Professional Perspectives: Electronic Engineering Paul Spencer Dean of School, Electronic Engineering Kal Winston* Adviser, Study Skills Centre

Initial Action Meetings between Engineering and SSC staff Exam Review workshop with students Examination of sample dissertations & reports Difficulties appear to include – Study skills, approaches to learning – Critical thinking – Academic literacy – Application of ideas – Following instructions – Self-discipline

Professional Perspectives 10-credit first year, first-term module 12 x 2-hour sessions Aims: – Assist students with their approach to other modules, and help them develop the skills needed to succeed in Electronic Engineering courses. – Provide students with transferable skills needed for employment as engineering professionals.

Group/Individual Students randomly assigned to a small group of 4 students, work together throughout the module. Assess both individual and group work. Groups meet between classes (minimum of four meetings), members take turns recording minutes.

Weekly workshops on… Time management Critical questioning Working with lectures Explaining terminology Library resources Referencing and plagiarism Exam techniques Writing minutes Data analysis – limits, scales, errors, dimensional analysis Report writing – structure, writers’ moves Draft reports – Peer-assessment – Formative feedback Presentation skills – Creating and using rubrics

Assessment 1, Project Project Report, 2500 words - 40% 10% for submission of draft report 30% for final report Groups select their own project topics. Each group crafts a clear research question, which is then divided into one sub-question per group member. Most sessions include work contributing towards final project.

Assessment 1, Project Week 3, groups submit project brief, outlining their project, stating their research questions. Each group member writes a report on his/her chosen sub-question. Week 7, individuals submit draft version of their individual reports – Grade each other’s drafts using rubric – General feedback on common errors Final versions of the report submitted 3 weeks later.

Assessment 2, Portfolio 20% of module grade, tasks based on weekly workshops Build ‘generic skills’ and skills for project – Time management module assessments, project milestones – Asking questions explore lectures, create research questions – Define and explain terminology from lectures, key project concepts – Library resources, references, plagiarism, paraphrasing summary of and references for two scientific reports – Data analysis assignments feel for equations, data presentation – Minutes from group meetings, contributions to discussion forums, module reflection, Peerwise

Assessment 2, Portfolio 20% of module grade, tasks based on weekly workshops Build ‘generic skills’ and skills for project – Time management module assessments, project milestones – Asking questions explore lectures, create research questions – Define and explain terminology from lectures, key project concepts – Library resources, references, plagiarism, paraphrasing summary of and references for two scientific reports – Data analysis assignments feel for equations, data presentation – Minutes from group meetings, contributions to discussion forums, module reflection, Peerwise

Assessment 3, Presentation Oral presentation – 20% 10-minute group presentation Synthesis of members’ project work. Rubric developed in class Groups and teachers mark each presentation, averaged for group score.

Assessment 4, Data Analysis test In-Class Test – 20% Based on Data Analysis Techniques sessions – order of magnitude estimations – taking limits – dimensional analysis – systematic and random errors – graphical display methods.

Successes Better understanding of students needs, strengths and weaknesses Inter-departmental collaboration – design and delivery of module Lively, interactive class discussions Opportunity to give feedback on students’ writing Good outcomes for: – referencing and plagiarism – note taking – revision advice – group presentations

Challenges and Solutions, 1 Variable attendance/participation – Late admittance to course – 9am Thursday (Weds p.m. free) Affected group work Non-completion of portfolio tasks, so some students missed incremental build-up towards project Next time: less reliance on groups, stricter deadlines for portfolio tasks

Challenges and Solutions, 2 Overly ambitious goals – data analysis Presented too many ideas Students’ understanding weaker than expected (e.g. derivative as rate of change) Poor test performance Next time: restrict to narrower range (limits, units, scales), more examples and practice in class – tie-in with critique of journal article

Challenges and Solutions, 3 Presentations – group members not all engaged, some free-loading Related to project – if that was poor, adversely affected presentations Next time: in pairs, shorter presentation, explain a key engineering concept, and how it can be applied in practice – builds on prior exercise on explaining terminology

Challenges, 4 Overly ambitious project Many had never read a journal article, much less critically appraised one Too much choice for project Too long Underestimated problems with basic writing skills A few great projects, a number of awful ones

Solutions, 4 Smaller, more focused tasks, more tightly related to needs in other modules Better balance between learner autonomy and teacher control More time on finding, reading and critical analysis of specific journal articles Final project: write up a technical report from lab work – core skill, reinforces links with other modules

Next iteration of module Portfolio – 40%; fewer tasks, heavier weighting, tighter deadlines Critical analysis of journal article – 15%; less choice, more focused guidance Technical lab report – 30%; more relevant, less choice, lower weighting Oral presentation – 15%; more relevant, smaller group, lower weighting

Lessons learned Module develops/improves with greater understanding of students’ abilities and needs Fewer goals, clearly linked, more thoroughly taught and practiced Better balance between teacher directive and student choice Collaboration between discipline school and central learning development unit – shared module design and delivery can be effective

Kal Winston, Study Skills Centre, Bangor University