The Assessment of Learning in Engineering Education

Explores how we judge engineering education in order to effectively redesign courses and programs that will prepare new engineers for various professional and academic careers

• Shows how present approaches to assessment were shaped and what the future holds

• Analyzes the validity of teaching and judging engineering education

• Shows the integral role that assessment plays in curriculum design and implementation

• Examines the sociotechnical system's impact on engineering curricula

Autorentext
John Heywood is a Professorial Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. He was awarded the best research publication award of the Division for the Professions of the American Educational Research Association in 2006 for his book "Engineering Education: Research and Development in Curriculum and Instruction" published by Wiley/IEEE. He is co-author of Analysing Jobs a study of engineers at work. His other publications include three books on Assessment in Higher Education. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education and a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.*

Inhalt

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

1 Prologue 1

1.1 General Introduction: The Functions of Assessment 1

1.2 Health Warning: Ambiguities in the Use of the Term Assessment 6

1.3 The Assessment of Persons for the Professions 8

1.4 The Engineering Profession 10

1.5 The Development of Higher and Engineering Education as Areas of Academic Study in the 1960s 12

1.6 Assumptions About Examinations: Reliability 12

1.7 Myths Surrounding Examinations 14

1.8 The Introduction of Coursework Assessment 17

1.9 Rethinking Validity 19

1.10 Wastage (Dropout): The Predictive Value of School Examinations for Satisfactory Performance in Higher Education 20

1.11 Factors Influencing Performance in College Courses 22

1.12 Assessment: Results and Accountability 25

1.13 Assessing the Learner 26

Notes 27

References 27

2 Assessment and the Preparation of Engineers for Work 35

2.1 Engineers at Work 36

2.2 An Alternative Approach to the Education and Training of Engineers for Industry 37

2.3 Toward an Alternative Curriculum for Engineering 42

2.4 Creativity in Engineering and Design 43

2.5 Furneaux's Study of a University's Examinations in First-Year Mechanical Engineering: The Argument for Objectives 48

2.6 Discussion 51

Notes 53

References 54

3 The Development of a Multiple-Objective (Strategy) Examination and Multidimensional Assessment and Evaluation 61

3.1 The Development of an Advanced Level Examination in Engineering Science (For 17/18-Year-Old High School Students): The Assessment of Achievement and Competency 62

3.2 Skills Involved in Writing Design Proposals and Practical Laboratory Work 72

3.3 A Balanced System of Assessment 74

3.4 Pictures of the Curriculum Process 75

3.5 Multidimensional Assessment and Evaluation: A Case Study 79

3.6 Discussion 83

Notes 84

References 85

4 Categorizing the Work Done by Engineers: Implications for Assessment and Training 89

4.1 Introduction 90

4.2 A Study of Engineers at Work in a Firm in the Aircraft Industry 91

4.3 The Application of The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to the Task Analysis of Managers in a Steel Plant 96

4.4 The Significance of Interpersonal Competence 96

4.5 A Comparative Study of British and German Production Engineers (Managers) 101

4.6 Engineering Knowledge 103

4.7 Discussion 105

Notes 105

References 107

5 Competency-Based Qualifications in the United Kingdom and United States and Other Developments 111

5.1 The Development of Competency-Based Vocational Qualifications in the United Kingdom 112

5.2 Outcomes Approaches in High Schools in the United Kingdom 115

5.3 Standards in Schools in the United States 116

5.4 Education for Capability: Capability vs. Competence 117

5.5 Ability (Assessment)-Led Curricula: The Alverno College Model 119

5.6 The Enterprise in Higher Education Initiative in the United Kingdom and the SCANS Report in the United States 122

5.7 The College Outcome Measures Program 125

5.8 Discussion 127

Notes 130

References 130

6 The Impact of Accreditation 133

6.1 ABET, European Higher Education Area (Bologna Process), and the Regulation of the Curriculum 134

6.2 Taxonomies 135

6.3 Outcomes-Based Engineering Education 142

6.4 Mastery Learning and Personalized Systems of Instruction 147

6.5 Discussion 152

References 152

7 Student Variability: The Individual the Organization, and Evaluation 157

7.1 Introduction 158

7.2 Learning and Teaching Styles 161

7.3 Study Habits/Strategies 163

7.4 Intellectual Development 165

7.5 Critical Thinking 168

7.6 The Assessment of Development 172 7.7 The Reflecti...