April, pp. 151–158.
From PBL to e-PBL, Ed-media
- E Milgrom
MILGROM, E., 2002, From PBL to e-PBL, Ed-media. World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Denver, CO, 24–29 June, pp. 1325–1328.
Development of process competencies by reflection, experimentation and creativity Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: New Trends and Innovations Assessment by project work in snow engineering
- A Kolmos
- April
- A Lundberg
- L Vikstro M
- M Viklander
KOLMOS, A., 2003, Development of process competencies by reflection, experimentation and creativity. Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: New Trends and Innovations, University of Aveiro Portugal, 13–17 April. LUNDBERG, A., VIKSTRO M, L. and VIKLANDER, M., 2003, Assessment by project work in snow engineering. European Journal of Engineering Education, 28, 7–16.
Het toetsen van Complexe Vaardigheden, in Onderwijskunde Hoger Onderwijs, Handboek voor Docenten (Testing complex skills, in pedagogical higher education skills, handbook for teachers)
- G Moerkerke
- F Dochy
MOERKERKE, G. and DOCHY, F., 1997, Het toetsen van Complexe Vaardigheden, in Onderwijskunde Hoger Onderwijs, Handboek voor Docenten (Testing complex skills, in pedagogical higher education skills, handbook for teachers) (Assen: Van Gorcum), pp. 214–236.
Mechanical engineering education at the University of Twente: Masters for the New Millenium
- P C Powell
- H Grunefeld
POWELL, P. C. and GRUNEFELD, H., 1999, Mechanical engineering education at the University of Twente: Masters for the New Millenium, University of Twente, Enschede. POWELL, P. C. and WEENK, G. W. H., 2003, Project-led Engineering Education (Utrecht: Lemma).
The educational model of Monterrey Tec), Monterrey NL Mexico The new engineering curriculum at the Catholic University of Louvain
- Martin Perez
MARTIN PEREZ, M., 2002, El modelo educativo del Tecnologico de Monterrey (The educational model of Monterrey Tec), Monterrey NL Mexico, English language version http://www. sistema.itesm.mx/va/dide/libro/home.htm MILGROM, E., 2001, The new engineering curriculum at the Catholic University of Louvain. SEFI News, Winter, 9–11.
El modelo educativo del Tecnologico de Monterrey (The educational model of Monterrey Tec) Monterrey NL Mexico English language version
- Martin Perez
Testing complex skills, in pedagogical higher education skills, handbook for teachers) Assen pp
- F Moerkerke G Dochy