Assessing Student Learning in EPICS

Assessing Student Learning: Outline

What to assessLearning objectives and

expectationsArtifacts – data to assessGradingSr. Design Example

What to AssessStudents are given academic credit

for mastering course content, Not for the service they provide for the

community

Students are therefore assessed on their demonstrated mastery of course content

Defining Learning Objectives Started with ECE Senior Design: A student who

successfully fulfills the course will demonstrate:

1. an ability to apply technical material from their discipline to the design of engineering products;

2. an understanding of design as a start-to-finish process; 3. an ability to identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of

the problem-solving/design process; 4. an awareness of the customer in engineering design; 5. an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and an

appreciation for the contributions from individuals from other disciplines;

6. an ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences ;

7. demonstrates an awareness of engineering ethics and professional responsibility;

8. an appreciation of the role that engineering can play in social contexts .

Common set of outcomes across disciplines Engineering your discipline

Multidisciplinary AssessmentsEPICS often requires multidisciplinary

approachesAssessing students from different

areas requires their own learning objectives in their “own language”Freshman vs seniorOne vs two creditsEngineer vs Liberal Arts

Important to be specific about expectations and outcomes

Evaluation Rubric

Competencies Beginning Developing Accomplished Exemplary

Technical Skills

Design Process

Communication

Teamwork

Resourcefulness

Community Awareness

Professional ethics

   

Setting ExpectationsTeams set goals for the semester

through a project planFaculty advisor approves plan

Students set individual personal goals for each semesterGoals in week 4, updates weeks 8 and

12Faculty advisor approves goalsSelf assessments weeks 4, 8, 12 and 16

Artifacts: Data to AssessStudents produce artifacts that can be

assessed during their EPICS experienceDesign NotebooksReflectionsSelf-assessmentsPresentationsReports

Project documentation

Delivered projects Manuals or other documentations with project

Design Notebooks & Documentation

Build a record (portfolio) of an individual’s workDocument individual progressCapture reflection/metacognitive activities

Academic and service experience

Guidelines provided and evaluate during the semester% of points on format and contentDiscipline useful for later as professionals

Project documentationDocuments successes and achievementsDigital archive for projects

Assessing Team and Individual Work

Teams are assessedProject planCustomer/Partner feedbackPresentations and team reports

Individual artifacts assessed Peer assessments Summary of accomplishmentsIndividual NotebooksReflectionsDesign records - authoredObservations

“Dry Run” Grading = Calibration Midsemester grading is a “dry run”

If the semester were to end today, you would receive a _____

All resources and artifacts evaluatedSelf assessments evaluated

Students provided with a team and individual grade or range and commentsWhat would they have to do to improve?

Calibrates students and facultyProblems can be identified earlyNeed for documentation reinforced

Final GradingRepeat process for dry run grades

Final self-assessment

Students receive comments and their grades

Use dry run evaluations as a basisStudents addressed concerns over the

last half of the semester?

Emphasis on documentationDo the artifacts represent their level of

work?

ABET, Sr. Design and EPICS EPICS projects are well-matched

to the ABET criteria. Customer-driven service learning

means that each team has a different project and that each student may have a different role on the team.

This variability requires procedures for assessment, tracking, and documentation of projects and of student outcomes.

Senior Design and EPICSSr. Design option for

ECE, IDE and CS studentsTwo semesters of EPICS

Outcomes matrixDemonstrate each has been metApprovals, TA, Advisor, EPICS

Project DescriptionApprovals, Advisor, EPICS, ECE

Documents saved on Sharepoint Server (revision control)

EPICS and ABET Fulfills capstone design requirement for

Purdue BSEE, BSCmpE and BSIDE degrees

3 credits over 2 senior semesters 8 outcomes related to the Program

Objectives & Outcomes 2 approval processes:

Significant design experience on a suitable project

Satisfaction of course outcomes by each student: “A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements associated with at least 3 credits of EPICS taken over 2 or more semesters will …”

Project Approval Project Description Form:

Team & project nameProject members, majors, expertiseProject & customer summaryHow builds on earlier ECE coursesNew technical knowledge acquiredMultidisciplinary natureHow project involves professional

component (criterion 4) constraints One form per project w/ senior

design students per semester Reviewed/approved by team

advisor, EPICS administrators, ECE Senior Design committee

Purdue ECE Senior Design Semester Report for EPICS Projects

Semester

Course Number and Title

EE 490 Senior Participation in Engineering Projects in Community Service (Senior Design)

EPICS Team

Name(s) of Advisor(s)

Project Title

Senior Design Students:

Graduation Date Name

Project Description: Provide a brief technical description of the design project, including the following: (Type below).

a) A summary of the project, including customer, purpose, specifications, and a summary of the approach:

b) A description of how the project built upon knowledge and skills acquired in earlier

ECE coursework:

c) A description of what new technical knowledge and skills, if any, were acquired in

doing the project:

d) How the engineering design process is incorporated into the project:

Outcomes Certification

Deliverables Design notebook Design reviews Reports Presentations Weekly reports Customer feedback Peer evaluation Self assessment

Documenting Outcomes:

EPICS Senior Design Student Outcomes MatrixStudent's Name:

Team:

Project:

Semesters Recorded:

Describe how the student's realization of the outcome is documented

sem 1

sem 2 Outcomes: How documented:

Student Initials & Date:

TA Initials & Date:

Advisor Initials & Date:

EPICS Initials & Date:

i. applies technical material from their discipline to the design of engineering productsii. demonstrates an understanding of design as a start-to-finish processiii. an ability to identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of the problem-solving/design processiv. demonstrates an awareness of the customer in engineering designv. demonstrates an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and an appreciation for the contributions from individuals from other disciplinesvi. demonstrates an ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences

vii. demonstrates an awareness of engineering ethics and professional responsibilityviii. demonstrates an appreciation of the role that engineering can play in social contexts

EPICS APPROVAL - OUTCOMES COMPLETED:Initials/Date:

See the EPICS Senior Design Outcomes document for additional information on assessment of outcomes and how outcomes may be documented.

Enter date(s) of documentation of

outcome

Outcomes Certification Outcomes record maintained by students Reviewed twice per semester by TAs and

team advisor: incremental approval Semester-end and year-end review by

EPICS administration Reviews:

Approval ofoutcomes anddocumentation

Redirect student’sefforts