Engineers who can engineer
Transcription
Engineers who can engineer
Engineering Education Development: ”Engineers who can engineer...” Jakob Kuttenkeuler, [email protected] Kristina Edström, [email protected] Tartu 24 January 2011 1 Stakeholder analysis Present focus Context: Engineering science Desired focus Context: Engineering (Development of products, systems and processes) “Pure” problems (with right and wrong answers) Systems view, problems go across disciplines, are complex and ill-defined, and contain societal and business aspects Teamwork, communication Understand the whole cycle: Conceive, design, implement, operate Individual effort Design phase ”Engineers who can engineer...” The CDIO vision is to educate students who understand how to conceive-design-implement-operate complex engineering systems in a modern team-based engineering environment. 2 How can we ensure that our students reach these learning outcomes in the programme ? CDIO Collaborators • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Arizona State University, US Aston University, UK Australasian Association for Engineering Education, Australia Beijing Jiaotong University, China California State University, US Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden Daniel Webster College, US Duke University, US École Polytechnique de Montréal, Canada Embry-Riddle University Engineering College of Aarhus, Denmark Group T - International University College Leuven, Belgium Hochschule Wismar, Germany Hogeschool Gent, Belgium Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal Jönköping University, Sweden Placeholder: Kemi/Tornio UAS KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden Lancaster University, UK Lahti AMK LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas, US Linköping University, Sweden Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US Metropolia AMK Pennsylvania State University, US Polytecnico di Milano, Italy Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia Purdue University, US Queen's University, Canada • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Queen's University, Belfast, UK Queensland University of Technology, Australia School of Engineering at Taylor's University College, Malaysia Seinäjoen AMK Shantou University, China Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore Taylor's University College, Malaysia Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Telecom Bretagne, France Tsinghua University, China Turun AMK Umeå University, Sweden UNITEC Laureate International Universities, Honduras United States Naval Academy, US Universidad de Chile, Chile Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain University of Auckland, New Zealand University of Bristol, UK University of Calgary, Canada University of Colorado, US University of Leeds, UK University of Leicester, UK University of Liverpool, UK University of Manitoba, Canada University of Michigan, US University of Pretoria, South Africa University of Strathclyde, UK University of Sydney, Australia Vietnam National University, Vietnam 6 3 CDIO IS OPEN ARCHITECTURE CDIO is a reference model Everything has to be translatedtransformed to fit the context and conditions of each university / program CDIO provides a toolbox for working through the process Take what you want to use, transform it as you wish, give it a new name QUALITY OF STUDENT LEARNING ”didn’t get it” ”got it” — passed exam failed exam [Steve Hall, MIT] 4 Integrated learning of knowledge and skills Civilingenjörsexamen Kunskap och förståelse För civilingenjörsexamen skall studenten • visa kunskap om det valda teknikområdets vetenskapliga grund och beprövade erfarenhet samt insikt i aktuellt forsknings- och utvecklingsarbete, och • visa såväl brett kunnande inom det valda teknikområdet, inbegripet kunskaper i matematik och naturvetenskap, som väsentligt fördjupade kunskaper inom vissa delar av området. CDIO is about ensuring that the students fulfill the intended learning outcomes for the degree, including engineering skills. Färdighet och förmåga För civilingenjörsexamen skall studenten • visa förmåga att med helhetssyn kritiskt, självständigt och kreativt identifiera, formulera och hantera komplexa frågeställningar samt att delta i forsknings- och utvecklingsarbete och därigenom bidra till kunskapsutvecklingen, • visa förmåga att skapa, analysera och kritiskt utvärdera olika tekniska lösningar, • visa förmåga att planera och med adekvata metoder genomföra kvalificerade uppgifter inom givna ramar, • visa förmåga att kritiskt och systematiskt integrera kunskap samt visa förmåga att modellera, simulera, förutsäga och utvärdera skeenden även med begränsad information, • visa förmåga att utveckla och utforma produkter, processer och system med hänsyn till människors förutsättningar och behov och samhällets mål för ekonomiskt, socialt och ekologiskt hållbar utveckling, • visa förmåga till lagarbete och samverkan i grupper med olika sammansättning, och • visa förmåga att i såväl nationella som internationella sammanhang muntligt och skriftligt i dialog med olika grupper klart redogöra för och diskutera sina slutsatser och den kunskap och de argument som ligger till grund för dessa. The principle is to explicitly agree the contribution of each course towards the program goals - and thereby enable systematic progression. Värderingsförmåga och förhållningssätt För civilingenjörsexamen skall studenten • visa förmåga att göra bedömningar med hänsyn till relevanta vetenskapliga, samhälleliga och etiska aspekter samt visa medvetenhet om etiska aspekter på forsknings- och utvecklingsarbete, • visa insikt i teknikens möjligheter och begränsningar, dess roll i samhället och människors ansvar för hur den används, inbegripet sociala och ekonomiska aspekter samt miljö- och arbetsmiljöaspekter, och • visa förmåga att identifiera sitt behov av ytterligare kunskap och att fortlöpande utveckla sin kompetens. 5 Systematic integration of engineering competences in the programme Development routes (schematic) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Introductory course Physics Mathematics I Mechanics I Mathematics II Numerical Methods Mechanics II Solid Mechanics Product development Thermodynamics Mathematics III Fluid mechanics Sound and Vibrations Control Theory Signal analysis Oral presentation Electrical Eng. Report writing Statistics Project Teamwork management WHY? Integrating competencies doesn’t make sense unless we see them as engineering competencies 6 Why integrate competences? Competences are context-dependent and should be learned and assessed in the technical context. ...communication as a generic skill... ... communication as contextualized competences They are engineering competences Communication in engineering means being able to ► use the technical concepts comfortably, ► discuss a problem at different levels, ► determine what is relevant to the situation, ► argue for or against conceptual ideas and solutions, ► develop ideas through discussion and collaborative sketching, ► explain the technical matters for different audiences, ► show confidence in expressing yourself within the field... Communication skills as contextualized competences are embedded in, and inseparable from, students’ application of technical knowledge. The same kind of reasoning can be made for teamwork, ethics (etc...) as well. This is about students becoming engineers! 7 Contextualized: What does ”ability to communicate” mean for this specific professional role, subject area, or context? [Barrie 2004] Engineering Soft/generic skills 8 Not a zero-sum game Practicing CDIO competences in the disciplinary context means that students will have opportunities to express and apply technical knowledge. Training for the competences will therefore at the same time reinforce students’ understanding of disciplinary content – they will acquire a deeper working knowledge of engineering fundamentals. ”I can’t see that a credit of writing reports in my course is a wasted credit. Writing reports is an appropriate learning activity in my subject.” (Claes Tisell, KTH Machine design) Engineering faculty are engineering role models and we must show commitment by integrating engineering skills in our courses and involving ourselves. Place in curriculum Perception of generic graduate skills and attributes Integral They are integral to disciplinary knowledge, infusing and ENABLING scholarly learning and knowledge. Application They let students make use of or apply disciplinary knowledge, thus potentially changing and TRANSFORMING disciplinary knowledge through its application. Skills are closely related to, and parallel, discipline learning outcomes. Associated They are useful additional skills that COMPLEMENT or round out discipline knowledge.They are part of the university syllabus but separate and secondary to discipline knowledge. Not part of curriculum They are necessary basic PRECURSOR skills and abilities. We may need remedial teaching of such skills at university. [Simon Barrie 2002, 2004] 9 Different levels of commitment • Introduce (I): – the topic is treated in some way in the course, but – it is not assessed, and – probably not mentioned in the course objectives. Taking responsibility means this! • Teach (T): – it is part of a compulsory activity, – and there is an explicit course objective, – students get to apply the skill and get feedback on their performance (usually in assessment). • Use (U): – it is applied in a compulsory activity, but – mainly to achieve or assess other objectives in the course. Objectives are the basis for course design Objectives What should the students be able to do as a result of the course? Constructive alignment [Biggs] Activities Assessment What work is appropriate for the students to reach the objectives? What should the students perform to show that they fulfil the objectives? 10 Integration of competences in objectives, activities and assessment Objectives What should the student be able to do as a result of the course? - and as a result of the programme? Activities Assessment What work is appropriate for the students do to reach the objectives? What should the students do to demonstrate that they reached the objectives? Change management Creating new courses / retasking existing ones • • • • build on existing strengths consolidate & develop existing learning activities work with faculty who are willing & able invite proposals rather than give orders Supporting the development • • • • allocate resources for course development, give individual support allocate resources for faculty development: individual support, workshops etc Remember that we are developing the people as much as we are developing the programme 11 WHY and HOW Integrating competencies doesn’t make sense unless we see them as engineering competencies Integrating competencies still doesn’t work unless we know how it can be done ! “Deep learning is associated with doing. Doing is not sufficient for learning, however. Learning activity must be planned, reflected upon and processed, and related to abstract conceptions.” [Biggs, cited in Gibbs (1992)] 12 Integrating several engineering competencies in a project course... Integrated Learning in a Project Course Jakob Kuttenkeuler, Naval Architecture Stefan Hallström, Lightweight structures 13 4 challenges Teaching & learning Give students what they came for I will now teach! Analysis & Synthesis Applications & skills Engineering is fun! Authentic problem Analysis Decisions Synthesis Models (solving techniques) One part of the solution Capstone Design course Thesis Semester A Semester B 2 semester course, 20 ECTS (one third of their time) Standard funding (low material budget, normal teaching effort) One course – several projects in groups of 8-15 students A dedicated ”standard” classroom (open 24/7) Individual grading A-F 14 First day Conceive, design, build and operate – a vehicle that can transport one person both in planing speed on the water surface as well as at low speed submerged 15 How much should the success of the product influence the grades? 16 Students create new things • • Teachers advice & coach, but avoid to impose solutions Allow students to grow into the role of engineers • Conceive • Open • Design • New • Implement • Operate ended year - New group - new task • Neither students nor teachers know the answers • Applied use of theoretical skills • Whatever is designed has to be realised Ahh, the course where you teach the students to build cool stuff? No, the course where we turn students into engineers! New projects every year... 17 ...but always the same learning objectives After the course the participant is expected to be able to: analyse technical problems in a systems view handle technical problems which are incompletely stated and subject to multiple constraints develop strategies for systematic choice and use of available engineering methods and tools make estimations and appreciate their value and limitations make decisions based on acquired knowledge pursue own ideas and realise them practically assess quality of own work and work by others work in a true project setting that effectively utilises available resources explain mechanisms behind progress and difficulties in such a setting communicate engineering – orally, in writing and graphically What is the purpose of project work in education anyway? Project goals Project Learning objectives 18 Several layers – keep focus Project Product ”according to plan” Performance Course Learning There is a tension between product focus and learning Interaction with other courses Design course X-jobb Semester A Semester B 19 Assessment challenges • Individual grades (A-F) • Assessing individual performance in a group setting • Students work on many different tasks • Teachers see only fragments of the actual performance (2 hours scheduled/week) • Legal security / fairness Assessment – the Introduction Faculty • communicate course goals • instruct students to collect evidence in “portfolios” Students • express personal individual goals • plan own activities Start end 20 Mid Course & Course End Faculty • repeat course goals • discussion on giving/receiving feedback Students • • write summary • read summaries, write feedback, suggest peer grades • read feedback & reflect • revisit/revise personal goals follow-up on the process formative summative Start end Summary: Sample (mid course) L7. Effectively choose and use available engineering methods. Status: Approaching. Ref: [4][5][6] , - I am trying but find it hard to find the balance between rough estimates and sophisticated computerized methods. Further, the word “effectively” does not apply on me. L10. Present technical work. Status: Satisfied. Ref: [2] [4] [5] [6] [7], - I am author of 7 reports of which [2][5][6] as main author. - Prepared and given the presentation on the preliminary design [3] together with Jocke. References (links to project web site): 1. Meeting minutes from … 2. Presentation, Preliminary design at design review #1 3. Experiment 4, Planning, execution and results 4. Report A 12, Hydrostatic stability - analysis 5. Report A107, Engine, design and mounting … 21 Grades The grades are set in relation to the intended learning outcomes based on a holistic assessment of: • portfolios (reports, protocols, presentations, sketches, hardware, …) • given feedback • received feedback • recommended grades from peers • Participation, logged time and continuous observations by two teachers, independently Grading criteria • • • • • For grade A you should also • Distinguish yourself in several of the above task areas and learning outcomes • Show special personal engagement, responsibility and initiative for the project and group work For grade B you should also • Work actively with analysis, practical implementation, administration and communication • Clearly show that you reached the learning outcomes For grade C you should also • Work in most of the fields analysis, practical implementation, administration and communication • Clearly show personal initiative and engagement in the course For grade D you should also • Work with several types of tasks in the project • To some extent take on responsibilities in the course • Clearly show that you approach most of the intended learning outcomes For grade E you should • Actively participate in the course seminars and project meetings • Actively participate in the course activities, read and answered emails from course leaders and delivered the course assignments • Spend time on task corresponding to 20 credits • Show that you approach the intended learning outcomes to a significant extent 22 Why project setting? • Fun to build cool stuff… - not main reason • Stimulating for teachers… - not main reason • Stimulating for students… - not main reason • Less written exams… - not main reason • Less reports to read… - not main reason Constructive alignment! Goals Activities It is the best way to reach the goals Assessment What do you think, should the success of the product influence the grades? 23 Powerful principle 1: the purpose is student learning ”It is a pain to have students build anything. It takes them 3 months to do what the technicians can do in 3 days.” No. It takes them 3 months to learn. The purpose is not to build, but to learn (from building). ”We have them build a rubber band-driven car and compete. If the car runs 15 meters they get the highest grade, 12 meters the next grade and so on...” No. Students should be graded on how well they reach the learning outcomes, not the product performance. Powerful principle 2: process for feedback and reflection on experience The process is rich with peer feedback and self-reflection activities because experience results in learning only if reflected upon faculty role is to create and run a process for feedback note the cost-effectiveness 24 Powerful principle 3: reversing the ’burden of proof’ Each individual student is responsible for collecting and presenting evidence related to the learning outcomes (portfolio) this enhances reflection and directs students attention to the intended learning outcomes (->learning) makes the course format sustainable Powerful principle 4: ’for the good of the project’ The project and the group drives the specifications, the needs, the deadlines... not the teachers! makes everything students do in the course meaningful, reporting comes natural for the first time makes the course format sustainable 25 Let’s hear some student voices Interviews with students in the 2004 & 2005 cohorts (not the students in the picture...) Interviewer: What did you learn about working in teams? You knew theories before, empty phrases. But now I have seen them in reality. These things are so easy to say. Like *...+. I mean, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realise that, everyone knows it. But it’s one thing to know and another thing to apply, and we really got first-hand experience from applying it. It is so obvious, you can stop anyone on the street and they would say ‘of course, everyone knows that’. But it is a completely different thing to experience it in reality. 26 Interviewer: So you chose not to switch project leader? “*Changing the project leader+ wouldn’t have furthered the project. It could only have suffered. But if you completely drop [considerations for] the product - and maybe you should, actually – it might have furthered the course. It's hard to tell...you simply tend to put your focus on the product you are making.” Tension between project and learning... Interviewer: How do you think this course could be improved? In the beginning I think there should have been some technical seminars to give a faster start of the project. Technical specialists who could have given a few lectures. To help you see possible designs for instance? Yes, technical solutions. And whom we could have contacted later with questions. Hmm. I wonder if you may risk the main idea of the course? Yes... that is a risk... If they say ‘this is what you should do’... Yes, you are right. But you think it would have been better with a more efficient start. Yes, but that is perhaps because it had led to a better end result, I mean the boat. But maybe the learning wouldn't... Tension between project and learning... Conceptions of teacher’s and student’s roles are challenged... 27 Interviewer: What was it like to apply knowledge from previous courses? I think some *of my fellow students+ feel that we haven’t used much of our previous knowledge. Because it’s not like exam tasks, it’s not extremely difficult, but you have to think more widely. We are building this thing in parts that have to work together and as I see it that is pretty advanced [engineering]. And it is [application of knowledge from several other courses]. [2 minutes] Here we use mostly the fundamentals, but it is advanced to apply them, the situations are difficult because it’s real problems. In the previous courses I had to learn a lot of advanced stuff, but never how to use them. Previous course experiences (especially assessment) create a narrow view on knowledge... Interviewer: How do you think this course could be improved? They should have been more like teachers. We had to do all the hard work ourselves and we don’t feel that we got as much help from the teachers as we could have had. [...] When we went and asked them ‘does this look alright’, they tried to answer as vaguely as they could. Just because they tried to make us solve things ourselves I think. Student’s views on knowledge are challenged... Conceptions of teacher’s and student’s roles are challenged... 28 Quote from a mid-course evaluation Not that these were the only calculations needed, but the only ones that could be made. All the calculations assuming kinematic equilibrium seem to give various degrees of unreasonable results. This is not just a pity and shame, but it is also terribly bad pedagogy now towards the end of an education. I would really have liked to see that the theory we have learnt was possible to use. We cannot even calculate the strength since everything is so tiny. Students with a black-and-white view on knowledge are seriously challenged... Student views must always be interpreted • We notice that the teacher will often be blamed, as students think they should have been saved from the inconvenience. • But these relevant challenges are not ”flaws” that should be eliminated. They are key learning opportunities and we have no intention to protect the students from them. • It is then not appropriate to behave in conformity with student expectations. But knowing they existed was valuable for course development. • Conclusion: Don’t give the students what they want – give them something better! 29 Powerful principle 1: the purpose is student learning NOT reaching project goals (BUT the project still drives learning and creates a motivational context) NOT teacher popularity (BUT the students must still have trust in the process and the teachers) The beautiful sound of students growing into engineers... (I) The greatest thing I have learned from this course is humility. I'll approach similar tasks more humbly in the future. We thought we were better than we were. No, not better, but we have taken courses with well-defined problems, where there is an answer, the key. And that went well. But now you realised that as soon as you are confronted with reality, it’s quite another story. 30 The beautiful sound of students growing into engineers... (II) ”It took some time (maybe even a month) before it felt like we really got started. We were fumbling around, doing tasks without really completing them or seeing what was the conclusion, the next step from it. We wrote reports and said ‘we do this for our own sake’ but it took some time before that was actually the case. At least that’s how it was for me. But when that coin dropped, everything became very much easier.” ...and more of the same... “At the beginning of the course I was somewhat worried about finishing the education and starting to work as an engineer. Those worries are gone now. My confidence in approaching technical problems and solving them has grown a lot.” “Feedback was exchanged on everything between napkin scribbles at lunch to things you had built. This was valuable since it both gave me, and trained me to give, critique. It also helped me to see how other people are thinking and how they solve problems.” “One of the best things during the project was that written documentation was called for and that we in much lived up to those demands. It allows you to cross check things and check the work of yourself and others, and things are always available.” 31 Powerful principles: The purpose is student learning Feedback and reflection on experience Reversing the ’burden of proof’ ’For the good of the project’ CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT Formulating objectives What should the student be able to do as a result of the course? Designing Designing activities assessment What work should the student do, to reach the objectives? What should the student do, to demonstrate that they reached the objectives? 32 Last slide conclusions • Dualistic attitudes to knowledge and engineering are challenged • Decision making (the very reason for modelling!!!) in all forms is new to students • Nice informal interaction with other courses • Everything students do in the course has a meaning, even reporting and deadlines • Student reactions must be interpreted. We must give students what they need, not always what they want. • This is incredibly stimulating safety-net-less teaching REFERENCES - Edström, El Gaidi, Hallström and Kuttenkeuler (2005). Integrated assessment of disciplinary, personal and interpersonal skills - student perceptions of a novel learning experience, Proceedings of the 13th Improving Student Learning, OCSLD, Oxford, UK. - Hallström, Kuttenkeuler and Edström (2007). The route towards a sustainable design-implement course, Proceedings of the 3rd CDIO Conference, Cambridge, MA. 33 CDIO in a nutshell: Systematic integration of engineering competences in the programme Development routes (schematic) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Introductory course Physics Mathematics I Mechanics I Mathematics II Numerical Methods Mechanics II Solid Mechanics Product development Thermodynamics Mathematics III Fluid mechanics Sound and Vibrations Control Theory Signal analysis Oral presentation Electrical Eng. Report writing Statistics Project Teamwork management Black box coordination exercise INPUT: Previous knowledge and skills OUTPUT: Input to later course Course Input to later course (black box) Input to later course Input to final degree All courses in the program are presented through input-output only: INPUT - When the students come to my course I want them to already be able to... OUTPUT - Students who passed my course are able to [learning outcomes] and that is input to [course A, course B...]. The black box approach enables efficient discussions Makes connections visible (and lack thereof !) 34 More about CDIO • 7th International CDIO Conference June 20-23, 2011, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) Copenhagen/Lyngby www.cdio2011.dtu.dk • www.cdio.org • Crawley et al. (2007) Rethinking Engineering Education: The CDIO Approach, Springer Verlag. ISBN 0387382879 QA in HEI –project 2009-2011 • funded by Nordplus • Promote the quality assurance strategies and methods in higher education institutions by developing innovative models of quality assessment – develop and implement a self-evaluation model – develop and implement a cross-evaluation model Step1. Create the program description Step 2. Make the selfevaluation Step 3. Time for improvement and development Step 4. Preparing for cross-wise evaluations Step 5. Crosswise evaluations 35 QA in HEI 2 –project 2011-2013 • We are enlarging the network with Baltic universities! • Funded by Nordplus • Goals – Learn how CDIO initiative supports QA in HEI – Use self-evaluation model to identify development areas – Support QA work in new partners with cross-evaluation Step1. CDIO and QA – seminars Step 2. Make the selfevaluation Step 3. Time for improvement and development Step 4. Preparing for cross-wise evaluations Step 5. Support QA work with crossevaluations Sustainability of educational change Today we must constantly apply force in the system (leadership, resources) to keep it from reverting to its natural state. Thus we are operating under the principle: “With enough thrust, anything can fly.” 36 We must change the system itself so it is aligned, not only with research, but also with the educational experience we want to create. Where the rubber meets the road The way the system works how the university is organized, how recruitment & promotion processes are designed, how power is assigned, how resources are allocated, and how status is earned, (what matters to people, the real, hard, end-of-the-day, bottom-line stuff) has more to do with disciplinary and research considerations, than with education or student need. 37 38