Teaching To Design, Build, And Test In Senior Projects: Learning Outcomes In The Cognitive, Affective And Psychomotor Domains

ABET Criterion I.C.2.b: “Technical Design Courses ---These are courses in practice-oriented standard design applied to work in the field, such as construction, in which students acquire experience in carrying out established design procedures in their own areas of specialization. The key to this type of technical design lies in the fact that the courses would follow established design concepts developed by engineering and that there would be prime emphasis on standard design procedures and practices. Many of these design methods have already been included in handbooks or standard computer methods for various branches of engineering. These courses would require an understanding of the application of mathematics and science, for example, to such activities as [HVAC] air conditioning systems design, duct design, piping design, amplifier design, computer component and circuit design, plant layout, materials handling operations, and/or civil engineering technology applications such as road design.” Program evaluation in Engineering Technology has just ceased to be input driven. It is outcomes driven now through the ABET program evaluation criteria. Most program evaluations, however, are done with hazy and broad “outcomes statements” as “after completing this class I have acquired the necessary skills and knowledge of appropriate methods, procedures, and techniques.” This paper will address the “broad outcomes level statements” like above, to crisp learning outcomes at the activity level, e.g. “By the use of project, I have applied theory to practice.” These activity level outcomes can be measured. The changed behavior of the student, due to educational intervention and experience at the activity level will affect the behavior in cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Senior level research-project planning and control activities will bring about this change. These changes will be reported in perceived quality criteria that will be extracted into the design of questionnaire for the purpose of gathering such evidence. Introduction ABET’s accreditation reform effort designed to foster effective program evaluation uses a set of criteria. This method allows programs to be flexible to many stakeholder needs. It P ge 7.107.1 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright © 2002. American Society for Engineering Education also allows them to innovate while still maintaining a strong emphasis on educational quality. This process accreditation philosophy encourages “student outcomes” over mere “program inputs.” The outcomes philosophy encouraged constructive interaction with program stakeholders to maintain competitive quality and relevance. The stage was set for the implementation of outcome based evaluation by allowing educators, university officials, and industry representatives to examine the critical issues involved in implementing mandates for accountability and continuous quality improvement. Five years have now passed in this implementation process. Questions are being raised to address some serious concerns, for instance “What is the effect of outcomes-based evaluation on the quality of educational process.” In order to gauge the progress made, to identify on-going and new issues and challenges with implementation, and to gather input for future directions, various proposals and researches to address the following have been proposed. Purpose of the paper is to explore and answer the following important questions that have been raised frequently by all stakeholders of an educational program. 1. What evidence is there at the university/college/department level that outcomesbased accreditation is fostering an environment of innovation and continuous program improvement? 2. How are institutions/programs sustaining the use of assessment in quality educational processes? 3. What evidence is there, that outcomes assessment and the implementation of quality processes are producing innovation in educational programs? 4. How has the change in accreditation standards effected graduates’ preparation for the workplace? What evidence is there that they are better prepared for a changing work environment? This paper will address Outcomes Based Program Evaluation and Review Technique using projects with definite learning objectives. Using an effective student project development from inception to implementation, the evidence will be shown that, “outcomes assessment and the implementation of quality processes using student projects as outcomes are producing the desired innovation in educational programs.” Outcomes Defined Defining outcomes of a project-based learning must be identified at the very outset of the program design. This will consist of: 1. The student will identify an engineering problem 2. The student will write the goals and objectives of the project or investigation 3. The student will develop completion and performance criteria of the project 4. The student will demonstrate knowledge of theories to best apply to the project 5. The student will write the specification of assessment methods for each phase of the project Page 7.107.2 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright © 2002. American Society for Engineering Education 6. The student will conduct and manage proper peer evaluation of the project in class with the help of the instructor 7. The student will collect feedback of evaluation from the peer and instructor to continuously improve the project till completion 8. Finally, the student will publish for the class the final evaluation resulting in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes as suggested by the following instrument. The outcomes in the higher-level cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains are to be written by the student after the completion of each phase of the project using the criteria defined below (example: My evaluation of my learning outcomes from the study phase of the project was precise 5 4 3 2 1 Imprecise) Learning from Project Rubric– Outcomes of Quality Criteria for Project Evaluation The lessons learned from the project was precise 5 4 3 2 1 Imprecise The application aspect of the project was decisive 5 4 3 2 1 Indecisive The project applies theory fully 5 4 3 2 1 Does not apply fully The project experience was coherent 5 4 3 2 1 Incoherent The project lessons were well prepared 5 4 3 2 1 Not well prepared The project lessons were well organized 5 4 3 2 1 Not well organized The project development steps were very clear 5 4 3 2 1 Not very clear The project development steps were easy to apply 5 4 3 2 1 Not easy to apply The lessons learned from the project were motivating 5 4 3 2 1 Not motivating The project made me feel confident 5 4 3 2 1 Not confident I really enjoyed the lessons learned from the project 5 4 3 2 1 Did not enjoy Examining Learning Outcomes from The Project: Design of a database for HVAC system load parameters Introduction In 16 weeks, the student applied the four phases of project design e.g., concept, study, design, and implementation with definite learning outcomes. These four phases of the systems design problem have been enunciated by Angus. Problem Identification Stage The HVAC system of a modern university building does not operate on optimal condition of cooling and ventilation. The cost of non-optimal operation is disastrous in fiscally troubled times. To alleviate this uneconomical operation an effort was made to understand and apply improvements to the system on a 16 weeks’ project duration. A database program MS Excel 2000 was used in this project for collecting the load parameters of a university’s air conditioning system, from which intelligent prediction for P ge 7.107.3 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright © 2002. American Society for Engineering Education optimal usage could be made. This project report introduces the proper steps involved in the implementation this project. An Excel database containing the sampled load parameters for a specific period was generated. Load-prediction curves based on these sampled data were obtained as an experiential learning exercise to learn and apply forecasting and prediction methodologies. The evaluation of the project tested on student outcomes that correspond with TAC of ABET criteria. Anticipated outcomes: The student will integrate his knowledge of thermodynamics and control circuits and forecasting techniques. A. Initial concept Map Concept phase The initial concept map for this project was to build a shared database that collected data from HVAC, fire system, lighting system and elevator system and make them available to each other. However, considering the following difficulties anticipated, this initial concept was not deemed feasible. 1. Time: There is no enough time to fulfill such a big project. The allowed time is only 12 weeks, effectively. 2. Manpower resources: To implement such a big project, software designer, the programmer, data collecting, facilities maintenance personnel are all necessary simultaneously. Unfortunately, all those needed resources are not fully available at the time the project was developed. 3. The facilities adoption: In order to implement this concept, not only access privileges to all the facilities (such as HVAC system, fire system, elevators, etc.) is necessary during the weekdays and weekends, but also some special measuring equipment and management software packages are also required. For example, the data from the HVAC and fire system are normally from two completely separate systems, so in order to make their data sharable, either a certain data converting software was to be developed, or we had to find some commercial software package. Neither of them was available and feasible. 4. The cost: Since this is a student project, there is no budget for it.